Deserted

"I never learned the value of life." A solitary soldier, wearing desert camo, limps across an expansive desert landscape. "If I die out here... alone... I wonder if anyone will care." He holds his side, where a bloodstain on his left abdomen gets larger. He winces at the pain.

"They told me that my life meant nothing. They told me that I was nothing. It makes sense. I can't imagine life having any deep meaning. You live. You feed. You breed. And you die. But more and more, I find myself asking... is that all there is?"

The soldier collapses on the desert sand. His eyes roll back.

"My parents enlisted me in the Marine Corps when I was seven. Back then, the JEP, or Junior Enlistment Program, had just started. The war had been going on for as long as I could remember. They needed more personnel, so they got creative with how and when they enlisted people.

"Some of the older folks used to talk about life before the war. I wish I could've seen it. It seems there were quite a few times when America wasn't at war with anyone. Or at least, that's what they tell us. Me, I think war was always going on. Most people just didn't see it."

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