Chapter 12

A Chapter by BrynnaW.

Yes, I was ready like never before. My face was stern, my jaw was set, and my eyes formed a glare. This was my chance to help not only one person but thousands or perhaps millions. Slowly, my feet came to a halt at the front of the poor church. There were several other people waiting for the truck-like jeeps to pick us up. All of them were men to my disappointment. Would I meet any women? I wondered. Several men glanced my way but none of them spoke. We all stood facing the tar scarred road. The wind gently blew on the trees which made the leaves rustle like wind chimes. I closed my eyes and let my hair blow around me. A smile came to my lips, something that was rarely seen with me. I studied the men behind me… There were no smiles upon their lips. I frowned. This is how it would always be; frowns. I understand that it is nearly impossible to smile when you’re joining the army and a war is going on but you can at least find something to smile about.

Three truck-like jeeps pulled up in front of the church. I grabbed my bag again and prepared to board. Shortly after the cars were all parked, a tall, skinny man that wore several stripes on his arm stepped out of a car to greet us. He eyed us proudly but he did not speak. Instead, the man motioned for us to get into the cars. I walked to the one directly in front of me while the men walked to the cars at the back. I couldn’t figure out why.

In the car, I was surrounded by men. Luckily, they seemed to have showered before coming. They didn’t talk to me nor did they talk to each other so there was an awkward silence in the vehicle. We didn’t know exactly where our training was taking place; we just knew that it would be several hours before we reached it. The car began to move and we were on our way. I did not look back and I really don’t regret it. There was nobody on the road and nobody to try to look through our car’s tinted windows.

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