Unexpected Calling

Chapter 16

Blood and carnage surrounded me. Metal heaps vaguely resembled cars. Smoke rose from crumbling building. Small fires burned in various places on the streets. Unnameable debris filled the air. Smoke made it hard to breath and harder to see. The latter was a blessing. The little my mind had comprehended had been beyond disturbing. I knelt and emptied my stomach of its contents. All the sudden more gunshots broke the eerie silence. I cradled Jay's body against mine. She whimpered and prayed silently.
“Let it end Lord. Put an end to this violence and suffering.”
A man ran around the corner, still looking back from where he had come from. His desert camo uniform marked him as an American soldier. I recognized him. The panic I felt peaked. He pulled a gun he had hidden in his boot and face the opponent chasing him. Just as he leveled the weapon another man came behind him. I looked down into Jay's fear filled eyes just before I heard the gunfire. A scream rent the air, and Jay jerked against me. Suddenly the man with the gun swung it towards us. I let out a desperate cry and shielded Jay beneath me. The sound of a gunshot and a blood curdling scream ended the nightmare.

                                      ~'~'~

I sat up drenched in sweat and breathing hard. I grabbed the pistol that sat on the tiny desk beside the bed.  I looked around the room and sighed with relief.
We're at the Holloway's.  I could have sworn I heard a scream. I looked next to me to see Jay practically in shock. Her eyes were wide open and she sat up looking at the wall. She trembled and looked at me. She began to sob uncontrollably. I grabbed her and held her tight. She kept muttering,”It was awful.”
I heard abrupt footsteps coming from the stairway. Drake barged into our room, gun drawn, and worry streaked his face.
“What happened?” He asked searching the room. He looked at out terrified faces.
“What's happened?!?” He asked his voice filled with alarm. When I finally found my voice, I said,
”Drake, I woke up to Jay screaming.”I looked at her trembling form. She was still whimpering, her face buried into my chest.
“Jay,” I whispered. “What's wrong?” I asked gently. She looked up at me. I nearly wept at her fear filled eyes.
“Jer,” She whispered.”It was so real. I-I.” But she broke down. He took a deep breath. Did she have a nightmare? I prayed to God it wasn't the same as mine,  for more reasons than one.
  Drake looked incredulous.
“So all that was about a nightmare!?” He asked. I ran my hand through my hair.
“Drake, it was bad.” I defended. He furrowed his brow. I shook my head as if to say 'drop it'.
“I'm sorry we woke you. We'll be fine.” He left shaking his head.
I gently laid Jay back down. She still shook, but not as violently as before. I took her hand.
“Jay, did you have a nightmare?” I asked. She nodded.
“Jeremy. It was horrible. The whole place was in ruin and we just huddled together praying that it would end. It was so real. Jer, what if this is like the dream I had before I met you? Jeremy, I'm scared.” She buried her face in my chest. I held her.
Oh, Lord. Please, no!
“Jay, it was just a nightmare. It's okay. We're safe.” I said, trying to convince myself. She pushed away and looked me in the eyes.
“Jeremy… we were at an airport.”She said. I sucked in my breath, but pulled her back to me.
Please, no!

                                       ~~~

After breakfast the next day, we spent the rest of the morning packing our bags for the trip back to the states. Jeremy would sneak a nervous glance at me every once in awhile, as we filled our three suitcases
We said nothing about my nightmare. Jer seemed to avoid the subject. I felt as if he was hiding something. I confronted him.
“Jer, there's something you're not telling me.” I accused. He looked up quickly.
“What do you mean?” He asked. I rolled my eyes.
“Jeremy, after all we've been through together, you would think I could tell when you were hiding something.” I was more stern than I intended.
He shook his head.
“That's it?” I asked. “You're not going to tell me?”
I was getting mad now.
“I can't.” Was all he said. My jaw dropped.
“You what?” I asked, more hurt than upset.
“I can't tell you.”He had been packing and had not looked up. I grabbed his shoulder and turned him to me. He still kept his face turned.
“Jeremy, why?” He didn't answer.
“Why?” I repeated. He looked at me.
“Because I'm protecting you.” He said quickly.
“Oh, we're going through that again?” I angrily replied.
“Yes- No? Ugh!” He turned away and sat on the bed with his head in his hands. Now I was worried.
I went and sat next to him.
“Jer, what is it?” I asked.
To my surprise, he  pulled me into his arms.
He pressed my cheek gently against his chest. I held him, stroking his back.
“Jer, just tell me.” I said against his chest.
He sighed.
“Jay. I had the same nightmare you did.” I gasped and pulled away.
“Are you being serious?” I asked, praying it would be a cruel joke. But at his nod, I ran a hand through my hair and subconsciously put a hand on my stomach.
“Oh, Lord. Help us.” I muttered.
“We can't avoid what will happen, Jer.” He took a deep breath.
“Jay, in your dream, were you hurt?” He asked. I thought the question weird.
“No…” Then I realized why he was asking. He sighed with relief.
“What about you in your dream?” I asked, holding my breath.
“I don't know. I heard a gunshot aimed for me, but I woke up before… you know.” That wasn't the answer I had hoped for. Jeremy put his hand on my cheek.
“We’ll be okay.” He told me, nodding his head confidently. I leaned into his arms.
Lord, for the sake of our baby, please keep us alive.
Suddenly, we both felt at peace. We looked at each other in wonder. A small voice seemed to pick at our mind.
*This is my command- be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
We stood and finished packing.
                                   ~~~
After an hour of packing and searching for missing items we went back downstairs and found a tearful Molly, a saddened Cloe, and stoic Drake, who had a comforting arm around his wife and daughter.
“We were honored to have you two stay with us,” he began. “We hope you have a safe trip back, and maybe one day we'll meet again.”
I hadn't realized how close we had become to our host family. I tried not to cry as I hugged each one of them. Yes, even Cloe. When I got to Molly we embraced.
“Thank you for everything, Molly.” I said.
She smiled kindly.
“We loved having you here. Now you take care of that baby.” She winked. I hugged her again.
Jeremy put an arm around me and thanked them all for their hospitality then we left.
We would be coming back again, but for the safety of the Holloways and ourselves, we would be staying elsewhere. We could never be too careful.
  When we got in the car and drove away, I wiped tears from my eyes.
“You okay?” Jeremy asked.
“Yeah. Didn't Molly tell you that being pregnant makes one more emotional?”
We both laughed. Though we were sad to leave the Holloways, we were glad to be headed back to the states.
  When we arrived at the airport we went to a front desk to hand in our tickets, but there was a crowd of people in line ahead of us. It took several minutes, but we finally got to the desk. The woman gave directions on how to get to the airplane and told us it would take off in twenty minutes. We thanked her and then carried our bags full of snacks and other necessities to the plane after being checked for weapons. We were very nervous, and looked around subtly, wondering if or when our dreams would become reality. When we had been checked for weapons.
  We walked into the terminal. That's when we realized, it was the wrong terminal.
“Jer, this is not our plane.” I told him, when it came into view. We would travel on a small plane to avoid attention. This one was gigantic.
He ran a hand through his hair, looking around.
“Why don't we ask for directions?” I suggested.
He shook his head.
“No. Let's go look at that map.” He walked towards a wall that had an electronic map on it. We found the star that told us where we were.
“Jeremy, that's all the way in the other side of the building!” I cried. He pursed his lips.
“I know.” He said flatly. “When is take off?” He asked. I looked at my watch.
“Oh no! We have five minutes.” We practically ran towards the opposite side of the building, our luggage in tow.  We finally made it to the right terminal, but found the stairs that helped us get into the plane were pulled away and the door shut. Several flight attendants and pedestrians walked around the terminal unaware of our frustration.
“Oh, great!” Jeremy said. “How am I going to explain our being late?”
  He ran a hand through his hair again. I took his hand and faced him. I knew he wasn't just worried about being late.
“It'll be okay.” I said, stroking his hand. I gave him a small smile. We were scared. Very scared. He put a hand behind my neck and pulled me to him gently. He touched his forehead to mine.
“I don't know what I'd do without you.” He whispered huskily. I put my hand on his cheek. His lips touched mine gently.

                                         ~'~'~

I held Jay in my arms. If anything ever happened to her, I really didn’t know what I’d do. She meant everything to me, and so did our baby. I prayed to God that I wouldn't lose them.  
Suddenly, an explosion forced us to the ground. Our luggage flew over our heads and landed several feet away. Screams echoed through the airport. I hated to looked around at the horrid scene before me, but I had to search for Jay. I looked up to  find a huge crater where the plane had been. The airport was barely unrecognizable. Smoke stung my eyes as I looked terrified for my wife. I sighed with relief when I finally found her. She lay terror stricken, staring at what used to be our ride home. A mushroom cloud rose high into the air and flames burst from the plane.
I ran to Jay and scooped her frozen form into my arms. She trembled terribly and buried her face in my chest. She sobbed. I wanted to, but I had to keep my head if we were going to survive. I turned on my watch and called the open line so any agent online would hear.
“Mayday, mayday! Jeremy and Tarah Henryson! Airport bombing at  Pyongyang, North Korea. Hundreds dead. Help!” I screamed desperately. Jay trembled against my chest. Flames rose high above us, raising the temperature at least twenty degrees. 
  Within thirty minutes the airport was filled with troops of both sides. The Koreans had guards at every entrance, shooting anyone who tried to escape. Jay and I huddled in a corner. Blood and carnage surrounded us. Metal heaps vaguely resembled cars. Smoke rose from crumbling walls. Small fires burned in various places on the runway. Unnameable debris filled the air. Smoke made it hard to breath and harder to see. The latter was a blessing. The little my mind had comprehended had been beyond disturbing. The immense amount of stress from what I had seen was causing a roaring nausea within in me. It was all just too much for me to handle. Innocent people lying dead around me, tremendous amounts of sweltering heat, and all around terror and confusion. My eyes became blurry as they began to water. I knelt to empty my stomach of its contents. All the sudden more gunshots broke the eerie silence. I looked into Jay's eyes that were pouring out tears, held her face in my shaking hands, and then held her close, cradling her body against mine. She whimpered and was praying softly.
“Let it end Lord. Put an end to this violence and suffering.”
I looked down into Jay's fear filled eyes just before I heard the gunfire. A heart wrenching scream rent the air, and Jay jerked against me. I shielded her small form as the gunshots erupted once more. Sounds of gunfire and the screams of dying men and women were rampant through the building. Each gunshot or scream that pierced the air Jay pressed closer to my heaving chest and whimpered. Tears filled my eyes.
“Lord help us. Please!” I choked. Jay clung to my shirt.
I can't lose her! I looked up.
  A man ran around the corner, still looking back from where he had come from. His desert camo uniform marked him as an American soldier. I recognized him. I nearly went into shock. I sucked in my breath.
“It can't be!” I whispered. I looked down at my wife, then back at the soldier. I let out a angry cry.
“Jay, don't you move from this spot, do you hear me? Stay put.” I said firmly.
She looked up at me.
“No, Jeremy, don't leave me!” She cried desperately. Her face was covered in dirt and tears.
“I will be right back, okay. Please, stay put!”I gently pulled from her grasp.
I turned back and followed the man.
The panic I felt peaked. The man pulled a gun he had hidden in his boot and faced the opponent chasing him. Just as he leveled the weapon another Korean came behind him.
“No!” I yelled. I pulled out my concealed gun and shot him. I winced, but turned to the American soldier. He shot his pursuer.
I walked up to him. He turned quickly and aimed his gun at me. He had black hair with a few streaks of gray. He had a square jaw and dark blue eyes. When he saw my face he nearly dropped his gun.
“Son?!”

💮Author's note💮
Omgosh!!!!! Son!?!?!?! Who called him that!?!? Who is it!? I mean... I know but.... anyway...
Gosh, the book probably has four maybe five chapters left... I could totally be exaggerating tho....😂😂😂 Either way it's coming closer the the end of the book.😢😢😢 I hope y'all have enjoyed it thus far!!
Thanks for reading!!! Love you beautiful people! God bless!💜💜💜💜