A good soldier never gives up

To seal away the pain in my heart

  After a month of laying in a bed, I was finally dispatched for the rescue mission. I trained myself before joining the others into the information building. Alicia and Kevin were waiting for me as I entered, obviously worried.

"William, are you sure you should be pushing yourself to the limit here? You just got out of the infirmary," Kevin asked me.

I looked up at him before shaking my head no. "I'm fine. I'm making myself stronger in order to rescue Juliet and her father."

"Don't push yourself too much. All those injuries should affect you more considering your still in high school," Alicia said as she handed me a manilla envelope. "Study this information and we'll be ready to go in about twenty minutes. Make sure you're there in time, or we'll leave without you."

I opened the envelope and read the information before putting it down. I have time to do a bit more training. One hundred pushups. One hundred sit ups. One hundred pull ups. By the time I finish those, I'll have just enough time to head for the helicopter.

After my work-out, I walked over to the helicopter and stepped inside. The other soldiers were watching me with suspicion in their eyes. They must believe that I had taken part in the kidnapping of Juliet. Well, as long as my comrades watch my back, I'll continue to fight for them as well.

I took a seat next to Alicia and Kevin, trying to avoid the stares of the surrounding soldiers. I held my weapon in my hand, examining it thoroughly. I couldn't help but think about Juliet. What if they hurt her? What if they killed her already? She has been missing for a month already; anything could have happened to her. No... I can't think this way. Juliet is still alive and is waiting for me to rescue her.

"William, do you like this girl?" Alicia asked me as she gained my attention. "Your awfully committed to rescue this girl even if you loose your life. Shouldn't you just return to your mother? You fought enough battles for a child of your age."

I shook my head no. "This is the only thing I know how to do. If I'm not fighting, I'll loose everything I am. You witnessed it yourself how difficult it was for me to adapt to a normal student's life. I cannot handle that job." I looked back at the gun as I said with a straight face, "Besides, I gave that girl and my grandfather my word that I would protect her. A man is nothing if not trustful."

She nodded and messed up my hair. "You know for a kid, your pretty smart about this stuff. I respect that about you, but I can always hope some of your brains rub off on Kevin."

I smiled a bit, knowing that was a joke. "He is a bit ignorant, isn't he?"

Kevin shot us a glare as he realized he was the subject of the conversation. "You know, I can hear you two talking. Everyone can, so shut your mouths and that's an order."

"Yes sir," I said with a small smile still on my face.

We stayed silent until we were ordered to jump out of the helicopter. I grabbed parachutes for the three of us and quickly put it on. We joined the line to jump out of the flying helicopter, landing on the ground hundreds of feet below.

When we landed on the ground, I ran into the building with Kevin and Alicia behind me. We broke the door down as the enemies looked up in surprise. They grabbed their weapons as fast as they could, but weren't fast enough. I shot the men as Alicia ran ahead of me.

"Alright. William, to find the girl, your going to have to leave us. Head to the north wing and find her!" Kevin ordered.

"Not a problem!" I ran down the corridor, shooting the enemies as I went.

The north corridor wasn't as secured as I had believed it would have been. I shot a man down to his knees before shooting his arms. He screamed before looking up at me.

"Where is the girl!" I shouted at the man. "Where's Juliet! Tell me now or I'll kill you right here!"

He spat out blood at me before giving me an evil smile. "You'll never get that girl back. She's one of us now."

I clenched my jaws and aimed the gun for his head. "She will never be a soldier like us. She's not capable of killing a soul."

He laughed a bit before I pulled the trigger.

I continued running until I heard the sound of a gun being loaded. I heard a man's voice begging for the life of a child to be spared. I peeked into the room and saw a man with similar features as Juliet holding a small boy to his chest. The boy was crying as he looked up at a man I have never seen before point a gun at him.

With a smile, the man said, "this child is too soft. He is not needed in our military, so he shall join the others in heaven."

Before he could pull the trigger, I fired my gun at the man. He dropped his weapon and looked over to me before falling to the ground. I walked into the room and faced the man. "Who are you? Are you related to Juliet Peterson?" I asked him as I reloaded my gun.

He nodded, "I am Tim L. Peterson, Juliet's father. Who are you and who do you work for?"

"William Ashton, a former guerrilla and a soldier for the United States Military. I was dispatched on a mission to protect your daughter and take her back to headquarters with us," I answered him. "If you two follow me, I can get you out of here safely."

He seemed to doubt me for a bit, but decided I was his best choice. He carried the young boy in his arms and tried to stay behind me. I continued to shoot enemies, killing them before they realized I was there.

"Do you know where exactly your daughter is located?" I asked him. "It would be useful to the mission if you can tell me where they keep her."

"She's been kept with some other kids around her age in a room with a metal door. The thing is that Juliet isn't the sweet girl you knew her as before. Whatever they did to her, changed her for the worst."

I looked over at him for only a second before saying, "that's because the weak are forced to become strong. In situations like this, the strong will go to war and the weak will be eliminated. That is how the guerrillas work."

He sighed, "I hope your right. How long were you one of them?"

I stayed silent for a bit before saying "that is confidential. Everything you need to know will be explained to you when we have completed the mission."

He grabbed my shoulder and stopped me. "How do I know I can trust you?! There are children here that are depending on me with their lives and I will not let them down by following a strange kid like yourself."