by David Horne
The dinner was going swimmingly, dessert was in the middle being eaten when there was a steady yet urgent knocking at the door. Confused, Daniel stood from the head of the table and walked to the door.
Daniel opened the door just as a man in military garb, a solemn look on his face. There was a letter in his hand, but the grim look on the man's face made Daniel's heart drop to his stomach. The man cleared his throat.
"I check at the Mason's house but they were not there. Do you know where I can find them?" The man asked and took off his hat and ran his hand over his forehead before placing the hat back on his head.
"They are having dinner here with us." Daniel watched as the man's shoulders sagged a bit before a strained smile formed on his lips.
"Can I come in please? I need to speak to them."
Daniel stepped back and allowed the man to step through the door. Once the man was inside, he removed his hand and placed it under his free arm. Daniel led the soldier to the dining room where everyone had stood from their seats and were milling around, having heard the conversation at the door.
"Good evening." The soldier greeted and looked around.
"Good evening." John greeted with his arm around Brenda. A look of worry mixed with dread all over her face.
The man looked around and sighed.
"My name is Commander Hadrian Carter. I was the Commander of your son's platoon before I was called back to lead another mission and had just gotten back when I heard the news. I had heard much from you all from Zack and I feel that it would be best to tell you all this in person."
They all watched as the man look at the letter in his hand, shake his head and place it on the console table beside him. He also placed his hat down and looked them all in the eye before opening his mouth again.
"Zack Mason is MIA as of early this morning," The man sighed but continued. "half of Zack's platoon is missing as well." The silence was stifling. That they all felt like the rug had been yanked from underneath them.
"He could still be alive?" Maria asked softly. Carter looked at the girl and nodded. "Knowing Zack like I do, the chances of him being alive are high. He is the most exemplary soldier I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Zack had received great training from engineering to infiltration. I highly doubt that Zack is KIA." The pure conviction in the man's tone brought hope to their hearts.
"Do you know what happened?" John asked, still clutching at a shaking Brenda.
"All we know is that the platoon was on their way to a distress call when they stopped reporting in." Carter took his hat after he finished, he left the letter on the table.
"We will keep you informed of any changes." The hat went back on his head and he nodded to Daniel. Getting the message, Daniel walked with the Commander to the door. A car was waiting for him in the driveway.
Once the car had left the driveway, Daniel closed the door and returned to the room where Brenda was crying into John's shoulder, Tom looked green and ready to faint. Cody and Maria were in a similar position as Brenda and John. Steve and Taylor were holding each other in a one-armed embrace.
"I think we should all just go home." Helen said with a sad look on her face, the peaceful dinner table ambiance had been shattered and nothing would bring it back.
John nodded and guided Brenda to the door after Helen handed Brenda her purse. Steve and Cody also said their goodbyes before getting into their cars.
"Missing…" Tom whispered softly, it was as if saying the words that the situation had dawned fully on him.
Tom felt his legs go numb and he quickly grabbed a chair and sat down with a flop of limbs. He groaned and cradled his head in his hands.
Daniel walked over to his son and dragged a chair next to his. Sitting down, he looked at his son with a concerned look on his face, he placed his hand on Tom's back, moving his hand in a comforting up and down movement.
"Missing doesn't mean dead Tom, you'll see, just like the Commander said that Zack is an exceptional soldier and that he will be fine, we have to believe that he's fine and they'll find him."
Tom gave a nod and let his arms drop.
"What if he's injured and fighting for survival?" Tom's voice was slightly hysterical, his eyes looking at his father, the fear in them made Daniel's heart clench, Tom really did care for Zack.
"He's a strong man, he has loved ones to fight and come back for. He will do all he can to come back. He made you a promise, didn't he?" Helen reached out and touched Tom's cheek, her voice was soft and gentle.
Nodding his head, Tom took a quivering hand and rubbed his face hard.
"There is a chance he could come back missing a limb or with more baggage." Daniel brought up the thought hounding his mind.
A look of pure determination made its home on Tom's face.
"If he comes back a limping cripple with PTSD, I'd still want him, I'd help him heal as best I can. I will be there for him, show him that I don't care that he lost a limb and has horrible nightmares. I loved him before he became a soldier and I'll love him when he's back here in whatever state he is in." Helen and Daniel smiled at their son, his little speech more than confirming the love they knew their son held for Zack.
"We all have to believe that Zack will come back to us alive." Daniel patted Tom in the shoulder and then started to help his wife with taking the dishes to the kitchen.
Tom said a small prayer before standing up and helping his parents with cleaning the table and putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher after putting away the leftovers.
It was a painful time before they heard something.
Days of stressing, hoping and praying for Zack's safe return.
Brenda was doing laundry when there was a knock at the door. John being closer, called out that he would get it. There was a moment of silence when the door was opened before Brenda heard John call for her to come to the living room.
In her heart, Brenda knew that whatever was at the door was about Zack. Throwing the shirt that she was about to add to the load in the washer. Brenda quickly made her way to the front door to see Commander Carter at the door again, without a letter this time, something that she hoped was a good thing.
"Ma'am." Commander Carter greeted with a nod.
"Commander Carter, is this about Zack?" wringing her hands, Brenda couldn't help but jump in with a question. The Commander gave an understanding smile.
"It is ma'am, mind if I come in?" John gestured for the man to come inside while Brenda walked to the kitchen to make coffee.
Once they all were seated and a cup of coffee in hand, only then did Commander Carter's face nearly split into two with the strength of the smile on his face.
"We found Zack's remaining platoon." Both parents looked at the Commander, waiting for more information.
"I won't tell the story as to how, but just know that your son is coming home a hero." Brenda quickly lowered her cup to the coffee table before she grabbed the Commander in a fierce hug.
John smiled a relieved, he smiled at his wife as she burst into joyful tears. Commander Carter smiled as he held the crying mother.
"I told you that your son was an exemplary soldier. He did good and when he's all rested, he will for sure be getting a medal." That got Brenda to look up with owlishly blinking eyes.
Commander Carter just smiled and patted her shoulder.
The Commander left shortly after saying that he had other errands to deal with, in other words. Telling other families that their sons and daughters have been found and that they were coming home.
Brenda wasted no time at all as she ran to the Miller's home and frantically knocked on the door. John followed after, having closed and locked the door.
Tom was the one to open the door with Helen behind him. They looked at Brenda, they saw the tears on her face first and their faces fell but then they looked at the couple's expressions and hope sparked in their eyes.
Rubbing her tears away, Brenda gave the most heartwarming grin she had ever given in her lif
e.
"Can we come in?"
They were ushered inside and Daniel was called from his study to see a brightly smiling Brenda and a calmer looking John. Daniel barely sat down when Brenda seemed to burst with joy, no longer being able to contain her happiness.
"Zack's coming home."
Chapter Seven
Tom was sitting on the lawn, knees raised with elbows resting on them. It had been two weeks since they heard Zack would be coming home. They were explained that it was a lengthy process. Zack and the rest of his platoon had to be transported to the nearest military base. Where those that were not in the hospital were debriefed and then quarantined to ensure that they didn't have any illnesses.
Then he and the rest of the platoon not hospitalized were then sent for mandatory therapy before they could be released. For some reason, Zack's therapy didn't last nearly as long as his platoon did.
Brenda said that it could be that because Zack had been having therapy since he was a young child and was used to therapy and knew how important it was to talk to his therapist.
The sky was spotted with cotton clouds, Tom leaned back to lie on his back, cloud-watch a bit. He was the only one waiting outside for Zack as he asked if he and Zack could talk alone when he came.
He got happy and supportive smiles.
Tom went over what he would say, how he would say it. He had more than one little speech ready in his head. He was just so excited to finally see Zack again, after nearly a year.
With a car coming into earshot, Tom sat up and fully got to his feet just in time to see an army marked vehicle stop in front of the Mason's house. Zack got out and got his duffle bag from the boot.
Zack gave a salute to the driver before smiling and waving the man goodbye.
Breath hitching in his throat, Tom was not prepared for the way Zack had changed. Zack's hair was shorter, it did look good, but Tom knew that Zack preferred his hair longer.
What did shock Tom was the large band-aid on Zack's face, it started from the far-left side of his jaw and traveled up diagonally across his cheek to end a half an inch from his nose.
He also stood a little taller and with a sense of confidence that Tom found incredibly sexy.
Once the car was out of sight, Tom walked to stand in front of Zack. All the prepared speeches he had spent on making inside his head, disappeared when he was standing in front of Zack, he was in regular clothing, not army gear.
Those golden-brown eyes looked up at him, expectantly.
"Hi." Was all Tom could get out of his throat.
Zack looked up at Tom, the gentle giant looked so adorable with a questioning look in his eyes, Tom's whole face was one big question mark. There were hints of longing in those blue eyes, the mouth he had daydreamed of kissing again.
Dropping his duffle bag on the ground, Zack reached up and cradled Tom's jaw, his thumb smoothing their way back and forth across his cheeks.
"Hi." The whisper was caught between their lips when Zack went on his tiptoes and kissed Tom on the lips. It was a gentle kiss, but it was full of the promise of future kisses.
Hands moved to embrace; arms followed to hold tightly to Zack's more muscular frame. Zack's hands migrated around Tom's neck to sink into dark brown hair.
The thunderous cheering exploding from the Mason house broke the kiss. Tom and Zack looked at the home and laughed when they saw their family and friends cheering for them.
Tom smiled down at Zack, took a step back and grabbed Zack's hand while Zack grabbed his duffle bag. They walked hand in hand into the house. Zack was yanked into a tearful Brenda's arms, her watery laughter as she hugged Zack was a heartwarming moment for all to see.
John was next to hug Zack, with more strength than was probably needed, but Zack hugged just as hard.
Helen and Daniel were next to greet Zack with hugs. After then Zack was hugged by Cody and Maria, then Steven and Taylor. After that, he was welcomed back by other family members. Unfortunately, Greg was there. Zack gave him a stare and nod before moving onto his aunt.
Greg winced at the blatant dismissal. It stung, but he knew that what he did was a dick move on his part. He hoped that one day, they could at least talk to each other, but as it seemed now, Zack wanted nothing to do with him.
He had tried to talk to Rebecca but she was ignoring him too. She blocked him from her social media and walked the other way when she bumped into him.
The party went well, no one really asked anything, most were just happy that Zack was home now and that Zack said himself that he had served his country and that he wanted to continue with his life now. He looked at Tom when he said the last part, making eye contact as he does so.
After the party guests left, they all sat down with coffee or whiskey. They all took their time enjoying their drinks before John placed his empty on the glass.
"Can you tell us what happened?"
Zack sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face before running his hand over his still short hair.
"Well, I got back from my infiltration training, everything was going great as it can in the area we were in. The gift boxes you guys sent us brightened the mood in more ways than you could ever guess," Zack looked at Tom. "would it be too much to keep sending those boxes?"
Tom smiled; he would gladly still bake cookies for the army to send to soldiers.
"Of course not."
Smiling Zack continued. "As I said. Everything was going well until we saw a distress-flair. We gave the civilians to light if they were in trouble, the rebels were getting more and more brazen.
"My platoon was sent out, we went full gear, we had two HMMWV vehicles, one at the front and one at the back. We were about half a mile away from the flair when the front HMMWV drove over a mine, it blew shrapnel in a wide spray, it's how I got this." Zack pointed at his bandaged cheek.
It was chaos, shrapnel and the blast had killed a few men. The four men inside the HMMWV died from the explosion, Commander Harris, the one that came when Commander Carter was called back, ordered us to grab the injured and retreat. Still, they had already started to capture men." A dark look filled the golden-brown eyes, Zack sighed and took another sip of his whiskey.
"With so many of us injured and disoriented, it was sadly effortless for them to capture us. Some were shot and killed, we got a few of the rebels, but ultimately, we were being captured. So, Commander Harris ordered two other soldiers and me to track back and get back up or inform brass of what happened and then get reinforcements. Cassandra and Paul were unfortunately caught, but I managed to get away.
Zack gently ran his fingers over his cheek, the stitches were starting to itch, he would have them removed in a few days.
"I was halfway back to the village when I realized that by the time I get to the village and call for reinforcements, wait for them to get to the village to mobilize… the rebels we were fighting against isn't organized or trained. Those people make mistakes all the time, and I didn't want to lose any more comrades, so I made the trek back to the ambush site and picked up what I could." The tone of voice Zack's voice was laced in was wary.
"I was trained in infiltration. I was also equipped with a compact bow. I followed the trail the rebels left because I went after them in time to still have a trail to follow. They were in this abandoned village, smaller than the one we were in. It was falling apart and looked very old. I took my time scouting the place. I had picked up some useful things at the ambush site. I got some binoculars and additional arrows and bullets."
Zack got up and started to pace a bit. His fingers laced behind his neck.
"I had all I could get and had scouted the area. I had to wait until dusk, for there to be darkness. I used my bow to pick off the sentinels. They weren't really good guardsmen as there was no pattern to ensure that there was always someone on guard at all times. After they were dealt with and I hid their bodies as best I could, I then made my way to the only fully standing building after I checked the rest and took down the rebels I fou
nd along the way." Zack was now facing the window; his back was tense.
"The large building had a cellar, most of the soldiers were held in rooms, I could hear screams of some being tortured." Zack's forehead meeting the window made a dull “thunk” noise.
"I moved from room to room, the screams from other rooms helped to cover my actions as I cleared room to room, the last room was almost like a med-bay. There were injured soldiers and rebels alike, I left those as they were dying anyway. I ordered the others to take our wounded and move out slowly and quietly. I then went to the cellar, so far, I've only used my bow and knife. The screams were worse coming from below. I knew who they were torturing. I still went slowly to remain as quiet as possible. The cellar was converted into cells. I wouldn't have time to cock my bow, so I used my gun."
Zack turned around to rest his back against the window.
"There were five men, they had Commander Harris on a table, a towel over his face… they were torturing him. Cassandra was chained to the nearby wall, watching it all. She had duct tape over her mouth, so all she could do was scream muffled at the rebels who were slowly killing Commander Harris."
Zack's eyes burned with anger. His arms crossed and hands clenched in white-knuckled fists.
"I killed them all before they really knew what was happening. Nothing really beats military training after all," Zack rubbed his upper arms before forming white-knuckled fists again. "and after the last one fell, I rushed over to Commander Harris. I removed the towel and helped him shift to his side so he could get the water out of his airways and stomach. I went over to the men and searched their pockets for the key holding Cassandra to the wall. Once she was free, we helped Commander Harris up the stairs. He got hit with shrapnel, pretty bad, and now that he didn't have any adrenaline left to help him ignore the damage done to his leg." Zack heaved a massive sigh and walked back to his seat and flopped down, took his glass, and then a hearty gulp of the amber liquid.
"We got out of the house and made our way to where the vehicles were parked, they were plain all-terrain trucks so it would be okay to drive them. We took the vehicles and made our way back to the village. Once there, the villagers helped stabilize the wounded as much as they could. We got emergency evac helicopters sent to airlift the badly wounded to the nearest hospital. We lost two soldiers on the way." Zack scratched the back of his head.