THREE

Chapter 9: The War Montage

                                                          PART TWO

     Well, you’ve made it halfway through the book!  Congratulations!  I hope you are enjoying the story and that you understand these characters a little more.  There will definitely be more character development to come.  How do I know this?  Don’t you remember who I am?  I see the past, present, and future!  Anyways, as you know, Emmet Robinson has gone on quite a journey in the past eight chapters.  He’s gone to the past, preventing President Lincoln’s death; he’s gone to the present and has seen his dead wife; and now, he is about to be in the middle of an incredibly disastrous war.  Emmet will soon discover the consequences of his actions.  Will Emmet ever find his destiny, and most importantly, will he be able to save the world in time?

            Of course, I know the answer to those questions.  But you’ll have to continue reading to find out yourself…

*****

Emmet was pacing outside of his destroyed house trying to comprehend everything that was going on all at the same time.  First the tablet, then the time machine, then Abraham Lincoln, then the changed present, and then the dead body of his wife.  How did this all happen?  The overload of confusion started to overwhelm Emmet.  His head was starting to hurt.

Suddenly, Emmet’s thoughts were interrupted by the piercing sounds of gunshots in the distance.  Emmet covered his ears and quickly fell to the ground, terrified.  Was he in the middle of some sort of war?  Before he could even fathom what was going on, a huge explosion blasted near Emmet, sending him backwards.  Full of fear, Emmet ran away as fast as he could. 

After a few seconds of running, Emmet bumped into a man quite taller than Emmet.  He was wearing a green military outfit full of medals.   He had a stern face and a muscular body.  His fists were clenched, looking like he was ready to punch someone.  His eyebrows were large and bent downwards most of the time.  Emmet could hardly see his eyes.

“What are you doing, shrimpy?  Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a war?!?  Now get out there and do us proud!” the man screamed, with a hoarse but strong voice.  Though the man never said it himself, Emmet presumed he was the General of the Army.

“Uh…uh…I’m not a soldier, sir,” Emmet said, timidly.

“Not a soldier?  NOT A SOLDIER!!!  DO YOU THINK I’M STUPID, SHRIMPY?!?  Every male Westerner is a soldier!!”

Westerner? Emmet thought to himself.  Then, he remembered the old man in the abandoned building.  Easterner...Westerner…Are the East and West at war?

“ARE YOU DOZING OFF?!?” screamed The General, interrupting Emmet’s scattered thoughts.           

“Sorry, ma’am-I MEAN SIR!  Darn it!  I’m really not making a great first impression, am I?”

“No, no you’re not,” The General said, now calmer.  “Here are your weapons.  We got an M24 sniper, an M2 Browning Machine gun, a bunch of grenades…and I think that’s about it.  Wait a second; you’re not in uniform, shrimpy!”

The General took out behind his back a green uniform and a military cap for Emmet.  As quick as he could, Emmet put the uniform on.  There was an emblem on the uniform that was very unfamiliar to him.  “What’s this emblem thing?” asked Emmet, noticing that The General was looking all around the area, making sure there were no enemies in sight.

“Oh, that thing?  That’s the symbol for our army: The Westerner Military Assembly.  I’m surprised you haven’t seen it before.”

“The Westerner Military Assembly,” Emmet repeated out loud.  “Um…Can I ask you one more thing?  What is this whole war about anyways?”