Demise of a Soldier

Matthew POV

That night, after completing the dishes and the laundry, I begin to write a letter to my brother, in this letter I plan on addressing why I'm leaving... a fake excuse of course, Jess may have cheated on me, but that doesn't mean I don't love her anymore. I wish she wasn't so close to me so I could hurt her in the end, though.

On top of writing an excuse of leaving, which shall be that I want to explore the world, and military service is the cheapest way to do so.

I shall also tell them to not expect me to go home, after all, I am going to war, and practically nobody goes back from that, except for liars, but I won't say that.

Even if I make it out alive, I'll probably go view the rest of the world, see how other cultures are and how the people look like.

While I write this down, I wonder if I should include something else, I don't like my brother anymore cause he has my former girlfriend's heart, but I don't hate him, after all, he IS my brother!

I decide that I'll give my 'Machine' to my sisters, they probably will forget me easier if I give it to them, after all, they are easily distracted by distractions, I should clean everything on it before I give it to them though... especially the search history... I quickly run upstairs to do it.

*

<18:09:06 - Timeskip, 45 Minutes>

I enter the recruitment office, with my clothes, a small amount of currency [I have never said the name, and now, I really don't care what you all call it.] and a knife, given to me from my brother, so he'll be with me, all along the way.

As I enter the person on shift, a man wearing the uniform of out town, a dark green long shirt and Khaki pants, looks up and starts to look puzzled, nobody volunteers to the army, after all its suicide.

"I'm sorry, are you lost young man???" Questions the recruiter.

"Is this the recruitment office? I would like to volunteer for my Town against the United Industrial Nations of the North." I respond, as calm as I could be, without any stutters of any kind, to my surprise.

"errrr... Yes, it is, but why are you volunteering? Everyone dies there. The only people who 'return' are either commanders or liars. Also, you seem a little young..."

Oh. That explains how these people don't really know too much about the fronts, they simply didn't go.

I go into my pocket and take out some of my remaining currency, "Is this enough?"

Any concern was changed into an emotionally neutral face, he grabs the money and says, "Welcome to the Autumnport Army, the troop transport shall take you to Basic Training tonight in about 30 minutes [12 AM sharp], just wait here."

I salute and sit down, waiting for the time to pass.

*

<18:13:13 - Timeskip, 30 Minutes>

Narrator POV

As the truck stops, the driver opens the door expecting another empty bus.

But he was wrong, there was one decently dressed young man, who seemed a little young, but who cares? They are all young, and this country needs all the 'volunteers' they can get! He chuckles.

"Get in kid"

"Thank you, sir" The lone man responds, moving to the back.

*

<18:17:17 - Timeskip, 6 Weeks (1 Basic Training Later)>

Matthew POV

Over the past few weeks we have learned to march, but that seems irrelevant since we're gonna live and die in trenches, we might as well learn to sprint, so we can charge faster. We also learned how to take care of our rifles, shoot them, and when you can, quickly pick up the dead comrades gun, you may be surprised how few guns we have. I already took one apart to see if I could make another one if I ever need it, andI think I can. If I had the materials I firmly believe I could. [Any person (Defined as an ordinary citizen) who thinks they can make a gun really can't, prove me wrong]

Aside from the more obvious things we learned, we also learned how to fight fist to fist [Kinda like Marine Hand to Hand combat] as well as a training regime that I'll probably keep for the rest of my life. It doesn't make you look buff or anything, just gives you speed and Endurance.

As the final test, last week we had to live alone in the marshes of Boggingsburg, several trainees died, either from grudges with other trainees or from collapsing from exhaustion, actually, most trainees died... why not just ship as straight to the front...

Anyways, words just arrived that I'm to take command of a Platoon, bad news is... well, its a Penal one, meaning I'm in charge of criminals... better get ready to put some discipline into them, make them one solid unit of prison- I mean soldiers.

*

<18:30:26 - Timeskip 5 Days>

I finally met my 'Platoon' today, and as I expected, they're a bunch of ragtag fuckers, but I wonder, should I drill them to the dirt and make them probably hate my guts, or do I just go lightly?

Well, lets just start with seeing how they do.

Seeing that they didn't notice me, I yell, "Attention!"

They all turn around and some laugh at me while most stop what they were doing and looked at me in the eyes, nobody saluted, but I don't want them to nor do I think these 'Soldiers' need to either.

I tell the soldiers that saluted to form a square, while pushing the rest who didn't listen into the enterior, I then tell them to run after me, I then get a real soldier, to drive a vehicle behind it at 7 mph and to run over whomever slacks off.

Call it radical treatment or what you like, but it works, spoken with true experience [Evil author laughs].

*

After a few minutes, I tell him to stop, I then say "Attention" and now nearly everyone is looking at me, satisfied I tell them to do 30 more laps around the track, and if I catch anyone slacking, I'll wake up that person early the next day, making them do 100 alongside me.

That got them going, by lap number 25 some woman walks up to me and says because she is a woman she shouldn't have to, she'll even give you a 'reward' for exempting her.

How the hell did she end up here? Was she a whore who robbed people? Autumnport must not be meeting their quota of required soldiers huh...

I tell her, "Sure you can have your time off. Your going to run with me tomorrow 100 laps, right?"

She looks at me in horror, "n-n- No! Please No!"

"Too late, your my running buddy now! Don't worry, some people will be joining you soon enough"

*

At the end 2 men and 1 more woman will join in tomorrows mornings jog.

*

<18:56:38 - Timeskip, The Next Day>

After running that refreshing 100 laps [I sound like Guy sensei... *Face slaps later* ok I feel better]

"Ok cadets, time to learn how to shoot a rifle accurately and quickly"

"Sir! We aren't cadets!" Yells this grizzly man.

I snort at him, "You are until you are better than me at these drills, which means you shall not have any freedom until you can best me in something on these grounds... and you survive one battle at the front of course," I say.

*

<19:32:51 - Timeskip, 6 Weeks Later>

Ok, I think I finally got them into shape, I fine force if I say so myself...

Enough to call them MY soldiers, enough for them to throw their lives for their country, oddly enough the best soldier there was that woman who approached me for a break, she has probably ended up much better than me, at least I know if I fall I'll leave this company in good hands.

She does seem a little touchy and close at times though... not to mention its not rare for me to wake up in the showers, covered in sweat and my comrades laughing about something and when I ask they say, "Nothing."

Truely peculiar...

*

As I walk towards the commanders post, I notice that it is conveniently placed close to my Platoons training area, nice.

As I enter the room, I salute and say, "Commander of Autumnports 3rd Penal Platoon, Lieutenant Matthew reporting, sir!"

He motions me to sit and asks why I'm here.

"I'm here to request that you send my platoon to the front, my solders are getting anxious for their emancipation, they want to go before the end of this week."

The commander looks like I've gone crazy, but says, "We are going to charge the lines tomorrow, be there" He pulls out of sheet of paper and stamps a seal on it.

He then does the custom of handing me a whistle, and a Flare gun, loaded with 2 shells.

I salute and exit to tell the news to my soldiers.

*

I walk up to our encampment and hear a yell, "Lieutenant is near"

Everyone stands up, I grin, I don't know what I did to deserve them...

"Ok soldiers, this is an important announcement. We, the 3rd Penal Platoon of Autumnport have been charged with charging at 5AM tomorrow, the 7th of Saturnus."

*

Narrator POV

That fated day, the 3rd Penal Platoon of Autumnport, alongside with 4 more Platoons charged the No Mans Land.

At precisely 5AM Matthew blows his whistle and raises his flare gun into the air, firing it. Starting the operation.

Because of the noise from the whistles, the UINN knew exactly when to detonate the charges that they dug beneath the trenches, enveloping most of Matthews platoon into dirt... forever into darkness....

And this is when Matthew runs into a Black Screen saying:

<Simulation Ended, Beginning Life>