Mad World

Chapter 2

"Hey youngblood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out?" My alarm sang out as I woke up. It was 'The Phoenix' by Fall Out Boy. They were one of my favorite bands growing up. And yes... Yes I do feel like my time is running out. I got out of bed and went to get ready for The Draft.

I got on my clothes, which was my new uniform, and left in my car. I guess my mom and brother left before me to go get seats... This draft isn't really like the rest. We say our goodbyes to the city and then we walk off to the Army trucks.

I get to the place we're supposed to be and I run over to my friends Julianna, Ashlynn, Abby, Kelly, and Brenda. We all have this grim look on our faces knowing what's next.

"Hey Ash," my friend Julianna spoke softly. I smiled slightly and responded, "Hey." Ashlynn glanced at me and then gave me a ghost of a smile. She nudged me lightly, "Hey other me." I chuckled quietly and said hi. She called me that because my real name is Ashlynn... I just have people call me Ash so there's no confusion on who's who.

Abby and Kelly come up to me next. Abby raises a brow, "You ready?" I shook my head and looked down, "No... I never wanted to be ready to be honest..." Kelly sighed, "No one wants to, but we're here for each other." I smiled a little, but it quickly disappeared as I saw the boys come on stage.

It was weird really... Half of them I haven't seen since middle school. It was kind of like that family reunion that no one wants to attend, but you go anyways. People I was friends with suddenly seemed like strangers.

I looked away and looked back at the ground biting my lower lip. It's just what I do when I'm nervous. We're all chattering quietly until the same lady that pulled out the names from the bowl at the mother choosing ceremony came on stage.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the annual Draft!" She glanced back at us and continued, "My! You all look well today." I glared at her and thought, "Oh you know exactly how we look and feel... Don't lie to everyone." She cleared her throat, "Well now! The comity has arranged a speech before you all leave."

This time an elderly man waddles onto stage. He begins to read the speech and I began to doze off. So do the rest of us, but then we snapped out of it and were split up into the corps. Some went to the Navy section, some to the Marine, some of them went to the Air Force section, and I stayed with my friends in the Army area.

Everyone starts reciting their creeds until it comes to the Army one. We all speak loud and clear, "I am an American Soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American Soldier." There's a moment of silence and then everyone in the crowd begin to clap and some began to cry.

I sighed in relief that the creed was over. I'm not much of a public speaker. There are more long and boring speeches given by the adults and elders about The Draft. I just want to get this over with.

Finally it's over and we head towards the trucks and load up. I'm sitting on the truck holding onto my stuff and I sit there silently wishing I was back home. Julianna looked at me and tried to smile, "Hey, at least we'll see our dads." Abby was silent... Her father died and her mother received his uniform, his medals, and his dog tags later on. She also received the American flag that was folded into a triangle that every family gets whenever a family member dies.

I patted Abby on the back, "Hey, it'll be okay... Maybe your dad isn't there, but we're all practically family... Right?" Abby nodded, "Yeah I guess..."

Brenda started singing a song like she usually does. She's only doing it this time to cheer us up. Some starting singing along, and I just kept the beat.

Later we get off the trucks and head to a train. We get on the train and I look at Ashlynn, "So, what are you thinking about?" She sighed and looked up at me, "Home." I nodded and understood. One word is all it took. Home. We all were thinking about home.