The Return Home

We were on top of the building, well hidden, watching the soldiers carefully. I was using the binoculars, and my friend was using the sniper rifles' scope next to me. Without breaking focus, she shook her head slightly, speaking to me quietly.
"Andrea, I've got a bad feeling about this... Why would they have any reason to be staking out this abandoned town, let alone this building?"
I shrugged slightly, also not looking away from them.
"I don't know, Lyaina... But there's a purpose for everything these guys do, so let's just wait it out, alright...?"
Right now, the soldiers weren't really doing anything, just speaking to each other.
I suppose this moment of inanimacy is as good a time as any for me to explain ourselves. You see, Lyaina and I are part of the Wolverines... Or, well, we were. but we left some time after we joined... Or I did, at least, and she followed. and I'll admit, the reason I left... It wasn't the brightest. Or even the "noblest". But after what happened; what I did, what I saw... I don't think I could've brought myself to stay with them much longer.
-*Time Shift*-
Andrea and Lyaina were back in Spokane on leave from their assignment in Iraq. Or, at least, that's how Andrea viewed it. Lyaina thought differently.
She nudged Andrea, for about the fifth time that night, and smirked at her.
"Hey, look, you've got another unobstructed view of him."
She nudged her back, laughing a bit.
"Lyaina, stop! I told you, we're here to enjoy the game, and nothing more."
That's what she insisted every time Lyaina made a comment, but in reality, every time Lyaina pointed him out, Andrea did look for Jed quickly. And everytime she saw him, she would allow for a small smile to pass her lips, for wich Lyaina always nudged her. This time was no different from the others, either.
The truth was, Andrea, Lyaina, and Jed were all stationed in Iraq, Jed for a little while longer than them. But, they were part of the same Platoon, and even lived in the same town as kids. But Jed dismissed himself for leave early for reasons unknown to them, and when Andrea learned that he had returned to their home town of Spokane, during their next chance to take leave, that's where she dragged Lyaina off to. And that was one of the reasons they were at the football game now, because Jed was there.
"Oh, look, look, Mattie might get some yards!"
Lyaina shook Andrea's shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked at the field, and saw Mattie running, unobstructed, towards the other teams endzone. She looked back down at Jed, and he and Mr. Eckert were cheering just as wildly as the crowd. She looked back at Mattie, joining in on the cheering. He made it, they all screamed, and the band played their fight song. The game seem like it would go well from that point on; the Wolverines had the lead. It really did seem like nothing could go wrong.
But it did, in more ways than one that night.
By the end of the game, the Wolverines had Lost 14-17, and they received quite a few snide remarks and gestures from the opposing team for it. Leaving the stadium now, Lyaina stretched, putting her arms behind her head.
"Alright, alright. You've gotten your fill of Jed tonight. Can I go home now?"
Andrea looked at her, and laughed.
"What? What are you talking about? I told you, we came here for the game, and nothing more."
"Oh, so I CAN go home? No other plans tonight?"
"Huuuh? Go home? Ly, come on, we've been to the school; we were students here once too. The game is nothing compared to the "afterparty"!"
She rose a finger at Andrea, stopping her from going any further.
"Ah-ah, correction. We were STUDENTS at the school, but we were BAND KIDS at the games; we rarely attended those after parties."
"Yeah, but NOW, we're Marines. Part of the armed forces. We'll have plenty of respect!"
She rolled her eyes at Andrea, but didn't say anything. She laughed, putting an arm around Lyaina's shoulders.
"Come on, I promise you, it'll be fun!"
"Yeah, yeah, let's just go... So you can catch more sights of your crush already."
She started running away, laughing, and Andrea started chasing her, laughing as well."I've already told you, it's not like that!"******
Eventually, they got to the bar, and it was true; many of those who they just saw at the game were there. Andrea looked at Lyaina with a grin.
"See; win or lose, these guys always raise their spirits with a little "Spirit"."
Lyaina laughed, then, seeing someone, she nudged Andrea with a smirk.
"Yeah, whether they're on or off the team, eh?"
She pointed, and And Andrea looked; there stood Jed at the counter, speaking and laughing with someone. She tried to remain indifferent, but a smile still spread across her face.
"Y-yeah, so it would seem..."
Lyaina pushed her forward slightly, urging her to go talk to him.
"Come on, get your butt over there! Seeing you like this is almost too painful to ignore!"
But she twisted away from her, shaking her head.
"No, no, I can't. He's already talking to another girl."
"Yeah, well she's leaving now. Let's go!"
Lyaina grabbed Andrea by the wrist, dragging her along. As they got closer, they passed the girl who had just been talking to Jed; she just took a fry from a booth where two boys sat alone, "teasing" them. Andrea took this chance to slip free from Lyaina's grip and sat in the booth across from the boys.
"Hey there, guys."
They stared at her, wide eyed. The kid with the darker skin spoke to her first.
"Uhm... Are... Are you speaking to us...?"
Andrea looked around them in a false fashion, like she was looking for someone else.
"Well, now that you mention it, I think you ARE sitting on my invisible friend there."
They almost looked, but Lyaina stopped them.
"Hey, calm down, she's just playing with you. But she DOES have to get going to someone else?"
She gave Andrea a look, and she held up a hand, signaling for her to calm down, as the two boys looked at each other amazed that such women were taking the time to stop and talk to them.
"Hold on, hold on. I just want to give these guys a little tip."
Now, the other kid spoke.
"R-really? Uh, a tip about what?"
Andrea supressed a laugh at their eagerness, and went on.
"That girl that just took a fry from you? There's a trick to being able to pick up a girl like that."
"Really!? How?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but Lyaina, leaning on the table, spoke first.
"Yeah. The trick is by joining the Marines as soon as you're out of High School and coming back here on leave, looking awesome with new muscles and stubble."
The two boys looked at Lyaina, somewhat distressed, and also stunned. She laughed, and Andrea shook her head.
"You guys, don't mind her-"
"Oh no, you should totally mind me. Because, if you're lucky, you'll have some deranged female from your school days who will join the Marines as well, trying to chase after you, but never having the balls to actually come up and talk to you-"
Now, Andrea looked at Lyaina fully; partly insulted, but mostly worried. She gave her a pleading look.
"Lyaina!"
The boys now looked between Andrea and Lyaina, but now they actually looked like they were beginning to believe her. Andrea sighed, looking back at the boys, but still glancing at Lyaina nervously every now and again.
"O... Okay, fine... Whatever... It's nice to meet you guys, my name's Andrea. Andrea Wilson."
She stuck out her hand, and they both shook it, the dark skinned one speaking again.
"Same here; my name is Daryl Jenkins, he's Robert Kitner."
Andrea nodded, then gestured to Lyaina.
"I see. And this is Lyaina Hill."
Robert nodded to her.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"The pleasure's all mine."
She bowedregally, and they all laughed.
"Okay. Well then Dre, you can stay here if you want, but I'll be getting a drink now."
She nodded, and Lyaina went off to the bar counter. Andrea looked back to Daryl and Robert, and could tell right away that they were trying to keep themselves from saying anything. She sighed.
"Alright guys, come on. Don't be shy; you goy questions, just ask 'em. I don't bite usually."
They looked at her, then at each other. Finally, Robert spoke up.
"Okay, well... We're probably the only two people in here who aren't getting spoken to; why'd you choose to speak to us?"
She leaned back in the seat, putting a finger on her chin thoughtfully.
"Well, you know... Open seat, trying to escape certain doom, all that jazz. Next?"
She looked at Daryl, and he spoke up.
"Well, I don't think I've seen you around town before; are you guys new?"
She shook her head, but still bit her lower lip, hesitant to answer.
"No, we... We're on leave... From Iraq. Ly and I both lived here in Spokane."
"Really? Then maybe you know Mattie's brother Jed? Jed Eckert?"
"A-ah, oh... Uhm... I..."
Just as she was wondering how she could've possibly answered, Lyaina called for her from the counter.
"Hey, Dre! Get over here, quickly!"
She stood up quickly, making a mental note to thank Lyaina later.
"Oh, sorry guys, be right back!"
They shook their heads.
"No problem, don't worry about it."
Andrea, careful to avoid being seen by Jed, got over to Lyaina, sitting next to her.
"What, what is it?"
"Look. At the TV report."
They both watched it now, silently.
"There have been recent sightings by North Korea and Russia of a massive Air Force preparing to take flight. The US worries that this fleet may be heading towards Europe, North America, and many other countries part of NATO-"
But the program stopped brodcasting and switched to static. Soon after, the TV and the lights suddenly went out. Though the rest of the Bar cheered, Andrea and Lyaina looked at each other worridly.
"Should... Should we tell Jed...?"
After a brief hesitation, Lyaina shook her head.
"No, he's around too many other people right now... We can't start a panic... Let's just go home, and see what happens for now."
Andrea nodded, and they both got up, leaving the bar quickly, going to their homes, anxiously waiting for morning to come.*************