Chapter 1.B

A Few Months Back

“Billy! Where are you Billy!” I shouted as I run through the halls of the orphanage. The drywall was moldy in places and half of the lights dangling above from single strands of copper with no insulation around them were burnt out. The proprietor of this place was embezzling every extra penny intended for this place that he could.

“Ray Ray?” said a small voice from inside one of the darkened rooms. Most of the other kids went outside during the days here at the Orphanage, it was a way to escape this terrible place, just for a little while. Billy always stayed in though, he got sick and tired easily and the doctors couldn’t figure out why. Running around outside with the other kids was just too much for him.

“Billy!” I shouted one more time before wrapping him up in a big hug.

“Did you bring it?” he shouted as he pulled away from me. I did indeed bring it. A coy smile lit my face which gave away the surprise. My smile must have been infectious because it quickly spread to Billy’s face. “Give it, give it, give it!” he shouted. I pulled the comic from the back of my pants just under my jacket where I had been hiding it. It was the original edition of the 1939 All American Comic, which introduced the Golden Age Green Lantern for the first time ever. Billy grabs it from me and starts shifting through the pages as fast as he can.

“You don’t have to go so fast, you own it now, it’s yours. Also I’ve got some more good news.”

“What is it,” asks Billy.

“I did it, I finally did it. I got into the Army. I leave next week for basic training.”

“That’s amazing Ray,” says Billy, but the quiver in his voice betrays him and I know he doesn’t want me to go.

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“It will just be for a few years and then I’ll be back. I’ll bring money and fame, and I’ll buy us all our own house. A great big one with a backyard and a dog. I’ll take you, and Marla, and all the good kids from here. We will have our own orphanage, but a good one, with good food, and games, and lots of lights, and no rats. All the good stuff.”

“I don’t know if we can hold out that long without you, you protect us all. Even mean old Mr. Percy is nicer when you are around.”

“I’ve thought of that. I’ve collected some money. I’ll spread it around a bit and leave some with you, and I’ll talk to Mr. Percy before I go and make sure he treats everyone good while I’m gone. Just hold out a few years. I’ll go kill some Nazis, and come back here in my uniform and save us all.”

“You are going to be a hero Ray, like Green Lantern,” he says while holding up the comic book to a page showing the Lantern.

“I hope you’re right buddy. Hey listen, stay here for a bit. I’m going to go have that talk with Mr. Percy right now.” He solemnly nods at me and runs into the hallway to find one of the working bulbs to sit under so he can read. As I walk away he yells at my back “A hero Ray! A hero!” I wipe the lone tear coming down my face. These people have too much faith in me. If they knew how many rich yuppies I robbed today to pay for their survival they wouldn’t think me a hero at all.

I slap each of my cheeks a few times and try to get my game face on. Then I flip out the butterfly knife that I use to rob the yuppies and swing it around a few times in intricate maneuvers. I need to put the fear of God into Mr. Percy. He needs to be so scared that he won’t try any of his usual shenanigans on the kids while I’m gone.

***

“Wake up babyface!” shouts Staff Sergeant Murphy. His yell rouses me from my dream and back to reality quickly. I idly wondered how the kids at the orphanage were doing, and I hoped Mr. Percy was treating them right… Babyface, my other nickname besides Ozzy, short for my fake last name Osburn. The name had stuck when the guys in basic training had noticed that I never needed to shave like them. Some of them thought it was a weird genetic disorder, or they figured I was part redskin since the redskins don’t shave. In reality it was because I was 16 and still going through my latest stages of puberty, but I had to hide that from everyone. Much like I had to hide or fabricate most of my past. I’m not Ray from the orphanage anymore. I’m Raymond Osburn, American Soldier.