I took what might've been my last look at home. I took my time to eat my breakfast; waffles drizzled with syrup completed with whip cream on top and a cup of chocolate milk. I don't know what kind of slop they'll be feeding us on base, but it definitely won't be as good as Dad's cooking.

As we drove to the airport, I took pictures in my mind of all of my favorite places. Soon enough, it was time to say goodbye and Dad was already balling like a baby.

"Now you listen to me," Dad said through his tears, "you have to stay strong, even when you feel like the world is about to fall apart. No matter what, you never ever  give up, you understand? And remember, you'll always be Daddy's little girl, so don't let anybody tell you differently, ok?"

"Ok," I said as I gave Dad a big bear hug, I then turned to Alice. It worries me a bit that she won't be joining me for a month.

"I'll miss you," I said sadly as Alice hugged me for dear life.

"Don't win the war 'til I get there," Alice said with a smile.

As I turned to leave, Dad stopped me, "Sarah, I have one more thing." He reached into the car and pulled out the most beautiful, stylish, brown, leather jacket that I had ever seen. "For you," Dad smiled as he handed it to me.

"Oh Dad!" I said with tears in my eyes.

"It was your mother's when she was your age. She would want you to have it," Dad said softly.

"Thank you," I whispered as I reverently took the jacket.

As the plane took off, I couldn't help but wonder if Peter was alright. As I looked out the window, I could see a single tear slide down my cheek in the reflection. This was goodbye, maybe forever, and now, I would have to face the hard challenges of becoming a soldier.

The bus ride from the airport was long and bumpy. I had no idea how big Denver, Colorado actually was! Plus, there's nothing like the glimpse of the NFL Denver Broncos stadium. I'll also miss those sunny days miniature golfing at Boon Docks.

I got off the bus only to find an already waiting taxi. Cousin Ashley must've pulled some strings to make sure that I get to the base safely. As we drove by the countryside as the sun was setting, I got a painful reminder of how much I'll miss spending every summer at my Grandparents' ranch. All those memories were flooding back to me, so I was startled when the cab driver started asking me questions.

"So, you're joining the army, eh?" the cab driver asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I have nothing better to do," I said a little too harshly. "Now that I'm all alone," I said under my breath.

"Oh, a hard break up I assume?" the driver asked softly.

"The worst part was that I thought we were going to be together forever," I answered sadly.

"Well you know what they say, love is a ruthless game, unless you play it good and right," the driver said, trying to cheer me up and before I knew it, we were there. "Well, this is it, as far as I can go and unfortunately as far as the base will let me take you. You'll have to walk the last mile from here," the driver informed me.

"Thank you," I said as I got out of the taxi.

"Hey, good luck to you soldier and be careful if you make it to the front lines; it's not so pretty up there," the cab driver warned.

"I think that's everything, so long!" I called and just like that, I was left all alone in the darkness.

As I started walking, I noticed that the wind was starting to blow, making it a little colder that I had anticipated. A little further up, I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. I stopped and looked around only to find nothing but myself and the path ahead of me; I kept on walking. For a while, all I could hear was the wind howling but then, I heard a twig snap and frantically looked around. I suddenly saw a flicker of movement in the shadows. Oh great! I'm being followed with no way to defend myself and nobody to back me up. Now, there was even more movement in the shadows! I started to quicken my pace. I was almost there! I could see the faint outline of the fence and the lights of the base.

SLAP! Someone, or something, slapped my wrist, forcing me to drop my suitcase. BAM! A kick to my back made me cry out in pain. I took a few steps back and yelled sternly, "Show yourselves!" I could see dark odd-shaped figures that made wretched noises with their tongues and came to realize that these were some of the aliens. I also sadly realized that I was outnumbered, BIG time. One against fifteen making the odds of my survival just about zero. However, I refused to go down without a fight.

PUNCH-PUNCH! Two down. WHAM! Another down, twelve more to go. BOOM! I accepted a hard blow to my thigh. I staggered back, but quickly recovered and sent a carefully aimed kick from my good leg to my attackers' stomach. I strategically dodged another few blows before I was attacked from behind and kicked in the side. I trapped the aliens' disgusting legs between my feet and brought it down hard. Ten left, but still too many for me to handle on my own. POW! I took a punch to my stomach that hurled me backwards. CRACK! A blow to my shoulder blade made me lose my balance and a final kick to my head caused me to collapse to the ground. I was helpless, so the aliens started beating the crap out of me.

Just when I felt like I couldn't physically handle anymore, out of nowhere came this mysterious man! He took down four of the aliens without any trouble at all. The six aliens left pounced on him all at once. Then all of a sudden, metal claws came out of the man's knuckles! He used them like knives to take out what was left of the aliens.

I tried to slowly, painfully pry myself away from the ground, but my arms were too weak and I fell right back down. The mysterious man, seeing my troubles, quickly came over and gently scooped me up. He felt so warm compared to the cold, fierce, blowing wind. I realized that I was starting to lose my conscious from the unbearable pain.

"Hang in there kid, we're almost there and help is on the way," the man said as he wrapped his arms a little tighter around me.

I snuggled up to his big chest, attempting to stay warm, and then...everything went blank. 

"Augh!" I gasped as I sat straight up.

"It's ok, you're safe now," a strong, but soothing voice said. As I regained my conscience, I realized the voice belonged to a tall, scruffy looking man. I started choking from the too sudden breath of air. The man was quick to fill up a cup and hand it to me. As I set the cup aside, I realized how beat up I was.

"What happened to me?" I asked worried.

"You got in a pretty heated battle with a bunch of bad guys," the man answered.

"What...what about the man with claws that saved me? Is he ok?" I asked.

"What man with claws?" the man asked confused.

"Oh! Nothing, it must've been my imagination, sorry," I said embarrassed. Something didn't feel quite right, but I couldn't place it! I had to think about it really hard. "Um, how long was I out?" I asked seriously. The man picked up a clipboard. He had to flip through a few pages and took a deep breath before saying,

"You've been out three days." My mind stopped.

"WHAT!?" I yelled in surprise.

"You've been asleep for three days. That's how long your body took to heal. What's left under those bandages is small cuts and bruises." So that's why I couldn't feel any pain! Then I remembered.

"Oh no! My Commanding Officer is going to be so mad! I've missed three days worth of training!" I said in alarm. The man chucked.

"Something tells me you'll be just fine, you seem like a smart girl. It'll be a piece of cake!" The man got up to leave, but added on his way out, "The nurse wants to keep you overnight for a final test. Be ready to wake up bright and early."