The Post-World

Chapter Four

The days after just blurred together... I was calm about everything but a lot of my comrades were very stressed. One even went missing for a few days. I was told that he was found... But I never saw him again. His name was Joseph and he was my age. A few times I was partnered with him when we had exercises but we were never close. He was quite smart though, so I had no reason to think he would have gotten himself hurt. Afterwards more went missing... They didn't announce it but we knew they were gone. In total I can estimate that over twenty youth officers went missing. I was thankful that none of my closer associates went missing. I didn't really have friends because I never had a real need for any. I could get along with people pretty easily and I never really felt lonely.

The night before was the hardest night for me. We were given permission to walk the halls of the ship so I spent most of the day doing that. But, once I saw it was 8 at night I figured I'd go home for the night. Well... Most of it.

When I got home I saw my dad standing in the kitchen area. His hair was straightened again and he was in his trench coat.

He looked over the center stainless steal counter at me. "Hey son..." I could tell he had a hard time that day.

"Hey dad." I was at the other side of the counter. It was very quiet.

"So... Tomorrow is the day, huh?" He asked while looking at the reflections in the counter.

"Yeah... It's really exciting..." I looked at his reflection.

"This really sucks, you know?" He looked up at me and I kept my eyes stuck on the counter.

"I know dad..."

"Like, I've raised you... You were my baby. Your mother's baby. You're just so special... It's so hard to know you're going to be gone..." He looked back down and I could see his tears splatter on the counter again.

"Dad, we've talked about this already. I'm going to be fine." I looked at him. I admit I even fought back tears when I saw him.

He shown my his right hand over the table. "I know everyone says that they held their babies in their hand but you really were there..." He pointed at his hand. "I was able to hold you right there... And I promised I'd keep you safe and not let anything bad happen to you..." He put his hands on the counter to hold himself. "And now... You're just gonna be gone... I can't help you there..." He sighed really deep. "I'm sorry... It's just really hard... But this isn't good to do right before you go..."

"It's ok dad. I'm going to miss you too. I'm going to be fine dad. And I promise I'll be safe." I moved to him and he hugged me tight for a while. "Love you dad."

"I love you too son..." He broke the hug and moved to the fridge. "Well anyways I got a cake for you. I figured you'd enjoy eating something you won't just work off in an hour." My dad took out a huge, chocolate, cheesecake and set it on the counter before getting a knife. "Might give you a heart attack though." He laughed and cut the cake into a few pieces and put a really big piece on my plate. "I always loved cheesecake. I remember my dad would get one or two for my birthday. He liked cherry more than chocolate, so I always aimed towards the two flavor ones." He smiled and got himself a piece. "You know, sometimes I really miss him. I try a lot to be like him when it comes to how he acted towards his kids..."

"Well I think you're doing a pretty good job at things." I said between bites as he sat across from me, with two glasses of milk between us.

"Hmph... I thought so." He laughed. "I don't smoke anything like he did though so you're lucky there." He laughed again. "I've also got a little gift for you." He reached into one of his pockets and slid a knife over to me. "My dad gave me that when I was 16. I think you get a lot more use than me."

I took it and read the little plate on the handle. 'Winchester' it read. When I opened it I could feel that it was definitely sharp. Very useful. Not as much as my training knives but still. I could use it. "Thanks. So this is pretty old."

He laughed. "Doesn't seem that way to me but you know how it is."

We both ended up eating most if the cheesecake. When we finished it was 9:30 and we just spent the rest of the night talking to each other about everything. I doubt I even got to bed before 5 in the morning but it didn't matter what time I went to bed, really. We were told to meet in the auditorium at 3pm for our finally gathering...