Shades of Azure

Farewell

Jessica was spending her last hour in the bungalow house in Australia, Sydney. She walked around in her blue leggings and black converse boots. She could hear her elder brother, Jonathan, leave the house. She met him in the morning during breakfast, before mum and dad left. She hasn't said  a proper goodbye, but did it matter? Jessica knew she won't be meeting her family anytime soon. Never, was the right word. Jessica gave a look at her packed trunk, filled with paper, a few clothes, some leftover food from last night's dinner and a survival kit, of flashlights, pocketknives, matches and cloth. The grandfather's clock downstairs chimed an annoying twelve o'clock.                                        It was time. the moment she's been waiting and preparing for the whole six months. Time to be a warrior, a loner, and a survivor.

A tall man dressed in khaki and army boots was waiting for her at the door.                                                      "Are you the last one?" he said in a deep  gruff voice and Jessica nodded. "Answer properly, please."     "Yes Sir." Jessica gulped, as she walked of the broken veranda, off the porch and towards a camp truck in front of her house gate. She gave her house a sad look, smiled and walked away. The man followed behind her, he kicked the pot plants and cracked the fence. Jessica hated him immediately.

"Hey there. You must be Jessica. Number sixty two." a woman said, she was in maid clothes. "Come with me." she led Jessica through the big truck, there were only a few people. About sixteen.                    The woman gave Jessica a waterproof overall, a swamp green color, with lots of pockets. "Leave your belongings at the boot. We'll be at the ocean in half and hour."                                                                                The woman gave me a warm greeting smile and nodded at me with a pat on the back.  We were going to Navy Group. I know Jonathan was going overseas. Mum and Dad must've been separated by now.  Mum was going to Land Camp, in the outbacks, near Ayers'. Dad was going to Navy too, but in New Zealand Seas. I only got to know today, on the day.

The were patrons at the boot entry, they held up my trunk and tossed it in the boot before I could even take another look at it, the only thing I probably still owned. It was a mushy feeling, to be honest.

The tall man was calling out attenance. I wonder if Jonathan or Mum and Dad went through the same thing. Calling out numbers randomly.           

"Sixty-Two?" he called out. I was staring into space, well, at the ceiling of a cargo truck. The man gave an irritated look at us, the guy beside me nudge me. 'Huh?' I shot him a look, then I saw Khaki man, glaring at me. The guy beside me also glared at me. But maid woman gave me a friendly welcome .       "I'm Jessica." I told the guy next to me. He glared again.                                                                                                     "No. You're Sixty-Two. No one uses their born names anymore. It's just numbers. I'm Twenty-One." he said. So, today I met three people, Maid Woman, Khaki man and Twenty-One.                                                    

Everyone heade to their cramped bunks, where I found my number, a small drink and a thin blanket and pillow set.

There was a skinny pale girl in the bunk parallel me. She had the number Forty-Seven taped on the back of her overall. She was quitely sobbing on her own. If she was sad, I guess I could be too.                     "Forty-Seven?" I asked her, and she rolled around and sitting up. She wiped her eyes on her blanket and smiled at me. I stared at her. She was being nice? I almost thouggt smiles were extinct by the time I met Twenty-One.      

"You new?" She asked and I nodded. I held up my number and she shook her head, "Don't bother them wretched numbers. I'm Colleen. Just don't call me that in public." she smiled again.                             "I'm Sixty-Two. Jessica, I mean." I said. Colleen rolled up her blanket.                                                                         "Need help taping that up? I got spare tack." she offered and I nodded, she stuck it against me back we headed out the bunk, it was three and the five-minute rest time was over, "Come on. We have to eat some filthy muck, then we head for training." 

Training? Muck? Public names? What are people talking about? This isn't a proper war is it? The goverment (the People, as we call them.) never spoke of training. All they mentioned was a slighltly uncomfortable relocation to camps, where each family member would be separated. I never knew we had to train for war. Even though the Native Indians from the horrid Americas have took up half of Aussie, there was no war! It was all so confusing, even though we've had dozens of briefings from the People. I'm only sixteen, for goodness sake! I wish my life was still normal, where I still lived tbobein a bungalow with my family, I went to Oak Bay Public High and my best friend was Lucy Jones.

YARRGHH!

Author's Note:

Guys, I know I haven't finished my first story  (Secret Garden, and yeah, check it out.) but I will still continue that one and this one. So, please read and vote, thanks! 

Comment! How was it?