Joe just nodded and was led by Cortez to a cot in the back of the tent, Joe laid down and, eyes still wide, just stared at the ceiling. Cortez brought back a tray full of food for Joe, but at the end of the day, it never was touched.
By nightfall, a list of all the bodies found at the destroyed convoy was sent to Cortez. By then Joe was aware of his surroundings, and had been crying on and off for a few hours, but still was on the cot. As quietly as he could, Cortez started to read the list of names. Joe was never told what the list was, but he knew, and after Cortez mumbled a swear, Joe instantly knew that his family was gone.
In a fit of rage, Joe jumped up and threw the tray of food across the room, screaming curses he grabbed his assault rifle and went for the door, but was stopped by Cortez
"Where the hell are you going?"
"Where do you think? I'm going to kill those bastards!"
"Joe, think about this! It's just you, there's thousands of them!"
"I don't care! I'm going to do whatever I fucking can!"
Cortez pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Joe's stomach
"You put that damn gun down or I'll shoot you, it won't kill you, but we need you, you can get revenge when we're all behind you, when you actually have a chance!"
They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, when in reality was only a few seconds, before Joe put his gun down and walked away. Cortez walked back to his bed and put his gun back into its holster and went to sleep.

Over the next few days, Canadian and American forces from the west began trickling into the ranks. Joe had learned a few French words over the course of his life, but he didn't understand anything more than "Hello" or "How are you", so he was always made fun of by the Canadians for his lack of French.
"Bonjour là soldat de camarade, je suis sûr que j'aurai un grand temps vous combattant le long du côté des Américains" a Canadian Sergeant sad to Joe one day.
"Uh, Bonjour...Merci"
The soldier just nodded and walked off. It would take getting used to, but Joe thought that it would make things more fun with the Canadians around him.
After a week, all the forces had made it to where they stood; they had faced some recon forces as they neared Nutley, but nothing too major. In all there were 15,097 soldiers joining the ranks, along with 400 tanks and 90 Aircraft. Most were Canadians, though some were Americans, mostly from California or Washington. Cortez called a group assembly.
"Alright men, I'm sure there's been some rumors going around, about how all the top officers and I have been planning an end to this war. Well I am here to confirm that rumor"
With that the soldiers cheered and lifted their helmets into the air
"Quiet down! What we plan to do is to attack the R.E.D. stronghold in NYC and take hold of it by early August; from there we'll wipe them out of existence in America. We're heading off in three days and we're going to take over Trenton, and then move on up to Newark, and then New York City. We are going to end this war!"
All the soldiers cheered at those last words and started pumping their fists into the air. Joe, Mike, Brian, and Mark were all standing in the back while this was going on.
"Really think this will work?" Mark asked
"It better, I mean, what else is there to do besides sit here and wait? If we have a bigger number than R.E.D, this will probably be over quicker than they say." answered Brian
"What if they have a bigger force than us, or developed some kind of weapon that we won't be able to stand up to?"
"Dude, this is the damn U.S. military, we're the most advance military in the world. We have all the most advance weapons available."
"But they probably have U.S. scientists that were brainwashed and put onto their side, they could have developed some sort of super W.M.D. that will kill us all!"
"Hey, if anything happens...it happens, no point in worrying about it, let's just do our job."
"I guess your right."
"You guys seriously need to just shut up and enjoy the fact that you're going to help save the freakin world." said Mike
"Sorry Mike, most of us don't take pleasure in killing people" said Mark
"Yea, I feel bad for you guys"

Over the course of the next few days, preparations for the new plan were underway. Tanks, jeeps, A.P.C.s, and masses of other military weapons passed through Nutley, a series of checkpoints were set up between Nutley and Trenton. Most of the way to Trenton was traveled on Route 95, a long stretch of highway that since the evacuation; had become a scene from a horror movie. Not a single breath of life on the entire highway except for that of the U.S. Military. Abandoned cars littered every median and side rail of the highway. The soldiers tried to keep up their spirits by making jokes and telling stories about their wives or girlfriends, who they hoped were still alive, but they couldn't get past the fact that they all felt lonely on this desolate stretch of road.
"I told her I'd propose when I got back, but you know women, you can't leave them alone for a day without them jumping on top of the freaking Guido down the street." said Pvt. Plamis in disgust
"Reminds me of back when I was a frosh, I asked out this beautiful blonde girl who was in my Math class, she said yes, so we went to "Starbucks" for some coffee. So afterwards, we make out behind the baseball field which is just across the street. She tells me she loves me, we say goodbye, and as we're walking home, I get a text from her saying she found someone else and wants to break up with me. In 10 damn minutes she finds another guy, it's unbelievable" added Sgt. Dian.
"I bet Joe has quite a lot of stories about girls he dated, too bad they're all depressing" Mike said with a laugh.
Joe punched Mike in the shoulder
"At least they didn't all transfer schools after dating me, too bad I can't say the same about you" and Joe's laugh was joined by everyone else in the Humvee they were in.
"You can be such an asshole sometimes man, that really hurt, she had...problems that didn't include me"
"Nah, I know, I'm just kidding"
Night fell before they reached Trenton; they still had not seen a single soul of a human being. They set up tents on the highway and some ventured into the woods to set up camp there. They were only thirty minutes from Trenton at this time, but drivers were falling asleep at the wheel, and fighting was out of the question.
"So I'm sitting there, my sights trained on this guy wearing a turban, his hands are up in the air, and he's screaming some gibberish I can't understand. I start to yell for him to shut-up and to tell me where his kids are. He can't understand me, I can't understand him. I finally got the damn translator to come and allow me to speak with this Arab. He said he didn't have any kids or a family, but he had three beds in the house, he must have thought we were idiots. So I punched him in the face and the translator yelled at him to tell us where he was hiding them. He had hid them in a ditch in his backyard. The guy was a freaking dumb ass. I'm so glad I'm out of that hellhole" said Pvt. Herrid
"How long did you serve in Iraq?" asked Pvt. Amaril.
"Two friggin years...I hated every minute of it, but I'm not against the war, those people there, the innocent people, really love the fact that we're there. I had a girl of about five or six run up to me, gave me a flower, kissed my hand and then ran behind her mother who was crying and waving at us. It gave me that warm feeling inside, you know what I mean."
Everyone around the campfire laughed
"Yea I know, I was in Darfur just a few months ago, helping to stop the violence there when a group of children drew in the dirt a picture of me and over it, it said "We Love America!" and I started to cry."
"Wow...what a pussy."
"Oh shut up."
Again, everyone around the campfire laughed
"Men! Get to bed, we're getting up at 0600 hours to go over mission briefing and get to Trenton." Yelled Cortez
So everyone went to their tents that housed three men each. Every light in the camp was out by midnight. Not a single sound could be heard for miles, but beyond the horizon was the glow of Trenton, lit up by the hundreds of fires set off by R.E.D., this war had just begun.

Chapter 6
Trenton

"Wake up boys, we got one helluva fight waiting for us!" yelled Cpt. Alex.
Hundreds of groggy soldiers lined the barren highway and waited on line for food and ammo. Each soldier was issued 400 rounds of basic M12 ammunition, three cans of food, and a canteen of water.
"Men, this fight is going to last at least a few days, Trenton stretches for miles, and I'm sure they have every inch of it covered. We're going to need your courage, your skills, and your brotherhood with one another. As the Russians said in World War Two "For every one of us they kill, kill ten of theirs" follow that saying as a law. We won't let this group take over our country, and our homes. Now enough of the corny war sayings, lets win this war!"
As customary with every war speech, every soldier shouted "Huzzah!" and lifted their helmets into the air. Almost right after the last soldier resumed his or her duties; a trio of Jet fighters soared over head. Leaving a trail of cheers and shouts behind them, after a few hours of preparation, everyone was off towards Trenton. The thirty minute drive was cut short as resistance met them fifteen miles off the border of Trenton.
"Amaril get up to the 50. Cal and lay suppressing fire!" yelled Cpt. Alex as we sped through a roadblock of enemies.
Amaril picked up a chain of ammo and put on his helmet. He stepped onto the first rung of the ladder to the gun, and was stopped in the middle of his climb as an RPG knocked into the side of the Humvee. Mike grabbed Amaril's arm and pulled him back into the vehicle before he fell out onto the ground.
"Damn, thanks Mike"
"You're not done yet Amaril, you still need to get onto the .50 Cal."
"I'm going!" yelled Amaril as he swung his legs back onto the ladder and climbed.
A few seconds later, Joe could hear the steady roar as Amaril fired the gun above everyone's heads. A Humvee next to them, hit a ditch in the road, and flipped over onto its roof. Four men climbed out through the windows. One was yelling something intelligible and waving them over.
The Humvee Joe was in, did a wide U-turn, narrowly missing an RPG propelled right where they were, had they not turned. The Humvee then sped across the war-torn high-way and reached the upside down Humvee.
"Save those men!" yelled Cpt. Alex, as he strapped on his helmet and ammo and jumped out the side. Joe and Mike followed suit and Mark and Brian went out the other side. Cpt. Alex ran towards the man who was yelling and although Joe still could not hear what he was saying over the chaos going on around him, he could see that someone inside the Humvee was hurt. Cpt. Alex got down on his knees and both him and the man lifted up the Humvee just enough, so that the wounded man could crawl out from underneath. Once he was out, Joe saw he was badly injured.
A bloody stain on his shirt showed that he had a stomach wound, and his arm was bent in an un-natural manner while his ankle looked to be broken. The man looked barely conscious and only let out a few groans. Cpt. Alex and the other standing man dragged him back to our Humvee.
"Get in!" Cpt. Alex yelled, and everyone jumped into the Humvee, Brian climbed up the ladder and got on the 50. Cal. Mark kneeled on the backseat and aimed his gun out the rear window. Occasionally firing a burst or two. Mike took the drivers seat, and Joe took up the radio on the passenger side. Cpt. Alex and the two other men that survived the Humvee accident were tending to the wounded man.
"We have a man down! I repeat a man down! This is Cpt. Riccardelli talking, a Humvee flipped, and one man is in critical condition we need a medic in Humvee 3! I repeat a medic in Humvee 3!" yelled Joe into his radio.
Joe stuffed the radio back into the backpack he got it out of and looked out the window. A city decimated by war lay all around him. A small, lone, and grey building on the border of the city had the Rebel insignia strewn all over it.
"Everyone, clear out and capture that building, there might be something of worth inside there." yelled Cpt. Alex
Everyone obeyed their orders and jumped out of the Humvee and lined up by the ground floor doorway. Mike and Amaril on one side, Joe Mark and Brian on the other side. Cpt. Alex came and threw a flash bang grenade into the door way and yelled "Move! Move! Move!" and ran inside the door, inside the room was a small lobby room.
A beat-up couch was set in the corner, a man with a bandage around his leg and torso was unconscious, violently coughing every few minutes. A picture of a man with a grey suit, glasses, and his hands folded on his lap was hung up on the wall over the injured man. Under the picture hung a nametag that said "Dr. Wimcholl" and a certificate next to that.
This grey building was a doctor's office; the reason for the injured man on the couch was because it was easier to get medical supplies. There was another man standing up by the coach, considerably shorter than anyone else in the room. He was tending to the wounded man on the couch before Cpt. Alex threw the flash bang. Now he was cowering in the corner covering his eyes.
"Don't shoot!" he yelled
"Don't be stupid, you don't fire at us, we don't fire back" said Mark as he walked towards the man. "Who are you?"
"I'm George Trimel, a medic for this sector of Trenton, please, this man is in critical condition, he needs help"
"I'm sure our medical center will be more help than just a medic"
"He can't be moved, he won't make the trip, please just let me finish, then you can move him"
"Alright, sure"
The man then stood up, and shakily walked back towards the couch
"Hey, Johnny? Your going to be okay, your going to get better help, I just need you to stay away for me? Ok? They're going to help."
The man just moaned, and Joe could make out a slight nod. The medic then took a bandage and wrapped it around the injured mans abdomen, which Joe now could see was covered in blood.
Cpt. Alex then turned on his radio.
"Cortez, this is Alex, get a med-evac to the doctor office on the border of Trenton, on Broad Street, right by the farms, we have a wounded R.E.D. soldier, and he needs medical help."
A younger voice piped back
"Cortez is tending to some other duties, sir, an R.E.D. soldier is not at the top of our priorities, with all due respect, you should leave him here until we capture Trenton."
"This man is in critical condition, a fucking paper cut can wait until after this battle, this man needs attention now!"
"But...sir
"That's an order!
"Yes, sir, sending a Humvee to your position, over" said the now shaky voice on the other end
With a click, the radio went dead, for a few minutes the soldiers just stared at the ground until, the silence was broken by another violent coughing fit from the injured man and ended up in him vomiting all over the floor. The short man was hurriedly giving him water and mopping the floor with a towel.
"What happened here, soldier?" Alex asked the Medic
"He was hit with shrapnel, the biggest piece missed his heart by a few centimeters, I'm surprised he's made it this long."
"Will he make it to the camp now that you did what you had to do?"
"I doubt it, he's barely conscious now, he probably won't make it further than a few miles"
"So what's the point in trying to save his life, you could be helping men that have hope."
Joe heard the Medic sniff and wipe his eyes, when he turned around
"This man is my brother, my best friend, I can't let him die."
"I'm very sorry, we'll do everything we can, he'll make it through, you can count on us."
"Thank you, there's more men up-stairs, in the different rooms, most of them have minor injuries, broken arms, twisted ankles, I want you to make sure they're safe, these men are part of my squad, I've been with them since I joined R.E.D. three years ago."
"Roger that, keep an eye on your brother, we'll take care of the rest."
Alex sent Joe and Mike up to check on how many guys there are. Joe reached the top of the steps to find a hallway lined with rooms. In every room they checked, there was a man either sleeping, or sitting in the corner. Their faces beaten, their arms bruised, a few were staring at the wall, others just looked at them with faces of men who were tired of war, who wanted to go home.
One man was holding a picture of his wife and son, his hand slightly shaking. When Joe and Mike walked in, he started to talk.
"She's beautiful isn't she, my wife, I haven't seen her in years, all because of those bastards!"
"What bastards?"
"You, the damn U.S. military!"
"Sir, please, calm down, your going to see her, your going to go back home, we're here to help, not kill."
"I don't know who to believe, I was told before I was shipped here, that you guys would show no mercy, you would kill us on sight. Now, you're here, and I heard what went on downstairs, do I shoot you now, or do I surrender." And with that, he pulled out a pistol from his pocket.
"They lied to you, you can still get out of here and see your family, we're here to help you, we want this war to be over just as much as you."
"You don't get it, they're dead, they're all dead, my family, I saw them blown apart by your rockets. I vowed revenge on you, and that I would kill you, but now, I find you're trying to help me. I just want to see my family, I miss them so much" he slowly raised the pistol to his temple.
"Listen to me" yelled Joe, over the roar of the chaos outside "You can still get revenge, on R.E.D., they caused this war, not us. We've all had losses from this war, you can join our ranks, you can help finish this war, get your old life back."
"Its too late for me now, my two loves are gone, my wife and son." He pulled the trigger, nothing happened, but a small click in the chamber of the gun, it was out of ammo. The man dropped the pistol on the ground, and put his head into his hands and wept.
"We'll be back, your going to get out of here."
Twenty minutes later, all the injured R.E.D. soldiers were sent back to a field camp, some of them bewildered by the kindness of their enemies. One soldier with short brown hair and a scar across his eyebrow shook Joe's hand and tears streamed down his eyes.
"I want this war to be over" he said calmly
"We all do, soldier, we all do."
And with a nod, the soldier turned and jumped on the back of the lorry that came to pick up the wounded.
A soldier with glasses and a shaven head walked up towards Cpt. Alex,
"Sir, we need orders, we can't stand by any longer, we're already a few miles behind the rest of the troops"
"Alright, Sgt. Sim, tell your men to cross that field" he pointed to an open field just a couple hundred feet from us. "And take over Sector Foxtrot, it starts a mile North of here, spreads twelve miles east, west, and north." He took out a map, and marked the sector with a pen.
"Lt. Alvarez is taking over Alpha, Beta, and Charlie, while Cortez is taking over Delta, and Echo."
"Sir, yes, sir"
"Move out"
With a wave of his hand, Sgt. Sim and his sixty-five men ran towards the middle of the field. The field was a few hundred feet wide, and a hundred feet long. Thick shrubbery lined the only road going through it; the road looked as if it hadn't been paved since it was laid down. Weeds grew through the many cracks through out it, tire tracks, crushed cigarette buds, and broken glass littered the small road.
From the east of the lone grey house, was a forest, and through it Joe could see a stream running through it. The forest looked as if all was right in the world, that a vicious battle wasn't being raged all around it. For a moment, Joe felt a calming sensation fall over him. A bird flew into the trees and landed in a nest, and Joe could hear the chorus of chirps coming from the birds children. A smile spread across his lips.
The smile was quickly wiped away as the roar of machine gun fire filled his eyes. He turned to the sound and saw Sgt. Sim and his men running through a field, with a machine gun in lighting them up in the distance.
"Fuck! Get some covering fire on them" screamed Alex.
Joe slid into a ditch a few hundred feet away from the machine gun and opened fire with his rifle. Mike followed suit, and Mark jumped onto the .50 Cal on the Humvee. A few short burst from the massive gun, and the machine gun noise stopped.
Static on Alex' radio, turned every head in the vicinity towards it. Alex picked it up and a scared voice sounded.
"Sir, its Sim, we need a medic here, at least four are dead, and more than fifteen are wounded, my God sir, I've been hit, my leg, sir, get help now!"
"Stay right where you are, we're sending in help!" with that he put the radio back into his pouch and turned towards his men
"Grab every damn thing in that hospital, and help those soldiers"
Joe stood up and stared at the scene, trying to comprehend what just happened. Sixty-five men, who were just standing there with Joe, had just been blown to pieces in a matter of minutes. Four lives were lost, and more were bound to be gone.
"What the hell's the matter with you? Move it!" yelled Alex to his men; most of them were in the same trance Joe was.
Joe then hurriedly went back to the lone grey house, ran up the stairs, and ransacked every drawer and cabinet in the entire facility. He picked up bandages, antibiotics, syringes, food, water, and anything else he could carry. He stuffed it in his pockets, in his equipment, in his belt, his helmet, anywhere he could fit it. Joe had to smile at his appearance, all the bandages he had made it look like he was enveloped in a large seat cushion.
Joe ran down the stairs and out the door, he could see men in the field carrying wounded on their backs, stretchers, or in their arms. One man had one leg torn up so badly, that it barely looked attached. Another was clutching his stomach, screaming in agony. Another soldier was limping along with the rest of the group. Mike came down the stairwell and put his hand on Joe's shoulder, when Joe looked back, Mike pointed to the soldiers, and Joe nodded.
They both ran towards the medics by the Humvee and handed all the medical supplies they had gathered from the hospital to them.

Thats all I have so far, I've been working on it on and off since June 2007, which means, working on it about an hour per month XD I'm sort of running out of ideas, but I do have an idea for the ending

The prologue and all the way up to where I'm in my history class, is actually the newest update XD...