Manifest Destiny

War. War never changes...
Anonymous

"Mankind, as a whole, is claustrophobic. History proves that truth time and time again. As well as claustrophobia, man contains a primal nature of inherent, neanderthal violence. These often combine to form the plot for conquest. Man will expand." The aged professor gestured at the map of North America, showing the small area of civilization in the early 19th century. "As time passed and population grew, people moved to expand. To gain more land." The wise man flipped the map over the top, revealing the map below, of a more colored map of America. "And we expanded." The next map. "And expanded." "As you can see. When things get too crowded, man will expand."
The lights to the lecture hall went out, and a projector buzzed to life, showing a painting of an indian village. The aged teacher jabbed a button, and the next slide appeared, of the village in ruins, it's villagers dead or dying on in the dust. "And whatever lies before man's conquest for territory will be crushed."
The old professor turned the projector off and stepped to the center of the room as the lights were turned back on. "Man has a God-given right to expand. It's a theory known as Manifest Destiny." He boor his gaze over the teenage boys and girls in front of him. They bore expressions of determination. "Embrace that destiny, children. Fight! DISMISSED!"

Karen justled her way out of the building, empty streets littered with debris. This territory was at least a mile from the line, where the two factions warred constantly. Her blouse and cargo pants both displayed the dull orange and mud brown of the Arren resistance. Like her classmates, this was their last class before they all turned of age for combat. As of tomorrow, they'd be shipped off to war. She waved to her classmates as she strode away from the fate she'd never wanted. To go to war at the young age of 18 was a prospect she neither understood nor dreamed of. There was no support for the cause. No elderly parents behind friendly lines to cheer on their children's conquest to recapture territory.
Because the parents were dead. They died in the former pushes for more land. Just as their parents had. It was a terrible cycle. Manifest Destiny, the few elder councils had called it. "It's for you young people that we wage war. So you have a land in which you can call your future home." To Karen, those words were lies. The children will have no future if they are dead. The war ensures that they will die. The oldest soldier left on Arren territory is 27. He's fought in every major push since he was eighteen. He's become paranoid, tireless, skittish. His features aged far faster than they should, he looks in his upper 50s, and his hair grey with stress. His remaining hair, at least... He's pulled the rest out.

"War does terrible things to us," Karen's argued, having lost two brothers in combat, and her only sister to insanity. Her parents, as well, were lost in the 92nd push for territory. The one she was marching in would be the 143rd. "We can't continue warring like this." The Elder Council did not agree, and had her dismissed, not even contemplating her words.
Karen sat at home, inspecting her weapons. The pistol she had chosen was a cheap model. The rest of her alloted funds were to select armor piercing rounds for her pistol. She used her father's rifle and ammo otherwise, which left her extra funds for spare ammunition, clips, supplies, armor, and rations. She triple checked everything in her pack, cleaned both weapons meticulously, and went to bed, fearful of the next day.

General call to arms, dark and early. 5 AM rarely yields much light. Clouds held dominance over the sky, and the not-so far-off sound of gunfire, explosives, and vehicles dominated across the streets. Others like her, were already in the streets, marching in loose formations. Moving lazily to conserve energy for combat. Karen got to her feet. Showering was out of the question, so she discarded her normal clothes for the last time, and glanced longways at her military uniform and armor. She glanced at herself, nude and shivering, in the mirror. These were her last moments as a girl, soon to be a career soldier.
In uniform, her red hair braided into a ponytail proved to be an able match in color and tone with the muted orange and brown. She slid her pack soundlessly and attached her leg holster. Gathering her rifle in hand, loaded and ready, she left her home. The last of her family, charging into battle.

"Get down!" Whistling slugs shot past Karen's helmet as she lay crouched behind a dirt mound. Her commander lay next to her. Those two, and three boys, were the last of their unit. They were squaring off against a similar division, all of young soldiers of the Irrin restistance group. They held the deep south warzone. They were at least thirty miles from the closest battle zone. Karen removed a grenade from her belt, pulled the pin, and lobbed it high. The grenade exploded midair, hailing shrapnel down from the sky. "Covering fire!"
Karen leapt to her feet, rifle barking sharp reports as she ran. She ran north, wide of the battlefield, and dove in a crater, either from a grenade or artillery round. The commander barked a command again, and another solider jumped the line and sprinting forward. He ran directly toward his opponents, and ran into a unfortunate demise at the hands of enemy fire. Similar commands continued as her entire unit jumped their bunker and charged. Inevitably, they all met a similar fate. Karen held herself flat on the floor, rifle trained on the opposing bunker.
A single soldier stepped out, large rifle gleaming in gunmetal black in his grip. He checked the pulse of his opponents, and scanned the battlefield for more opposition. His features held the smooth displays of youth. He looked maybe 18 or 19. He spotted Karen, perhaps her red hair stood against the blackened crater. He dropped to a fighter's crouch and held the large rifle with a practiced steadyness. But, a rifle that large is still heavy, and his bullet streaked past her ear, missing her by bare centimeters.
She rolled and fired three shots in his general direction. He crouched lower and moved toward her, discarding his rifle for his semi-automatic. She also removed her pistol, firing unsteadily in his direction. He fired three shots in careful precision, three distinct barks rang out from the loud sidearm. Karen dove sideways, bullets flying past her. He sprinted toward her now, sharp barks of gunfire exploding as he ran.
They met in the center of the battlefield, no cover in close proximity. She raised her sidearm and steadied the barrel directly between his eyes. He ducked and swatted her gun arm to the side. She spun, trying to regain her aim. He spun with his attack and pointed his gun at her. The both stopped, guns trained on each other.
"Go ahead." His voice radiated calmness. "Shoot me or die."
Karen lowered her gun and looked at the young man pleadingly. "It doesn't have to end like this..."
The boy, in response, pulled the trigger. The hammer clicked into an empty chamber. He glared at her, "You're lucky, girl."
Karen frowned, "Why are we even fighting?"
"Manifest destiny. We expand, or we die."
Karen thought about her home. Empty of children. Her neighborhood was nearly a ghost town. "We have no need to expand. Our homes are empty because their inhabitants are out here! At war!"
The boy's features grew distant. "I can't come to terms with the fact that you killed my parents."
"Why shouldn't you? If you have remorse for your own parents death, than why ignore mine? My parents died the same way. This is a pointless battle."
"You may be right. I am Aric."
"I'm Karen. Let's get out of here."

They traveled south for many miles, with no vehicles and only limited rations. they settled in an abandoned city far south, just off of the coast of the former Mexican border. They collected travellers and became a prosperous community. Karen had fallen for Aric, who did not return the gesture. He eventually left her and the community to go back to war. Karen had never understood manifest destiny, but it was all Aric knew. Karen's community was attacked by Arren scouts and destroyed. And war continued, business as usual.

"Manifest Destiny." Aric said, standing over the city's rubble and remains; a Commander's badge on his Arren uniform. "We expand, or die."