Drown

V: "I Will Fly With No Hope, No Fear"

Sunday 10th September 1939
Ajax, Toronto, Canada
STEPHEN'S POV

Today, Canada has declared war on Nazi Germany and the rest of the Axis side of Europe. I am also going to go down to one of the recruitment offices and sign-up to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (or the RCAF), although legally I'm underage to join which means I have to ask my Mum and Dad but due to what they went through during and after the Great War, because of my Dad's shell shock and sensorineural hearing loss; I don't think they'd be keen on letting me sign-up to the Air Force and trying to do my country proud by fighting the "Jerries", or in my case Göring's Luftwaffe squadrons. I wonder if the Air Force allow applicants who have been home schooled, because when I was younger during the Great Depression (which is thankfully over) I got home schooled because my elementary school was shut down due to the economic crisis, so I was only in the school system all the way through kindergarten, Grade 1 and up until the end of Grade 2, so I had to do Grade 3 and the remaining three years of elementary school, my junior high and high school years at home - which at times I did enjoy but sometimes I got bored, so we went on little trips to Niagara Falls and Halifax's Fairview Cemetery to see my Uncle Steve, who I'm primarily named after in my double barrel first name, which my Mum has probably said before. So, it wasn't all doom and gloom for the most part I actually enjoyed not following the school rules (not that I was a bad kid at school before the Depression hit), but the fact that there wasn't a specific time to get up and I could choose what I wanted to learn on a specific day. But, anyways back to the matter at hand - my hypothetical application form to get into the Royal Canadian Air Force. Is it weird that I'm worried about asking my parents if I can join the Air Force? Because, it's probably going to be a simple "yes" or "no" answer, right? Or there could be slight contradiction, I don't know. After the quite lengthy conversation, I have the approval of my Mum and Dad to sign-up to the Air Force thankfully, so now I'm off to one of the RCAF recruitment offices here in Toronto, I have made it to my destination and joined the long line of people to get in, yes you heard me - just to get into the building! I should've known, we've just declared war on Germany at 0600 EDT (1100 GMT) this morning, so obviously all of those who are eligible to sign-up are flocking from all over Ontario and our nine other provinces to sign-up and join in the fight to honour King and country but most importantly their families. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, I finally get the chance to face the Major of the Air Force, so I can get the application form to fill out. He then asks me:

"What's your name, son?"

"Stephen Whibley"

"Date of birth?"

"December 10th 1921"

"So, you're 17 years-old? Do you have your parents' permission to join?"

"Yes, sir, I do"

"Okay, if you could fill out this application form, that'd be great"

"Alright, I'll do that. Thank you". I then take the fairly big sheet of paper off of him and head over to one of the empty desks, so I can fill out this form. It looks something along the lines of this layout:

ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE
(ATTESTATION PAPER)

1. Surname: WHIBLEY
Full Name: STEPHEN-PAUL THOMAS
2. Present Address: AJAX, ONTARIO
3. Permanent Address: AJAX, ONTARIO
4. Place of Birth: AJAX, ONTARIO
Citizenship: CANADIAN
Nationality: SCOTTISH-CANADIAN
Married, Single, Widower, Separated, Divorced: SINGLE
6. Particulars of Children: NONE
7. Occupation: AIR CADET
8. Religion: NONE
9. Language(s): ENGLISH (FLUENT) FRENCH (FLUENT)
10. Next of Kin (Full Name): MRS. HANNAH WHIBLEY
Relationship: MOTHER
Address: AJAX, ONTARIO
11. Father (Full Name): DERYCK WHIBLEY
Birthplace: SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO
Address: AJAX, ONTARIO
Citizenship: CANADIAN
Occupation: MUSICIAN
12. Mother ( Full Maiden Name): McLAUGHLAN
Birthplace: GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
Address: AJAX, ONTARIO
Citizenship: SCOTTISH
13. Details of any Naval, Military or Air Force Services: NONE
14. Honours, Awards, Mentions: NONE
15. Are you now on any Naval, Military or Air Force Reserve? YES
16. Have you previously made application to join the R.C.A.F? YES
17. Were you ever discharged from any branch of His Majesty's Forces as Medically Unfit? NO
18. Have you ever been or are you now in receipt of a Disability Pension? NO
19. Have you ever been convicted of an indictable offence? NO
20. Are you in debt? NO

After filling out the application, I handed it back to the Major at the front desk who then said to me:

"Thanks for applying, son. I hope you get recruited, because you look like a well and honest chap who will fight for King and country and do us all proud. If you get picked, you will receive a letter saying that you've been accepted or not"

"Thank you for the compliments, sir. I look forward to receiving my letter". He then goes onto say:

"Your surname looks familiar" Oh, no! Here we go!

"Isn't your Dad in a band called Sum 41?" The usual question I get hit with, just so you know. Are you the son of the lead singer of "that" band? The short answer, yes.

"Yeah, he is in that band. But, he also served in the Canadian Corps during the Great War in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917"

"Oh, so he did, yes. Hasn't he got shell shock and sensorineural hearing loss?" How the hell do you know that?!

"Yes, he does have shell shock and a sensorineural hearing loss, but can I just ask how you know that?" I ask, starting to get all defensive

"Well, all of the forces are linked so that's how I know"

"Oh, okay. I don't mean to sound horrible, but isn't there a thing called patient confidentiality?"

"Yes, but it doesn't apply to the higher ranks of the armed forces, I'm afraid"

"Well, it should be. Because, the only people who should know about a soldier's injuries are those who they want to tell, not their chain of command"

"I understand what you're saying, son, but that was twenty-two years ago that had happened to your Dad"

"That doesn't matter!"

"You're right, it doesn't matter, but what has happened has happened. Anyways, I hope to see you again soon". I didn't even reply, I just glared, furrowed my eyebrows at him and walked out the door thinking, how could he be so inconsiderate about my Dad's wartime afflictions.

Now is the climax to the story
That gives the demons and angels purpose
They fly around while we are walking
And mold our emotions just to please them

I am cold, can you hear?
I will fly with no hope, no fear
And the ground taunts my wings
Plummet as I sing, plummet as I sing

All we are is an isle of flightless birds
We find our worth in giving birth and stuff
We're lining our homes against winding roads
And we think the going is tough
We pick songs to sing, remind us of things that nobody cares about
And honestly we're probably more suicidal than ever now

If you decide to live by, what you think's wrong and what's right
Believe me you'll begin to wish you were sleeping
Your weeping will creep in your head and you'll cry
But if we wake up every morning and decide what we believe
We can take apart our very heart and the light will set us free

I am cold, can you hear?
I will fly with no hope, no fear
And the ground taunts my wings
Plummet as I sing, plummet as I...

I am cold, can you hear?
I will fly with no hope, no fear
And the ground taunts my wings
Plummet as I sing, plummet as I...

How frustrating and so degrading
His time, we're wasting
As time will fly by and the sky will cry as light is fading
And he is waiting, oh, so patiently
While we repeat the same routine as we will please comfortability
Yeah, please don't think about why you can't sleep in the evening
And please don't be afraid of what your soul is really thinking

Your soul knows good and evil, your soul knows both sides
And it's time you pick your battle, and I promise you this is mine
(I promise you)

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All rights go to: Twenty One Pilots
Written by: Tyler Joseph
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