The Spoils of War

Departure

There was a sudden outbreak of warfare. A deadly violence between the United States of America and North Korea erupted. World War 3 had finally begun. A simple plea by the US government has travelled through all forms of the media, begging young men and women to join the military, the Army, the Navy, the Air force and the Marines so they can fight for their country. As many recruits as they got, they were losing soldiers faster than they could replace them. After hearing about the outreach from the government, Daniel Barnes signed up as a cadet for the United States Military. He was the perfect candidate, he was fairly built, agile, he came from a family history of soldiers and, most importantly, he had no family ties. There was just one person that held him back and that person was a woman, a woman named Sandra Granger.

June 24th 2019, the day he left. Sandra drove him to the airport for his flight to Michigan where he was to commence his final training. The car was silent but the tension in the atmosphere was high. When they walked into the terminal building of the airport, their silence was broken by Sandra’s sudden outburst of tears. “Daniel! Please, for gods sake, you don’t have to go through with this. Just stay with me instead. We can build a life together, a family, just like we have always wanted.” Daniel pulled her into his arms and hushed her. “Sandra, oh my dearest Sandra. Everything is going to be just fine. I’ll be back before you know it. Besides, this will finally give you time to complete those studies you always wanted to do.” A boarding call was made for the flight to Michigan. “I have to go babe. I will be back soon, I promise. Love you.” said Daniel. Sandra just managed to utter the words ‘love you too’ before Daniel left. The war had gotten worse. Deaths by the hundreds. The US had finally decided to kick into high gear. For a while after Daniel left, he had been keeping in contact with Sandra until the inevitable had finally occurred. Calls became less frequent, video chats were rain checked more often; even written mail had become almost nonexistent. Daniel was finally alone, he was MIA.