Dane’s POV

  SMASH    She was pissed but I guess that is the understatement of the year. There wasn’t anything I could do about it. I had been through hell and back and her anger wasn’t going to stop me, when I was in reach of my goal. I was hell bent on one thing, revenge. The memories came back to me in a rush.

22:00
2 years ago
Location Unknown, Afghanistan

  “The enemy has settled in for the night,” Jack said. He had been sent out as scout today. I was glad it hadn’t been me, that was my least favorite job. “Maybe we’ll get a little sleep tonight. Machine guns tend to be loud,” Chris said. That got a couple smiles out of the guys. “Smith, Jackson you’re on guard,” Captain said then turned and walked towards the tents. “You just had to say something about being able to actually sleep tonight didn’t you.” Chris laughed. “Yeah” Chris and I are best friends, closer than brothers. We grew up in the same little sticks town and played football together, the quarterback and the receiver, and we both ended up in the SEALS in Afghanistan too. We took our posts and settled in for a long night.

- 4 hours later -

  “What the hell was that?” Chris’s whisper surprised me. I had been somewhat alert but he still managed to catch me off guard. I looked at my watch, 2:00. I listened. I heard a soft noise, the sound of a quiet foot on sand. That’s when the shooting erupted and all hell broke loose. The others came out of their tents but we were cornered, up against a ridge. All I could do was take up a position a try to shoot them in the dark. I turned on my night-vision goggles to get a clearer shot. As I scanned the area I started to find them, and pick them off one by one. There had to be thirty of them that I could see and who knew how many were hidden behind rocks. Jack was in for it when we finished. The shooting continued for around half hour and just when I thought the gunfight was done I heard the single shot that changed the rest of my life.

  THUD   I turned toward where Chris had been standing. He was laying flat on his back. “Shit, Terrence get over here!!!!!!” My voice rang in the darkness. The night was deathly quiet. Chris's hand went to his chest and there was a surprised look on his face when he saw the blood. I ran over to him and knelt by his side. “Smart ass, you know not to yell when the enemy is that close.” He smiled at me. I couldn’t help to smile back. “Now don’t go crying on me.“ His laugh was faint. I put pressure on his chest and looked around in the dark for the medic. I tried to keep him talking but he faded, life left his face and eyes. By time the medic got to us he was already dead.

Back to the Present

  Jack was responsible for what happened to Chris. He was my best friend, my brother and because of Jack he was dead. Everyone tried to say it hadn’t been Jack’s fault. Everyone thought he couldn’t do any wrong until Chris died and then all they could say was that everyone brings in faulty information once in awhile. I don’t care if it was an accident, Jack was going to pay for what happened to Chris. I turned off the light and waited for sleep that was never really sound. I could still hear the screaming and that one shot.