Chapter Two: War of Terror….

oh say can you see its really such a mess
every inch of earth is a fighting nest
giant pencil and lip-stick tube shaped things
continue to rain and cause screaming pain
and the arctic stains from silver blue to bloody red
as our feet find the sand and the sea is straight ahead..
Straight ahead...Well it's too bad that our friends
can't be with us today well that's too bad "the machine
that we built would never save us"

1983 (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)-Jimi Hendrix

"Dead. All of them, dead."

The moon shined brightly down upon us, giving me a slight glimpse of his pale face, of the crimson blood streaked on his skin. He stumbled slightly slurring his words to the point of incoherency.

"I need…"

And he collapsed against me, his weight nearly knocking me to the floor. I tried to hold him up, but he was too much so, instead, I sunk to the floor cradling him in my arms and rubbing soothing circles on his cheek.

"Your safe now, I'm going to take care of you."

I whispered as his eyes fluttered shut. Knowing that we couldn't stay out in the cold any longer for fear of hypothermia, I called franticly for help. But my eyes never left the face of the beaten soldier, the soldier that was nestled in my arms like an angel.

Dr. Allman had rushed out of the church doors, eyes flashing wildly as he searched for me and the cause of my pleas of help. When he finally seemed calm enough to see that I was safe, he hurried forward muttering curses beneath his breath.

"What happened to him?"

He questioned not even bothering to look up at me, instead his eyes assessing the man in my arms.

"I don't know he appeared out of nowhere mumbling like a mad man. He fainted before I could question him,"

I could tell that he was not satisfied with my answers, but he did not question me further. Instead, he nodded and grabbed the mysterious man, hauling him up and slinging his arm around the soldier's torso.

"Miss Odette, run ahead of me and prepare this man a cot, then bring me boiling water and some cloth."

My eyes drooped heavily making it difficult to reopen them each time I blinked. Exhaustion, I was so tired, but I wouldn't allow myself to sleep. Not until I knew if this mysterious soldier was safe, if he would survive.

"Melanie, dear. You need to sleep; you look as if you're going to topple over any minute."

Came the voice of Mrs. Allman, Dr. Allman's middle aged and kind wife. Turning ever so slightly from my staring, I gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, really"

She didn't seem to sure, but she knew arguing with me would get her nowhere.

"All right dear, but at least eat something. It will do you no good to starve yourself to death,"

"Of course, I will"

I promised before turning back to the object of my attention. It was difficult to get a good look at his face, since it was covered in bandages, but I could make out a prominent and aristocratic nose. His skin was unnaturally white due to the amount of blood he had lost, and his lips were no better. Blonde hair fell in curly locks over his forehead, too long for the current style.

In this condition, he was by no means handsome, but from one look you could tell that in good health he would be absolutely stunning.

I sat for so long staring curiously at his face, wondering what color his eyes would be, if they would look haunted like so many other men's eyes did.

Does he have a family waiting at home for him, a wife? Maybe she was with child and he was dreaming of rocking a baby back and forth.

His lips twitched ever so slightly, looking as if he was about to smile, but it turned into a grimace of pain and a cry escaped his lips. Without thinking, I grasped his cold hand, squeezing it ever so gently and whispering words of encouragement to him.

"Ambush…"

He mumbled quietly as he tossed and turned, sweat drenching his brow.

Then I realize it; he was having a nightmare, he was dreaming about the night he had appeared her, like a ghost. He was reliving the battle that had driven him here, weak and near death.

Horrible and unwelcome thoughts crossed my mind, like a deranged story that never seemed to end. All of the pain he must of went through, all of the people he had seen die; all of the people he had killed.

This man had taken others lives away, this man had killed—this man had murdered.

But he had been fighting for his life and for his home. He had fought for what he believed in. Maybe he had been drafted, maybe he didn't really believe in the Cause.

Maybe he held no beliefs of whether the war was right or wrong and just stayed neutral, like me. When he finally wakens I will ask him.

But what if he doesn't awaken? What if he stays in a nightmare filled slumber until he dies, slowly, from his wounds?

It saddened me to think of someone so young-someone that has barely lived his life-to die. And it angered me that someone, the north and the south, thought that this war was worth all of the loss and all of the pain.

Had this man ever had the chance to start his own life? Travel the world, raise a family, and love another?

To grow old…

A single, solitary tear leaked from my eye as I thought of all the things that he, or any other soldier, could miss, would miss.

And that's when it hit me; this man intrigued me like no other, he made me curious of the world and of life, and I didn't understand why. He was a complete stranger, yet he made me hope, believe that if he could survive this, then maybe I could too, maybe there was hope for the world and the war.

A/N: Phew, this chapter took forever! I'm really, really nervous about this one, it doesn't seem very good (to me, at least). But it was nagging at me and I just had to write something. Okay, I wanted to show what was going through Melanie's mind (oh, her full name is Melanie Odette (weird, I know but it was the only last name I could think of)), what she thought about the war, and her curiosity towards Jasper. She is really confused and is struggling with conflicting emotions, so she doesn't really know what she believes in (she is only, like, 17-18?) and she has lost a lot (learn more later on). No, she isn't in love with Jasper (at least, not yet) because I believe love is a lot more than just 'I saw him and immediately fell for him' (that's attraction, which is important to a point, but not love). She is just intrigued by him, why, I don't know; she just feels drawn to him.

Giselle (Jess)

P.S. I got 94% on my Exam! Yay! Anyway, summer vacation starts on Monday for my school, but I am taking online summer school (no, I was not forced because I'm failing, but because I am trying to graduate early), so my updates won't be any faster, unfortunately, but maybe a little slower. I will not give up on this story (I'm an Aries, so I'm stubborn and adamant)!

Long and boring authors note is finished:p