Bettina Hanson

Marshall

I awoke to somebody's hand on my arm. Opening an eye, I saw most of the plane was empty.
"Hey, Marshall it's time to get up, we are getting off the plane." Emil said, nudging me more. I grumbled and stood up, stretching. I gathered my belongings and soon followed Emil off the plane. We were in a different state now, far away from Michigan. We made our way to the luggage claim and got our bags.
"What do we do from now on?" Audwin asked, looking around. "I'm not so sure.. I think we are being picked up. We will be taken to different bases though... so hopefully we'll end up together." I smiled. I could tell neither of the other men thought we would be together. We seemed so close.. even though we met last night. On a loud speaker our plane flight was called saying, "Flight 33465, please make your way to the South exit." I took a deep breath and started walking. I looked around at all the other men from our plane. A large portion of them kept quiet, going wherever the crowd went. The other ones were talking, trying to lift up spirits and acting like things were going to be okay. Although I knew we weren't. I saw big double doors, with the sign: SOUTH ENTRANCE/EXIT. 
"Here we go.." I muttered, looking at my two friends and giving a hopeful smile.

***ALS POV***

I lay in bed, thinking of all my childhood memories with Marshall. I was there for all his birthdays, all our graduations, the death of his parents, and everything in between. We'd always be there for each other.. and now, who's going to be there if he gets hurt? My breath became shaky as I began to think about him getting hurt. I couldn't stop. The thoughts were consuming, taking over all my senses. Images of war flashed through my head. And there he lay, dead... the man I loved. Ever since I met him, he felt so special to me. I turned to look out the window. The stars glistened from above as they erased all the bad thoughts. I looked at the biggest and the brightest, whispering to it, praying to it, hoping Marshall will be alright.

***BETTINAS POV***

I couldn't sleep. I missed daddy.... Maybe he'll be here when I wake up... Yeah! He said he'll come back soon.. so he should be here tomorrow. Maybe I'll get up extra early to make him breakfast. I was looking out the window and noticed a big star. "Look at that one!" I smiled and pointed up to it. Speckles opened an eye and looked out the window as well. "Maybe that's grandma and grandpa looking down on me! Telling me daddy will come home!" I smiled and closed my eyes. A sharp pain came from my side.. but I ignored it. I couldn't wait to see daddy tomorrow.

*Time Skip, brought to you by: a sad five year old mind.*

My mind was forced awake. I stretched and rubbed my eyes awake. Sitting up, I remembered daddy was going to come home. "Daddy!" I whispered. I jumped out of bed and threw the door open, running into the kitchen. Speckles followed close by, nervous of what was going on. I went through the cupboards to find pancake mix but there wasn't any. "I.. I can't make daddy's favorite breakfast for when he comes...." I stammered. I burst into tears. "I don't want daddy to get mad!" I wailed. I heard a door open and fast footsteps run closer and closer. I fell to the floor, crying harder. "Bettina? Bettina... Bettina! Whats wrong? Why are you up so early?" Al asked worriedly. He picked me up.
"I can't make daddy's favorite breakfast for when he comes home!" Bettina cried. She felt embarrassed and ashamed for crying in front of her father's friend. "Bettina....." Al whispered. "Your dad isn't coming home for a long time... Maybe he'll come back in a few months.." He carried me back to my room. "A couple months?" I repeated, growing sadder by the minute. Al sat me down on my bed and brushed my hair behind my ear. He sat at eye level with me and frowned. "I'm sorry Bettina.. but for awhile you'll live with me. Daddy will come for visits.. maybe a week or two every nine months."      Al explained why daddy had gone... even though daddy already told me. But I didn't care. I just wanted to see him again.

***MARSHALLS POV***

Our large group of men stood outside in front of four military vehicles. After awhile, a man in uniform came from each truck. One Army, one Navy, one Air Force, and one Marines. The first started calling out names. When a mans name was called, he went into the truck.                                     "Audwin Phillips." The man called. I looked at Audwin, his face was pale. "Be careful buddy... you'll be in our hearts." Emil whispered. Audwin stepped forward and walked towards the truck. He turned to look back at us and disappeared into the truck. A lump froze in my throat as I watched my friend look back at us with sad, scared eyes. "He'll be okay." Emil whispered into my ear.
The army truck was soon full, it drove away. Next came the Navy truck. Neither Emil or I were called. Next was Air Force. Emil had his name called first. He looked at me and smiled. "Hopefully you'll get called too." He patted my back and started to walk. 'Oh no... Please don't go..' I thought as the names kept being called. "Call my name.." I whispered. "Marshall Hanson." The man called. My name... My name was called! I quickly straightened my back and fast-walked to the truck. I searched for my friend.. and found him all the way in the back. "Marshall!" he cried and made room for me. "I thought you'd never be called!' I smiled and sat with him. "Now we're together..." I said. And for the first time, I felt hope.
***************************Hey guys. So I'm going to clear some things up at the end. So what happened was during the draft, the General(s) looked for men with high IQ's and school scores, jobs, etc. Each man in the group had his own specialized job for in the military. So for example, Audwin was fit to be in the Army. and both Marshall and Emil were fit to be pilots. (yes I know air force isn't just being a pilot)
But the story is not almost done! I have an amazing ending and there will be probably 10-15 more chapters. But I hope this story is still interesting. I know I only made this for Bettina but for all the others reading, I really hope you guys like it.