Whats in the Box?

No body remembers when it arrived. Jason Vankeep; standing at 5 foot 8 inches and weighing almost 300 pounds in full gear, had come back from a long patrol, several days after certain events took place, to find himself staring at a box that no one remembered delivering. The postal worker, his CO, the Air Force guys that helped deliver mail. None of them knew where it had come from. Setting down his helmet, Jason stared deeply into the brown cardboard, unsure of what to do next.

"Hey, whats in the box?" his bunk mate, Kevin Arnett; standing closer to six foot, also 300 pounds in full kit, asked as he came into the small connex they were forced to sleep in. Some people idiolized the conflict, but those who had lived there, slept in this area, lived and died... they knew the real truth. Everything sucked.

"I don't know," Jason said as he picked it up. It was light, maybe a pound or two. Odd, the bo was twelve inches squared. It was gigantic for how light it felt. "But there isn't a return address."

"There's gotta be," Kevin said with a laugh as he picked it up and turned it every which way. All there was, was the address for Jason. "Did postal say when it arrived?"

"They don't know either. They can't tell me when it showed up, nothing. Just poof, it was on my rack." Kevin dropped the box back on the bed, almost in a hurry.

"Well, you gotta open it man. C'mon, what if your mom forgot to put her address, and she sent some of that bomb ass tea again." Every month since Jason had gotten into the area, his mother had sent tea, cookies, small comfort items that helped pass the time and helped him fall asleep. All of it was hand made, hand mixed, and packaged with love. He still had more than half a container of her last shipment.

"Yeah, I guess I need too. What if your mom sent me something? You know she loves me better." They'd been childhood friends, and lucky enough to get stationed together.

"She might love you long time, but I'm her first love," Kevin said with a laugh. "Open the box, lets find out what it is." Jason pulled a knife out of his kit, and sliced the tape open. A little puff of air escaped the box as he opened it. Inside there was just a small tape recorder, taped to the bottom of the box. Both men looked in the box then at one another.

"You didn't get some chick pregnant did you?" Kevin asked.

"Not a chance. You know your mom can't have any more kids." Kevin lightly hit his best friend before reaching down into the box to grab the tape recorder. It looked like something from before they were born.

"You left your girl before we came here right?" Kevin asked, grabbing the metal device, and gently tugging. The scotch tape holding it down didn't stand a chance as he lifted it.

"Veronica? Yeah, she wouldn't have lasted long with a situation like this. I'm honestly surprised that she lasted through the two months in California before we came here. No cell signal, no way to call home. Nothing."

"Good old NTC, easiest two months of this bullshit," Kevin said as he tried to press play on the recorder. No sound came out. When Jason looked closely, he noticed that it hadn't been rewound before it could be heard. As the tape hit the very beginning, Jason hit play this time.

"Якщо ви чуєте це, є шанс, що це було призначено вам. Ви помітите, що незабаром життя зміниться, і що все піде не так добре, як вам здається. Будьте здорові та ласкаво просимо до веселощів." (If you are hearing this, there is a chance that it was meant for you. You will notice that life will change soon, and that everything will not go as well as you think they will. Be well, and welcome to the fun.)

"What in the hell is that?" Kevin asked as the tape ended. Twenty seconds, that was the entire message. 20 short seconds.

"I don't know, but we're going to have to find out. Translation is on the other side of the camp, c'mon." Kevin gingerly held the device like it was going to blow. Had the two looked up at the sky, they would have seen the changes already happening, but neither were too worried about what was happening above their heads. They were more worried about what was happening on the tape.