A good soldier never gives up

Finding yourself in the flames

  After training for an hour, I drank some water before walking over to Juliet who held a smile whenever she looked at me. I took a seat by her and watched as the other soldiers in the room continued to stare. Like always, I ignored their smiles as they glanced at me, understanding what they mean.

"So Will, when do you plan to see the blueprints?" Juliet asked as she put her hand down over mine. She took one look at our hands, blushed, then moved away. "Actually, how do you plan to see the blueprints if Dad lost them to your dad."

"He's not my father. Damien Ashton is the man that killed my father," I said as she began to shake her head no.

"William, as much as you hate the idea of it, Damien Ashton is your father. He's the one who made you into what you are today. He raised you to be strong even when you yourself can't handle the pressure of carrying the weight of the world."

Juliet met my confused eyes. I was unsure of where she was going with this. "When you were doubting yourself, you wouldn't want to fight. You thought it would be better to live like an ordinary boy, but you're a great soldier. You were able to give it your all when you thought that Damien Ashton was your dad, but why is it you can't fight anymore? He is your dad, and you are a good soldier."

"What are you saying?" I asked, still confused. "I should continue to think of the man who had tried to kill me in the same manner he killed my real dad as my father?"

She nodded. "It sounds stupid, but when you thought of him as your dad, you were able to go all out and you were happy to run into danger. You didn't care who your family was, or how your life should have been. All you wanted to do is fight because that's what you were raised to do."

"You're right," I whispered as I thought about it. "But I still won't accept that. I'll fight when it is time to fight, but for now, let's speak with your father." Grabbing her hand, we stood up and walked out of the training room. With every step we took, I began to feel a bit uncomfortable with this situation. Every soldier we past wouldn't stop staring at us as if we were in a committed relationship.

As I glanced back at her, I could see the small smile on her face as she stared at our intertwined hands. I couldn't help but butterflies in my stomach as I hoped that I was the one making her smile. It was as if seeing her devastated for any sort of reason would bring storm clouds to my own blue sky. I wish for her to remain content throughout her life.

"Hey William, will we be friends forever?" she asked as she met my eyes. "Like after all this is through, and my family no longer needs the protection of the United States Military. Will we still get to see each other everyday in school?"

I wasn't sure how to answer this question. Honestly, I wish I could say affirmative, but the truth to the story is that after the mission is completed, we are to have no further contact with the target. My chest began to hurt a bit as I hesitated to answer her question.

"It is confirmed that we will always be acquaintances, but there may be a problem about receiving an education in a public building. I am nothing but a dog for the military, and as such, it is my duty to receive similar education in the base."

"No. I don't want that." I looked back at Juliet for her sudden outburst, a bit shocked. "Why don't you understand that I don't want to be apart from you anymore. I like you, William. Not like friend like, but like a girl likes a boy."

I couldn't help but blush as I processed her words through my mind. She likes me? Looking back at recent events, I have almost gotten her killed several times. The kidnapping was my fault because I allowed it to happen. I couldn't protect our classmates during the bus hijacking. I have failed as a soldier many times, but somehow during that time, she had developed feelings for me.

"Hey Juliet, did you break him already?" a voice called out, making us turn our heads. "We need to borrow Will for a brief meeting."

Juliet shook her head as she dropped my hand. "I'll talk to you later, Will. I'll ask my dad about the plan for you, so he could have it ready when you come for them."

I didn't answer as I was dragged away from her. I couldn't think about anything except the fact that Juliet has feelings for me. What does that mean for us? I am inexperienced when it comes to dealing with females and their emotions.

"Hey Will, I can tell you're thinking too much into this. Just relax and we can help you with Juliet later, alright? But first, I need to know if you feel the same way about her," he asked as we walked into a large conference room. "Do you like her?"

"Affirmative. I do not understand what I am supposed to do from here. What am I supposed to do?"

He chuckled before saying, "make her happy. The idea of a man is to be able to support the woman we love. No matter what happens, you won't ever be happy unless she's happy too. Make her feel special as if she's the only girl for you. Remember, if you really like this girl, you have to see her with the intention of someday marrying her. You can't run off with another girl."

I nodded, understanding what he meant. "How do you make a girl feel special?"

"Do whatever it takes to make her smile. Don't be around other girls your own age by yourself for so long, so that way you don't give her the idea that you like other girls. " We took a seat before he said, "try buying her flowers or candy. Do something you wouldn't do with anybody else."

I smiled, coming up with an idea to impress Juliet.

I shook the thought as the meeting began. It was said that in order to defeat this Leviathan, we would need new weaponry that contains the ability to pierce the metal of the machine. Military scientists are working on a similar machine that uses human thoughts as the commands for the military. If they can succeed in building the prototype, it may be possible for the Military to gain the weaponry we need in order to destroy the Leviathan.

"We call it XK-01 as it is the prototype of the original, but we need a volunteer to test it out. Before you all start volunteering like a couple of school children, I feel that I must warn you of the risks. There is a slight chance that several of you may not be qualified to handle sensitive machinery and will therefore become temporarily paralyzed from the waist down."

"What are the chances of that happening?" someone asked.

"The probability of that is about sixty five percent out of one hundred. It is all up to you if you want to be the one to try it out, but remember this, only a few will be approved."

As I looked around at all the uncertain faces, I raised my hand to ask a question. "Is there a photo of this new machine? It would provide for us an example of the machine you are referring to."

The scientist nodded as all eyes went up to the power point for a picture of a large robot. Thinking back to the school halls, I have seen countless males walking around with a picture of a similar machinery Juliet informed me called a transformer. When I looked around, I could tell that some of the other soldiers were coming to the same conclusion as I was.

"I will volunteer." I stated as I stood up from my seat. "I will take the risks in order to bring the United States victory in our battle against the remaining guerrillas."

With mixed emotions, the scientist looked around at all the other soldiers faces once more before settling for mine. "I'm not sure if children should be allowed to operate this type of dangerous machinery. It has a large risk towards adults; I would hate to see the risk it holds for children."

"Sir, I am no child. I am capable of handling any type of machine you were to hand me. Weaponry is easy to handle as long as you are trained to use it."

The scientist looked me down before asking, "are you William Ashton, grandson of General Kingston?"

"Yes sir, is there a problem?" I answered.

He shook his head no. "We have a specially made one for you. It's similar in appearance to the one you see here, but it contains a special type of armor that allows you to fight using your mind for power. For example, if you wanted to fire off a gun, you only have to think about which weapon you would like to deploy and which target you want to hit."

There was a specific weapon made only for me? Is it because of the current situation I am under, or because I am the under aged grandson of the general? There are so many situations I could think of that results in these two conclusions, but there is no way I could find out which is true.

"This brings us to the end of this briefing. William, we will send someone for you when we have the arena set up."

As I walked out, I remembered my situation with Juliet and turned to find Kevin. Kevin had stayed inside talking to Alicia about something, but once they saw me, they walked over. Alicia gave a look as if she was angry with something he had said.

"William, I pray you do not grow up to become a stupid, idiotic moron like Kevin. Treat your girl right."

Confused a bit, I asked "I do not understand the situation. Will you elaborate for me?"

Kevin nodded, "Alicia's mad because I wanted to volunteer her for the project, but she says that she has kids. Alicia is only using her daughter as an excuse, even though if she gets hurt, she will be sent home to her little girl."

"Kevin, you should let Alicia volunteer for herself. If you're volunteering her, she could do the same for you. I'm sure you do not have a child depending on you back in your home town."

He waved me off as if I were a mere insect. "Will, just because I don't have kids, that doesn't mean I'm not supporting someone back home. Unlike Alicia, I have my wife back home, waiting for me to return. Why do you want to do this, Will? Your family is waiting for you back in California."

"I wish to fight until the legacy of Damien Ashton is obliterated from this earth. If that involves risking my body, then so be it."

He shook his head no, as if that were the stupidest thing he has ever heard. "I don't think you know this, kid, but you happen to be a part of that legacy."

"I know very well about that. Whenever I walk around the common streets, people who know about father's actions look at me as if I were a Demon's child. I'm tired of people only seeing him when they look at me. Even my own family couldn't fully accept me."

Alicia pushed him away before saying, "leave him alone, Kevin. Don't go picking on him." When she turned to me, she said, "no one thinks that about you. You are the youngest soldier to ever join the military, the grandson of the General, and the boy who will end this war. We don't see a boy needing protection. When we look at you, we see a comrade worth protecting because he would do the same for any one of us."

I couldn't help but smile as I thought that some of my fellow soldiers thought of me as a comrade.

"Thank you, Alicia." Before I turned around to walk away, I looked up at Kevin and said, "maybe you should listen more to Alicia. She is a very intelligent soldier."

"Yeah, yeah, kid. Go run along and do whatever it is you are going to do," Kevin said with an annoyed smile.

Alicia laughed as she pointed at Kevin in a teasing way. "Don't get mad because he chose my side over yours."