Children of War - Chapter 2, Bon Voyage
Chapter 2 - Bon VoyageJeffrey's POV I couldn't take it anymore. I closed my eyes and wished that this had never happened. But I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened them. My parents were still alive, and there were no signs of bullet wounds.
"Dad! Mom!" Tom and I dropped the guns and ran for them. We hugged them tightly. They were tied up and on their knees so we had to get on our knees ourselves to hug them, but I didn't care. They were alive, and that was all I cared about.
"They're blanks, kid" the bull smiled.
I looked angrily at him. "Why did you make us do that!?" I shouted. I began crying. "You're a monster!"
The bull grinned and spoke, "if I can make you kids do that, just imagine what else I can make you do."
Those words sent chills down my spine.
"Load up the trucks! We're heading off!" The bull ordered.
"H-hey... You can't do this! We live here, we pay taxes and everything!" My father spoke.
"You listen now; we're at war, and your children look like good candidates for the job" he replied.
What the hell did I just hear from them? Candidates? For what!? To go to war? To be shot and killed? My father taught us that war and violence brought out the worst in furs, and that we should try to avoid it in anyway possible.
"B...but, we pay our taxes!" Dad started crying.
"Taxes won't cut it! If you want to live in a safe country you'd better damn well fight for one!" He shot back. He got right up in his face and said, "you better be lucky I'm not sending you out there!"
My father started tearing up, along with my mother. "I would rather go out there than have my children go out there!" He screamed back at the bull.
The bull pushed him against the wall of the barn. "Trust me... No you wouldn't"
I immediately felt scared. Knowing that my father wouldn't even dare do something that I am about to be forced to do, only makes me rattle inside. I looked over to my left to see Tom crying, he was so scared. The bull then picked me right up off the ground with only one arm, and I was frightened.
"Let me go!" I squirmed.
"You look like you could gain a few pounds" he dropped me.
I got up and brushed myself off. The bull then ordered his soldiers to take Tom and I away... But I didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave my parents and my home, I just wish these soldiers would leave us alone! Why do furs have to fight!? Why can't we all just get along and live in peace!?
The soldiers took Tom and I forcefully, and he didn't take it so well. Tom screamed, squirmed and yelled at them. He was also crying louder than I've ever heard him cry before. I knew there was nothing I could do, so instead of resisting, I simply submitted myself.
I was placed in the back of a truck, but Tom was thrown in the back the truck.
"There's no point, Tom. They're stronger than us" I admitted.
He immediately wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly, was so afraid. He was afraid of losing everything, his home, his parents, and possibly even me. But I was afraid too, I was afraid of losing my family and my home... But most importantly, I was afraid of losing my mentality and serenity. I didn't want to see myself in ten years as a Raccoon with so much blood on my paws, I didn't want to feel what it's like to take one's life, I didn't want to come home and forget what I was... What innocent, loving, caring and forgiving Raccoon I was.
I don't want to be a monster.
The soldiers slammed the back doors of the truck shut, and proceeded to board their vehicles. Tom and I looked out the back of the window, with tears running down our cheeks. My parents were standing there, devastated.
The engine of the truck fired up and the vehicle began to move. All I could see was my parents and my home fading away as the truck moved further and further away.
The truck ride lasted for three hours. We were silent the whole time. I don't know if I will ever see them again, but all I could do was hope.
The truck stopped, and two men came opening the doors... I wouldn't even use the term "men", as they were boys. They only looked a little older than me, but these two huskeys were soldiers.
Tom and I climbed out of the truck. Looking around me I could see a fenced-in compound, with armed guards at the gates and on watch towers. There were mesh green tents on either end of the compound, each filled with soldiers. At the center of the compound, there was a flagpole which held the flag of Florida.
"You two! Over there! Come here! Quickly!" That damn bull shouted at us.
Tom and I slowly walked over to him.
"Welcome! My new recruits!" He waves his arms.
We just stared at him.
"Now, these two young men will take you over to get measured for your new uniforms. Now, chop chop!" He ordered.
The two huskeys escorted us to a tent. This tent was bigger than the other ones, probably because it had all of the supplies. We walked into the tent, and to my surprize, I was correct. This tent had stockpiles of weapons, clothes and food.
We got measured for our uniforms, and then we were assigned to our tents. Tom was assigned to a different tent than me. I got slightly worried about him, about if he was able to cope with others... And how well he would get along with them.
As Tom and I parted, we looked back at each other. I was concerned for him... And it wouldn't surprize me if he was concerned for me. Back home, we always looked out for each other. But now, it's not going to be that easy.
I was escorted to tent D-3 by one of the huskeys, as the other one was escorting Tom. Hopefully when Tom and I are no longer fresh recruits we can wonder the compound on our own, that is... If they let us. Or we can just plot a way to escape this mess... But how? Getting out of this compound was virtually impossible! There were heavily armed guards at the gate, and by what I could see, there were also security cameras at the gates.
"This is your tent. Make yourself at home" the husky stated.
I walked inside my tent, and saw that there were four cots laid out on the sides. Two cots on the left, and two on the right, leaving a pole in the center as support for the tent. The highest point in the tent was about five feet and ten inches. For my height, it was perfect, as I only stood five feet and five inches. The cots ran parallel to the length of the tent, and at the end of each one, was a big wooden box, probably for holding my stuff.
However, I didn't have a lot of stuff, just the clothes on my back and my issued uniforms.
"The one on the far left isn't being used" came the voice of a kangaroo. He was the only other fur in the tent with me, and he only looked about a year older than me. Given that I was only fourteen, he looked to be about fifteen. But I was more worried about Tom, because he was only eleven.
"Thanks" I replied, and then made my way to my new cot.
"My name's Winterson, Private Charlie Winterson" he introduced himself.
"How long have you been here for?" I asked.
"About three months" he answered.
"I'm Jeffrey, Jeffrey Marx" I introduced myself.
"Welcome, Recruit Marx" he smiled.
I sighed and sat down on the cot. My life has changed so much today, and it was all for the worst.
"You're supposed to wear your uniform right away" he told me.
"Really? They didn't tell me that" I replied.
"Well, they don't tell us a lot of things around here. It's like they expect us to know what they're thinking" he said.
"Oh, well in that case I guess I should get dressed" I responded.
I laid out my uniform to have a good look at it. My uniform pants and overcoat was dark camo green, my shirt was a steady dark green and my boots were black as the night. On the upper left sleeve of the overcoat was the flag of Florida. My headdress was a dark green beret, with the seal of Florida on the front of it.
"Umm... I'm going to get dressed now. Would you mind looking away?" I asked politely.
"Get used to it, if you can't handle one fur staring at you when your simply getting dressed, then you'll have a hard time in the showers with fifty other furs showering at the same time" he told me.
"Well... Just the change rooms, right?" I asked.
He chuckled.
"W...what?" I got concerned.
"The entire shower is one big room" he smiled.
"...You're joking" I was really worried now.
"No. No I'm not joking. There's nothing you can hide here, so you're just going to have to get used to it. Hey, I'm used to it, it's weird at first, but after a while you just have your mind on getting washed" he replied.
"Does anyone get raped?" I asked.
"You only get it if you want it. You're not supposed to be fucking in the showers anyway, it's technically against the rules - but some furs do it anyways. I've only seen it happen twice over the span of three months that I was here. The guys who took us here want soldiers that can be combat ready and disciplined so they can fight for Florida, not some horny dipsticks who just fuck each other in the showers each night" he explained.
"So... I won't get raped?" I asked.
"Like I said, you only get it if you want it... And don't feel so insecure about yourself, our superiors want fearless soldiers - you can't be afraid of your own body" his point was well taken. But I was no soldier... At least, not in my mind.
I sighed and proceeded to strip myself down to my boxers, and then got dressed in the uniform.
Charlie looked at me and said, "see? Not all that bad isn't it?"
"I guess" I replied with uncertainty.
A moment later I could hear alarms going off, and over the speaker a voice called out: "All personnel report to the center of the compound in rank immediately!"
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Probably another training session, we have half the day off today, so we start later in the day" he said.
I walked out of the tent with Charlie, and followed him to the center of the compound. There were a ton of soldiers all gathered in different groups.
"Okay, I'm going to give you a quick run-down of what's happening. In this compound there are four companies, Alpha Company, Bravo Company, Charlie Company and Delta Company. Since you're in tent D-3, you're in Delta company, with me and the other two guys you haven't met yet. So follow me and I'll guide you through anything if you have any problems, okay?" He explained.
"Okay," I acknowledged.
My first day of military training has begun.