Through the Open Window

Chapter One

The minutes were hours, the hours were days, and the days were years. No one knew how the tide would turn. The British hatred of America had been re-ignited due to an American battleship mistaking a British passenger aircraft for an enemy drone. The passenger aircraft was shot down. The British Parliament was angered at the US murdering of 100 innocents, and ordered a British submarine to destroy the American battleship. A century of peace had been destroyed merely due to a misunderstanding.

Technological advances caused the casualties on both sides to rise to incredible numbers. Due to this, the American government had to do the unthinkable: lower the age of when someone became an adult. The age of adulthood became 16. This meant more and more teenagers could sign up for the army, and more soldiers meant greater victory. The British Parliament soon followed, but had a greater turnout for teenagers wanting to join the army than the United States. The United States had no choice but to resort to a military draft. The government pursued able-bodied individuals over the age of 16 and forced them into the military if their family could do without them. Thousands of families were torn apart from their beloved ones, but the government always says, “The sacrifice of your children will end the struggle”. But, of course, people could still voluntarily hand themselves over to the Army. That is what Jackson did.

Born in New York City, Jack always had a poor relationship with his father. Jack was a free-spirited individual. He loved to make his own decisions and never listened to anyone that could hinder him. His father was one of those people. Jack’s father would always stop Jackson from pursuing what he wanted to do. Heated tensions often arose between Jackson and his father. The fighting often upset the mother and Jack’s younger sister by one year, Toni, and his older sister by two years, Jessi. When Jack turned 16, he and his father had a massive fight. Vulgar language was said and things were thrown. Jackson finally had enough. When everyone was asleep, Jack wrote a goodbye note to his sister and his mother, slipped out of the house, and signed up for the Army. He was sailing for Great Britain in the morning.

And Toni watched TV every morning and every afternoon. Her TV was on the same channel every day: Wounded or Dead Warriors. This channel had a list of the wounded or dead army members scrolling up the screen. The wounded names were in red and the dead were in grey. She scanned the slow moving names every day and afternoon, looking for Jack’s name. When the power went out and Toni missed one day, she was unable to sleep. Toni always wanted to know if her brother was okay or if he was coming home without a leg or in a casket.