In The Stars To Hold Our Destiny

A taco?

Back in the village, I was sitting at a table with seats and a tent over our heads, dealing with people who had serious injuries.

As there was a translator that would speak for us, this older man approached me with a cut hand and it looked broken.

"Could you please ask him what happened?" I asked.

The man that is translating speaks to him in him language as the man responds back to him in the same language.

"He says it happened when he was zip-tied a few days ago," the man who is translating says to me.

I take the injured man to a Sargent so that the medic Sargent may examine his hand because he is more experienced. "Hey, Sarge, could you kindly examine this man's hand?"

"He has cellulitis," the Sargent says, rolling his eyes.

"Unfortunately, we've run out of antibiotics."

"So?"

"...So, what can I do for this man? I figured you would be able to help me." I stated.

He shouted at me, "I don't care what you do with him, just tell him to die."

As we returned to the tent, I became enraged and rolled my eyes as I warped his hand with white medical cloth. "Could you please tell this man that he has to go to the hospital, see a doctor, and get some antibiotics since we are out of medicine." I told the translator.

The man who was translating told the elder man, and after he was through, the older man nodded his head and said thank you to me in English as the interpreter assisted him in walking.

"They won't take us because there are too many people who need help," the translator stated as he turned to face me.

I already know, but the Sargent refused to tell me what to do: "I know, I'm sorry, that is all I can tell you for now; you just have to try."

"You up man?" Justin said as I laid there trying to sleep.

"I can never sleep here," I stated.

"Yeah, neither," Justin sighed, "do you know what I'd want right now?"

"A taco?"

We both burst out laughing as Justin said, "Yes, a taco, I would love a taco about right now." as he could hardly breathe from laughing so hard.

"What do you put in your taco?" I asked.

"Some carne asada, some guacamole, and don't forget the onions," he says.

We just kept talking as the conversation continued, and it felt great to talk to someone and just have fun with them instead of being serious all the time.

"I hate it here, man," I said, "I just want to go home."

"Then why did you join the army?"

"I didn't have a choice; my parents signed me up and told me that I was going and that I didn't have a choice since I got engaged to my girlfriend, who turns out to have a brain tumor. Before she dies, I wanted to marry her." I didn't want to tell my story yet, I never told Justin why I joined the army.

Justin complimented me on my bravery and told me that I should be proud of myself.

We were off in the morning, as I was back in an army car and Justin was a few feet away in another army car.

"This is Echo-7-November, over." On the radio, the Sargent in the car with me stated.

On the other end of the radio, a guy said, "Echo-7-November, this is Mark Base."

The Sargent stated, "Yes, we are going to get off this line to the right."

"Base, copy over." the man said.

"Hey, Sargent Green," I said, "excuse me."

He swung around to face me. "What you want?"

"Sargent, I just don't think we should try to drive through here. I think we should stay on the road." I stated.

"Is that what you're thinking, shithead? That route passes through a zone of "holy crap." You want me to endanger all of these men because you don't want to save two minutes?" He became enraged and shouted at me.

With a shake of my head, I expressed my dissatisfaction with the situation. "When I was with First Platoon, Sargent, we got our trucks stuck while trying to drive through mud."

"It seems great to me," he sneered.

"No, it isn't. It's the mud that's on the bottom-"

"Shut up Allen! You think you know everything, so why don't you try doing what I do, hum?" he screamed even louder.

Then, after we arrived at the location, our vehicle became stuck in the mud and is now completely submerged. I was on the lookout while they tried to get the vehicle out of the mud, and I couldn't stop laughing.

"Get up here and get this POS out of the fucking mud!" screams one Sargent to another Sargent.

"Hey, Sarge, I wouldn't do that if I were you. That is basically what we did, and you will just make things more difficult for the QRF when they arrive-"

"Shut the fuck up Allen, and watch your sector," he said, interrupting me.

"All you need, Sarge, is a Bradley and a tow cable." I stated.

"Shut the fuck up," he spit in my face as he grabbed me by my uniform and brought me up to his face, where I could feel him breathing on me.

"Sargent, copy that." I only said it to get this ugly man to let go of me.

Hours passed, and every time they attempted to get us out, the other vehicle became stuck in the mud as well.

Then I noticed another army vehicle approaching to help us get out of the mud, and Justin was in it.

I wait there drinking my water while watching the vehicle approach. I go into my vehicle and sit down. As I reach under a seat to retrieve something, I hear a loud explosion and had to cover my ears as I jump and my heart is racing inside my body and is feels as if it is going to burst out of my chest.

As my body continues to shake, I gently exit the vehicle to see that the military vehicle that was supposed to rescue us has exploded.

I run as quickly as I can over to that car, crying, as the other guys shout at me and warn me that I shouldn't go over there, but I do.

I keep running, hoping Justin wasn't in the vehicle that just exploded in front of my eyes.

Everything was on flames when I arrived. I tried but failed to put out the fire. When the flames died down, I realized that every man I knew was gone forever.

Even Justin.

I cried and screamed on the top of my lungs my only true friend was gone. That night when we went back to base camp I had to cry myself asleep.