My Dearest Finley

~ Chapter 2 ~

Finley was placed in a bunker with four other men. The bunker wasn't all that great, but the Americans did lose some money during World War I. The toilet couldn't be used within ten minutes of each person using it, but it worked well. The sink's water didn't come through too well, but it was manageable. The only shower they had wouldn't bring in any hot water, only the lieutenant's quarters had hot water, but was alright. There was one single bed, and two sets of bunk beds lined along the wall.

The other men only went by their last names, and if you called them by their first names you likely wouldn't get an answer. Their names were Phillip McHenry, Colton Wilson, Martin Rivera, and Henry Hamilton.

McHenry had strawberry blonde hair, hazel eyes, a muscular shape, and stood at a good six foot three. McHenry was twenty-six years old, married as well, and he had two children. His son, Max, was eleven years old. The little girl, only six months old, was named Jolene.

Wilson was divorced, and had shared custody of his little boy with his ex-wife Darla. Wilson's son was four years old, and he went by Matt, short for Matthias. Sadly, his ex-wife was pregnant with some other man's baby while still married to Wilson. That is what resulted in the divorce. Darla, her baby, and Matt lived in Hartford, Connecticut. Wilson lived all the way in Pennsylvania. "Paying for transportation to only see him once a month is terrible on my paycheck, not including child support." Wilson complained. Wilson had dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, and was six feet tall. Wilson always wore a smile, even when bad things happened throughout his short twenty-three year old life.

Rivera had a brown eye, and a light green eye. His sight in the brown one wasn't all that great, but that was how he was born. Rivera had black, curly hair, and a small gap in his teeth. He had never been married, and had no children. Rivera was in pretty good shape for a twenty-five old man who liked to eat a lot.

Hamilton was the oldest of all the men, he was thirty-three. Hamilton was three inches short of seven feet, had red hair, green eyes, and an average body. He had five children, and was married. His wife, Charlotte, only had one boy of all five kids. Imagine having only two men in the house, and a total of five girls! Not to mention the unknown gender on the way...

All of the men seemed to get along well, but there were a few disagreements every now and then. They were as simple as who would take a shower first, who would be the one to clean the bunker, and who would be volunteering for clean up in the cafetorium the next day.

"Who wants the single bed?" Finley asked. All of the men looked at each other, but nobody spoke up. Instead, they all just kind of shuffled around claiming some random bed until somebody finally just ended up on the bed. "It's settled, then. We've got about," Finley looked down at his watch. "Two hours until the meeting in the gym. I guess we can all get settled, and learn about each other." Everyone agreed to the proposal, and began to put bedding on the bunks and beds that was handed to them when they first stepped off of the train.

Finley placed a large amount of photos on the wall, and had placed the box of notebook paper, pens, stamps, and envelopes under the bed. "Gonna write love letters home, lover boy?" Wilson asked, smirking as he looked at Finley. "Actually, yes. I promised my wife I'd wrote home every chance I got. She's pregnant, you see, and she's worried. How about you?" Finley replied. As soon as it escaped his lips, he immediately felt sorry. "I-I'm sorry! I forgot you were divorced. I'm sorry, Wilson." He stood up, facing the tall man. "Don't worry about it man, I'm only sending letters to my parents and my daughter." Wilson laughed, and shrugged it off.

Everyone was settled, and they all sat around just chatting about how they were a bit nervous about fighting against the Nazis. Over the intercoms, they were all called down to the gym. Finley walked down to the gym with his group, and stood in the center of the large gym waiting for someone to speak.

One of the men tapped the mic, and everyone quieted down and the gym doors were closed. "Welcome to boot camp, soldiers. This is the gym, clearly, and this is where a little bit of training will take place. Outside, there are many different areas where there will be drills and training. Always keep your ears open, you never know what's gonna happen next. That's all for tonight, you may all go down to the cafetorium and eat dinner. Tonight, lieutenants are serving, so don't worry about volunteering. Make sure your bunker is signed up for at least two days of this month. That is all, you are dismissed." The big man said. Everyone saluted, and then everyone went into the cafetorium to eat dinner.

After eating dinner, everyone returned to their bunkers with their group. "Good night, everyone." Wilson said as he pulled his covers over him. Finley, along with everyone else got ready for bed, and then turned out the lights. As Finley laid in bed that night, he found it hard to sleep. Although once he finally got to sleep, he fell into a dreamless sleep.