That's MILITARY Brat To You - Ch. One;

Waking up at 0400 didn't feel as much of a chore three years after joining the military, but doing so on a day in which I did not need to be up this early? That left me feeling just the tiniest bit annoyed. No matter, maybe I could go for a jog, tire myself out, and come back to bed.

No such luck, Rosalynda Heire. A twenty minute jog followed by a fifteen minute leisure walk and I was more amped up than ever. By the time my shower finished and it was time to pick out my outfit for the day, I just opted to wear a pair of shorts and a grey t-shirt. The clock read just after six o'clock, so may as well continue going on with my day. Tomorrow is another day off. And tonight, I was celebrating my best friend's birthday, so maybe we'll be up so late partying I won't have a choice but to sleep in.

Hopefully.

I had kept my phone charging in the living room while showering, and upon returning to it and lighting up the screen, I had two missed calls and a couple of text messages. Both missed calls were from the friend I was just thinking about: Misty Chase. Just reminding me about her party (how could I forget, when she found it utterly necessary to remind me one hundred times a day?) and to pick something sexy for my boyfriend tonight (wasn't it her big day? That didn't seem appropriate). She also deemed it fit to send me a text message detailing the itinerary for the evening. The other text was from my boyfriend.

Samuel Finnegan - Finn to all his friends - was your typical long, dark and handsome. He had a personality that lit up a room, and seemed to beckon your attention upon sensing his very presence.

He was finishing up his last semester but was doing some catch-up in a class I had done very well in; our professor brought this up and suggested for me to tutor him.

Initially, I didn't really try and look at him much; his black hair reaching just past his shoulders and deep, dark eyes really were quite the distraction, and I really was determined to help my fellow classmate pass this class. That would also be why I fit so well in the military: I was nothing if not set on my duties, and insistent on finishing whatever task at hand. He seemed to sense this, and didn't try and deter me from being his teacher. However, upon finishing our final exam, he asked me out on a date, to which I robotically said yes (I was certain Finn had never heard the word no in his life).

The night of our date, I had literally stood in front of the mirror in nothing but bra and underwear, wondering not only what to wear but what the heck this beautiful creature found alluring about me. My hair was a dirty blond - practically mouse brown, but it was such a mess of curls it didn't seem at all appealing. My eyes were just a plain ol' brown, nothing really special there. I was short, five-feet and a quarter inch, so my build pretty much reflected that (though I would like to take a moment to pride myself in how toned I did look thanks to my training). I just didn't see myself as special enough to go on a date with someone so... Finn. That was the best I could describe him, as he really was a league all his own.

But, despite feeling self conscious in a pair of blue jeans, plain white blouse and wedges, the night went pleasantly well. More so than I expected it to; I had tons of fun with Finn and before we even realized the time, it was almost five A.M. and we were watching the sunrise on the roof of his car, watching the colors shift on the horizon of a Southern California beach. That was also the night we shared our first kiss.

And the rest was history, as they say.

Now in the mall waiting for Misty to arrive - we have to pick out the perfect outfits the night of, so we don't change sizes suddenly right before the party and our shit doesn't fit - I decided to go freshen up in the bathroom. Also, it gave me some time to kill so I didn't look like a pathetic sad-sack in the middle of the food court all by myself with my phone. Since it was early on a Saturday, no one was around. But, with recent news broadcasts, I wouldn't be entirely surprised it stayed this way the rest of the day.

There had been sightings of these strange creatures lurking in forests, and surprisingly they only came out during the day. They were - as described by eye witnesses - tall creatures, reaching several feet, some even describing them as having their heads touch the tops of trees. Humanoid in appearance though horrendously distorted as well. People who were lucky enough to come back alive from these creatures described the horrors of watching their loved get devoured or just taken away into the forests by these monsters. A lot of people were calling it a hoax - but we in the military knew better.

I had never seen one, but a few of my comrades had come face-to-face with them, and even engaged in combat, though they seem to be regenerative in nature - like chameleons - and their limbs would instantly grow back. With some of them, their heads even returned to their bodies even after being knocked right off. It sounded like a nightmare, and hoped that I would never have to encounter one myself. As a nurse in the military, I wouldn't be on the battlefield much anyway; didn't mean I wasn't battlefield ready, but my job would entail having me on the sidelines, which was fine with me.

Just as I shook my hands of water and looked up at the mirror, I noticed something strange about it; there seemed to be an almost rippling effect, but that was probably just some water I splashed on it, right? Though, logically, I didn't splash enough water on the mirror to make the entire thing change its appearance right before me - and my splashing water with my hands wouldn't create, say, a new image in the mirror entirely.

I watched in horror as my face disappeared and an image of a cottage-like home appeared before me. No- not a home, it was clearly a base. There were people dressed up in uniforms, and stomping around with a sense of purpose I was extremely familiar with. I reached up with a wet hand to touch the image, to see if it was real, but as soon as my fingers made contact, the mirror rippled like before and the scene disappeared, leaving me with a reflection of my horrified face. I proceeded to splash some water into my eyes because I have to be daydreaming or something and proceeded to exit the bathroom, almost sprinting through the entrance.

Just as I entered the food court did my phone go off, notifying me that a certain birthday girl was calling. "Where the fuck are you? We have our shit-faced outfits to pick out, you know?"

Yeah- I wasn't really focused on that right now. What was that?