Happy Memorial Day!! God bless America.
Soldier, soldier.
We signed our lives away.
Complete surrender,
The only weapon we know.
Soldier, soldier.
We know the world will never be the same.
Soldier,
This is where you can reach me now.
-U2
This is where you can reach me now (Songs of Innocence)
Laying in blood is not a pleasant experience, especially when it's your own.
I am a soldier on active duty and my platoon was driving to a nearby base. We hit a roadside land mine, and it detonated.
I hear the yelling.
I see the blood.
I can't move.
I feel the pain, but I can't think.
Darkness swallows me, and it is a welcome change from the pain.
In my head I see my life in a slideshow.
A little girl running on the beach.
A ten-year-old eating ice cream with friends.
A teenager at the mall, complaining about boys.
A nineteen-year-old finding her mate.
A nineteen-year-old getting rejected.
A twenty-year-old joining the military, to leave parents and rejection behind.
A twenty two-year-old woman. Strong. Healed.
She falls. I hear a wolf howling.
Blackness greets me.
-Later-
"Lynn."
"Yes sir!"
"Join me in my office please."
The man walks in front of me. I can smell the werewolf in him, and I wonder what he wants from me.
"As you know, each year the Alpha selects one person to join his pack. This year he wants you, because of your bravery."
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I said no, thanks."
"May I ask why?"
"You may not."
I turn and exit his office, making one last statement before I leave, "Tell your Alpha this, next time he wants a pack member, maybe he should remember who rejected who."
I walk out of his office, shaking with fury. How dare he? The jackass rejected me three years ago, and he wants me back! Never gonna happen. Ever.
"She said no, Alpha." I hear the man speak lowly.
I creep back, to hear the conversation better.
"She what!?" Comes the muffled reply. "Why?"
"I don't know. She told me to tell you that you need to remember who rejected who."
Quiet cursing comes from the other side of the phone.
"Would you like me to take her, even though she said no?"
"I knew I made you Beta for a good reason! Perfect. See you and the girl soon."
My hands started shaking again. Still rage.
We need to leave now Lynn.
I know! I'm thinking.
We could go home.
Define home Kat.
I know. My wolf is named Kat. It is a bit ironic, and everyone teased me for it. What they could never tease me about was my fighting ability. I beat everyone in the pack, including my beta. My alpha would never fight me. He was a coward, and I resent him.
Come on Lynn! Make a decision! Okay, I need somewhere to go... They first person who pops into my mind, Aly.
Finally! Kat thinks. Let's go!
I haven't been at home since the... well. Anyways, I have been home, and today was my physical to see if I can reenlist. I need to wait a bit longer, they said, but I can go in four to six months. Good. I have too many enemies here anyways
I jog to the parking lot, wincing as my leg stings. After the accident, I had to heal at a human pace because the land mine imploded a nearby truck made of, you guessed it: silver.
I locate my car. Quite an easy process, I think, when you own the most beautiful car ever. My car is my baby. I believe I may love it more that my family. Not the best comparison. More that my house. That's better.
I am the proud owner of a Lamborghini. I sigh in happiness, and I start the engine. The beautiful engine in my baby growls to life, and I pull out of the parking lot and on to the highway.
I'll be out of the state soon.
-JKO
THANKS FOR READING!