Spring Break

Incoming, everyone get down" yelled the Captain. I didn't hear him in time before I was blasted backward from the force of the mortar explosion. My body flew back and hit the tree behind me. Somehow I managed to hit the only tree around for at least 100 yards. The impact knocked me around for a second, the only peace and quiet I have had in a long time, to be honest. I started to regain my senses, but I noticed there was a terrible ringing in my ears.  When the ringing finally stopped I got up and grabbed my gun. I checked it like we were taught in basic, making sure the mag was still in, the gun itself wasn't damaged, and finally that the scope wasn't cracked. None of this probably makes sense to you so let me go to the start of it all.   

    It was March 13, 2020, School had just let out for Spring Break. Kids were running to their busses, some were heading to their cars. What about me you ask? Well, I am a Junior and since I have my license, me and my girlfriend, a Sophmore, were walking to my Ford F-150 with a diesel engine, plus it was a stick shift. Ashley is the cheer captain, she is your stereotypical Texas cheerleader with the blonde hair, bright blue eyes. Her hair went to the middle of her back, she was 5'5 and wearing daisy dukes with a crop top making them both look good. I ask myself every day how a 5'11, brown hair, blue-green eyes, wimpy looking military brat got the cheer captain to date me.   

    We live in Texas so there isn't much around besides ranches everywhere you looked, and reddish-brown clay dirt mix. Fencing for acres with the occasional driveway to break the fencing. If you looked out past the fencing you would see a barren landscape with a tree, shrub, or cactus here and there. We are never short of tumbleweeds though, they are about as bad as rats are to the New York subways. Instead of a rat infestation, we have a tumbleweed infestation. As me and Ashley drove back to my house I got this weird feeling in my gut, like something bad was about to happen. This is Texas though no one in their right mind would try to do anything here, not to say try to do anything to the U.S. "Travis, how far from the base are we?" Ashley asked. " We are nowhere close to the base. Why what's up?"

    She then asked, "Is there a training ground close then?" "Babe there is nothing around here. Why are you asking all these random questions?" I said. When she didn't answer after a few minutes I looked over at her and noticed she was staring out the truck window at something in the distance. I didn't look long because we were coming up to my driveway, but it looked like there were jets and big cargo planes flying this way. Is it a drill of some sort? Wait that's not possible because there is nothing around here, I thought to myself. When we pulled up to my house I hopped out of the truck but Ashley didn't move, she was still looking at the planes that were getting closer now. I walked over to the passenger side and opened her door and she got out then but still did not take her eyes off the planes. I stood beside her and started to watch them too, I just couldn't brush the feeling that something wasn't right. 

Then I noticed it, those weren't cargo planes and they weren't American planes either. They were Iranian bombers with a fighter jet escort. "Ashley run NOW!" I shouted. She looked frightened "Travis what's going on? Why do I need to run?" I looked at her and as soon as she saw the panic on my face she knew I wasn't playing. "Just run. Go to the basement and grab the medical equipment and whatever else you can carry!" She took off towards the house as fast as she could with me on her heels but instead of joining her in the basement I went and got my parents and explained everything to them but they didn't believe me. There wasn't enough time to stand there and argue with them so I just ran out and down the hall towards the basement.

    Before I got to the basement door the whole house shook as the bombs started to fall all around us. I lost my balance and fell to my hands and knees as more explosions erupted all around us. I was almost to the basement door when I heard a whistling noise above me "ASHLEY" I yelled as a bomb exploded right above me, the force pushing me to my stomach against the floor. Then everything was gone, I couldn't see anything but emptiness and I couldn't hear anything either. Before I lost consciousness fully I thought to myself What is this wet feeling on my face? It's warm and somewhat sticky? Then I was gone. 

" Travis wake up, you can't die on me. Not now, not ever!" I heard Ashley say through her tears. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at my chest where she was laying. When Ashley saw me she sat up quickly and wiped her tears away before falling back onto me wrapping her arms around me. As she hugged me I felt a sharp pain shoot through my body. I noticed that my head was throbbing along with my left arm that wouldn't move. Ashley noticed me trying to move and softly grabbed both my wrists and her eyes teared up again. "Ashley let go of me I need to get up," I said as I tried to move but couldn't for some reason. "I am so sorry Travis" she cried. "Babe why can't I move! What's going on, I need to get up!" I was starting to get frustrated. I kept slipping in and out of consciousness but I thought I saw her get up with some guy in tan and walk away. I tried so hard to move my arm and get her to come back, but I slipped back out of consciousness like someone had knocked me out.