Hey, SoS here. Strange fact: I've had this chapter done for a week now, but I am only NOW posting it here. Why, I have absolutely no idea. Anyway, here it is.
Seriously folks, comments? Yes, I am a comment whore.
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Disclaimer: I do not own this stuff, etc. etc. etc.
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Chapter 5: Life Choices
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The two arrived at the recruitment station too early, apparently, so they were forced to wait outside the building until somebody showed up. No one made it common knowledge that even army recruiters like to sleep in. They had nowhere else to go though, so they figured they decided they would just wait there until someone showed up.
"Allison… I need to know…"
There was a short awkward silence before he continued. Apparently he didn't know quite how to put what he wanted to say. He must have decided to just forget about the wording and ask her, because he flinched and shook his head just before he continued.
"Why did you kiss me, just now?"
Allison didn't respond. She know herself, in reality. True, the two did refer to each other as "boyfriend" and "girlfriend", but even with all of the time they spent together, things never really became romantic between them. Leon had made attempts in the past, but they were declined each and every time. He had always wondered just why she was always avoiding him in that sense.
Due to this unexplained separation of sorts, Leon's suspicions made themselves known time and time again. He had thought that she was cheating on him, or using him for his money, considering that she was constantly borrowing money from him, without ever repaying him. His suspicions about the money were put to rest for a time though, once Allison finally told him the truth about her family, and that she was working at numerous jobs just to keep herself and Marcus alive at the time. Leon was easily able to put her debts aside after hearing that story. He still wondered why she was so distant at times though.
"Still time to turn back if you want." Allison said. "I won't hold it against you if you do."
"Forget it. I'm coming with you. Don't try and convince me to do otherwise."
They both went back to being silent again.
The area all around them, especially the recruitment center, were covered in patriotic Blue Army flags. The hawk and two swords: the very symbol of the Blue forces themselves. The war was always a hot topic those days, supporters of both the red and blue sides, feeling so much hatred for each other – sometimes not even for their actions but simply for the fact that they support the side opposing theirs. In fact, some people didn't even know what the armies were fighting for, or what they supported, but they supported the war all the same. The difference of color alone was pitting friends against friends, and tearing families apart.
Suddenly, the two heard the door being unlocked from the inside. It opened, and a man in a military uniform peered out. The man eyed them up and down, and then glared at them, as if he was disgusted by their appearance. "You two joining up?" he asked.
They both nodded in unison, and the door was then opened. Upon entrance, there was a bit of surprise. Unlike what they were expecting, the Blue Army recruitment building didn't have all that much to it. There was the one main room that they had just entered, with a few desks and computers in it, and then a few back rooms behind closed doors. A recruitment officer sat at each desk, apparently waiting for the first applicants of the day to arrive.
The room, as expected though, was covered in even more Blue flags than the outside was. They were probably placed there to try and enhance the applicants' patriotic feelings towards their cause, just in case any of them got cold feet when they walked in the door. It was almost sad, actually, just how desperate the army seemed to be to get new recruits. It was common knowledge that the Blue Army already outnumbered the Red forces. The difference was so great, in fact, that they Reds actually started the first army draft in almost two-hundred years. According to the news, even though some reluctant Reds didn't want to join the army, they didn't try to escape their drafting, only due to the fact that they hated the Blue Army more than joining itself.
Allison and Leon shot a quick look to each other, and then each proceeded to a different desk. The questionnaires they both had to answer were surprisingly brief. Just a quick description of their names, ages, and all that.
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'Mother's maiden name…" Allison thought to herself. She knew her mother's last name, which was hers now, but she never knew if that was her maiden name, or one gained from a marriage. She assumed the worst, considering she was put up for adoption. Jenna had taught her as a child, that people sometimes do desperate things at desperate times. Adoption definitely seemed desperate to her, so there must have been an important reason. Allison had decided in her own mind that her mother must have been young and confused, as most parents are who consider adoption as a choice in these matters. With that unofficial information, she placed down "Beth" for that question.
All of the questions for her father though, were somewhat more difficult to answer. She had never known, or even heard about her own father, so the answers didn't come so quickly. She considered Marcus' name, since he was her step father, but she preferred not to have her name affiliated with his in any way ever again. There was little choice though, considering she was told not to leave anything blank, but it pained her to do it. Each letter of his name that she wrote brought back more hatred for him. Allison had been raised by Jenna to be calm and understanding of most people, but with her death, and after living with Marcus for as long as she did, a large portion of those lessons were lost.
Surprisingly, the rest of the questions flew by with complete ease, after those. So many memories came forth, with just two questions. She was expecting more, but to her relief, that was all the re-living she was going to do that day.
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"Leonard L. Church…" Leon repeated to himself mentally, as he wrote it down on the questionnaire he was handed. He cringed each time he had to write down his name, and clutched the pencil harder in his grip. That name had always irked him, even when he was still accepting his parents' demands. It always sounded so fake to him, like his parents named him that for the mere purpose of trying to make him sound more important than he was. Each thought of his parents sickened him once his lifestyle started to change; the way they dressed, the way they spoke, even the way they sat drove him crazy. He had tried in the past to accept them, as he wanted them to accept him, but their very selves repulsed him, how they thought they were so much better than everyone else around them. It was when he recalled these memories that he was actually glad that he was joining the army. He would never have to deal with those two again.
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Allison's recruitment officer read over her information as he typed it into his computer. He paused once he came across the portion with Marcus in it.
"I see your mother re-married?" he said, making sure.
Allison was stunned by his question. The mistake was understandable, but she never even considered what that would be like. Samantha Beth, the woman who left her on the Open Arms' doorstep, and Marcus, the self-righteous, overbearing drunkard who had ruined her life for the second time, together? The very mention of it was inconceivable. At least on one hand Allison didn't know Samantha enough to hate her, but she definitely had some sort of resentment towards her. With Marcus, there was no question, but it was dumbfounding all the same.
It was a good minute before Allison responded to the officer.
"Oh- No," she said, "I was adopted."
"I see." the officer said.
"I see?" she repeated to herself in her head. Was there a problem? Does it matter that she was adopted? She could still get in to the army, couldn't she?
"Is there a problem?" she asked, nervous.
"No, no problem." he responded, reassuring her. "It's just that I don't hear much about adoptions these days. I didn't even think there were any orphanages around nowadays."
Allison thought to herself, "Idiot…" and responded to him. "Yes, there are."
"Well, I suppose you're living proof of that."
"No thanks to the orphanage…" she thought, as she gently placed her hand on the scar on her leg from one of her many escape attempts.
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"And final signature here," Leon's officer said, as he nearly finished up
Leon just then spotted out of the corner of his eye, the man who had greeted him and Allison at the door a few minutes ago was now peering at him through the door of one of the back rooms.
Leon turned to his officer as he finished writing down his name. "What's his problem?" he asked, nodding in his direction.
"Oh, don't mind him" he said. "He's just been stressed out recently, because his brother's been giving him a hard time about him work for the Blue Army. Y'see, his brother's a Red."
"Wow, that's got to suck." Leon said.
"Yeah, this whole war is really getting to people, breaking apart families and all..."
Leon was suddenly reminded of his parents, and his family. What will they think when they find out that he's gone? Would they even consider the idea that he'd be in the army? Probably not. They'll most likely think that he just ran off like any other "humiliation" of a child, and won't be coming back. At least they would be happy, Leon thought.
The officer continued. "You know, his kid looks a lot like you. We don't get many kids who look quite like you in here. Why are you joining today? Be honest."
Leon gave a quick glance in Allison's direction, and then back at him.
"You serious?"
Leon nodded. "We both have our reasons to want to get out of this town, and she says she has reason to join up. I figure as long as we're both aiming to get out of here, I may as well stick with her."
"Joining the army to stay with your girl…" he said, almost stunned, "You got guts, kid, I got to say. You're crazy, but you definitely got guts."
His words of praise didn't mean much to him though. He was caught on the "your girl" part of what he had said. Could Allison really be considered "his"? They had only just that morning had their first kiss, after all.
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"So tell me," Allison said, "just how quickly can you get me out of here?"
The recruit officer looked puzzled by her question. "In a hurry, are we Miss Beth? What's the rush?"
Allison scanned her brain for all possible answers she had given in the past. "I have my reasons" wouldn't fly too well with an official person such as this, and saying "none of your business" wouldn't exactly be the smartest thing to say either. She wanted to tell him about her mother, but he would only suggest to look through their records. That wasn't good enough though. She had to see her with her own eyes. Suddenly something came to her; something that just seemed to pop into her head at that very second.
"It's always been a dream of mine to kill for a living." she said with a sly grin. "I have no real training, so I figured I'd join the army."
The officer laughed at her joke. "A mercenary, huh? That's pretty funny."
Allison was relieved that she was able to kid her way out of the question. There was no truthful response that she could think up at the time. The second she answered though, of course, she finally came up with quite a few answers she could have gave instead.
"Well, it seems you're in luck." the recruit officer said, as his fingers typed furiously away at the keyboard.
Allison arched an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"Because", he said, looking up at her from his computer with a grin, "the very next ride out of here is today."