John Hansen

John Hansen woke up on a military plane, half asleep and agitated. All he saw around him were clouds in various shapes, the big, crystal blue ocean, and the bright but irritating sun. It was six hours since he left the United States to an unknown destination, which he believed was either the Middle East, the South China Sea, or Eastern Europe. He felt annoyed that he had to go off and fight in some war, but he also didn’t think about what he would do instead of going to college. Then it all came back to him, the last days of college, the constant news reports, and the uncertainty of what would happen if war would break out. He felt as if everything that lead up to this moment was just part of a monotonous cycle that never stopped. Emotionless, he told himself he had to do what he was told without delay. He began speaking in his head about everything that had happened before the war.

It all started in November of 2040, I was getting home from my evening lecture at Organ State University. The apartment I returned to was always freezing cold. Everyone complained about the frigid winters and unbearable summers but the land lord refused to install the air conditioning. I was supposed to go out with my girl friend that night, it was our 3 year anniversary. We first met in grade school and were best friends ever since. I put down my backpack and notebooks in exchange for my keys. The clothes I was wearing for the special occasion was a tuxedo rented from the tailor down the street. My buddy was working there at the time and got me a discount. After getting into my new outfit and freshened up, I rushed into my old rundown Tesla and set off on the 30 minute drive back to the campus.

Halfway there my phone rang, and it was a military officer telling me that World War Three broke out and that I was getting drafted to go leave to war and I had until tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. to organize my affairs. Before I could say a word he wished me good luck and hung up the phone. I began to freak out, was was I going to do? What about Jenny? The life we had planned together, it was just beginning to go somewhere and now- now I can’t have it. I clutched the ring in my pocket and held back tears as I pulled up to the campus. I saw her waiting for me in the usual spot. I froze in my car, scared of what would come next, unsure of what was the right thing to do. Jenny started walking to the car looking more beautiful than ever, but something was different about her. She seemed distressed. I quickly got out to approach her. She began to say something but I refused to listen, instead I blurted out that I got a phone call that changes everything. I took the ring out of my pocket. It was still in a black velvet box and the seal was unbroken. I handed it to her and said. “This was for you, but I know I can never live the life I want.” Screaming and crying she leaped towards me for a hug but I pushed away. “I have to go- I’m sorry I can’t explain, it’s just not going to work now.” Jenny tried to talk through her tears but I couldn’t bear to listen. I got back in the car and drove into the night. I knew the odds of coming back were so slim it would be pointless to give her hope. That it wouldn’t be fair to Jenny if I made her wait. I loved her. I wanted her to be happy, to settle down and have a family, somebody that wouldn’t die in a war. That’s why I broke her heart.

That night I didn’t sleep. I thought about how things could’ve been different and blaming it on anything I could possibly blame on. I was so depressed and stressed. I just wanted to have a normal life with the woman I love. I even thought about running away from this war just to be with her. Everything’s just too late now. I regret every action I made til that point of time, but there’s nothing I could do to save the life that I wanted anymore. I sat on my bed and kept on thinking about the different lives I could be having. Time passed like there’s something dragging its regular pace. It was one of the most painful night of my life. It was 5:00 sharp. I got out of my bed and got ready to leave for the plane. After I arrived at the airport, my friends(who were soldiers going to war, too) saw me and cheered me on with jokes and how everything’s gonna be alright. Nothing was alright.

As John stopped thinking about the past, he began writing in his notepad that he brought along with him. He wrote “Well, looks like today will begin the worst event of my life.” As he finished writing, the plane began to shake violently and began to fall down after it was shot by a missile. John and his group were told to simply jump out of the plane and try to land somewhere near the base. While John tried to land, he was nearly killed by several soldiers attacking the base. Luckily for John, he managed to evade the soldiers and land safely. While he was running towards the base, which also was under siege, he noticed another girl who happened to be standing next to him. He simply asked “Who are you?”, to which the girl replied “We don’t have time to talk, we need to go somewhere safe right now.”. After saying that, they both ran off.