Chapter 29

A Chapter by BrynnaW.

That night was the worst. I barely got any sleep and I could hear someone in the room crying. It really dampened my spirits. After the long night, a general stepped into our room and blew his whistle as loud as he could.

We all turned uncomfortably in our beds. Someone actually fell out of their bed which made me smile. We dressed for some short and easy drills before getting breakfast. The next days were the same but after we had our first war, that would change. Erik began sitting with my friends and I and everything seemed to be okay. Soon, though, our two days were up. My group was in the cabin packing for the three day war. As I shoveled some clothes into a sack I had been given, Erik burst through the door. He hugged me tightly.

“You better be careful, Kit. Come back in one piece.” Erik held on.

“I will. But, I’ll see you in the morning, right?” I asked.

“No, you leave before light. Just, please, be safe.” He paused and I heard a whistle shriek along with a man yelling, “I have to go. I’m going to be in enough trouble as it is.” Erik gave me another hug before rushing out of the room. Aiden came up to me.

“He really cares about you…” He studied the packed bag in front of me.

“I know, I guess I’m a little tense.” I looked over at his bag.

Aiden put his arms around my waist from behind, “I can’t help but agree with him.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want you getting hurt, that’s all.” Aiden removed a piece of hair from my face.

“Basically, you wish I hadn’t joined the army.”

“Well, yes, but only because I’d rather you didn’t get hurt.”

“May I remind you, Aiden, that if I hadn’t joined the army, you and I never would have met?” I turned around and stared into his eyes with his arms still wrapped tightly around me.

“I know… Promise me you’ll be safe.”

I nuzzled my face in his shoulder, “You sound like my brother. I’m going to get some rest… You should too.” I gently removed his arms and settled into my bed. Slowly, I heard him crawl into his own. I couldn’t promise him anything. There was no way of knowing what would happen so I wasn’t about to make a promise that I could keep.

˚ ˚ ˚

There were grenades, dust, and gunshots. There was nothing I could do but lie on the ground, bleeding. I was alone but I could hear distant screams. Too far for me to reach though. Tears clumped onto the dirt next to me.

˚ ˚ ˚

Someone was shaking me and repeating my name. My eyes opened to find the pillow under my head wet. It had all been a terrible dream. Aiden, Harriett, and Evie stood around me with worry shining clearly in their eyes. I smiled slightly, got out of bed, and dressed for the war. No questions were asked which suited me just fine.

It was late morning by the time we arrived at… well, I don’t exactly know where. The sound of gunshots filled the air. Every soldier had fear showing clearly in their eyes. This had been my choice so whatever happened then was my fault, no one else’s. Was I prepared? No, but I knew that this was what I was always meant to do. The jeep came to a stop and my group ran out in a line with our guns in our arms. Aiden looked at me one last time before running off in another direction.

Four other people stayed with me, none of which were in my group. Not far off was a building partly collapsed to the ground that my small group made refuge of. Our guns waited patiently for a target to come our way. A sudden burst of shots dove into the wall covering us. I fired my gun as I ducked low to the ground. The shots stopped and I knew that I must have hit the person. My eyes closed; I didn’t want to see all of the blood but, if I wanted to continue this fight, I’d have to. My heart hardened after looking at a man’s mangled, bloody body. Lord, if you really love all people, then why did you let this happen? You are in control, right? My blood boiled viciously. Another soldier put their heavy hand on my shoulder. It was then that I decided to find another hiding spot for myself. I just couldn’t bear anyone else’s company.

Children all around were screaming. Why take revenge out on these poor people? A woman stumbled out of an old building in front of me. Blood leaked over her hands from a bullet wound in her side. My eye brows furrowed tightly as I ran past the woman and into the building. If they wanted revenge, they would have it. The AK-47 swept the area to make sure there was no one near by. Up above, someone screamed. Quickly, I ran up the flight of stairs. No one else should be murdered by these terrible people. A gunshot rang through my ears followed by another shrill scream.

Someone spoke but stopped abruptly. I, too, stopped with the fear that they had heard me. Bullets buried themselves into the wall next to me. I was forced to hold my breath as the men muttered something amongst themselves. Their footsteps faded away slowly. What should I do? Go up stairs and expose myself? I took a deep breath before I quietly made my way up the stairs. There was no one in sight besides a woman curled in one of the doorways with her arm outstretched. Blood poured from a jagged line deep within her chest. Her naked body was exposed to the world which fueled my anger more. I never had a chance to see if there was even an ounce of breath in her because the floor creaked from another room.

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