The Soldier Next Door

The lush green bushes are the only barrier to safety we have from imminent danger. In the dark of the night, we are hiding, ready for the attack. To say that there is not one nervous bone would be a lie, for, amongst the excitement, there is a sense of dread. The enemy is ruthless, and they shall not take kindly to our invasion; they will come dome with force.

My only mission is there walking in his own delusion grandeur. Revenge is going to be swift but very much sweet. I am not a man that holds a grudge and stew on things, but there are certain things that you shall not forgive. Tonight I will get the closure that I have been seeking for. The minute I watch his body drop to the floor is the minute that I can safely go ahead and live my life in peace.

This I not only need for me, but I need to do this for us, for Ana and me. I cannot be a man if I live my life in the past. She knows what I am set to do tonight, and she gives me her unconditional support. I cannot think of any other woman to spend my life with. Who knows that after what we have gone through, she shall agree to carry my ring on her finger again.

But let us not get ahead of ourselves; I need to focus on the mission ahead. So as the rain starts pounding harder, it creates the perfect condition to make our move. This is it; this is now, we are doing this.

With a few hand signals, I show for my squad to make their attack. As I sleek tiger, we move out from our cover. I feel the wet leaves brush against my skin as I slowly rise. My feet sink into the mud. The rain beats against my face. Exhilaration consumes my body. With each step, the adrenaline starts pumping. Everything around me seizes to exist. It is the enemy and me. It is me and the elimination of danger. I check my gun. I secure my knife. I push forward. I see the camp coming closer. I take one deep breath as we come to the perimeter.

And then…one…two…three, I step over the edge of safety into danger. With MacKey in sight, we spread out and fill the camp. We are coming from all sides. We make our way to the opening of a tent.

Then, I push the point of my gun past the opening of the tent. With one loud BANG! I let the full force of my bullets fill the corners of the tent. All chaos breaks loose. Within the camp, from everywhere, they start to pile from their safety.

From deep inside the tent that I am facing comes a man that towers me. He has his gun pointed to my face. Well, that is not happening. With one soft squeeze of the trigger, he tumbles to the floor. From behind, I hear the loud scream of a brave soul running up to me. In mere seconds he falls to the floor in a piece of bundled flesh.

And, as they clear the way for me, I find my way to seek for him. He has not yet come from his tent. What a coward. He can torture, but he can not face a bullet. He is mine. He will see the sight of darkness. He shall move into nothing. I shall not falter. I am here to make him pay. I cannot, and I will not either let him untouched.

So I find my way through the camp. The shots are short and scattered. It makes contact with each militant that is brave enough to try and overpower a force that they cannot defeat. Take no prisoners. It is you or him. If you falter for one second. You shall meet the fate that was not intended.

While I hear the sounds of death fill the air, I come up for his tent. From inside, I hear a struggle with a gun. I loud curse. The growl of a man’s voice that I listened to absolute torture. This is it. This is now. Now is the time. And as he emerges from his tent rather confident, he stops dead in his tracks. Has he noticed me? Does he know the ghost that faces him?

With an overconfident, cocky voice, he stares me down. “And what do you think you are going to do with that toy.”

“Would you not love to know you sick bastard.”

“You say bastard, what does that make you then?”

“Far better than you; you are a waste of space.”

“And you are a bit over ambitious. Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Well, unfortunately, I do. Now let me ask you the same. Who am I?”

I stand steady as my focus remains solid. My gun does not move an inch from his forehead. My hands do not tremble. My voice is firm. He has not power over me. The field is laid equal. If he so much as presses that trigger, he will find himself in a pile next to me on the floor. I can say with certainty that I can easily say I have lived my life to its full purpose. But I am not dying today. It is the filth that shall blend into the mud.

So as he laughs from the depths of his belly, he mocks me again, “Please, please give me the honor and tell me who your useless ass is?”

“Mmm, you must be very blind, or you just torture way too many victims.”

“Ah, so you are here for revenge? Well, boy, revenge is bitter. It shall haunt you. That is if you even get the chance to pull that trigger.”

I watch as there is a slight tremble in his hand. Either this man is scared, or he has perhaps been looking to far into the bottle. What a perfect soldier he is. Wait! I cannot even dare to refer to him as one. He is scum. He is the devil reincarnated. And he is about the be fated to his death.

Without taking my gun away from him one second, I proudly lift my pants to reveal my leg. The amusement clearly starts to build on his face.

“Ha! Half a man. Half of an effort to rid you of your miserable existence.”

“The only one that will stop existing is you. Now, I want you to look me in the eye. I want you to notice the man that is about to take your life. I want you to know who I am.”

“Do you really think I care?”

“Well, you are about to be dead. Would you not like to know?”

“Fair, then humor me and tell me why you should be of importance.”

Without having to go into details, I lay out for him who he is faced with. I watch as that amusement turns into horror. There are seven sensations of terror that flow over his face in an instant. I cannot help let the laughter rumble from my chest.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Now who is laughing? A ghost from your past. Well, they do have the nasty habit of haunting you.”

“Is this truly going to satisfy you? Is taking my life going to bring you back what you have lost?”

“Damn right it is. There is no way I am leaving here without your head on a plate.”

Then in an instant, as he realized that he is defeated by a man with a purpose, he fumbles like a coward and begs for his life. The sound is sweet. It plays as music to my ears. I am not faltering. This…this filth can rot in hell.

I have reached the end of affording him the luxury of speaking. I look with a very satisfied smile on my face. The time has come.

“Let us just say an eye for an eye. Every time I look at what you have done to me, I am going to remember this day. I want you to have my face tormenting you in hell. You might have taken my leg, but you have not taken me.”

Then, in three…two…one, I gently squeeze the trigger. I feel as the gun slightly jolts. I feel the barrel slightly vibrate as the bullet slides its way through it. In slow motion, I look on as it travels through the air. It slams into his skin. In an inch of a second, I watch in a strange way of satisfaction as he falls to the floor. Which a loud thud, his head disappears into the mud.

I turn my back on him and return to my squad that has been looking on. They do not say a word. I know that they carry the same sentiment. Yes, a life for a life. It was either him or me. The moment that we made contact, I knew that only one of us will come out alive. I was a man with a purpose, but most of all, I am a Marine that seeked justice. I am not half a man, and no man shall ever dare to say that.

I look at my boys, “Let’s go home.”