by Marcus Sloss
“Do you love her?” Willow asked, and I stopped in my tracks. I found the strength to keep going and put the box onto the neat stack. “That is not a no.”
“It also is not a yes. I will explain it in the story. Know this, Willow. Actually, come here so you can gauge my honesty. Not that I would lie to you, ever,” I said and she swung her head in a “no” fashion. I leaped across the distance separating us and gently picked her up. We crossed in the well-lit barn and I carried us deep into structure past dozens of empty horse stalls. We went beyond a manager’s room and I turned back to go inside it. There was a fancy cedar table inside for meetings with a few chairs tucked under it. When we were seated across from each other, I continued. “I picked you over her. Our budding romance was predicated on that decision. I shunned Perci so I could slowly work on an us.”
“Not fair to her,” Willow said with her arms folded and her face red. “She clearly loves you. She moved literal heaven and earth to carry out your desires. I saw her eyes, Eric. She deeply loves you and again, me being here is not fair to her.”
“True, and you are not seeing the whole picture. She was a different part of me for a few months before things went bad. Okay. I can catch you up to the first few months of the tour and hopefully you see this for what it is. A woman seeking something she could never have.
“Al-Kharj is an hour south of Riyadh and where I was stationed. We were on rotational guard detail protecting key infrastructure sites. The first few weeks were sunshine and lollipops. I remember laughing at how I had shafted Uncle Sam with my deal,” I said, while dancing my fingers over the wooden table we shared. I stopped due to the distracting noise it produced. “I had a new recruit show up, a Vasquez. Little feisty black girl from the Bronx. She was perfectly suited to be recon. However, when I tested her on her non-combat skills, she refused to drive. In the military, you must have a driver behind the auto wheel. That driver must pass a test. The previous private who was my driver came down with the sniffles and got sent home. Some powerful father saved him from his deployment. I didn’t fight that one because the kid was suicidal and we already had Barnes ace himself. Back to Vasquez.
“To rectify the problem, I go to S-1, or personnel and records, to ask for a soldier swap. There is a specialist in there getting berated and screamed at by some out of shape E-6… Staff Sergeant. Eh, a superior that I am superior to. Now, I’m all for a bit of elevated tone and physical punishment for stupid behavior. Except she was getting blasted for being disfigured. I listened and grew confused. Eventually, I caught on to what was transpiring. This NCOIC was having a mental breakdown and ripping into the specialist. There was no war for her to meltdown over. We were literally in the desert sitting on our thumbs. They had us guarding boring buildings reduced to rubble that Israel blew to shit. I broke it up with a simple shout. One single ‘hey’ ended the whole kerfuffle. The specialist fled and I went to go get her when Vasquez yanked me back.
“I cannot explain how bad her reaction was by physically pulling my arm. I let it go when she had determined focused eyes. She ran right out to find her sergeant to learn to drive. Not sure if it was me motivating her, or if she wanted to prove herself capable. I don’t know, because she became a fantastic driver and we never spoke of it again. When I found Perci crying under an upside-down u-shaped concrete bunker, I slid into the wooden bench slot beside her.”
“That was how you met? I thought officers and enlisted couldn’t fraternize,” Willow said with her face already softening. “I am still angry you didn’t at least mention her briefly.”
“Calming someone having a moment of despair is not fraternizing. We talked. Then talked some more. Finally, her captain came and relieved me. Honestly, we both benefited from the conversation. I worked on my unit and emphasized morale was going to continue to get worse. My unit was mine to run. I halted the segregated eating and forced my unit to eat as a team. The next formation I had was not in ranks it was a huddle. I put out to call me Cap and I mentioned that while we may all not be able to get an expedited flight home, I would work on getting those suicidal back stateside.
“Over the next month, Perci followed me around like a shadow when I was not on mission. Our time together was full of laughs. Her real laugh induces snorts if you get her going. We grew close as friends. My unit welcomed her with proverbial open arms. Some of the enlisted tried to score with her, even with her dead eye hanging limp and the manly haircut. She denied them all. We both knew why, yet we never crossed the line. Things started to turn with the population we were peacekeeping for. The peaceful happy citizens turned into starving masses wondering where their American aid was. They wanted to know why their food was delayed, and I never had a good answer until Perci told me the truth. She was an heiress in disguise trying to make her own way in the world. What she uncovered about the aid was frightening. The shipments had stopped even though President Hansen said food was on the way, merely delayed due to bad weather. Shit grew grim. I killed my first kid carrying an improvised bomb trying to rush our checkpoint. Probably was twelve and when I cried about it, I did so on Perci’s shoulder. We Americans went from the peacekeeping saviors to the evil Israel proxy occupiers in a matter of days. All because of food our president promised and never delivered.
“Two months of this hell languished for what felt like an eternity. Perci and I grew closer. We were termed husband and wife by the others as we bonded so thoroughly. A few days before the major reduction in forces she vanished. Not a word of goodbye. I knew something had happened. My Gpad sent me a message saying she was sorry. She had been forcefully removed from our secure base before thing -”
“Cap!” Becca hollered down the long empty barn with an echo.
“One moment!” I shouted back.
“Can I watch you finish!?” Becca replied.
“Not this time!” I retorted with a snicker.
“Cool, raincheck for the rain of spluge,” Becca said and then I heard her say, “Ouch Persephone, for a little woman you sure throw a good punch.”
“We never grew close again when I came home. She reminded me too much of a past I was trying to get away from,” I said with a sigh. “I wanted to see her but not in that way. I was sort of hoping we both would move on. I do not have a good excuse for the why. I relied on her a lot and she was always there for me.”
“You love her as a friend?” Willow asked and I nodded. “She wants more, and you probably did at one point. I can understand your complex history. I hope she does not see me as a threat.”
I chuckled at the notion.
“No, she will work to be your teammate and help you through this trying time. If I were to guess, she has read your file a dozen times already. Willow, come here,” I said, while standing. She came for a hug she never received. I gently pressed her against the wall, letting our eyes lock. We exposed our vulnerabilities to each other in that moment. I tested a theory when my hand caressed her neck until it squeezed the right amount, causing her to gasp. When her lips opened in pleasure, I kissed her deeply for a long minute. When I broke our entwined tongues of heated passion, I said, “I chose you, Willow Hanks. You are mine and with you, I will become whole again.”
Those words, combined with my actions, had a profound effect. My neck was lustfully kissed as Willow shimmied out of her shorts with only a flimsy thong on. The door was pushed closed as she went to her knees and yanked my shorts down until my dick charged out in a reveal. Her audacious action spurred my growing penis. When she enclosed my cock into her mouth it was amazing. Willow looked up with her beautiful blue eyes and I went rock hard. A moan of pleasure came deep from within her throat as my penis was gagged on. I think she was not expecting my large girth because there was a touch of teeth she kept trying to avoid. A hard pull on her hair and my cock was free with a pop sound. She grinned mischievously as I placed her back onto the table and she fought with her NRA shirt. Right when I was finally about to witness the magical boob reveal, there was a cough at the do
or that was followed by a soft knocking sound. I sighed and we dressed to become decent again.
“It’s Maria. What are my orders?” Maria said from the other side of the door.
“Ha! Torrez is going to pay for this,” I replied.
“I do not get it? You are holding a meeting, correct?” Maria questioned.
I opened the door and she saw our red faces combined with Willow’s guilty shuffle.
“Senior Yang, I had no idea you were having that kind of meeting. Do not be an animal. This is literally a barn and you have fourteen bedrooms in the mansion,” Maria said and my eyebrows went high. “Also, not Miguel’s fault I am here. Well, not to purposely disturb your bedroom activities.”
“Wow, how nice is it in there?” I asked to shift the conversation.
“If aliens were not coming, I would say all my prayers had suddenly been answered. Back to my orders, and don’t make those two girls do all the lifting.”
“Wait, are you asking for orders or giving them?”
“Cap, as they call you. I am asking for orders and giving friendly advice. I am not a soldier,” Maria said with a motherly tone.
That reminded me of Willow’s mom. I turned to Willow and said, “Tell your mom to drive without sleep and give her directions here. Let me know what her GPS says for an ETA when you get an answer. Maria, I guess I need to tell my story of Saudi Arabia out there. If you want to listen then move boxes. If not, I want an inventory of the house…”
“House inventory it is,” Maria said, while retreating back for the house.
“Start with consumables first please,” I said to her back and she gave me a thumbs up over her shoulder. “She clearly wants to avoid hearing about Saudi Arabia.”
“Message sent to mom. How bad is this story?”
“That is for you to judge. I find it horrifying.”
I held my silicone hand out and she combined our fingers. We walked for the open barn doors where the ladies were moving the boxes no more than twenty feet to get them under cover. My mind told me this was going to be one of the last easy days left. My heart gave a second thud against my chest. Maybe I was getting better.
CHAPTER 5
“Willow, you look flush in the face! Did Cap give you some dripping memories?” Becca asked and I twisted my face in disgust at her verbiage.
“We were interrupted,” Willow replied and I was shocked she even mentioned that.
“Hey, how about we get this story over with so we can get some resolutions? Perci can understand why I became distant, Willow can understand why I chose her, and Becca; you’re here to understand what kind of orders I will be giving. While we talk, we will move all these MREs inside the barn.”
“You sure you are ready, Eric?” Perci asked with a stern expression and hand on her hips. She softened slightly and said, “I take you for who you are regardless if you tell me or not.”
“I am leaving the shell I buried myself into. Talking this out will help. Alright, I caught Willow up to the point where you were extracted. I mentioned it was -”
“Eh, so Eric. I was abducted in the night. I never mentioned I went willingly because they said mom was in danger. If we’re clearing things up, that should be buried. I felt bad about summarizing the situation by saying I was abducted with that caveat. I did ask for you to come, but the delta operators scoffed. You were not on the VIP list for extraction and my pleading fell on deaf ears. Also, what did you tell Willow, so I know if I need to cut in or mention more when we have our girl talk later?”
Willow grabbed a box, waiting for someone to say something. She glanced at me for permission to speak and I shrugged. I then realized she was seeking permissions, so I gave her a smiling thumbs up.
“Eric kept you in the light when the darkness of the deployment tried to consume you. You became close, and you openly loved that you were nicknamed deployment husband and wife. Eric never once cared who your mom was before or after he knew,” Willow said with a final huff as she set the box on the growing pile inside. “When he came home, he zoned you out, unable to move on. He picked me because you’re a part of his past that haunts him and he figured you were never going to be able to escape your mother during an alien invasion. Correct?”
“Pretty much, we spoke of what-if futures where I daydreamed of us together. I would mention them a lot towards the end of the deployment. He said one day he would tell me what he wanted when he got out. Cap never did though, and I may have pushed him further into his hermit lifestyle. I think the chemistry you two have is good for him.”
“Well, maybe I can explain. We go back to the day you vanished. Events were unraveling faster than I could ever expect. The first worry sign was when a hundred militia - with militia being a poor term - charged our small Forward Operating Base or FOB. Let me step back and provide some needed details.” I wiped my sweaty nervous palms and calmed myself. I needed to do this. Just like earlier, I knew if I started talking, the words would flow. “My company rotated by convoy from FOB Lister to Camp Dja. I was expecting a goodbye for the three-day trip from Perci and when she never showed, I learned she had mysteriously vanished. But there was no search party issue by command. The last information she gave me was there was no more aid coming and a massive drawdown was already in effect. The Roving Recon Battalion was not on any early retrieval list. I was supposed to find out what Perci could dig up that morning. We were expected to be one of the last units out.
“I was not about to disobey orders, so I drove my team out to FOB Lister for a three-day rotation. We saw endless flights landing in the distance at Camp Dja. During every routine radio check, I asked for status updates. Nothing to report, Charlie Mike, or continue mission always was what the operator said back. The troops were losing their shit and I did not blame them. I actually gave it to them straight. We were mostly an ex-con unit. The brass was fucking us and I would try my hardest to prove they were not. I said those exact words and Jevon lost his shit on me in private later. My XO was right to be upset; I was peddling a treasonous conspiracy. However, me being brutally honest likely saved all our lives later. Earning soldiers’ respect is easy enough. Earning their dying loyalty is...”
I paused to glance at a trilling loud bird in a tree not far away. There were hundreds of boxes left to unload, so we kept at it while I explained. The ladies were aptly listening, so I continued when I let out a long exhale.
“On day two, we faced the charging horde of a hundred or so idiots I mentioned earlier. I think they expected our FOB to be empty. Screams to stop, an air horn, and even warning shots were ignored. When they did not halt their advances, we killed most of them. A few retreated and never came back. My report was taken and my battalion commander said a one-sentence line of disapproval. There was no endless berating. No ‘we’re sending the casualty team’ or ‘medics are en-route to help with the enemy wounded’. The two that were critical died in a few hours and the others, well, we let them limp away. Something was drastically wrong and I regret not going back right then.
“On day three, every Gpad was blocked and panic started to set in. The radio stopped being answered when our relief rotation never arrived. My first thought was we were hosed and I was not wrong. I loaded up all our supplies and went to drive to Camp Dja. Get this, none of the up-armored vehicles started. The digital brains were locked out because they were the property of the Saudi government now. The truly dire nature of the situation dawned on me. Not only had we been abandoned. We were left behind on purpose and meant to fail. My mind kept coming back to the fact that President Hansen had stopped sending aid. This had to be connected somehow. Without the means to talk to anyone or travel, I had to do something besides sit in the FOB and rot.
“We improvised and stripped tires off the vehicles. After a few rolling carts were created, we loaded up our water and food. When the daylight heat shifted into a cool night, we marched for Camp Dja. By morning, we saw the base overrun by angry Saudis. So… I probably should have turned around. At
least I tell myself that most nights. My unit was furious and, to be fair, our base we needed to get home was being overrun. Rules of Engagement said we could open fire if our property was being stolen. We flexed into combat ready positioning to reclaim vital goods we would need to survive. A few stragglers accidentally ran into us while carrying food. Food both sides desperately needed. The Saudis were literally starving, I have their frozen faces of joy at finally being able to eat stuck in my mind. They were able to feed their fourteen children at home with the box of MREs they held. Still, it was our food and I ordered them to stop. I told them in Arabic that they were under arrest. Jevon said I butchered the translation, but it still got the point across.
“They were willing to die for the food they held. They were so desperate that they opened fire on our troops, who were behind cover. We weathered the initial fire while crouched behind road barriers and boulders meant to prevent car bombings. After the fiasco with using too much ammo on the earlier engagement, we only had our best snipers return fire. Four shots resulted in four dead enemies. Our problem was the mass of people looting - well, they heard the exchange. Most fled, which I can be grateful for. We hunkered behind cover and out they poured from the Sushi gate. Sushi was code for the southern gate. Since they ran to the fight with hostile intent after we had to defend ourselves…
“Four hours of slaughter. I lost two men to a rocket-propelled grenade. Sergeant Mills bled out while the medics tried their best. I…” I paused, taking a deep breath, and continued. “Mills and Jensen exchanged their lives for thousands of dead Saudis on the other side. I think it is important to note these were not soldiers. Maybe a few were deserters mingled with the majority of civilians angry at the Zionist allies. When it was over, we found a few things. There were a dozen trucks with matching keys in pockets left behind. Stacks of water and food piled near the south gate in a random fashion. We rationalized they were depositing their stolen goods before fighting us. Between FOB Lister and Camp Dja, we could last for a few months without support.