Day Seven:

Seven days of training. Seven days of pain. It’s all been for this very moment. Today started like any other day. All of us woke up early, and went to get our morning coffee. We had our usual 2 hour long training session, when all of a sudden there were trucks everywhere. The people of the fortress started to stuff them with ammunition, food, medicine, etc. At first I thought we were relocating the camp, to move to a safer place. But, with my usual luck, we were assigned the direct opposite. San Ildefonso has been taken by the enemy, and we must fight to get it back. Our company, E company, would have to hold the line at the Rio Santiago ford until the rest of the reinforcements arrived. I may have escaped killing someone at the jungle encounter, but there is no way I will be able to avoid killing anyone this time. As Ignacio would always say, this is war.
A gun in my hand makes me feel like I’m worth something. While some fear still daunts me about the weapon, it makes me feel powerful. When I possess this destructive little contraption, I have the ability to end lives. I have control of whether a person will ever see the light of day again, or if they won’t. I’m not a boy anymore, I’m a soldier. I am a soldier for the revolution!