Prisoners of War

by Kiamii

Note: I got an email from a reviewer last week who wanted me to try a story on this. When I looked into it, my mother told me she was in the 6th grade at the time and my Uncle was in the war as a soldier. I'm going to use Sodapop somewhat in place of my uncle (who is alive but, had left the war. He was drafted.) This story is Soda-central and Cherry Valence is included. My mom told me that they wore bracelets in school at that time. POW - Prisoners of War. This story is in dedication to the meaningless war which kills millions either literally or emotionally. If you have anymore information about the war, review and add to it. Thank you. To my reviewer; I had to tweak the ages of the two you wanted because I can't write about infants. It's a little more challenging to add an infant into a war story than I though, so they're slightly older.

Chapter One "Drafted"

Sodapop Curtis was many things; He was an older brother, seventeen, a greaser, a drop-out, a gas-station worker, a guy... But he was never a fighter. He loved his baby brother, Ponyboy, with all his heart and his older brother, Darrel, just as much. His parents had died a few years ago. Darry was trying so hard to be a parent to Pony who was still in school. Then, by trying too hard it had led to Pony running away and Johnny killing a Soc in a fight. If that weren't it, Pony and Johnny came back after saving a bunch of school kids from a burning church and Dally had saved Pony. Johnny and Dally had died later on after the rumble and Pony had gotten ill, mentally and emotionally scarred from the events.

It made Soda glad when Pony began to get over it, if only Soda hadn't turned seventeen a few days before the draft came out, he may have never been pulled into the Vietnam war. Never would he have believed that he'd be drafted into war. Yet, here he was with his best friend Steve, a soldier. The war was deeply still going on, fire after fire, and all the two best friends saw was blood. So much blood and many broken bodies. Many deaths surrounded them and Soda wished he was back at him, an arm around his little brother, soothing the boy's nightmare. He'd give anything to be there rather than here in Vietnam, fighting a meaningless war. He missed the gang so much.

A BANG sounded through the area and Soda ducked for cover. He turned and to his horror, saw his best friend lying there, bleeding.

"STEVE!" Soda yelled, running to his friend. Steve turned slightly and looked at Soda weakly. Soda lifted him up and dragged him towards the base, mindful of the mines and many bombings. His combat boots fell to the floor heavily. He heard his friend breathing very small and Soda could only listen to his best friend's breath run out.

"Stay Alive Soda...Pop..." Steve's last words reached Soda before his best friend since childhood dropped to the floor, dead. Soda felt himself tear up. NO!!! Steve couldn't! He... Just couldn't! Soda cried, covering his body and clutching Steve's bloodied shirt. He felt another soldier tug him off Steve, but not before Soda pulled the chain around the dead soldier's neck and tuck it into his hand. He left the tag that would always identify him as Steve. Like his friend wanted, to die at least with his name recognized on his body.

Steve had been dead for a few days and Soda had been taken back to base, taken out of the war battle for the meantime. The commanders did not want an emotional soldier fighting at that moment, so they sent him to another area where Soda was now in a city called Ho Chi Minh City. The city was a rather odd place, compared to his home with Pony and Darry. This place was rather tidy for a place under war... He was here to help with something called an Operation Baby Lift. Soda was completely stumped at what it was. He was with his friend Mark who had fought with him and Steve at the very beginning. Mark was about five years older than Soda, around Darry's age. Darry hadn't been drafted because he was already in hardship, a guy in his twenties taking care of a 14-year-old boy sure was a nice excuse.

"Hey Mark?" Soda began as they walked to the house they were meeting someone up with.

"Yeah Soda?" Mark asked.

"What exactly is the Operation Baby Lift?" Soda inquired, a clueless expression upon his face.

"Well..." Mark began and he launched into the story of something about the evacuation of thousands of Vietnamese kids being adopted around the world. Soda gulped, imagining his little brother all of a sudden. He was glad Pony would never have been put through that. The two soldiers reached the house they were supposed to meet a woman at and Mark knocked.

"Speaking of which, I found these two kids once, while I was sneaking. They were about two or so years old, didn't speak. They were all real quiet and I saw that General Liam guy leaving the area, a gun in his hand and those kids' family was all around them. I took them and gave `em to a bunch of the volunteers. This girl is the one who took them in and she'll be going back to America with them pretty soon. That's why Seargant McAda wants you to come here with her. You're gonna be leaving pretty soon, buy you and the girl will be here for a few more days I should think." Mark explained and Soda looked at him with hope in his eyes. Would he really get to return to America and not deal with this stupid war?

The door creaked open and Soda looked at the woman who looked awfully familiar. She had red hair and she was holding a little girl in her arms. The little girl was tan-skinned and had slit eyes that contained dark brown orbs. Her hair was brown and pulled into a pair of pigtails with small ribbons on them. She was real small and dressed in a dark red shirt with a jean skirt. There was a little boy that looked exactly like the girl with his features, dressed in a blue shirt with pair of jeans and a blue cap. He looked up at them shyly, clutching the woman's dress, though that wasn't why Soda was gaping at the woman in recognition.

"Cherry!?" Soda gasped out. Cherry looked at him before she looked surprised and she smiled.

"Evening Soda," She said, adjusting the girl on her hip who babbled to a stuffed rabbit in her arms.

"Well you two already know each other Miss. The names suit you two," Mark chuckled. Cherry Soda... Har Har, Sodapop mused and he glared at Mark who bid Adeu and left them alone after explaining that he'd be back in the evening.

"Well... come on in," Cherry said quietly, and Soda did just that.

Author's Note: I feel somewhat awkward trying this, but I'm gonna give it a go for as long as I can. I'm no History lover so this is hard. Soda'll be returning to the states soon and the gang minus Steve, Dally, and Johnny will be in there. If you like it and want me to continue, review and I'll try and work on it. Sorry if it sucked though. Yes I killed Steve, I honestly didn't know what else to do with him. Sorry! It's short because I didn't know how else to start it.