Toy Soldiers

chapter 2

⚠️warning: a couple of gruesome details, not too bad though ⚠️

---Years later, Anna, one of my friends says hi---

One night changed his life and turned his world upsidedown. The day he was shipped off to war, again. He thought he was finished with war for a little while at least, after being in 3 overseas missions and 38 US operations, but no here he was being shipped out for his fourth overseas mission.

Sorry, let's do a recap shall we. On everything that has happened in those years passed.

Peter is now 17 years old, he still has his same friendship group (minus 1) as when he started training, though it has expanded to include Will Solace, Leo Valdez and Charlie Beckendorf.

Charlie kind of just stuck with his brother, Leo to make sure he was coping okay.

Peter has been promoted to the role of Corporal. A role that takes between 6-8 years to work up to.

They promoted him because they found that he was essentially a born leader. He worked well, maybe even better under stress and was very likeable amongst his team and new recruits (albeit he could be strict when needed).

Peter had seen a lot in his years of service. He had seen soldiers training and accidentally injuring each other sometimes to the point that caused their collarbone to break so badly that it broke through the skin (don't ask, it's better if you don't ask). He had seen men and women crumple under the high standards set by the military and he almost did himself, but he held it together and became stronger mentally because of it. He had seen thousands upon thousands of dead bodies, from those that were gassed, to those who were shot, to those that had their neck snapped over a fence post (also don't ask, Peter has enough flashbacks to days in the war, he doesn't want to remember that day too).

War is a terrible thing. War is a destroyer, it is the very opposite of what most countries need but is still there because no other solution was found.

Most teenagers don't appreciate how terrifying and gruesome a war zone actually is, they see it on a video game or a movie and think 'this isn't even bad, I don't know what they're complaining about.' (A/N not having a dig or a go at teenagers, I am still one myself and will be for about a year and a bit more. It is just for the sake of the story that these sentences were written and this in no way reflects my opinion)

Peter knows exactly how horrendous war truly is. Before enlisting, he heard stories from Uncle Steve, Uncle Sam, Uncle Rhodey and his Dad, stories that were probably played down on the violence for his benefit. But nothing ever matches up to actually being in the fight.

He was constantly looking over his shoulder, keeping an eye out for people trying to kill him as well as keeping an eye on his team, making sure they weren't in danger or worse.

He witnessed the death and destruction that war caused in cities that are struggling. He had to recover the bodies of some of his closest friends from when he first joined the army a couple of years earlier, albeit they were years older than him, but they still treated him like family and their deaths will always be on Peter's mind.

They never failed to include him in their f*cking around, well, as soon as they got over the whole 'you're still a kid' thing. The group quickly became a family, just as Mr Walker said.

He witnessed innocent people suffering from poverty and other issues dragged away to God knows where. He saw suffering, death, torture all in the matter of a few months each time (this time, 3 1/2 to be exact). It was shorter than some of the other operations he'd been on but still as terrifying.

Then he received some news. When he got back to the tent that was set up on the edge of no man's land after doing his rounds checking on his troops (he didn't need to, but he found that it helps everyone out if he goes and just sits there to listen to anything they want to tell him. It helps Peter too because it gives him more of an idea of the kind of people his troops were and different strategies he could use to use their talents effectively on the battlefield), there was a letter addressed to him waiting in his pit (bed).

Dear Corporal Barnes,

We thank you extensively for your service in the Army. This letter has been sent at a notice to say that you have been allocated leave (furlough) for a period of 1 year 6 months minimum to allow you to finish your senior school studies.

We found that it is important for you to have the chance to finish highschool if you wish to. You will be called regarding your return approximately 5 days after your graduation.

Details:

Departure from zone: 0800 Tuesday 4th of September 2017

Arrival home: Wednesday 5th September 2017

Regards,

Scott Hamish
Commanding Officer

Peter couldn't believe it, after 2 years of dedication to his country, the 17 year old was finally going home again to see his family. It wasn't just for a month or two either, he was excused for a year and a half so he could finish high school and then re-join the forces when he was done.

His class was a quarter of their way through grade 11, their second last year of high school, which means that when Peter got back home, he would only have a year and a bit left of schooling before he was finished. Scary, right? He can worry about that later though, he's going home!