Year: 2011

For the past 10 years our great country the United States of America has been at war. A war that we thought would only last a few months, somehow turned into 10 years. A war that we thought would only involve Iraq and maybe Afghanistan, now has taken over the Middle East. Our War on Terror has exploded. Many people are referring to this as Would War Three.

In the past three years, Iran has become a source of great conflict. Having gained access to Nuclear Weapons, Iran has forced themselves into other countries, trying to gain more power. We have been fighting side by side with Iraq, Britain and France to try and keep Iran from gaining more power. In doing so, the United States has lost tens of thousands of soldiers and marines. As our military is getting weaker, Iran is recruiting more and more soldiers by the day.

This has left our government with no choice but to instate the federal draft.

***Atlanta, GA***

Brian casually unloaded his mailbox as he arrived home from work. It seems that is all he does lately, work. “Leigh Anne and Bayleigh are probably feeling abandoned” he thought to himself as he put his key’s into the door. As he opened the door the fresh aroma of pot roast hit him in the face. Taking a deep breath and inhaling the scent he knew his wife must have been cooking for him.

He flipped through the mail opening the envelopes one by one. Most of it bills and invitation to events, but one thing caught his eye. “Why am I getting a letter from the Department of Defense?” he asked himself out loud. He opened the letter and slowly begins reading it.

***Malibu, CA***
“Seriously, do we have to discuss this now?” Nick asked into the phone. He hated nothing more than when his ‘girlfriend’ nagged him about flirting with other girls. ‘Hasn’t she learned by now that it is just part of who I am?’ He thought to himself. He reached into his mail box and pulled out the mail. He tossed it over onto the seat, not really paying attention to his actions. He just needed to get this girl off the phone.
“Look, Mia I have to go. I just pulled up to the house. I still have a busy evening ahead of me. I don’t have time to argue with you.” He hung up the phone and stepped out of the car. As he started to walk away, he remembered his mail and reached through the window to grab it.

Flipping through the mail the one Addressed from the Department of Defense caught his eye first. Curious, he opened the envelope and began reading.

***Meanwhile, across town***

“Yo, John I am home, Bro!” AJ called out as he entered the house.

“Back he man.” Called his roommate.

John ran into a hard time about six months ago and AJ couldn’t see himself allowing one of his best friends to be out on the street, when he had some much to give. So AJ invited John to move from Florida to L.A. in hopes that John could make a fresh start. AJ had to admit, he enjoyed having the company. He hadn’t exactly had the best luck with relationships lately and most of his other friends were busy with their own lives.

AJ stopped at the desk in the corner of the room and flipped through the mail laying on it. A yellow envelope caught his attention “Why the hell am I getting a letter for The Department of Defense?” he asked himself out loud. He opened the letter and began read.

****The letter****

To whom it may concern,

If you are receiving this letter, you have been randomly selected through a lottery to participate in the Draft currently instated by the United States government. This is not on voluntary bases. You must swear into the United States Army. You must report to your nearest military installation with-in thirty days of receiving this letter. Your social security number has been logged and federal repercussions will be forced upon you in your failure to report. We are sincerely sorry for this inconvenience, but the safety of our way of life is at stake.

Thank you,
Secretary of Defense.

***Atlanta, GA***

“Oh, my God.” Brain said as he stared down at the paper in his hand. “How am I going to tell Leigh?”

***Malibu, CA****

“You’ve got to be shitting me!” Nick yelled as he crumpled the paper in his hand. “There is no fucking way I am fuck going, NO W AY!”

***Other Side of Town***
“What the FUCK!” AJ wasn’t quite sure he understood what he was reading. He was being drafted. Like DRAFTED, like WAR. He reread the letter once more to make sure that he comprehended the letter. “I am going to fucking war….” He whispered.

30 days later

The last month Brain, AJ, and Nick prepared to leave for the Middle East. Nick tried everything possible to get out of going. He had obviously failed. Not even being a multi-millionaire pop-star could get him out of going. He had refused to believe it was true and did nothing to prepare until three days before it was time to report.

Brain spent every day with Leigh Anne and Bayleigh. He took Bayleigh to the zoo, the park; ice skating, the beach, hunting and fishing. He made sure that he was going to make that last months with his family memorable. Leigh Anne cried every day for a week and once the day for him to leave grew closer she began crying again. This was going to be the most difficult thing he had ever done in his life. How do you leave your family and go fight in a war you aren’t even sure you believe in?

AJ, well AJ drank everyday once he found out he had been drafted. After 10 years being sober all it took was one letter to change it all. He wasn’t really that upset about it now. He had kind of become numb to the idea. He had just accepted it. There wasn’t anything he could do to change it, so he figured why wallow in misery. At least put on a happy face and act like you aren’t scared shitless.

These three guys somehow couldn’t get away from each other. All three of them were members of The Backstreet Boys. A boy band that was huge in the late 90’s and early 00’s. They were on hiatus right now. Each of them was working on solo projects and hadn’t really seen each other in months. Knowing that the three of them had been drafted, they meet for lunch before reporting.

“AJ man what is up?” Asked Nick as AJ walked up to the table where the other two guys were already sitting.

“Not much, just ready to get this over with. I am sick of it being on the horizon. I just want the day to be over. You know, so I can quit dreading it.” He said sitting down.

“I feel you man.” Replied Brain. “I seriously don’t know how in the world I am going to get through this. And Leigh, if you guys would have seen her face this morning. It was way worse than ever leaving on tour. It was like she thought it was the last time she was ever going to see me.”
“I just can’t believe that all three of us were picked, but not Howie. How the fuck is that fair. You can’t take three Backstreet Boys and throw them to the wolves and leave one here. It should be all or nothing.” Stated Nick shaking his head in disbelief.

“I don’t know. He just got lucky I guess. I would hate for him to have had to come though. I mean they just had a baby. I don’t know if I would be able to leave a new born. Leaving Bayleigh who is 8 is hard enough.” Brian replied.

The guys made small talk as each of them secretly prayed that all of their lives would be safe. Although Nick and AJ weren’t that religious, they knew that there was a higher power, and they wanted to be on its good side. Brain being a devote Christian had spent the last month praying to God to have his will be done. If it was in God’s plan for him to go fight in this war, then that is exactly what he was going to do.

The three men finished their lunch and entered their separate cars that would take them to meet the life that they would share for the next six months.

***March Air Force Base, Riverside, CA***
The line of men reporting was all the way around the building. AJ, Brain and Nick stood side by side and the line slowly but steadily moved forward. No one said much, just a little small talk now in then. How were you supposed to just pretend that it wasn’t happening? As the guys looked around though, it didn’t seem that everyone was as sad as they were. Some people were actually goofing around and laughing. Were there really people who were excited to go?

After an hour standing in line they were finally able to step up to the table and check themselves in. AJ went to the table first. “Full name, please.” The girl sitting at the table asked.

“Alexander McLean.” He responded.

The girl immediately looked up and smiled at him. He of course being AJ smiled back. “I seen that name on here and I wondered if it was the Alexander Mclean.”

“What do you mean ‘The Alexander Mclean?”

“Oh come on,” the girl replied rolling her eyes. “You know AJ Mclean, Backstreet Boy.”

“Fan?” he questioned.

“Used to be when I was younger. I think I am a little old to fawn over you now.” She replied laughing a little.

“Well doll face, what is your name?”

“I am Corporal Holden, but my first name is Audrey.”

“Well Audrey it is lovely meeting you.” He said flirting a little.

Audrey handed AJ all of his paper work and sent him away to fill them out. Nick and Brian both followed gathering their paperwork and making their way over to the lounge to fill them out.

“Guys, did you see how hot that girl was?” AJ asked when they arrived.

“What girl?” asked Brian clueless?

“The girl that took out name and handed us this shit.”

“Yeah, I seen her, she was cute.” Nick pointed out.

“Cute, cute? That girl was fucking fine. I didn’t realize that girls in the military looked like that.” AJ replied licking his lips. “Her name is Audrey.”

“You know her name already?” Brian asked as he looked at his friend like he had lost his mind. “We are about to go to war and you are talking about a cute girl?”

“Hey man, we are going to war. I am not dead. I still look and notice fine girls. And she my friend was fine.”

Brian rolled his eyes and smiles at his horny friend. Leave it to AJ to make light out of this situation. The three men filled out there paperwork and turn it in. Now it was just a waiting game. They were instructed that they could be in the hanger for as long as 48 hours before leaving. They would be flying into Kuwait and then convoying into Iraq, were they would go through brief two week training on how to be a soldier. Then they would be off to fight. Them fighting, it just didn’t make any sense.

“How many hours are going to pass before we get out of this hanger?” complained Nick as he squirmed on the floor.

“Man, I know they said that it could be up to 48 hours, but I didn’t really think it was going to be that long.” Replied Brian.

The 48 hour mark was nearing and the guys were still laying around in the hanger. Looking around at all of the unfamiliar faces, some showing pain and sadness while others showed eagerness, the feeling that surrounded the men was a feeling of uncertainty.

It was nearly impossible for them to imagine what they were about to face. Was it as bad as they feared? Or maybe was it not as bad as the media made it seem. Whatever the case, it was completely unchartered territory for them. They would never say it out loud, but all three of the men had never been as scared as they felt at that moment.

A few minutes later a very tall, very intimidating man stood in the center of the room. It was like a silence fell over the room. You could have heard a pen drop. The man began speaking and the men in the room hung on to every word that escaped his mouth.

“Everybody on your feet.” He instructed sternly with a voice as intimidating as his looks. “Gather your bag and form a single file line. You all are about to start a new chapter in your life. You are no longer a lawyer, engineer, carpenter, or freaking drive through employee. You are now an Untied States Soldier and today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

“You are about to board a plane and head into Kuwait.” He continued. “Once you arrive in Kuwait, you will spend a few days taking it easy and become acclimated. I am warning you now, it will be very hot. Most of you have probably never faced this kind of heat. So right now don’t worry about fighting, worry about preparing yourself for 130 degree heat.”

AJ and Nick looked at each other. That kind of heat. Nick was sure that he would be dead within a day or two. He has never been able to handle heat. Yea sure every once in a while it got really hot in venues, but never had it gotten that hot. And they were expected to run around in the fucking desert with that type of heat? “You’ve got to be kidding me!” He whispered to AJ. “That is fucking insane.”
“Man I would kill for a drink right now.” AJ replied putting his head in his hands.

“Man me too….wait you aren’t drinking again are you?” Nick asked with a little panic in his voice.

“I have had a few drinks since I got the news, but nothing serious.” AJ admitted although he did kind of sugar coat the amount that he had been consuming. He figured that he wouldn’t be able to drink in the Middle East, so it wasn’t like he could really go back to an old habit.

“Be careful with that man. I know you say it is just a few drinks, but it is really easy for it to become more.”

“EXCUSE ME!!! Is there something that is so important that you have to talk about it right now? Maybe it is something you would like to share with all of us?” The uniformed man asked Nick.

Fumbling over his words Nick replied, “Ummm….no…sorry I was just…Ummm…”

“That is what I thought.” The man pulled his gaze away from Nick and back out into the crowd. “Keep it moving, get in the line.”

The room became hectic as the men formed a line to board the planes. As the three of them moved closer to the plane, they handed off their bag it be loaded and then took one last look around. This would be the last time they would be standing on American soil for six months. Taking a deep breath the men said one last goodbye to the home and stepped onto the plane.

They had been in the air for four hours and already Brian found himself missing home. He was so afraid of missing the next 6 months of his family’s life. So much can happen in six months. What if Leigh Anne meets someone else? How would he handle coming back home to find out he had been rejected? He knew in his heart that Leigh Anne would never do anything like that, but the thought lingered in his mind. How much would Bayleigh change in six months? How much would home change? All of these questions just continued to go over and over in his head, and he could feel depression creeping over him.
Nick stared out of the window looking out over the ocean beneath them. It would be six months before he could put his feet in the ocean again. Anybody who knew Nick would know that the water is Nick’s world. He feels at peace on the water. No matter how bad his life gets, he can always depend on the water to calm him. Now he was going to be in a desert for 6 months, without the ocean, without his boat, without the greatest love of his life. How was he going to deal with conflict? Without the soothing waves of the ocean, Nick wasn’t sure if he could.

AJ tried his hardest to sleep. However, sleep didn’t seem to come along very easy. All AJ could think about was how badly he needed a drink. He knew that if he had some alcohol that it would calm his nerves. He also knew that he wouldn’t be getting it anytime soon. He absentmindedly began biting his nails. It was a nervous habit that he had picked up since he quit drinking, and right now he felt he could probably chew off his fingers. He looked around and felt that the majority of the people were comfortably sleeping, but he sat fidgeting in his seat.

After 17 hours and a layover in Frankfurt, Germany they finally arrived in Kuwait. Stepping off the plane the heat hit them hard in the face. It was 3:30 in the morning and already the temperature was over 100 degrees. They three men made their way to their assigned sleeping quarters to go to sleep. The reality was finally hitting them. They could no longer deny the fact that they were truly going to be fighting in a war. Fighting for their lives, fighting for their family’s lives, fighting for their country.

Brian lay on his small cot trying desperately to go to sleep, but all he could think about was Leigh Anne. A sad smile slide across his face as he recalled their last night together.

Brian planned the perfect evening for him and Leigh Anne. HE would take her to their favorite restaurant, make sure she ordered her favorite dessert, and expressed his love for his beautiful wife. When Brian seen his wife walk down the stair-case of their home he was sure he had just stepped into a movie. She was perfect. Everything about her exuded love. She wore a cream colored dress that was pleated and hit right about the knee. Her hair was wisped up into and messy but classy bun, with earrings to perfectly compliment her long, tanned neck.

“Oh my God, baby you get more and more beautiful every day.” He said as he pulled his wife into his arms.

Blushing slightly but loving the attention she passionately kissed her husband. “You don’t look half bad yourself.”

Inside Leigh Anne felt like at any moment she was going to break down and cry. It took everything she had not to run back upstairs and jump into bed hoping to wake up in the morning and this would have all been a dream. She knew that wasn’t likely to happen. So she put on a brave front and tried her best to make the last night with her husband a memorable one.

“Stand back so I can look at you for a moment.” Brian said as he held Leigh Anne’s hand out as she did a little twirl for him.

She giggled like a girl in love as her husband lusted after his wife. He had half a mind to go back upstairs and forget the entire night that he planned. Ultimately though, he knew that he had to make this night more about sex. He had to make it about them and their wonderful life that they had made together.

“So where are we going?” She asked

“Quinones.” He replied pleased that he knew she would be excited.
“Really? Oh baby….thanks so much. We didn’t have to go somewhere that nice. I mean it is kind of our special place.” Quinine’s is the place where Brian had proposed more than 12 years ago. He knew that he had to make this night absolutely magical, just like the first time they had been there.

“Yea, I did,” he began, “I want this night to be a night you will never forget. I mean baby, I know it isn’t something that we want to think about, but this might be the last time that we are together….ever.” he finished as her swallowed the lump that had somehow appeared in his throat.

At the mention of the fact that he may die over there, Leigh Anne’s face went totally white. Brian thought she may even pass out. Tears begin to rise in her eyes as she thought about Brian never coming back to her.

Brian pulled her into him for a hug. He desperately wanted to tell him that everything would be fine, but would it?

Brian wiped the tears off of his eyes as he looked back that the day had just taken place a few days ago. Now here he lay all alone in a war torn country, with no one but two friends to help him get through this. He sat up on his cot and looked at his two friends who looked to be sleeping. He slid his shoes on and walked out of the berthing.

Once again he was hit with a blast of hot wind. He slowly took a breath in, trying to allow his lungs to adjust to the heat. Looking up at the sky he couldn’t help but stare in awe at what he seen. The stars had never looked so bright. It literally looked like little fireflies covering the sky. Each one shown so brightly, that you would have never known that they were the same stars he looked at back in Atlanta.

Without all of the pollutants that are in the United States the stars in the Middle East really light up the sky. It really is one of the most breath taking sites you will ever see. Brian was finding that out. He glanced over at the moon and smirked as he noticed that it was a full moon. The funny thing about the full moon though, is it had an awkward circle around it. Brian had never seen it before.

“It’s called a farmers moon.” A voice said next to Brian.

He looked to his side and noticed that a girl had walked up next to him. “Really?” he asked “Why do they call it that?”

“Well, they say that the circle around the moon is a sign to famers that it will rain tomorrow. They say that the moisture in the air makes the circle.” She answered matter of factly.

“Huh….that is something. It is kind of cool. Why don’t I ever see those back home?”

“Well I don’t know about you, but where I live we don’t exactly have the cleanest air, hell there is so much smog in L.A. that I am shocked we can still breathe there.”

“So you are from L.A.?”

“No, I am from Montana, but I joined the Army a few years back and I am stationed at a small base outside of LA.”

“I lived in LA for a while but I couldn’t handle it, so I moved to Atlanta….. I am Brian, by the way.”

“I am Audrey, and I know who you are. I checked you in the other day in the hanger.”

“Oh yea…the corporal that my boy AJ was all rawled up about.” Brian said laughing a little.


“What? He was talking about me?” she asked blushing a little.

“Yea, he was talking about how cute you were. I honestly didn’t notice….sorry.” he said honestly.

“Oh, I wouldn’t notice me either. I am sure there were plenty more important things to be thinking about than paying any attention to me.”

“Yea, I guess you are right.”

“I know I am right. I mean you are married, right?” she looked at Brian for conformation. He nodded his head to confirm.

“Well then I could only imagine the fear that you have. I bet your wife is at home right now praying that you are ok. I beat she is worried to death. I beat you miss her already, huh?”

“Yea, I do.”

Audrey didn’t want to come across as the creepy fan, even though when she was younger she was quite the Backstreet fanatic. So instead of continuing to push Brian for answers she simply said, “Well, I am sure she misses you too. It is hard out here, trust me, I know. This is my third time out here. So all I can say is be true to yourself. Everything else should fall into place.”

“Thanks…” he said meekly.

“Well, I got to go. I have to be on post for sentry in a few minutes.” Audrey patted Brian on the back before walking away.

Brian looked up at the night sky one last time. Smiling to himself he whispered “Goodnight, Leigh. I love you.”

Nick stretched his arms up over his head as yawned and forced himself to get up. Sitting up, he looked around to find that everyone else was still sleeping. He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to wake up a little more. He reached down and struggled to put his shoes on, finally resorting to untying them completely.

“I’ve gotta freaking piss.” He mumbled out loud to himself.

He stood up stretching once more before walking towards the exit of the berthing. (AN: Berthing is a really large tent made of canvas for those who don’t know. This is what you initially sleep in when you arrive. In most cases once you arrive to your “POST” you are assigned to a hard structure or a trailer.) He pulled the canvas door open and stepped out into the Kuwaiti heat.

“You got to be fucking kidding me!” he said as he shielded his eyes from the sun. “There is no fucking way I am going to be able to handle this heat.”

Squinting his eyes he looked around spotting a pot-o-potty. Taking another deep breath of the hot air Nick started the walk towards it. Looking around Nick realized that it is really a desert. It looked like he was walking on a beach, only there was no water…anywhere.

Stepping into the port-o-potty he quickly pulled his hand up to his face. “Holy shit…that is rank.” She said as the harsh aroma of heated feces filled his nose. Taking a deep breath he bravely closed the door behind him. Holding his breath Nick quickly peed and jumped quickly out of the port-o-potty.

“How in the hell am I gonna handle this?” he asked himself as he ran his hand through his hair.

“You get used to it.”

“Huh?” Nick asked looking around to the voice.

“You get used to it, and once you get to your post there will probably be trailers set up that have showers and toilets in them….I am Barrin.” He said reaching his hand out.

Nick reached out and took the hand of the stranger introducing himself. “I am Nick, and I seriously doubt I will get used to this.”

“Yea, that is what I thought my first tour out here. After a couple of weeks you won’t know the difference between 90 degrees and 120 degrees. You won’t really notice the funny smells anymore, and the cokes here will start to taste like the cokes back home.”

“You get coke here?” Nick asked shocked.

“Yeah, but it taste funny at first. There is just something a little funny about it. I don’t notice it anymore. In fact when you go back to the states after your tour the coke there taste funny.”

“How many times have you been out here?”

“This is my third time, and hopefully my last. I just wish this war would be over already. I mean at first when this all happened, I couldn’t wait to get out here and fight. I mean they attacked out country, but now I don’t know. I feel like instead of things getting better they are getting worse. Iraq is now friendly, but now we have Iran who is working with North Korea and we all know that those are some crazy mother fuckers.”

“Yea, I am not too much into the political side. I don’t know what I think about it all.” Nick admitted honestly.

“Well trust me, by the time you get out of here, one way or another you will have an opinion.” Barrin stated matter of factly.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, but I better get back to my tent and see if my friends are awake.”

“Berthing….”

“Huh?” Nick asked confused.

“The tent, it is called a berthing. And the bathroom is called a ‘head’ and a water fountain is a ‘scuttlebutt’ and a wall is a ‘bulkhead’….military jargon. You will pick it up over time.”

“Can’t wait!” Nick said sarcastically.

“Well, maybe I will see you around. Take it easy.”

“Yea man, you too.” Nick replied. Walking back toward the ‘berthing’ Nick looked around at all of the people scurrying around. Most people were wearing camouflage, but some were walking around in short and t-shirts. There were all types of people out there too. Nick had an idea of what a soldier looked like, but most of these people looked nothing like he had imagined.

Nick smiled as he remembered a conversation he had with Marcus back home before leaving.

“No way man….I am gonna stick out like a sore thumb.” Nick said as he took a gulp of his beer.

“Whatever. What do you think you are supposed to look at?” Marcus asked laughing at his friend.

“I don’t know, like a soldier. You know a mean looking guy with big muscles. Or a tall guy with a very intimidating voice, like Kevin or you. Not me. I look nothing like a soldier.”

“You are crazy. Let me guess, you probably think all female soldiers have short hair and look butch.”

“Well yea, aren’t they? I doubt there are any hot girls out there. Why would a hot girl join the military when there are plenty of other things she could do.”

“Hummm, I don’t know, maybe because she isn’t as shallow as to think that her looks should get her out of serving her country. Maybe because she wants to prove to people that she is more than just a pretty face. I bet there are some hot chicks out there just because they wanted to piss someone off or to prove to daddy that she is more than just pretty.”

“I doubt it man....Do you realize that I am probably about to go for six months without any ass.” Nick said as if it were the end of the world.

“Well, you could always go gay?” Marcus said with a serious look on his face.

“What the fuck….man you have got to be kidding me?” Nick replied looking at Marcus like he had lost his mind.

“No man I am serious. A pretty boy like you, I am sure it would be easy to find a boyfriend.”

“Dude…” Nick stared at Marcus shocked“I can’t fuck believe…”

Marcus busted out laughing as he looked at the horror on Nicks face. “Dude, I am joking.”

“Man don’t do that to me!”

“You should have seen the look on your face.” Marcus held onto his stomach as he laughed uncontrollably. “It was priceless.”

“You are an ass.” Nick said laughing along with his friend.
“Yea, I know….but that is why you love me.”

“Love you, who said anything about loving you?” Nick said seriously.

Marcus batted his eyelashes and pulled his hands under his face. “Bit Nicky….I thought that you and me were gonna be together forever…and now you don’t love me?”

“Dude, I swear you are worse than AJ. I don’t know why I am still friends with you.”

“Because I am your body guard and it probably would suck if we hated each other. Plus I bring all the ladies you way. Without me…Nick Carter would still be little chubby Nick that all the other guys picked on.”

“Shut up man….I am more than capable to get any girl in here…..without your help.”

“Really?....wanna bet?”

“What girl….point her out and I will guarantee I can get her to leave with me.”

Marcus looked around the club scoping out possible candidates and finally laid his eyes on the perfect girl. She was dressed conservatively and looked like she wouldn’t be interested in who Nick was. She was really pretty, but not in a slutty way. She would surely be a challenge. “Her.” Marcus said pointing to the girl he had chosen.

“Her…she is cute. She looks kind of…I don’t know…uptight.”

“Precisely.” Marcus replied smirking at Nick.

Nick took one last swallow of his beer and stood up. “Here goes nothing. Wish me luck.”

Nick laughed to himself as he recalled the night. He pulled the canvas door open and stepped back into the berthing. AJ was putting his shoes as Brian lay watching him. Nick couldn’t help but be thankful that he had his to ‘brothers’ there with him. They were going to keep him sane.

AJ absentmindly tied his shoes as Brian lay on his cot staring aimlessly at nothing. This whole thing felt wrong to him. How was he, a fucking pop star, supposed to fight in a war? He believed in the war. He believed in what they were going to be fighting for. However, actually fighting for it is a lot different than supporting people who fight for it.

Nick walked back in from outside and AJ looked up at him. “Where you been?” AJ asked halfheartedly.

“I had to pee. Have you guys been out there? It is like so fucking hot, and that sun is so fucking bright. It doesn’t help that there is white sand everywhere that just reflects the heat and sun.” Nick started ranting. “There is no way in hell I am ever going to get used to that heat. It is literally unbearable! And the freaking toilets, oh my God, they are so rank. I had to hold my breath the entire time I was in there.”

“I went outside a few minutes last night. It was pretty hot then and it was like 3 am, so I can imagine what it is like now….Oh Alex, I talked to that corporal girl you met the other day. What is her name…Audrey?”

AJ’s head popped up at the mention of her name. “Really? When did you talk to her?”

“Last night. Like I said I went outside last night because I couldn’t sleep and I was just looking at the sky. It is really amazing here at night. Anyway, there was this strange circle around the moon, which I had never seen before and she just walked up and told me what it was.”

“A farmers moon….” Answered Nick.

Brian and AJ looked at Nick shocked that he knew such a thing. “How’d you know?” Asked Brian.

“Well I see them all the time when I am out on the water away from land. You have to get away from the city. All the lights and pollutants make it hard to see. Anyways, I dated this girl a few years back from so little country town and she told me what it was called. It is pretty amazing huh?”

Brian smiled and nodded his head “It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. And the stars are so bright.”

AJ shock his head as his two friends stood there talking about not so manly things. ‘And we are supposed to fight in a war’ he said to himself. He suddenly noticed an intense hunger pain in his stomach.

“Man I am fucking starved. Let’s get some food.” He suggested to the other two.

“Anybody know where the cafeteria is?” Brian asked.

“Yea, I met this guy earlier. He said it is called a chow hall and it is that way.” Nick said pointing in the direction the boy had told him earlier.

“Well lead the way, Nicky boy.” AJ said giving his best grin.

“Dude seriously it is not cool to call me Nicky out here. I am probably already gonna get hell for the blond hair, I don’t need people thinking I am gay too.”

“Thinking you’re gay? Why would they think YOU were gay? That is impossible. You are the manliest guy I know!” AJ said putting his hand over his chest like he had just heard the most absurd thing ever.

“Fuck off Alex!” Nick said coldly. He really did hate it when AJ did that. Even though he knew it was all in good fun.

The guys set off in the direction of the chow hall. AJ was quickly wiping the sweat that was forming on his forehead onto his shirt. Nick was right it was fucking hot out here. Every time he took a breath it felt like he was puffing on a cigarette that was almost finished. The heat fell his lungs and burned deep down in his throat and chest.
It took about five minutes to walk to the chow hall and the guys were eager to enter the building and get out of the heat. “Man that was vicious.” AJ pointed out as they retrieved trays for the counter and got in line.

The guys were surprisingly shocked at the variety of food they had to choose from. There was everything from hamburgers and hotdogs, to chicken and spaghetti. The vegetables and starches were an even wider variety. There was even a salad and dessert bar. And there was basically every type of drink you could possibly want, from Juice and milk to soda and Gatorade.

The guys choose their food and made their way to a table. Sitting down they began to talk casually about the things they were doing back home. “So Nick…” Brian began “How is the solo album coming a long?”

Nick nodded his head as he swallowed his food. “Pretty good, I mean I am getting my way a lot more on this one than I did on Now or Never. I am using a lot of my own material this time.”

“What about you Alex?” Brian asked as he looked at AJ. However, AJ was looking somewhere else.

There she was. AJ stared at the girl who was walking down the aisle towards him. His eyes were glued on her. He could hear Brian talking to him, but didn’t have a clue what he was saying. ‘She is coming this way. She is coming right towards me.’ He thought to himself as Audrey stopped at their table.

“Hey boys. How are y’all doing today?” She asked sweetly as she motioned to see if it were OK for her to sit with them.

Brian politely told her to feel free.

Audrey sat down and immediately began talking like she had known them forever. “So how are y’all handling the heat?”

Nick rolled his eyes “Man it fucking sucks! How in the world do people actually live here?”

“Just wait, you will get used to it. Before you know it, you won’t be able to tell 90 degrees from 120 degrees.”

“I seriously doubt that.” Nick said not convinced.

AJ still sat there looking at her. He just watched her lips move and her eyes light up as she spoke. Man she was hot. He had only been in the Army for 4 days and already falling for Army chicks. His mind went back to the last encounter he had with an ‘Army Chick’

There was only one week left before he would be leaving for the war, and AJ wanted and needed to get laid before he left. So being AJ, he got his buddies together and went for a boy’s night out. Pulling up to the Gold Club as looked at his reflection in the mirror one last time. Confident in what he saw he got out of the SUV and headed for the entrance.

The Gold Club is a premium strip club that he often goes to. As he walked inside with his buddies they were escorted to a VIP table in the corner. “Please let up now if we can do anything for you Mr. Mclean.”

AJ nodded his head and ordered a round of drinks for him and his buddies. Tonight, here in this club he was gonna pick a girl and bring her home….if they made it that far.

After watching girl after girl dance on the stage, AJ finally spotted something he liked.

“And now introducing fresh off POST the one and only G.I. Jealousy” The music started and the girl on stage began to slowly take off her military ‘uniform’. Pulling her long blond hair out of the bun she expertly ran her fingers throw it as she dropped her body down to the floor. Now in nothing but a camouflage thong she moved her body to the rhythm of the music.

AJ licked his lips as he watched her dance. He had always thought there was something hot and sexy about a woman in uniform but this blew his mind. AJ motioned for the bouncer to come over and requested a private lap dance with the GI.

A few minutes later AJ found himself alone with the beautiful woman in the room with him. She began to grind herself on to AJ and he could feel himself becoming more and more turned on by the moment. Watching her rub herself, he couldn’t help but think about how much better he could do it himself.
Pulling her head closer to him AJ whispered in her ear. “I would like for you to come home with me tonight.”

The girl pulled away and looked at AJ to see if he was serious. “I am sorry but I am not a prostitute.”

“Of course not. I wasn’t trying to insinuate that you were. It is just that well, I am leaving in a week to go to war, and you are really turning me on. And since I don’t have a girlfriend I could very well not get laid before I leave. Then if I die over there I may never get laid again. You’re not really gonna let me go to war sexually frustrated are you?” He asked with puppy dog eyes.

The girl smiled to herself thinking about the opportunity to sleep with a celebrity. As shallow as it may seems the idea was exciting to her. Licking her lips she brought them down to AJ. Pulling away she whispered “Your place or mine.”

“AJ….AJ….EARTH TO AJ!!!!” Brian shouted snapping AJ back to reality. “Dude what is up with you?”

AJ looked around the table at the three people staring at him. “Oh, I am sorry I was just thinking about something that happened before we left…..Audrey right?” he asked directing his gaze on her.

“Right…and is it AJ or Alex?”

“Either one. I don’t really care. Whatever you are more comfortable with.” He said smiling at her. She was really hot and smiling at AJ made him want to do bad things with her.
“So, what are you guys doing to get acclimated?” she asked.

“We have to do something? We have just been hiding out in the berthing out of the heat.” Answered Nick.

“No, no, no…that is a bad idea. You have to be outside. Try playing football or volleyball. You need to get your lunges adjusted to the temperature difference.”

“You go to be kidding me.” Nick said shaking his head. “I ain’t playing shit!”

Audrey laughed and then stood up. “Well I better get going. I have to go to the PX.” (AN: the PX is like a department store, on base.)

AJ stood up with her. “Want some company?”

She smiled sweetly and nodded “Sure, I guess you can tag along.”

Walking away AJ looked backed and wiggled his eyes at Brian and Nick as they shuck their heads in disbelief. That was AJ though. Always the lady killer.

The next day AJ was able to convince Nick and Brian to go play volleyball with Audrey and a few of her friends. This was no easy tasks. It took a lot of begging and telling Nick that Audrey had some hot friends, although AJ wasn’t sure if she did or not.

After hanging out with Audrey the day before, AJ was sure she also had a crush on him. It wasn’t like he could act on it though. Even if he wanted to do something about it, there weren’t any convenient places to be alone. AJ couldn’t help but smile at the idea though.

As the guys left the berthing to go met up with Audrey and her friends, Barrin, the solider that Nick met the day before ran into them. “Hey man, what up? Nick right?” Barrin said cooly.

“Yea, that is right and not much. Just going down to play some volleyball. Apparently it is supposed to help us get acclimated.” Nick replied rolling his eyes. “These are my friends Brian and AJ, and this is….sorry man I am bad with names.”

“It Barrin, or Rin whichever you prefer, and it is nice to meet you guys.” Barrin said as he shuck hands with Brian and AJ.

“So, you wanna join us for some volleyball?” Nick asked.

“Sure, why not. It isn’t like there are some many things for me to do here.”

As the guys reached the volleyball court, Nick found his eyes wondering around looking at all of the girls. Never in a million years would he have ever thought that military girls would be this hot. Sure there were some that were fat and out of shape, or really masculine, but for the most part, they were thin and toned. Nick was not looking forward to having to spend so much time with a hot girl and not being able to get any. He couldn’t help but smirk as his mind imagined all of the crazy places he could have sex out here.

Dividing up everyone into two teams, Barrin and Brian on one team with four other girls, and Nick and AJ on the other team with the rest of the girls. The game started out fairly normal. Everyone just hitting the ball around, but it didn’t take long before AJ and Nick started acting out. Nick purposely bounced the ball off of AJ’s head twice; of course he was talking to Audrey each time and not really paying attention to the game. After the second time, AJ decided to get Nick back and he “accidentally” hit Nick between the legs while passing the ball for him to serve it.

Overall, the game had been pretty entertaining. Nick had to admit that the longer he was out there, the less hot he seemed to be. He still thought it was way too hot for his liking, but his lungs were starting to adjust. The funny thing about it was that he wasn’t sweating. Back home in Florida or California, he would defiantly be sweating in this types of heat.

After a second game everyone sat down to cool off and get to know one another. Everyone seemed to be pretty cool. Even more amazing is that no one mentioned that they recognized the Boys. It was like a level playing field. It made Brian feel more welcome than he had in a long time. To just be able to hang out with a group of people and not be asked a million questions about your personal life. That could very possibly be the best thing about being out there; the chance to be normal.

Everyone’s attention was soon drawn to a commotion behind them. Audrey and Barrin immediately knew what was coming. “This is it.” Audrey said. “We are about to go into Iraq. They are coming to tell us to get our gear ready.”

Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. They were instructed to retrieve all of their belongings and meet at the rally point at 1700 hours (5pm). From there, they would load into five ton truck and be convoyed into Iraq. It would be a 7 hour trip in the back of a truck that all too often got blown up.

Nick could feel the knot in his stomach that had only recently disappeared began to return. He almost felt like he was going to throw up. In just a few hours, he would be heading into Iraq, a hostile territory. Kuwait was sort of safe, but Iraq was a whole different story. He continued to swallow the lump in his throat as he gathered all of his things to head for what he was sure was his impending doom.

Brian was relatively calm about the entire situation. He knew that he had prayed time and time again for god to keep him safe. That gave him the security that he would be. While gathering his things, he picked up his picture of Leigh and Baylee and kissed it. Smiling as he looked down at his family he felt comforted knowing that they too were praying for him.


AJ seemed completely oblivious to the entire situation. All that he could think about was Audrey and how much he liked her. He kept thinking of all the possible conversations and the outcome of these conversations that he wanted to have with her. He was hoping that she ended up on the same post as him. If she didn’t, he would be forced to think about the real reason he was out there. And that was something he didn’t want to think about.

1500 hours rolled by rather quickly and before they knew it they were standing at the rally point with all of their gear waiting for muster to be called. (AN: Muster is like a roll call.) One by one the boy’s names were called and they loaded onto the trucks. Once the boys took their seats reality really started to set in. They were made to put on protective gear for the first time, which included a Kevlar helmet and jackets, along with sappy plates in the lining of the jackets. They were also instructed to wear ear plugs and glasses.

Brian took a hold of his to friend’s hands and said “Let's say a quick prayer.”

Nick and AJ nodded their heads as Brian began to pray “God, you said that when two or three come unto your presence that you are here. Well God, here we are. We pray that you keep us safe on the coming journey. We pray that you keep your angels around every person that is going out tonight to fight for our great country and the freedoms that it possesses. We thank you God, for keeping us safe up until this time, and pray that you continue to do so. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.”

“Amen.” Nick and AJ replied simultaneously.

At that moment the trucks started moving. “He we go.” Said Nick as he put his head down into his hands.

As the trucks moved along the road all that was heard was the rumbling of the tires beneath them. It was almost like everyone was afraid to speak. On both sides of the truck was nothing but desert as far as the eye could see. Behind the truck was what seemed to be a never ending line of other military trucks, jeeps, and tanks. The harsh reality that things were quickly changing was beginning to set in.

Nick tried to adjust his helmet so that he could lean his head back and rest it on the side of the truck. He searched his mind to try and think of something to distract him and found it all too easy to do so once his mind thought of her. The girl Marcus challenged him to meet.

**********

‘Nick stood up from the bar and started his walk towards the girl sitting at the table with whom he assumed to be a few of her friends. As he approached the table, he took and deep breath and quickly went over in his head what he wanted to say to her. Wishing himself luck he smiled the ‘Carter smile’ and tried to casually introduce himself.

“Hello, I am so sorry to just interrupt you conversation, but I noticed you from across the room and I couldn’t leave without asking you to dance.” He said cooly to the girl.

The girl smiled innocently at him before looking over at her friends and shrugged her shoulders. Returning her focus to Nick she nodded her head before replying, “Yea, sure I would love too. Are you sure you want to dance to this song though?”

Listening to the music Nick decided that the girl was right; it wasn’t really a song that you would typically dance too. “Yea, your right. It isn’t really a dancing song.” He answered as he ran his hand over the back of his neck nervously. Unsure of what to do next he just stood there a little awkwardly trying to think of a way to stay.

“Why don’t you sit down with us and we will just talk for a little while until a song comes on that you wanna dance to.” The girl suggested.

Nick’s eyes lit up at her suggestion and he nodded his head in agreement. The girls at the table made room for Nick to sit down. Once he was sitting he felt a little more comfortable and started to relax. “So what are your names?” he asked everyone at the table, but making sure to focus his attention on the girl that Marcus picked.

“I am Elise.” The girl said.

“Elise, that is a very pretty name.” Nick replied.

“I am Kelly, and this is Melissa and Katrina.” One of the other girls said as she introduced the rest of the table. (AN: This is kind of a tribute to my three favorite authors on here, Honey, Mellz Bellz, and Tri. I hope you guys don’t mind)

“Well ladies it is nice to meet you all. I am Nick.” He said smiling sweetly.

“You too.” Replied Elise as she looked Nick in the eyes for the first time.

Nick almost lost his breath. Her eyes were gorgeous. They were the most unique color green he had ever seen. They almost looked like sunflowers. Starting out from the pupil they were almost an amber color before fading into an olive green and almost a deep blue along the edge. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he noticed that he loved the song that was playing.

“How about we dance to this?” Nick asked.

The girl smiled when she realized that “Bed of Roses” by Bryan Adams was playing. “I would love to.”

Nick took her hand and led her to the dance floor pulling her close to him. He glanced over at Marcus and raised his eyebrows as if to say ‘I told you so’. Marcus rolled his eyes as he took another sip of his beer. Nick returned his attention to Elise as he leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I couldn’t help but notice that you are the most beautiful girl in the room.”
Elis rolled her eyes at this comment. Was he really going to use that line? “Thanks.” She replied smiling up at him.

“So where are you from?” Nick continued to ask questions pretending to be interested.

***

“Nick! Earth to NICK!” AJ called out, snapping Nick out of his thoughts. “Dude, where were you?”

“Just thinking about home.” He replied.

Nick looked around and noticed that it had gotten dark. How long had he been thinking about Elise? Closing his eyes again he tried to shake loose the uneasy feeling he developed in his stomach. Just as he was starting to relax a little, he heard a huge explosion and then the truck began to shake and then slowed down.

“What the hell was that?” AJ asked looking around.

A guy at the front of the truck stood up and demanded that everyone get on their stomach on the floor of the truck. Frantically everyone obeyed his demands. Still confused by the events AJ kept asking what had happened over and over again.

“It was an IED!” One of the guys on the truck finally answered.

“A what?” Brian replied confused.

“A bomb, a homemade bomb!” the guy answered back.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. We have only been in Iraq for like two hours and we are already under attack. This is un-fucking-believable!” Nick said as his voice started to shake with fear.

They lay on the bottom of the truck for what seemed to be an eternity. Finally they were instructed to get back in their seat and the trucks began to move again. Driving past the exact spot that had just been bombed they noticed that one of the trucks were being left on the side of the road. They also noticed that there was a lot of blood splattered along the edges of the truck and on the ground around it.

“What happened? Did someone die?” Brian asked the guy who had initially told them to all lay on the floor.

“I am not at liberty to say, but there were a lot of injuries.” He vaguely replied.

Brian closed his eyes and prayed silently for those who were affected by the bomb. Chills ran down his spine as he thanked God for it not being him, as he realized how easily it could have been. He reached over and put his hand on Nick’s shoulder. Nick was leaning over with his head in his hands as his body shuck with fear, and tears involuntarily escaped his eyes.

That was the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to any of them, and this is only the beginning. How much more would they see. How much more would they be able to handle. Brian closed his eyes once again and asked God to give them the strength to make it through.

As they continued the convoy further into Iraq, fear took a stronger hold of them. As strong as they thought they were back in the States, all they could think about now was the fact that they were Pop Stars, who didn’t really have much experience in the real world, much less a world of war. Who in the world would have ever thought that they would be there, in Iraq, about to learn how to shoot and weapon, that would ultimately be used to shoot someone? Would they really be expected to kill people? Could they actually do it?

After eight hours of almost silent riding, they felt the truck come to a halt. Brian opened his eyes and looked around. It appeared that they were in some type of city. There were multiple buildings around, and a few street lights. However, there were barriers around the buildings, and all of the signs were in English. He hoped that they were there. He didn’t know how much longer he would be able to stay calm. Inside his heart had been beating so fast, that he thought at any moment he could have a heart attack. He tried to keep his mind off of the things going on around him by focusing on his family. He smiled again as he recalled one of the last family outings they enjoyed before he left.

****

‘Brian packed the car with the necessary items for their trip. They weren’t going too far, but they would be gone for the weekend, so it would require a bit of planning. He was taking his family to Wilmington, NC. It was supposed to be the Nations birth place or something, but more importantly there was a Busch Gardens there, and a new underground water park that he thought Baylee would enjoy. He even rented a time share, which he wouldn’t have normally done, but he didn’t want to be cooped up in a hotel room, and the time share he got was a full condo.

Looking back up at his house, he smiled as Leigh Anne walked out with Baylee and the last of the supplied for the trip. Man he was really going to miss his family. He watched as Leigh Anne made sure that Baylee was properly putting his seatbelt on before coming around to the back of the car. She ran her fingers through his hair and leaned over and gently kissed his cheek.

“Do we have everything?” She asked as she looked into the trunk.

“Yea, I think so.” Brian replied looking down at everything. He looked back over a Leigh Anne who was returning the gaze. “Let’s try not to think about anything else other than having a good time, okay?”

Leigh Anne simply nodded.

“I know that is a hard thing to do, but I want to have a great weekend for Baylee. I want him to remember this as a small get away weekend when his parents took him to Busch Gardens. I don’t want it to be about me leaving.”

Leigh Anne reached up and wiped a few stray tears from off of her face. “Your right. We need to stop dwelling on it. It is going to happen, and we need to enjoy the time we have left before you have to go. We are going to have a great weekend!” She said smiling. She had meant it too. She wanted Brian to leave with as many happy memories as possible, and she wanted to have those memories to hold on to while he was gone.

The two of them hopped into the car and looked back at Baylee. Brian made a goofy face and in his best Donald Duck impression is said. “Is Everybody Ready?”

Baylee laughed at his dad’s goofiness before answering that he was ready to go. Brian smiled at his son before asking what he wanted to listen too, and then rolled his eyes when he choose ‘High School Musical’. “Does this stuff ever get old?” he asked Leigh Anne. “I mean it has been out for years now, you would think kids would have moved on to something different.”

“Really? What do you think Backstreet Boy fans would say to somebody if they asked the same thing about your music, more importantly you older stuff?”

“But we are different. We still make new music. This stuff here is old, and there isn’t anything new coming out by the kids. Hell they couldn’t even do anymore, because they already graduated high school in the third one.” Brian said knowingly. Baylee made him watch all of them on more than one occasion, but they never seemed to get old to him. However, if Brian had to hear “Fabulous” one more time he was going to…
“It’s out with the old…” Baylee sang out loud along with the song. Brian gritted his teeth through his smile and reminded himself that this weekend was about Baylee and about him having a good time. So being Brian he joined right it.

“Goodbye clouds of Gray, hello skies of blue
A dip in the pool, a trip to the spa
Endless days in my chaise
The whole world according to moi
Excuse Me Thank You
Iced tea imported from England,
Lifeguards imported from Spain,
Towels imported from Turkey,
Turkey imported from Maine….”

Brian sang along with his best Sharpay impressions. Baylee laughed out loud at his dad. Leigh Anne smiled as she thought about how much she loved Brian. She loved everything about him, but most of all she loved the type of husband and father he was. Finally she shook off all of the sadness in her, and laughed along with her favorite people in the world. They were going to have a great weekend.’

********

Just as Brian was getting deep into the memory he was shaken back into the real world by Nick. He looked over at him kind of pissed to be disturbed. “What is it?” He asked annoyed.

“Dude, you were giggling like a school girl. I didn’t want everyone to hear you. What were you dreaming about?”

“I wasn’t dreaming I was awake; however I was thinking about a trip we took a couple of weeks ago to North Carolina. We had a great time.” Brian said as he attempted to go back to the memory.

“I’d love to hear about it sometime.” Nick continued. “Did y’all go to the Busch Gardens up there?”

“Yea, it was a lot of fun.”

Just then the back of the truck opened and a guy yelled up for everyone to grab their bags and get off. “Welcome to your new home boys!” he yelled in an all too enthusiastic way.

Everyone scrambled to get all of their things and then one by one jumped out of the back of the truck. Looking around it was obvious that this was not home, but little did they know that not long from now that would be exactly what they considered it. “A home away from home.”

“Well quit standing around like idiots, I need names….” The sergeant yelled.

As they waited their turn they looked around and noticed that there was an American Flag flying as well as an Iraqi one. They were standing in a parking lot of what appeared to be a hospital or a clinic of some sort, because there were big red crosses painted on them. There was also a long line of humvee’s with the red cross on them also. They assumed that was ambulances. Once they gave their name they were ushered into a building across the street.

The building was practically all stone, the walls the floors the ceiling everything, except for the doors. “This is your berthing. You will probably be in a room with three or more other people, and space will be a little limited. However, there is air-conditioning and little refrigerators in each room. This building does not have bathrooms, there are port-a-potty’s right outside for your use, and there are also shower trailers across the compound that have toilets and showers in them. However, you are not allowed to go there at night without a buddy with you, and most people are going to be pretty pissed if you wake them up to take a piss in the middle of the night.”

“Where are we at?” someone finally asked.

“You are at Camp Fallujah. This used to be one of Sadam Hussein's training camps. We took over when we first invaded Iraq in 2003.”

“So are we actually in Fallujah? I mean isn’t Fallujah still hostile?”

“Yes, we are in Fallujah, and no Fallujah is not hostile. There are still some insurgents roaming the streets of the city, but generally it is safe for us in the compound. It isn’t easy to get past our walls on foot, and they don’t exactly have many RPG’s or Rockets left. Plus, this fight isn’t with them anymore, this fight is with Iran. Iraqis are fighting with us now, not against us.”

Everyone seemed satisfied with the information and waited for further instruction. “I am not going to dictate where you guys sleep. I figure you know each other better than I do, so you choose who you room with. I am sure that as responsible adults you will be able to handle that?”

“Yes, sir.” Everyone said at once.

“Don’t call me sir, I work for a living. The name is Ard, Sergeant Ard.” He replied as he turned and started back towards the entrance. Once he reached the door he turned around. “Oh yea, breakfast starts at 6 am and last till 9 am. You don’t have to go. Also you don’t have to report tomorrow, take the day to get to know the compound.”

Once Sgt. Ard left, everyone stood around for a moment silently. It probably would have been easier if they would have just assigned rooms. Finally couple of guys started moving about, looking into the rooms. Nick exchanged looks with Brian and AJ and then started browsing also, soon they found that all of the rooms were about the same. The smaller ones had fewer beds and the bigger ones had more beds. The guys decided to just get in a room, so that they could get the spots they wanted. It didn’t matter what room they chose.

They chose a room that had two sets of bunk beds in it. That meant that only one other person would be in the room with them. They definitely liked the idea of that. Just then Barrin popped his head in the room “Hey guys, do you mind if I take the extra bunk in here?”
The guys looked and one another and shrugged their shoulders. At least they already knew him. “No problem man, come on in.” AJ answered waving him in.

Barrin looked somewhat relieved. “Thanks, I really didn’t feel like wading through all of the rooms until I found some of my friends. Plus, I don’t know too many people this time. It is a lot of draftee’s. I am still active duty, even though I shouldn’t be.”

“What do you mean you shouldn’t be?”

“I was supposed to get out two years ago, but I was stop lossed.”

“So basically it is like you were forced to stay in?”

“Yep.”

“Man that is so messed up shit!”

“Yea, well they were trying to get around having to reinstate the draft, so they were reusing us. I mean it makes sense. We are already trained and stuff, but after a while there were too many of us going AWOL, so they didn’t really have a choice.”

“Why didn’t you bolt?” asked Nick curiously.

“Well, at first it was because I really believed in what we were doing. That was when we were still trying to stabilize Iraq, but now that we have gone on to start fighting with Iran and North Korea, it is because I really think that if we don’t stand up to them, then the rest of the world won’t either, and as tired as a I of fighting this war, it is inevitable. Still some days I just want to hall ass and get the hell out of dodge.”

“I bet.”

A comfortable silence fell across the room as the four guys started to organize their things. After getting everything out of the middle of the floor, they all lay down on their beds and stared at the ceiling. Brian, Nick and AJ were all thinking the same thing. Could they be stop lossed? Even if they weren’t active duty, when their six months was over out here, could they be forced to stay longer? It was a question they we all too afraid to ask.