Chapter 9

            Jerking awake, I look around confused before I notice that I’m in my room. Sighing, I roll out of the bed and stumble to the bathroom. Flinching when I see my reflection, I turn on the shower and strip. A sigh of contentment leaves my lips as the hot water washes over me.

            Dressing quickly, I step out of my room to the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. Making my way towards it, I was surprised to fine Spark Plug, Powder and Flint eating pancakes and laughing with my parents. I clear my throat, trying not to smile.

            “When were y’all going to wake me and inform me of the pancake feast that was awaiting me?” They were expecting me to wake up so soon I reckoned because they all snapped their heads towards me. Worry, love and something else was written on their faces. Walking behind Powder, I snitch a piece of his pancake before walking to the pantry. I pull out a box of coco pebbles and grab a bowl and spoon from the cabinet.

            They just stare at me as I take my bowl to the back porch. When I walked back into the kitchen ten minutes later, they were still there but they were quiet. Rolling my eyes when my back was turned towards them, I let them know that I was going for a run. I offered to let the guys go with me, but they declined. Shrugging again, I walk out of the door and warm up. Then I bolt away from the house letting the quiet of the early morning seep into me.

            When I ran by the red light, Spade and Hopper joined me. Nothing but looks was exchanged, but again I could feel that something was off. For one thing, Spade wouldn’t even look at me. Something about him reminded me of Tech and I felt myself slowing down. It didn’t help that I knew I was crying.

            Hopper and Spade didn’t notice that I had stopped running until they were maybe half a mile ahead of me. I was standing on the sidewalk, letting thoughts of Tech run through my mind. Drying my eyes, I turn around and start to walk. The ruby on my finger glints in the sun and I look at it.

            What is wrong with everyone this morning? I rack my memory trying to figure out why everyone was acting strange. It wasn’t my birthday, any special holiday or event. And that’s when it hit me. Today would have been the month anniversary of Luke and me getting married. To me, that explained the reactions I got at home, but not Spade’s or Hopper’s. 

            Suddenly, I felt a pinch in my shoulder and heard the sound of what sounded like thunder, or at least that’s what it would sound like to someone who hadn’t been through what I have. I knew instantly that it was the sound of a gun. Looking around, I thought I saw the glint of the sun off a scope, but it was gone before I could spot it again.

            Feeling something warm slide down my chest, I look down. Blood was quickly spreading through the white tank top I wore. I couldn’t tell how bad the wound was. “Hopper!” I yell as loud as I could before I collapsed. My eyes fluttered closed as the sound of running feet reached my ears. “Hopper, what happened?” I ask before everything went dark.

            Even in the darkness that I was surrounded in, I could hear the panic in my mom’s voice, and the worry in my dad’s, Powder, Spark Plug and Flint’s. I even heard Hopper’s voice once or twice. But I never heard Henry’s voice, and for some reason it bothered me. When someone touched me, or talked to me, I could feel it or hear their voice. But try as I could, my eyes stayed shut.

            The doctor thought that my mind had shut down because of the stress that came from the gun shot, along with everything that I was already dealing with: the loss of my arm, my career as a Seal, marrying and then losing Luke. If I had been awake when he suggested that, I would have laughed in his face. I also would have told him that everything I’ve been through lately I could handle.

            So what, I’m a Seal and I could handle anything that came my way. Yeah right, was my last conscious thought for a while. As I was trying to make my way through the darkness, I found myself stumbling onto a nightmare. I tried making myself wake, but my eyes still stayed shut.

            The guys were catching some shut eye while I had the look out. Tech wanted to take the first stint, but I could tell that he was just about to drop when I finally called a stop. I mean we all were, but I told him that as team leader, I would take the first shift. For five hours, I paced the small perimeter we set up, always changing my route. Just as my watched showed midnight, I decided that it was time to wake one of the guys up, when the sound of a twig breaking shattered the unusual stillness of the forest.

            Keeping to the shadows, I silently moved back to camp and woke them up, one by one. We could hear more men moving now, and I thought it was slightly funny how they did nothing to hide the sound they were making. With a few nod, the five of them slipped quietly as a ghost through the trees, making a trap of sorts. The familiar feeling of dread hit my stomach and I knew that something wasn’t right. Hearing the faint sound of cloth brushing against a tree, I knew that we had been the ones trapped.

            I found Powder, Flint and Spark Plug easy, but Tech was hiding pretty well. After losing a game of hide and seek with him for a week straight, I refused to play with him again. He could hide in a field of snow white cotton wearing all black. After doubling back, I found him in a tree. It took him a few seconds to notice me and I jerked my head back towards the small cave we had camped in. Silently, he slide down and we started to walk back. “There they go!” Someone yells and we start running.

            They started firing at us as the cave came into sight. Sensing that Tech was about so slow down to fire back, I push him towards the entrance and pull out a small pistol with a silencer attached to the barrel. Making each shot count, I put down several of the attackers before I felt the sting of bullets bite my lower stomach. My eyes widen when I see one of the men pull out a grenade and lob it towards us.

            Barely making it through the entrance before my team slides a thick slab of rock over it, I heard the explosion. Flint was taking out a first aid kit, but I just took some gauze and tap from him. Another explosion blew the rock slab backwards and sent us scattering for cover. As the enemy poured into the cave, bullets from both sides went flying. I watch in horror as Powder took a bullet and started to fall.

            I sat up screaming. My room was empty, but within seconds it was filled with nurses and a doctor. Surprisingly my eyes were dry. The doctor gave me a sedative to calm me down, and it made me sleepy. I laid there for hours fighting sleep, and I almost won. As sleep finally dealt the winning blow and my eyes were closing, I swear I saw Spade slip into my room. But I knew that it was just another dream.