The Greene Effect - REWRITE!!

CHAPTER ONE - NORMANDY AND THE FEELING OF DISASTER

Amelia Greene -

Europe isn't at all like the movies made it out to be.

Maybe it is because it's ridden with a plague only cured by bloodshed, but either way, I cannot exactly see why authors and playwrights had romanticized the area. It is nothing but land. I stand in nothing but land.

Sure, I have only seen the U.K so far, and soon, I'd move into France, but there was a sort of gloomy feeling here. Too cloudy, too much rain. The rain was alright here and there, yet once it poured too often, it became a burden. Many shops and tourist attractions had been closed, and if not, bombed. It felt like every other day we heard those sirens. I still hear them sometimes, nothing but a distant dream.

The scenery is beside the point. I was not here to critique anything. It is only something I'd noticed. I had a lot of time to think, but, not anymore. I shouldn't have been thinking, anyway.

I've been fighting since '43. I started in North Africa and worked my way up to Europe. Now, France was next on our agenda, only across a small strip of water.

We'd start in Normandy, a small town close to the U.K. It was a beach town as well, which meant we'd be having to run through rushing water and sink our boots into mushy sand. I suppose that's what they were made to do.

But we weren't made to do this. I always found it somewhat odd how, as humans, we were meant to be the most intelligent beings on this earth. But even lions knew war was a dangerous thing.

But like lions create prides and few wolves run solo, we naturally gravitate to others, and cling onto even shaky hands in times of crisis. We were told in basic not to be completely dependent, but at times, dependency seemed like the thin line dividing sanity.

I met First Private Frank Aiello in basic two years ago. He was cocky, egotistical, and had a bias against almost anyone. I was the exact opposite. I thought I'd hate him, and for some time, I did.

Opposites attract, I guess. We became attached on the hip soon enough, along with a few others in our squad.

But that's in the past, and yet another sad story. With the day looming above our heads, I have to clear my mind for another one. There'd be plenty of other time to get into detail, anyway.

He has his flaws, though. I accepted all of them, for the most part, but a few I flat out refuse to excuse. I figured early on his worser qualities are only results of a patriarchal culture bestowed upon him. I guess being told you have to be a man and run your family yourself is a stressful life to live, but I wouldn't know, I've been too busy being a woman.

When another round of new privates came in, we met three other boys. They're younger than us, inexperienced like we were, and coming from drastically different backgrounds. The only thing we have in common is that we're a allowed casualty.

Stiles is as sarcastic they get. He has a witty remark for almost everything, and then an actual fact to back it up because I guess he's been reading dictionaries his whole life. He and Aiello are close, with a love language of bickering and mutual distaste for each other.

Zussman is cocky, like Aiello, but a lot more open with who he is. He has no shame in admitting his love for people. However, the lack of shame of emotion means that he will say anything that is on his mind. Trouble follows him like a puppy.

Daniels is the sweetheart country boy who hasn't done a thing wrong in his life. He's respectful and usually quiet. He does what is asked, and is always kind to everyone who came by. When honesty comes into play, I don't know much about him. Perhaps there isn't anything to him besides patriotism.