A good soldier never gives up

The long journey begins

  Two weeks down the road

"William, we have gotten word that the terrorists are going to strike soon. We need you to be on alert with the girl, alright. Don't leave her side," Kevin ordered me. He tossed me one of my hand guns, in case I need it.

"Roger that, captain. I'll do my best," I told him with a salute as I left for school. I hid the gun in my backpack, ready to use if necessary.

Juliet was waiting just outside the building for me so we could walk together. She still had no knowledge of where I came from nor what I had to do to survive. I don't really plan to ever tell her that in fifteen years, I have killed over two hundred and fifty men in combat alone. The other children I had fought along side with have killed at a total of one hundred and twenty five men.

She smiled at me as she cleared away a strand of her brown hair. "Hey William, ready for the beach?" she asked me.

I nodded, "I have all the materials I shall need in my backpack." The school had announced that our class was having a field trip to the beach for having the highest test scores last year. Personally, it seems odd to me, but Juliet and Freddy told me it happens every school year.

"Good. Did you bring your swimming trunks or are you not getting in the water?" she asked me as she eyed my clothes. I was wearing a grey short sleeved shirt with khaki shorts. Kevin told me what to wear today, but now I have the feeling that I should've asked Alicia...

"I have some in my backpack. To be honest, this is the first time I'm going to a beach," I admitted to her.

She gave me a "no way" look. "You have never been to a beach?" she asked me.

I shook my head no. "I read about them in books, but never actually seen or been to one in real life. I had grown up in a desert where the chances of seeing a beach is slim to none."

She chuckled a bit. "I remember. It's that one place you won't tell me about. Why were you living in a desert anyways?

"I did not pick the location if that's what you meant. Father raised me there so I could become strong," I told her. I have been trying really hard to break my habit of calling Damien my father. It is difficult for me because he's the man who raised me.

As we climbed onto the bus, she sat by the window as I sat down next to her. She moved her bag so it was sitting on top of her lap instead of placing it on the floor.

"So what did you do for fun?" she asked me.

Unsure of how to answer, I just shook my head no. "There is no such thing as fun where I'm from. It's all about survival."

"Well, survival is the least of your worries now. You can just sit back on the sand and enjoy the water," she said as she started going through her stuff. "Shoot, I forgot my sunblock."

I looked inside my bag and pulled out a bottle. "You can have some of mine. It's not a problem." I handed her the bottle as she placed it in her bag.

"So are you excited about your first visit to the beach? It's really beautiful," she told me as she looked outside the window.

"Yes I am. The way I read about them does make it sound beautiful before people get involved," I told her. She gave me a funny look. "Citizens leave so much trash everywhere that it has gone into the ocean. Animals are dying from the trash and it's causing more pollution."

She nodded, agreeing to my claim. "That's true. What kind of books do you read anyways? You don't strike me as the kind of guy who reads about global warming."

I shrugged. "I read mainly war related materials. Gun manuals, survival methods, old strategies, etc." I looked out the window just as we arrived in front of the school. "That was the only reading material we had to read."

I stood from my seat and gathered my stuff before exiting the vehicle. She came down next with her stuff in her hand.

"So war is really everything you know?" she asked me.

I nodded, "I was raised with it around me. It was impossible to learn anything else."'

"That must have been rough. You should've left there when you were little so you wouldn't have had to learn anything about it," she said with an almost sympathetic voice. "Maybe your life would have been better than it is now."

I shrugged, quite unsure about it myself. "It probably would have been an improvement to what I have now. If you consider the circumstance though, if I had lived somewhere else, I would have never met you."

"That's true. We wouldn't be friends if it was the other way around. Hey, at least we're going to be heading to the beach soon. I can't wait to show off my new bathing suit. It's super cute!" she said as she hugged her stuff to her chest.

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Your excited over swim wear?"

She nodded, "hey that was the first time I heard you laugh."

"I don't laugh often. I never seemed to have a reason to laugh," I explained.

"Well you should laugh more. It will make girls like you," she told me. She then grabbed my arm and pulled me towards class. "Let's go before they count us late."