Fade to Black

John stared up at the gray tin roof above his bunk-bed, the snores of the other men echoing through the room. He hadn't been able to sleep again. There'd been another fight last night, one that had ended in Richard - a kid that he'd grown up with, only a few years older than himself - getting sent to the infirmary. The government insisted that they were keeping them safe, but the anti-Asian sentiment had crawled its way into the military members that patrolled the camps.

He felt a tap against the bottom of his bunk and swung his feet over the side of the bunk, carefully jumping down so as not to wake anyone. He started for the door without looking around, and Mike fell into step beside him.

Fog drifted through the camp as the sun crawled over the horizon. Mike's shoulder brushed against his, and they made their way to the tilled dirt, stepping up to the chain link fence that held the world out. Empty fields spanned as far as the eye could see, the landscape marred by grey metal crawling upward about thirty feet. Barbed wire spanned the top of the fence.

They stood a foot apart, staring out at the field like they did every morning, watching the dawn break, the day start. Two months had passed since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Two months had passed since the nation called for the containment of the Japanese. Two months since the country decided that all Asians were the enemies, but the Japanese were the worst.

Mike's hand balled into a fist, but John didn't look over. The anger Mike felt resonated in his own heart. He remembered watching as a solider pushed his mother, ordering her to hurry up, almost causing her to drop his baby brother. He remembered being ready to teach the kid - no older than him - a lesson. He remembered his father grabbing his arm and shaking his head sagely, eyes serious.

"It is better not to retaliate. Retribution will only lead to more pain."

He remembered watching his sister and his mother, forced away from him and his father, watching his sister sob in confusion, his mother remind him to watch his temper, his baby brother crying from hunger and pain.

"They're not going to let us out any time soon," he remembered saying to Mike. He remembered the grim look on Mike's face.

"Joe's cousin enlisted," present-day Mike said. John didn't say anything. He remembered Joe's cousin pacing angrily, going to the office near the gates when he couldn't sit on his hands any longer. John hadn't seen the guy since.

"So there is a way out, then," John said after a minute of silence. Mike gave a brief nod. "I'm not sure which is worse. Losing all your dignity here, waiting for them to kill us, or letting them bully us into killing other people, and probably dying out there."

The sun was fully above the horizon when Mike spoke again.

"I'm going to enlist."

Shock rocked John on his feet, and his head whipped around to stare at Mike. Mike didn't meet his gaze.

"Sitting here, waiting. Doing nothing while they spit on us, I can't do it. If I'm gonna die, I'm not gonna do it in here."

"Mike - "

"I know you can't follow. You've got your parents, your sister and your brother. I can't ask you to follow, so I'm asking you to stay. Keep an eye on my family, on Joe and his."

"You can't ask me that." Mike finally met his gaze. "You can't tell me to stay while you go out and die for a country that doesn't love you."

"I'm not," Mike said. He reached up to rest his hand on John's shoulder. "I'm not doing it for the country, I'm doing it for us. The sooner the war ends, the sooner we all get out of here. If we want it to end faster, we've got to contribute."

"You're just one man," John replied, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.

"Yeah," Mike conceded. "But I'm not the only one who thinks like this. Joe's cousin knew it. There are undoubtedly other men in other camps who think the same way too."

"Then I'm going," John said. Mike breathed out through his nose. "You can't stop me as much as I can't stop you. Either we stay together or we go together." Mike dropped his hand and sighed.

"It's you and me, then. We gotta break it to Joe, then. Let him know he's the only one staying."

"I get it," Joe said from behind them. He stepped up to the chain link fence, and from behind them they could hear the bustling sound of everyone preparing for their day. "I wouldn't expect any different of you guys." They turned to face him, expression grim. "Where one goes, the other is sure to follow."

"Keep an eye out on my family," John pleaded. "They're gonna need the help." Joe nodded. "And Mike's parents." He nodded again. John clapped him on the shoulder. "You're not weak for not going." Joe smiled.

"What would you guys do if I wasn't around to keep an eye out for you?" The two men chuckled.

"We definitely would be a lot more limited."

"Be strong out there," Joe said. "If you die, your moms are gonna kill you." John smiled wistfully. "And I'm gonna let them."

"Sell-out," Mike joked.

"Really though," Joe said. The air turned serious. "Be safe out there. Don't do anything reckless."

"You don't know anything about us," John said with a smile.

"I know plenty. Which is why I'm saying it. I shouldn't be digging your graves, all right? You better come back in one piece." Mike and John looked at each other and nodded.

"No promises."

Joe nodded and started back toward the commons. Mike and John watched him as he passed by guard and citizen alike, saying hello to each of them as he passed.

"It's good that he's staying. He's the most reliable. Least likely to get in a fight."

"Are you calling me hot-tempered, Shinoda?"

"I'm saying you're quick to a fight, Johnny boy." Silence fell comfortably between them, and John leaned against Mike, letting Mike's stature hold him up.

"Happy birthday, Mike."

They were not the three words he wanted to say, but they would suffice.