Jack

Memory

“Requesting permission to shoot.” The lean and blond-haired soldier didn’t take his squinted eye from the scope as he held his radio up to his lips. The scraggly scruff on his face that was beginning to grow more into a beard as the days passed held the sweat, blood, and sand of our waged war.

“Request denied.” An angry voice barked back, making the soldier wince. He licked his lips—-chapped from the heat—-and traded me a look. An explosion behind us sounded, but neither of us flinched, as sand showered our feet. Anger in my chest, I violently tore myself away from my gun—-and my one good shot—-and snared the blackberry from my scoper’s hands.

“We have a clean shot, sir.”

“I UNDERSTAND THAT, MARINE.”

“Sargent, please! We’ve been looking for this Iraqi imbecile for almost a godforsaken year now, sir! And now—-”

“LIEUTENANT, LISTEN TO ME!” I was immediately silenced, my features flickering from anger to neutral in a matter of a second. “DO YOU HAVE A GUN, MARINE?”

“Yes, sir.”

“DOES THAT MAKE YOU A SOLDIER?”

“...No, sir?”

“NO, LIEUTENANT. IT DOESN’T. LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE GUNS, MARINE. PEOPLE WHO DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT US OUT HERE. DO YOU HAVE A UNIFORM, MARINE?”

“Sir, yes, sir.”

“DOES THAT MAKE YOU A SOLDIER?”

“Sir, no sir.”

“HOW ABOUT GRENADES OR MEDALS. DOES THAT MAKE YOU A MARINE?”

“Sir, no sir.”

“THEN WHAT DOES?”

Finally, unable to contain my anger, I brought the walkie talkie closer to my lips, scowling. “With all due respect, sergeant, fuck off.”

“Jack, what are you doing?” Lieutenant Williams yelled, his eyes growing wide as I slammed down the blackberry and brought my eyes back to my weapon. I bitterly ignored him and took aim.

“Fire...fire...fire...fire...”

“JACK, YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!”

“Fire...fire...”

Finally, Lieutenant Brady Williams sighed, reluctantly bringing his eyes to the scope. Silently, he muttered, “There’s two of us. There’s no way in hell we can survive this.”

“Fire...”

“Set.” Williams momentarily shuddered, probably realizing how slim of a chance we had of surviving once we took our shot. “Do it.”

Now

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!”

“Back to my place,” I answered dryly, stopping at a red light. “I have work tomorrow.”

“ARE YOU CRAZY?” Elin screeched at the same time Brady yelled, “I’D RATHER LIVE!”

“Listen,” I held a hand up, getting a bit irritated with how long the light was taking. This wasn’t my day. I was stuck with two teenage girls, who at their age were probably more prone to fits and break downs than Brady was, and a lawyer. Not to mention I just realized I had no car insurance after one of the Terminator’s took a terrifying leap of faith onto the hood of my car. “The police and other federal agencies are handling the situation of Julia. It’s highly illegal for Brady and I to be speaking to you. You know the goddamn laws protecting kids. And, YOU’RE IN MY CAR. I REALLY DON’T FEEL LIKE BEING CUFFED TODAY, AND I DON’T THINK I’LL FEEL UP TO IT TOMORROW EITHER!”

“We can’t go to your place,” Brady hollered back, shattering my right ear drum. “The bionic woman will find us there! Jack, this kid’s a prodigy! And you! What the hell was that?” He was turned towards Ember now, horror written all over his face. “Do you have, like, a missile in your back pocket?”

“No,” I muttered back before either of the girls could retort otherwise. My voice was filled with fake delight. “But I have a closed fist.”

“Guys, cut it out,” Elin was now leaning towards us, scooted on the edge of the back seat. She had loosened her grip on Ember, who looked a little dazed. Her hair was standing almost straight up on her head, like a blond porcupine, from the static. I realized all of our hair must look the same; theirs did. “We can’t go back to Jack’s place, they’ll find us there. We can stop by the store and get some camping equipment, then set up in the mountains.”

“With WHOSE money?” I growled, finally able to slam my foot on the gas pedal again. “And why in the hell can’t I go to my apartment if I want to?”

“Uh,” Brady squeaked, the palms of his hands pressed against the passenger window, the back of his head turned towards me. “Is THAT a good reason?” I followed his eyes, and at the same time Ember and Elin toppled over each other to stare out of the right window as well.

Behind us, a wild stampede of sirens and flashing lights turned a corner, about fifteen black and white squad cars zeroed in on my vehicle.

“GOOD ENOUGH!” I yelled back, flooring the pedal and swerving around several other angry drivers. The force caused Elin, Ember, and Sarge to all fall into each other, a big ball of fur and children.

Fire...fire...fire...fire…