Spring Showers Box-set

by Avell Kro

  I can’t wait to be out of this dumpy neighborhood, not that we’re going anywhere better. I’m so

  damn tired of Mom moving us from one bad place to another, Jordy deserves a good home! Maybe

  after the war I can make good on some of those promises Jordy’s dad made, since that idiot she’s

  dating now isn’t any better than all the other assholes who have come and gone since Dad died.

  Reaching the edge of the park, he looked out over the patchy grass and weather-worn benches,

  searching. Sitting on the other side of the run-down playground, his girlfriend, Becky, waited

  underneath a half-dead tree. There were bullet holes on every side of all the trees in the park from

  when the terrorists made a pass through little Seattle suburb.

  With a deep sigh, Bas gazed at her. Why couldn’t we have a normal life, with homecoming dances

  and proms? Becky should have the chance to wear pretty dresses, not boots and camo.

  Her short, auburn hair fascinated him, the way it curled behind her ear just so, and her hazel eyes,

  twinkling even when she was angry. At nearly a year older, Becky matched his five foot six height,

  making racing her a little harder these days.

  Four years ago, several of the largest terrorist groups came together to organize a concerted

  attack on all the major cities in nearly every country. Many of those cities were leveled, or cratered

  by bombs, with much of the rest of the world overrun by terrorists. The militaries fought back, but

  too many died, and now each surviving country scrambled to pull together every able body, in an

  effort to win a losing battle.

  With half the world’s population dead or dying, the struggling militaries had joined forces and

  begun drafting people. At first, it was voluntary for anyone eighteen and older, then males sixteen

  and older, then anyone sixteen and older, and finally, anyone fourteen and over, or big enough to

  hold a gun.

  Bas and Becky both recently turned fourteen, but agreed they would’ve joined no matter what. As

  he jogged toward her, he watched her angry face, her eyes burning with unspent tears.

  “You okay, babe?”

  “Yeah, my mom freaked out,” she said, her soft, sweet voice thick with emotion. “Tried locking me

  in my room.”

  “Ouch. Mine played the baby brother card. It was rough.”

  “Sorry, Bas. I know how much you love Jordy. You think they’ll all be okay without us?”

  “I don’t know. I hope so. If our moms weren’t both so stubborn, they could stay together and take

  care of each other.”

  “Isn’t your mom with that guy?”

  “Yeah, but he’s pretty useless. What’s new, right?”

  Becky hauled herself up off the ground, brushing off her khaki jeans, and adjusting her fur-lined jean jacket. Slinging a small duffel bag over her shoulder, she grabbed Bas’ hand and led him out of

  the park. He admired her bravery, secretly enjoying when she bossed him around.

  “Come on, Bas. Maybe, if we get there early, they’ll put us in the same squad.”

  “They better.”

  ***

  Becky bumped into Bas as they shuffled forward slowly. She grabbed his wrist, checking his

  scratched, stainless steel watch, the only memento Bas had of his father.

  “Christ, we’ve been in this line for two hours, Bas.”

  “I know, Becks, but we’re getting close. I can see the doors of the recruiting office now.”

  She scuffed her pink sneaker over some loose asphalt of the run-down parking lot, hanging her

  head as she bumped into Bas again, laughing when he stumbled into a short, stocky kid in the line

  next to them.

  “Sorry, man,” Bas said to the scowling kid with a shrug, “she’s bored.”

  “It’s fine, dude,” he said, jerking his chin at Bas. “I’m bored out of my mind too. I didn’t think there

  would be this many people left to recruit for this fuckin’ war.”

  “Neither did we. Figured we’d be on our way out of this shithole by now.”

  Bas had a brief pang of guilt for not asking the names of the kids around him. What’s the point?

  We probably won’t know any of them long enough for it to matter.

  “You see the guns the recruiting officers have?” a tall, dark-haired girl asked from behind them.

  “They’re bigger than some of these other kids in line.”

  “Right? One shot’s going to knock them on their asses.” Bas laughed a little too loud as he tried to

  hide his anxiety. Becky glanced at him with an arched eyebrow and snorted softly.

  “You ever shoot a gun, dude?” the stocky kid asked, blinking at Bas through long blond bangs.

  “Uh, no. The army came through and picked up all the weapons left behind by the terrorists when

  they rolled over us. My mom had us hiding in the basement for days.”

  “Yeah, same here. I guess no one thought we’d be down to recruiting kids for this fucked up war.”

  When they finally reached the front of the line, an older, gray-haired soldier sat at a table with

  stacks of papers surrounding him, weighted down with fist-sized concrete rocks. His steely glare

  followed Bas and Becky as they stepped up to the table. Wrinkly jowls hung from a weathered,

  square face, three creases pinched together between his gray eyebrows.

  “Name.”

  “Sebastian Ro—”

  “Rebecca—”

  “One at a time,” he barked.

  As they gave him their information, Bas inspected the soldier, wondering what rank the six stripes,

  three up and three down, on his green camouflage uniform made him. Does it even matter at this

  point?

  “Sir?” Bas asked, when the soldier was almost done filling out his papers. “Can Becky and I get put

  in the same squad?”

  “It’s master sergeant, kid. You two and the next four behind you are all going in one squad.” He

  snatched two flimsy identification cards, matched the numbers to the papers, and wrote their

  names on them. “Take these and get on that bus.”

  With cards in hand, Bas and Becky found a seat in the middle of the green bus, stuffing their bags

  under the seat. Only a few seats were left, so they only had to wait another forty minutes before

  another old soldier took the driver’s seat. With a glance back, the soldier squinted at everyone

  before turning around to close the door, start the engine, and drive them away from their homes

  and families.

  ***

  On the bus ride south, Becky huddled against Bas as they rode in a silence born of fear, the kids in

  the other seats either sleeping or staring out the windows. When they pulled into an old military

  base, the silence filled with hushed voices as they passed through a gate with armed soldiers

  standing at attention.

  “Jeez, Bas, this place looks like a herd of giant elephants ran through it.”

  Many of the buildings were in some state between half-crushed or fully crushed. The bus slowed

  down as it drove past a large overgrown pond, into the parking lot of a medical complex with a

  fifteen-story hospital at the front. The white paint of the hospital had faded to a dingy yellowish

  color, the building’s edges singed and crumbling.

  “Stay close, Becky,” Bas said as they were ushered off the bus and into the hospital. “I don’t know if

  they’re going to try to split us up.”

  “Okay, Bas,” she said, her eyebrows scrunched together with worry.

  Once inside, everyone from their bus crowded togethe
r in the sterile entryway, lingering diesel

  fumes mixed with the smell of too many nervous bodies in the compact space. Ahead of the group

  of fidgeting teenagers, three stern soldiers stood blocking the hallway. When the hospital doors shut behind them, the center soldier held up a fist and all the kids quieted.

  “Listen up! You are all assigned to the third floor. Find a room and dump your gear, you’re only

  going to be here two nights.”

  Shocked gasps echoed throughout the crowd.

  “Cafeteria’s on this floor, you’ll get lunch now and supper at eighteen hundred hours. Lights out is

  at twenty-one hundred hours. You’ll be woken up at oh six hundred hours for a day of intense fast-

  track basic training, so get plenty of grub and sleep. You’re dismissed!”

  Becky hauled Bas into a packed elevator and to one of the many rooms where they dropped their

  bags on their beds. Back on the elevator, they ran into the stocky kid from the recruiting center

  and asked him to sit with them at lunch.

  “What’s your name, man?” Bas asked.

  “Steven, you?”

  “Bas, and this is my girl, Becky.”

  She smiled and gave him a small wave. When they reached the ground floor, the hallways were

  crowded with people still being brought in and others rushing to the cafeteria. The three of them

  hustled through the chow line, tired old men and women in stained white aprons served food that

  smel ed of burned fryer oil and looked like piles of mush in various colors.

  “You guys notice there’s like no middle-aged soldiers or food servers?” Steven asked, leaning over

  his tray as they settled at the end of a long table, the only space they could find in the packed

  cafeteria.

  “Yeah, they’re all gray and old,” Becky said as she held up a spoonful of brownish mush, possibly

  stuffing, and let it plop back down to her plate. She turned to Bas with a frown, her skin slightly

  tinged green.

  “I’m pretty sure they got all the younger people out fighting.” Bas stuffed half a yeast roll in his

  mouth, his stomach growling since his mother refused to make him breakfast, or even let him

  make something himself before he left that morning.

  “Watch it!” Someone hollered at the other end of the table as a small commotion drew everyone’s

  attention.

  A burly guy with close-cropped brown hair, a prominent eyebrow ridge, and big ears, shoved a

  smaller, timid looking kid with geeky glasses and unruly black hair. Sebastian and Becky leaned

  back in their seats to look down the aisle where the burly guy had the geeky kid by the front of his

  shirt.

  “What do you think’s going on down there?” Steven stood up just enough to peer over the heads of

  everyone at the table.

  “Uh, looks like someone is wearing someone else’s food,” Becky said, grabbing a yeast rol , and picking pieces off to squish into little balls before popping them in her mouth.

  A soldier moved in between the burly guy and the geek, while burly guy turned several shades of

  red, jabbing his finger at the cowering kid.

  “That guy doesn’t look our age,” Steven said. “How do you think he managed to avoid the draft for

  so long? He’s got to be in his twenties.”

  “Money, I’m sure,” Bas said. “Throw enough money around and you can hide in your luxury home

  on Mercer Island, Capitol Hill or any of the other rich neighborhoods forever, or until the money

  runs out.”

  “Shit, I hope I don’t get put in the same squad as him.”

  Sebastian and Becky agreed with Steven as they watched the big guy get pul ed out of the cafeteria

  while one of the kitchen staff handed the geeky kid a mop and bucket.

  After lunch, Bas and Becky closed themselves up in their room, tucked under the blankets of one of

  the hospital beds. They’d been lost in their own thoughts since they left the cafeteria, and now lay

  together, staring into each other’s eyes, dressed only in their underclothes.

  “I’m scared, Bas.”

  “Me, too, but we’ll be together. We’ll watch out for each other. It’ll be alright.” Bas tried to keep a

  steady voice, hiding his own doubts. He’d never heard Becky sound so timid and subdued.

  Everything she said and did held conviction, purpose. Even as a little kid, her whispers were

  always so forceful and commanding.

  “I love you, Sebastian.”

  Taken aback, he gasped, his heart racing. They’d never talked about love before.

  “I love you, too, Becky.”

  “I know we’ve been on and off as long as we’ve known each other, but I’m glad we’re together now,

  doing this together.”

  She leaned forward to kiss him tenderly on the lips. When he pushed forward a little, her hand

  snaked over his waist as she put more pressure behind her kiss. Taking the encouragement, Bas

  pressed his tongue into her mouth while pressing his body tight up against hers.

  Pul ing back, Becky panted, out of breath. “Bas, let’s do it.”

  “What?” He blinked, wondering if he heard her right.

  “Let’s do it tonight. Just in case…” Her voice hitched, as if she couldn’t say the words.

  “Uh… are you sure? You want our first time like this? What about dinner?”

  “Yes, I want this,” she said, “and I don’t think I can stomach any more of that stuff they call food.

  Besides, we might never have this chance again. I… I want us to be close, before we go off to fight a

  war.”

  “You know I love you, no matter what.” He brushed his fingers over her cheek. “I always have.

  You’ll always be my girl, Becky.”

  “I know, Bas.” A single tear flowed from the corner of her eye, dropping to the rough, white

  hospital sheet. “We’ve always been together, even when we weren’t. I’ve always wanted you to be

  my first… no one else.”

  “I only ever wanted to do this with you.” He cupped her hot cheek with his trembling hand. “You’re

  special, and no matter where we do this, it will always be special.”

  “Love you always, Bas.”

  “Love you always, Becky.”

  Chapter 2

  March 21, 2020

  The cold metal of an M14 rifle stung Bas’ stiff, sore hands as a stern soldier with deep wrinkles

  ringing his eyes and mouth shoved it at him. The weight of the firearm pulled on aching muscles in

  his neck and shoulders. His calf muscles screamed with each step he took up into the idling green

  bus.

  “I am so damn tired.” Becky whined as she dropped onto the first open seat she came to. “I can’t

  believe they expect us to go into battle with one day of training and not enough sleep.”

  “It’s still dark,” Bas said. “You might be able to nap on the way to the drop-off.”

  “Maybe, but I hurt so much. I could barely lift my arms to put this stupid uniform on.” She plucked

  at the front of her green camouflage jacket, zipped all the way to her chin to block out the frosty

  morning air. Their uniforms and gear had been waiting outside their door when they were woken

  up. “At least yours sort of fits you. I feel like I’m swimming in mine, and I don’t want to think about

  what these stains are.”

  “I’m sorry, Becks. It’ll keep you warm, though, right?”

  “True. Hey, there’s Steven.” Becky pointed to the front of the bus, cringing as she lifted her arm.

  “He looks as bad as I feel.”

&nb
sp; “Hey, man,” Bas said as Steven plopped down in the seat next to them, nearly crushing a petite girl

  who stared at her rifle as if it might bite her. “You look beat.”

  “Hell yeah, I do. I thought I was going to die yesterday. It’s a good thing they put us through the

  marksmanship training first, or I’d never have been able to lift one of these damn guns, much less

  hit a target.”

  “I know, right? Becky and I slept in our dirty clothes last night, we were so fucking tired. I don’t

  even remember what we had for breakfast.”

  “Sucks we didn’t get put in the same squad. We probably won’t ever see each other again. I hope

  you two make it through this war. Fuck, I hope I make it through this war, or hell, this day.” Steven

  flopped back in his seat, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling.

  Bas glanced around the bus as the doors closed behind the older soldier who had been issuing

  them their rifles. Most of the other kids looked half asleep while the rest appeared dazed or

  frightened. Becky leaned her head against the window with her eyes closed.

  “You okay, Becky?”

  “As okay as I’m going to be, I guess,” she muttered, her hands squeezing around the barrel of her rifle. “Promise you’ll stay with me, Bas. I don’t want to get separated.”

  “I promise, babe. I won’t leave your side.”

  The ride to downtown Seattle took about an hour, and Bas held Becky’s hand the whole way. They

  both tried to nap, finally giving up, leaning against each other, as the bus rumbled over broken

  streets. As they got closer to the city center, the platoon leader stood and faced the anxious, waiting

  faces.

  “Listen up! Activity has been mild the last few days, but we still have insurgents scattered around

  downtown proper. Our goal is to root out those enemies, clear downtown, and corner them in the

  market. If we can get them isolated there, we can call in an airstrike, officially clearing Seattle.”

  The tension in the air made the bus feel claustrophobic as kids whispered to each other, worrying

  about their chances of survival.

  “Quiet down! We have four squads here. After yesterday’s training, we’ve assigned each squad a

  leader based on performance. Roberts, Allen, Nealon, and Thompson, you’re all now squad leaders.

  You’ll get your orders when we reach the rendezvous point. Sit tight, we’re almost there.”