Yo! Sup', beeyotch! 'Dis be my Gundam story, dawg! Ok! Fo' shizzle!
Gundam:
The dark era:
Chapter 7:
Letters home:
The next morning...
Fex woke up to Taylor shouting "Letters! Letters! You got letters to write to your friends, family, and your sweet hart back at home! Get cracking!"
Fex felt the cold slap of paper on his face.
"Get working, Anderson."
Fex let the paper flop into his hand's. He stared at it blankly for a second, then he took a pen from his desk and started writing.
Dear Diz and Mena...
Your older brother is doing fine. How are you doing? Anything interesting happening in school? Either of you found any cute boys? Are you keeping your grade's up?...
Fex paused. He found it awkward that he actually wanted to know this stuff. He actually wanted to know how school was going. He remembered going to school and wishing for there to be a fire so the school would burn down and he wouldn't have to go. Why did he want to know? He needed to get off that subject. He thought of the next best thing.
You know what? This war thing isn't as bad as some people say it is. The worst part is the training, which I'm sure is just there to completely make war seem awful. I haven't seen many battles yet, but nothing leads me to believe that war is as awful as the pacifists tell us. Yet...
Fex paused again, then wrote.
I still don't want you guys joining the military. It's still far from what I'd call 'fun'. I'm going to use a lot of big words now, and I'll tell you when you're older. My captain, captain Howie, is a rapist, drug trafficker, arms dealer, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's not all he did. Our commander is a sadistic maniac. And there are a bunch of crazy mercenaries running around that everybody hates. I'll be fine though. Don't worry about me. Just do well in school and stay off drugs.
Love...
F.A.
Dammit, Fex. He thought. Keep off the school subject.
Kat had got her paper and wondered what to write to her mother.
Dear Mom...
You have no idea of the horrors I have seen. You have no idea what kind of horrible, terrible things I've seen and have even taken part in. Yes, we went through some bad times when I was younger but we pulled through. I'm worried what this war will do to me. I'm worried how I'll change through this war, if I even survive. I'd hate to come home and only be a shell of what I used to be. But I can imagine it. You'd open the door at the sound of the doorbell, and you'd me. No, you wouldn't see me, you would see a ghost. I'd look like one of those thin, decrepit prisoners of war. I don't want to think of your face, the pain in your face. No, I won't let it happen. I won't let you get hurt. If I should start to look like that, I will never let you see me. It would hurt you. I don't want you to be in pain.
She started crying and whispering the words as she wrote them.
Mom! I miss you! God! I won't let you feel the pain! If that should happen, I will shoot myself and put you out of your misery! Mom! I'm scared! I don't wanna go insane! Mommy! Help me!
She couldn't write any more. She jabbed her pencil into the paper as her crying intensified and created an ink blot. Then she folded up the paper and tried to regain her composure.
The entire base had assembled at the mess hall to send and receive letters. There was an exciting air, just like kids on Christmas morning. Treize and his assistant's were handing out mail to the eager soldiers who crowded around them.
The members of the J.T.M.S. watched this from a safe distance while waiting for their name's to be called.
"Who's this? 'Maccy', addressed to tank company B. Who's is this?" Treize called.
"Mine's, sir!" A stocky young man with a crew cut replied.
"Who's this from?"
"Probably my girlfriend, sir!"
"Oh. Well, that explains it." Treize remarked. The group of soldiers in the mess hall laughed.
Kat came out from the quarters.
"You're late." Howie scolded.
"Yeah, I know."
"It's not like it's the end of the world." Chris said, trying to console Kat as well as score some extra brownie points with her.
"Shut it, Chris." Lee countered. Chris flipped him off.
"All of you, shut the fuck up." Rapter concluded.
Fex turned around and looked at Kat. Her head was drooped over and she held her folded letter with both hands. Fex swung his head over to get a good look at her face. Her face was misty and red, just like she had just been crying. She noticed him looking at her but didn't look up at him. He gave her a smile to raise her spirit's.
"Fex Anderson!" Treize's voice sounded like a clap of thunder. Fex snapped out of it. He turned and waddled through the crowd to exchange letters.
Meanwhile...
A C.A.T.E.R.P.I.L.L.E.R. was slowly making it's way down the road, towards the crash site. When it got to the crash site, the soldiers spilled out and headed toward the pilot, who was slumped against the wreckage, reading something.
"Are you all right, sir?" The squad captain asked. The pilot didn't answer. "Sir?"
The pilot finally answered, but it probably wasn't the answer they were expecting.
"'Once upon a time...'" The pilot read. "'There was a man. The man was very unappreciated. He was made fun of at work. In his spare time, he collected dolls. He was what you would call, a pedofile. One day, he payed a visit to the park. And to the children he said...'" He began to giggle before he said. "'Hey, kids. I want to fuck you all!'"
He closed the book and began to giggle uncontrollably. "Did you like it? I wrote it myself!" Then he began to laugh insanely.
Back at the base...
The letter exchange had ended. Everyone was heading back to their quarters.
"Does anybody know where Fex is?" Rapter asked.
"Ah. Said he was going back to his room to read the letter he got from his sister's." Lee answered.
"Why couldn't he have waited out here like the rest of us?" Howie grudged.
"NO!" A yell from the crowd said. "NO! GOD DAMMIT! NO!" There was a man running through the crowd flailing his arm's and crying. Then he fell face first on the floor.
"Whoa! Whoa! What happened, man?" Chris asked, putting his hand's on the man's shoulders.
"God damn drunk driver...Fucking flattened my kid sister...Oh, God! Dear God! Help me! I wanna' go home! I wanna' go home! I wanna' go home!"
He started repeating that over and over again. Suddenly, Kat sprinted for the barracks.
"Kat!" Rapter called after her.
Kat burst through the front door of the barracks screaming.
"FEX!"
"Hmm?" Fex mumbled from his bed to the right of Kat.
"Fex, are your sisters all right?" Kat asked, to which he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Oh, no reason..." But Kat noted that Fex still did not seem very pleased. "What's wrong, then?"
Fex pointed toward the television set. On the news, there were some very shocking images. An entire space colony had been destroyed.
"Oh my god. You would need a pretty powerful weapon to destroy a colony."
"Yeah. You're acting strange, Kat. Maybe you should get some sleep."
"Yeah..."
The rest of the squad came through the front door.
"Dammit, Kat!" Rapter yelled. "When I want you to stay put, I expect you to FUCKING STAY PUT!"
"Yes, sir..."
"Fex..." Rapter tossed something to Fex. "You got another letter."
Fex began to open his new letter.
"Real smart, Kat." Howie scolded.
Fex unfolded the letter and looked at it.
"What does it say?" Kat asked.
Fex read it to himself and his face changed from confused to even more confused. He lowered the letter and looked at the television screen. Then he looked at the letter again.
"What does it say?" Kat repeated.
"It says 'Just a taste of things to come. Love...Mom.'"
!I didn't know that was coming, did you? In your review, tell me the emotions you felt during this chapter.