War Guilt [#Wattys2015]

Chapter One

United States Army Enlistment Booth, 1942

Maria

I walked into the U.S Army Enlistment booth, holding a yellow file close to my body. Every man I walked past smirked and stared at me, nickering disgraceful sayings and comments. A few of them attempted to grab me as I walked past, but missed every time.

Dirty pigs.

I walked over to the Women's Enlistment stand and placed myself in front of it. A blonde haired woman stood behind it, smiling as I got my files out. Her hair and makeup was done to perfection, a striking red lip completing the look.

"Hello," she said in a cheery, girly tone that I found extremely irritating.

"Hi," I replied back, placing my files on the stand for her.

She opened the yellow file and quickly scanned through the pages, glancing at me every now and then.

"Maria Gwen Brown," she read my name aloud, her tone suddenly becoming serious.

She looked up at me, comparing me to a picture that I'd included in my personal information. She put it back in the file and handed it to me.

"I need you to come with me," she said, walking out from behind the stand.

I followed her away from the general area and down a hallway. On either side of me were examination rooms for the men wanting to become soldiers. One of the curtains to a room was slightly open and I saw a scrawny, little man sitting on the bed.

You've got no chance buddy.

We eventually came to a solid door at the end of the hallway. The woman typed a code into the security device on the right side of the wall. I could've watched to remember the code but there was no need for me to do so. The door opened after the device processed what was typed into it.

"Follow me," the woman said, turning her head slightly to check if I was there.

She led me down a series of staircases and into yet another hallway. This one was made of concrete, keeping the space very cold. We walked to a steel door which opened as she stood in front of it. It revealed a room full of people at work. It was an office. The woman led me over to a desk that had two older men standing there, talking to each other. One was quite tall, dressed in the whole army uniform, and the other one was shorter and dressed in a suit. He had white hair that was thinning and all over the place.

"Colonel Phillips. Doctor," the woman greeted them. "This is Maria Brown."

"Hello," I said to them both.

Colonel Phillips spoke first.

"Ms Brown, welcome," he said, holding his hand out for me.

I shook it with a small smile. I then shook the other mans hand.

"Doctor Erskine," he said. I nodded in reply, turning my attention back to Phillips.

"I'm sure you're aware of why you were sent down here. Right?" He asked me.

"Yes, sir," I replied.

"Right," he took my file from me and scanned through it. "Well, welcome to the US Army, Ms Brown. I'll let Doctor Erskine take you from here."

I nodded as Colonel Phillips turned on his heels and strode in the direction of some workers.

That was brief.

I turned to face Doctor Erskine completely. I knew he was German, because of his last name and his accent. I wondered why he was helping the US Army take down his home country.

"Ms Brown-"

"Call me Maria," I told him. I hated it when people called me 'Ms Brown'.

"Maria- please follow me," he instructed.

More following?

I followed him as he turned around. We ended up in the first hallway that I was led down, the one with all the examination rooms. He directed me into one of the rooms and told me to take a seat on the bed. I did as I was told and sat there quietly, waiting. He soon took a seat in front of me, going through my file. He would glance up every now and then.

"Martial arts, horseback riding, survival training and basic combat. Seems like you wanted to be in the Army for a while?" He said in a question sort of way.

"It's not that, I just liked to keep myself busy. I learn quickly and retain information for a very long time," I explained to him.

"Well, I can guarantee you that you will be able to put those combat skills to use," he said with a smile.

"You're putting me in combat?" I asked, baffled.

He nodded, still smiling.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"You're one of the few women that have enlisted that could actually do it. You have the abilities, why should I put you in an office? You will train with a troop, starting tomorrow," he explained, handing me a pile of folded army uniforms.

"Thank you," I said, shaking his hand.

"Just one thing," he started as I went to walk out the room. "Prove me right about you?"

"Yes, sir," I replied with a huge smile.