User blog:ProudAmerican1776/The Things You Leave Behind

''“It is so hard to leave, until you leave. And then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world.” - John Green, Paper Towns.''

The Things You Leave Behind
The cliffs overlooking New Dublin were always Jack Reed's favorite place to be to watch the sun set. The orange and pink that covered the City and it's bay were stunning. As a kid he and his brother, Ryan Reed, would come up here at the end of the day and watch the sun slip beneath the ocean. Ryan was burried on that cliff side following his death during the Western War. He requested to be burried there when he died, as did Jack. Jack made sure to visit Ryan as much as he could. Running a navy was hard as it was, so he couldn't see him all the time. Jack even forgot when he was last at the cliff to visit his brother and watch the sun set with him.

"President Greenwood wa right about you being here."

Jack recognized that voice. It was Gary Proud, the only son of the late Gareth Proud.

And an apparent distant cousin of his.

Accompanied by Gary was Adrian Krieger, a former commander in NORAD who left after seeing that NORAD was becoming too dangerous to be a part of. Of the three of them, Adrian was the youngest at age 27. He also had a constant 5 o'clock shadow, something he apparantly cannot get rid of.

"Yeah, I try to go here whenever I can." Jack replied.

"You've been busy this past year, I don't blame you." Gary said, walking up next to him. "I never thought New Dublin was this beautiful."

He was right. New Dublin went untouched by the Western War, and even the Fourth of March attacks somehow, even with many strategically important locations scattered across the island.

Jack took out his metal flask from his breast pocket and took a swig from it. On it was the seal of the Confederate Naval Forces. He had this ever since the first time he commanded a ship. That was in 2009, after he left the NID. To him, it seemed like a lifetime ago.

"I left the Navy." Gary said to Jack's suprise.

"What?"

"I left the United States Navy." He repeated, still facing the sunset.

This shocked Jack. He never thought Gary would leave the Navy.

"Why did you leave?"

Before speaking, Gary took a deep breath and put his hands in his pockets.

"I honestly don't know. I didn't plan on staying in the Navy long, but I was only in for three years. I guess I felt like my time had come to leave and go back to civilian life."

Adrian finally walked up, standing next to Gary.

"So now what are you gonna do?" Adrian asked him.

Gary remained silent for a second, wondering what he would do now that he was out of the Navy. Then he finally spoke up.

"I'm gonna become a writer."

"Now that I didn't expect." Jack replied, resting his arm on the shorter Gary.

Then there was a silence between the three, as they watched the sun set. It wasn't until the sun had finally slipped beneath the horizon that they finally spoke.

"So, where do you guys wanna go?" Adrian asked the other two.

"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink or two. Maybe more." Gary replied.

"Yeah," Jack replied," Let's go get some drinks."

Then the three of them walked away from the cliffside without any care for the world. They had each other, like they always would. And in the end, nothing would split them apart.