Is This The End?

Memories and New Friends

It might be six in the morning, but after finding some person who was supposed to be dead on your front porch trying to eat you is kinda a wake up call. Also the report from the shotgun going off inside a house helped in getting rid of what tiredness we still felt.

Daddy, a light brown haired man with blue eyes and a sturdy build and slight tan, quickly told my mama and I to pack only the essentials needed to survive while he went to grab essentials from the garage and put it in the truck.

I complied by running up to my room and grabbed my seventy-two hour pack that all my survival gear stowed in it. I tossed the backpack onto my bed and dove back into my closet and pulled out my duffel bag and moved to my dresser. I started stuffing clothes in. I moved back to my closet and put one set of my BDUs into the duffel as well as a couple coats. I stuffed a couple stuffed animals I've had since I could remember into the bag. I grabbed some blankets from my closet as well and put them on my bed and put my pillows on top of the blankets.

Once I was done with my clothes, I ran to the bathroom and grabbed my toiletries before running back to my duffel and shoved them into what little room I had left in it. Looking around my room to see what else I considered an essential, my eyes passed a picture sitting on my night stand next to my bed. I reached over and quickly snatched it up and looked at it sadly.

It was a picture of a man and teenage girl. The man had light brown hair and brown eyes and was in his fatigues, ready to be deployed to Qatar, with his backpack slung over his shoulder while his other arm was across the girl's shoulders. The girl also had light brown hair with natural light red highlights that went past her shoulders with a slight wave running through it and bright blue eyes. The girl in the picture had one arm around the man while the other was giving a thumbs up to the camera. Both of them were grinning and having a good time.

A tear slipped out of my eye and slid down my cheek.

If only the girl in the picture knew it would be the last time seeing the man beside her. If she knew, she would be holding onto the man, never wanting to let him go. If she knew, she would have done anything to keep the man beside her there with her. Oh how fast a well placed bullet can change everything in the blink of an eye.

The picture was of me and my brother, Walter. Walter was a soldier and was about to be deployed and he was excited because he would get to see his friends and the people he helped save. I was happy for my brother because he had achieved his dream: To enlist in the army and follow in our father's footsteps.

Another tear slid down my cheek as I thought about the day we learned the base he was deployed to was completely destroyed leaving only a handful of survivors.

*I was grooming our horses outside the barn when our neighbor, William Lennox, came in a big black monster of a truck and stopped in the driveway in front of the house. I couldn't help but frown as a feeling of dread took over as I saw his weary features. He had been covered in dirt and soot with some scratches here and there, making him look like he just came out of a war.

"Mr. Lennox?" I called to him as I finished cleaning Midnight. Mr. Lennox turned to me with a frown.

"Hey, kiddo, your parents home?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," I nodded. "They're inside." I walked over to him. "Is everything alright? Is Walt okay?" I asked concerned.

Mr. Lennox sighed. "How about we go inside and I'll explain."

I frowned and nodded. I led him up to the house and let the screen door swing shut behind us as we entered the house. I led him to the kitchen where I could hear my parents talking.