A good soldier never gives up

Fate is in the stars

The moment we returned to the base, soldiers of every title surrounded us with concerns. The leviathan has been completed. The United States Military doesn't have the necessary weapons to defeat such a large weapon. How do we plan to defeat such powerful machinery. What would happen to me if the guerrillas were to capture me.

I ignored all the questions and walked over to my sleeping quarters where I immediately put down my stuff and sat down on the bed. "I don't care what happens to me. Being around all those kind civilians makes me want a life like theirs. I...I don't want to fight anymore," I said silently as I looked down at my shoes, feeling ashamed.

"Are you giving up?" a sweet, familiar voice asked, making me look up. Juliet was standing by the door without the angelic smile she usually wore. "Are you going to quit your job?"

I blinked twice before looking away again. "I am not so sure what exactly I want to do. Fighting is all I have ever done, and is probably the only thing I would be good at. I don't know if I want to continue this path anymore."

She walked over and took a seat beside me, taking my hand in hers. "Once upon a time, a girl met this strange boy who suddenly transferred into her class. She remembered the first time she ever saw the boy. He was dressed in jeans and a grey sweater, and he was looking through some binoculars for some strange reason. Despite the fact that the boy knew that the girl would get into so much trouble, that so many people would want to hurt her because of her blood line, the boy risked his life to save her and her family time and time again. The boy knew a lesson that he had never forgotten, even when time seemed difficult. He just needs to remember what that lesson is now."

I looked at our hands before asking, "what lesson has that boy forgotten?"

"A good soldier never gives up. He keeps faith in himself and believes in his abilities to bring peace to the people all around." She lifted my chin so I could meet her eyes before saying, "the boy knew that he would get hurt for protecting this one girl, but he didn't mind at all. He has fought in so many battles before but never before has he forgotten his lesson. He had said that he wanted to repay for the lives he had stolen, so here's his chance."

"That boy has realized the dangers between love and war, Juliet. I just don't think that after experiencing so much that I should continue what I do best. Motivation can be lost, and recently, I have discovered that I have no motivation left to continue fighting. I am just a boy with a dangerous toy."

With that, she dropped my hand and shook her head no. "If I recall correctly, the boy I knew wanted to continue fighting for as long as he shall live. He wanted to repay for the lives he has willingly taken away. After several missions, he can not choose to abandon his life mission, no matter what hardships he goes through. Face it, Will, you're stuck fighting because you made it your goal to fight."

I sighed before saying, "I see you have a point. I will continue my effort to fight for the United States." I rose to my feet before pulling out a hand gun and placing it down on the bed. "I have no use of carrying it around here. If you excuse me, Miss. Peterson, I will head out to the training room."

"Will, stop that. Call me Juliet," she said with a smile as she stood up. "We're still friends after all, aren't we?"

A small smile came to my lips as I said, "affirmative. Would you like to come with me?"

She nodded and held my hand. "I always want to be with you."

Together, we walked over to the training room, listening to her stories about how boring the safe house was. She assured me that her little brother idolizes me due to my effort of saving him. Her father was thankful that she was released, but doesn't trust me much.

Before we walked into the room, she stopped in place, and with a gentle hand, touched the scar on my eye. Her frown showed how worried she had been for me since the last time we have seen each other.

"What are you going to do, Will?" Juliet asked. "Are you going to keep fighting?"

Thinking back to my childhood, I remembered every battle I have ever faced and began to wonder why it is this one feels different for me. This battle should be of little difficulty do to the fact that father had raised me into believing that there is always a weak spot in equipment. The leviathan's weakness has to be that it has to be operated by a human's heart. If the human is still alive, then the machine will cause destruction.

"I will fight because I believe we can still gain victory for this battle," I said proudly. "I believe your father may be the key into finding a weakness in the leviathan. We just need to see his blueprints for the machine."

"But there is no weakness in the machine. That's why the military wanted it," she pointed out.

I shook my head no as I told her the lesson my father had taught me very well. "Everything has a weakness. Humans weakness is their loved ones, for animals, it's other animals. If you were to shoot a bullet into a block of wood, it would make a hole, making the wood's weakness the bullet. If the bullet were to be shot into a pool of water, it would simply destroy itself as it hit the water."

"The leviathan happens to be a killing machine, not a gun. How are you going to find the weakness when it's design was to have no weakness?" she asked.

"It may not be possible to destroy it from the outside, but it just may be possible to destroy it from the inside. Isn't it odd that the machine would run on human energy? Why would a human need to be the heart of the weapon if it was so powerful?" I asked her. "It's because if anything were to happen to the machine, it would transfer the damage to the user. Therefore, if the user endures too much damage, the machine would have no choice but to shut down in order to protect the life of the user inside. The machine was meant for the military, so there is no doubt in my mind that the feature was added."

"Basically, if the user's life was in danger then the leviathan will shut down. What if the user dies before it can completely shut down? What would happen to the machine?"

I shrugged, quite unsure about the answer. If lucky, it would be like any other device. It would force shutdown.

Walking inside the training area, I began doing pull ups on a bar as Juliet took a seat on the ground and watched. I didn't care if I still had any injuries in need of healing, all I know is that I have no choice but to become stronger. I am the one who is in danger, and therefore, I must be ready to endure any amount of pain needed.

After a while, I turned to Juliet and asked, "would you like to help me become stronger? I need you to push me into training harder."

"Okay. William, if they kill you, do you know what's going to happen to us?" she asked as I walked over to another equipment. "They will kill your family, and mine. When they catch me, they might play with my body before finally killing me. You have to get stronger for all of us to survive. Otherwise, we're already dead."

"No, we're not. I said I'll protect you, and that's what I'm going to do!" I shouted as sweat broke out on my forehead. "I'm not going to let anyone touch you or my family. If anyone is going to die, it will be me."

"If you die, the world is over. The guerrillas will take over," she said urgently. "You are the only one who can destroy them."

"That's right. I am the only one who can stop them. I will end every last one of those guerillas. I'll be the fall of my father's legacy," I said. "Damien may not have been my real father, but he did take the time to raise me when he could've just as easily killed me long ago."

"If you survive the battle, we will be allowed to be together in school once again. We can live just like we used to," she said with a small smile. "Before I discovered what you were, before the bus hijacking. We can go to the beach together."

I couldn't help but smile as her words reached me. After everything that has happened, she is willing to stay by me. Juliet was put in so much trouble because I have failed so many times to protect her, but she still chooses to be with me. Why?

"I'm looking forward to it, Juliet."