It did not take long for Vicka and 99 others to get their excitement got real. By the seventh day, a middle-aged man with a big insignia on his shoulders came to their boot camp. He had a very impressive moustache.

"Company, line up! Salute!"

The moment the roar of sergeant first class was heard, the hundred men saluted their officer almost at the same time. Seven days ago, they were frightened by that roar. Now it became their rhythm. The shock from the stomping of their hoofs echoed through the camp.

"I am lieutenant colonel Winslate. Your battalion commander. You will be attached to the other nine hundred to form a battalion. Yes. It seems to be fast. It was only seven days. But I believe you are ready. You all came here as boys. Now in my eyes, I see men, standing strong, standing tough and standing deadly. You all came out as men_real men. That is what I see and I always believe what my eyes see. So I will ask you. Do you believe what you see too?"

Like Vicka, the rest also looked at each other after the speech. They were not so sure. Just a week ago, they were boys playing soccer. Now they had to go to the frontline? Their eyes wavered. However, there was one who did not. It was Clooney.

He stomped his feet as he took a step forward. He shouted clearly, "I believe so, sir! I now stand as a man."

"So do I, sir!" Another man stepped forward as soon as Clooney did. The second man was chubby Chad, Private Berry.

After the heartfelt performance by Berry, everyone stepped forward, including Vicka. At every stomp they heard, they felt a war-drum was beating right at their heart.

And they felt prouder at themselves, especially at the moment lieutenant colonel Winslate saluted them back. "You men are the pride of Davia. With me, let's liberate our brothers in Goli and beat those Goli bastards!"

After the seven days of training, the hundred youths who were now called 'men' lined up in their khaki brown uniform with blue and white columns on their right arm representing their glorious Davain Flag.

Vicka strapped a metal helmet and belted a bag loaded with ammunition behind his back. Then he carried a box full of mortar rounds from the armoury to the truck he was assigned to with another recruit.

When he reached the truck, he saw his friends Clooney and Dickson, even Berry on it.

His eyes became teary when he found out they were assigned to the same unit. For a moment he thought they were assigned to different units when he did not see them at the armoury. He loaded the box then got on the truck and gave them a passionate hug.

"Let's be together like this till the end."

The five kakhi trucks moved out of the camp slowly then they joined with the ten other trucks at Plum Town. As soon as the townspeople saw them, they waved at them with lots of smiles. Some random grandmas came to them with baskets of biscuits for them to enjoy on their trip.

"Be back home safe, son." A middle-aged man patted a soldier lightly. His voice was crackling. While a woman who seemed to be the mother was crying her eyes out behind the man. Words would not come out of her.

A young woman in her twenties was giving a kiss to her lover. She was not crying but her red nose and puffy eyes showed that she must have cried till her tears were dried before coming here. She was trying to look strong for her lover. "I will be waiting for you."

Vicka felt choked by the emotions returning to him in flocks. For the past few days, he forgot all human emotions. At the camp, all he did was trying not to get yelled at and try to become the best shooters of Goli dummies. What have I become? He hit himself. A week away from his papers and he became a lap dog of the government. Then again he had no choice. It was he or his brother who would become a doctor one day and provide for the family.

He checked his friends who were sitting across from him. Like him, Clooney and Dickson were turning their heads like a fan, searching for their families.

Dispirited, Dickson told Clooney, "I guess they won't make it here in time."

Greenly was a remote village, a little far from Plum Town than the other villages so they knew their families might not be able to come on such short notice. Still, they had hoped to meet their families and the faces of their mothers and fathers before they were off to the frontline.

Berry's parents could not make it here like theirs. But his sister who worked at a bakery in Plum Town came to see him off. She gave him a box of biscuits she made herself. They were special chocolates with extra milk and sugar so that a bite would give them energy for the day.

"Share it with your friends," told the sister to Berry. Then she looked at Clooney who was sitting next to Berry and said, "My brother may be a handful but he is a good-natured boy. I hope it may not be too much if I ask you to take care of him."

"Sure. I will," assured Clooney to her, "actually, he truly is a handful but when he is into something, he can be tenacious and reliable. We are relying big on your little brother too."

A moment later, they heard a series of horns as a small kahki car drove passed the trucks. When it reached the front of their convoy, the wheels of their trucks started to roll. It mercilessly broke apart the hands which were holding to.

Then Vicka saw Uncle Dickson from afar. The three families just got here from their little village. But it was too late. All they could do was wave their hands endlessly until they were out of the horizon.

"Let's all get back home safely. Okay?" Dickson asked for a promise. Without thinking much, Vicka and Clooney promised him.