MUST READ: This fanfic does not revolve around World War II, but WWIII. However, to not cause confusion or misunderstanding, I'm using the same countries as it was in WWII for my Allies and Axis. Be in no way offended - I'm not targeting any country and there's nothing personal. Please, if you are upset about this arrangement, don't write hate reviews and keep your thoughts and comments to yourself. I welcome criticism and story suggestions, but I recommend that everyone keeps it polite. This story may have a rocky start but I promise it will progress into a better fanfic later on. In case you didn't notice the M rating, I want to emphasize that this story will have a lot of verbal abuse (it relates to the setting and mood however) and graphic descriptions, so please be warned. Things will get disgusting (torture scenes, battle scenes, etc.). There will also be racial slurs (Japs, Chinks, Cracker), and I'm extremely sorry if you're against these derogatory words. I am as well, but for the sake of making this story as realistic as possible, I will throw in a minimal number of them here and there. Again, please do not think any of this reflects what I as an aspiring author believe to be right, as I am far from doing that. Thank you for your understanding. Other than that, enjoy! P.S. I'm rarely this formal... I have no idea why I was in the first place... Anyway, I don't bite! ;)

Note about the characters: There will be a LOT of development for Clary. She might seem like a weak, judgmental girl in the beginning, but trust me, she's far from it. Later on it really shows. Please be patient with me and my terrible character portrayals - I'm not super good at writing fanfics and I'm more used to writing completely new novels. :( Bear with me, though, I promise you won't be disappointed! Many of the characters will hopefully stay the same, as in with the same personality as found in the original TMI books, so... Yay?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

WAR BREAKS OUT IN FLORIDA.

My spoon falls into the bowl of cereal. Disbelieving, I snatch up the paper from off the table and press the words to my eyes. Florida? Panic wells up within my chest and with a mouthful of milk and Cheerios, I yell, "Hey, Mom, where did Sebastian get sent off to again?"

"What, honey? I can't hear you!" Jocelyn replies from the second floor, and I sigh before repeating louder, "Did Seb depart for Florida last year?"

"Yes, I think so. Why?" A loud crash from above makes me wince. Gods, when will my mother ever learn to take care of herself?

I get up with my unfinished breakfast and dump the remaining contents into the sink. The New York Times goes into the trashcan in the cupboard. "Nothing, Mom, I was just wondering. He's coming back for a visit next week though, right?"

"Right..." Her voice trails off at the end absentmindedly, and then suddenly perks up with, "Clary, you remembered your pictures and posters? And your brushes?"

I'm pretty sure she isn't referring to my toothbrush, a much more conventional item to bring than paintbrushes. But nonetheless, I'm glad she at least pays some attention to my hobbies, or perhaps she'd only noticed because she herself obsesses over art. I grab my suitcase and carry-on bag and sling it over one shoulder. It already seems like a tonne, and some part of me wonders how on Earth I'll ever be able to survive military training.

Ever since World War III erupted, all students aged 16 and up have to trade summer camp for training camp all the way in chilly Canada, where there is more than enough space to house several million shivering adolescents. I don't particularly have anything against this idea, maybe because what we learn there might save our lives, but at least the government could've shortened our school year to allow some sort of break in between. Even spring break and winter break are devoted to camp, and I honestly wonder when university kids get to see their parents. That's why I'm begging the war to be over by the next two years when I finally get shipped off to college - that and because war is war. "Yeah, I did. There are leftovers from yesterday in the fridge if Valentine doesn't make it back home at night and when I'm gone, please don't use the stove."

"What about baking? Can I bake?" The words have just registered in my brain before I automatically think back to the last baking incident, where my mom had burnt the entire oven into charred metal. The smokey smell had stayed for two weeks.

"Maybe not, Mom. If you want cake, ask Dad to buy some from the bakery, okay?" I wait for the noise of confirmation and once I receive a hum of acknowledgement, I close the door. In frustration, I mess up my hair with my hand and jump on the spot a couple times before walking off the porch and heading towards the bus stop. The house looks so lonely from the end of the street. Large, but lonely. Valentine's away for most of the year with his war duties and all that crap and Sebastian's off fighting on the eastern coastline of Florida, leaving only mom and I in the four-story mansion. We hardly get a chance to have a family reunion, and the last one was all the way before Seb was towed off by his group of 'friends' to join the actual military, a year ago. I look back wistfully before boarding the bus and once I find a seat and the bus pulls out of the street, I pull out pencils and my thick-papered notebook sketch a rough picture of my brother on the first blank page.

Little did I know it would be last time I saw him.

Hey everyone! Thanks for checking out my story and if you have any thoughts, feel free to put them into a review.

Why Canada? Because I live there and I want to keep my story in a place I know well.

You might have also noticed the shortness of the chapter and the reason for this is because I want to update often and keep it short and sweet. I used to write really long chapters and it felt as if I wasn't progressing fast enough with each chapter (I tend to either give too much description or too little). Anyway, this story will probably have a lot of chapters due to each one's length, but I'm not completely sure what I'm going to do with it. I know the beginning, middle, and end, but nothing in between. If you guys have any suggestions, shoot.

Again, thanks for reading!

-RtMiP