Author's Note: The reason why the publish date changed is because I removed the story and now I got to republish it. Nothings changed so either that's good or bad.
CHAPTER ONE
Jason Michael Gunner opened his eyes. He was in his bed in a small town called Tanoak, Ohio on Friday, October 14, 2198. He reached to set his alarm off, which was roaring at exactly 6:00 am each morning. The bed groaned as he got out of bed and then looked around at his room. They were full of Marine Corps. posters and pictures of his dad in the marines. He wanted to be a Marine so bad when he grew up. His friend, Brad Carter, wanted to also so they had made a pact when they were younger. "If one joins, the other will too," they had said. He looked in the mirror and saw a black haired, built kid. His hair was short and he had blue eyes. When he was getting ready his mother called, "Breakfast is ready!" He yelled back, "OK," and finished getting ready.
When he went downstairs, his mom and dad were already eating. "Good morning, mom, sir." His dad has always required him to call him sir, but that's the only thing he required. Most dads from the Marines treat their family like they would treat other Marines below them. His dad was like any other dad except for the 'sir' but he never makes his friends call him that, but Brad does anyway. "Hello, Jason," they replied. "Look at this," his dad said. He was reading the newspaper, as always in the morning. He wanted to be updated on what was happening in the war. Right now the US was fighting against terrorist on the Atlantic Ocean, and as Jason scanned through the article titled The War's Coming, he saw, 'Leader has more power than ever' and 'Terrorists pushing closer to the east coast' and one that really caught his eye, 'Captain Marcus killed'. "But sir," he said, "Isn't Captain Marcus the guy you worked with?" His dad nodded solemnly. His face was pale and he stared ahead at nothing. Captain Marcus, at the time he had been Commander Marcus, with his dad, Commander Gunner. They had trained together and became promoted together. They were best friends, but when his dad had retired, he had been promoted to Captain and he was shipped out to war. He and Jason's dad kept in touch briefly, but this news had not reached him. "I'm sorry," Jason murmured. His dad nodded again and continued to eat his eggs. "I wonder how Linda's taking it," his mom asked. Linda was Captain Marcus's wife, and Jason knew she would probably be taking it hard. He then noticed that his dad was deliberately trying to cover a small article in the bottom right hand corner, but he didn't pry. He ate his breakfast and when he noticed it was 7:00, he told his parents goodbye and went to meet Brad at the corner.
Brad was a heavily built kid, with blond, cropped hair and brown eyes. He was easily several inches taller than Jason and all the girls found him attractive. He was already there and he greeted him, "What's up, Gunner?" He then noticed Jason's expression and then asked, "What's the matter?" Jason looked up and replied, "Captain Marcus was killed yesterday in the war." Brad's eyes opened up in surprise, "The guy that worked with your dad?" and when he nodded he said, "That sucks, how's your dad takin' it?" Jason shook his head, "Terribly, he barely talked at all this morning." Brad was silent then he looked up at the sky, and murmured, "I wish I could be out there." Jason nodded and replied, "Come on, we got to get to school." They turned and started to walk.
When they reached his school, Tanoak High School, there were already kids there. He and Brad walked up to a small group of his friends. There was Mikey Willings, a tall, brown haired, brown eyed teen who was 15, Kyle Linard, an average sized, black haired, green eyed 16 year old, and Jacob Dotten, a tall, redhead with brown eyes and he was 17 years old. Brad and he were 16, two more years then they could enlist for the military. "Hey, what's up you guys?" greeted Jacob. "Nothin' much, did you guys read the newspaper this morning?" asked Jason. Mikey nodded, "Yea, I did. I heard about Captain Marcus and I knew he was tied in with your dad, I'm really sorry." Jason smiled, "Thanks, my dad isn't takin' it too well though. I hope he's better after school." They all nodded and went to go inside as the first bell rang.
Jason's first class was English with his teacher, Mrs. Kimz. Brad and Jacob were in this class too. They started out as usual, Mrs. Kimz passed out the current events sheets and they went over them like every Monday this year. But something was different today, that's what Jason found out as he scanned the newsletter. He saw the article on the war and the news of Captain Marcus, but there was something else. He then figured out what article his dad was covering, the article titled, Military Lowers Age Limit to Enlist. He read it and saw the new age limit, sixteen. He gasped and looked up at Brad. Brad was staring at him, wide-eyed and his mouth hanging open. "This is our chance!" he mouthed. Jason said nothing and re-read the article. He just couldn't believe it. Brad's right, he thought, this is our big chance. Mrs. Kimz's voice snapped him out of his trance, "Jason, Brad, I want to see you after class." He looked up at the teacher. What did he do? He chanced a glance at Brad and saw him staring at her now. She looked at both of them and continued on.
When they finished with current events, they reviewed what they were reading and so on, but Jason's mind was somewhere else. He had so many questions. Will dad let me enlist? Even if he does, will I? Why does Mrs. Kimz want to see me? He was dreading the end of class, and when the bell rang, he and Brad stayed behind. Mrs. Kimz walked over to them and sat down in front of them. She sighed and muttered, "I don't know where to begin." Brad coughed and dared to ask, "Mrs. Kimz, are we in trouble?" She looked up, "Far from it, but I have to tell you something." She sighed again, rubbing her eyes. The bell to start class rang, but she said, "No, stay." She gave her head a shake and she said, "I know Captain Marcus died and that he was friends with your dad, but Captain Marcus, Shane to me, was my older brother." Jason and Brad just gaped at her, not knowing what to say. Then Jason found his voice and asked, "Why are you telling us this?" She narrowed her eyes, "You really want to know?" And when they both nodded, she answered, "I already answered part of your question, Shane being friends with your dad, but I know you saw the article saying that the age limit was lowered so you could enlist today if you wanted to. Also my son, David, is out training to go to war. What I'm trying to say is that this is a huge decision that can alter your life forever." She paused and looked out the window before continuing, "There is no going back once you decide to go. I know you both want to go, but please think about it, it's a dangerous decision, I'm sure you know that after reading the article on Shane." She sniffed and murmured, "You may go." Jason and Brad exchanged glances and slowly left the room, and as Jason looked back, he saw a single tear streaming down Mrs. Kimz's face.
