“Sergeant, sir.”
He nods his head again. “Ooh Rah.”
“Ooh Rah.” I don’t say it with as much heart as I used to and neither does this man.
“Good to be home isn’t it?” He asks me.
“Yes, sir.”
He laughs at that. A deep chuckle that vibrates in his chest. “It will be. Give it time.” Patting me on the shoulder he then glances behind me. “A friend of yours?”
“My brother, sir.” Doesn’t matter if we are blood related or not but that man will be my brother until the day I die. “His name is Snake.”
Snake hears his name and then decides to join us. Instead of sticking his hand out for a handshake he nods his head at Jerry. Jerry nods his head back with an amused expression.“I take it you didn’t join the military like your brother.”
Snake smiles but there’s a dash of sinister in it. “Not all wars are fought in uniform.”
“No,” Jerry pauses, taking in Snake in a new light. “No, I suppose they aren’t.” He turns back to me and gestures with his arm for me to lead the way.
As we enter Hell’s Gates, Jerry immediately starts assessing the place. I let him do his work as he goes through the entire joint with a fine tooth comb. He scribbles down on his notebook on what I assume is a lot of shit that needs fixing.
Taking a look around myself I notice this place is worser than the last time I was in here and that’s saying something.
After Jerry is done he signals for Snake and me to follow him outside. As we do Snake asks under his breath, “You thinking a lot of damage?”
I nod my head in reply while keeping a close eye on Jerry and my surroundings.
It’s a tough habit to break. Once you’re overseas your eyes are opened to everything around you. Paying attention to all the details even the tiniest.
“Will it be worth it?”
“It’ll be worth it.”
Glancing up at me his classic knowing smirk appears. “And this has nothing to do with she who shall not be named?”
I clear my throat because it feels like it’s tightening. “No.”
He laughs. “Okay, man. Sure.”
We wait for Jerry to come back and when he does he has a piece of paper in his hand with what I assume is the damage.
“You were right about one thing,” Jerry begins as he makes his way over to us. He then continues when he meets us, “that place is a shit hole.”
Snake barks out a laugh but recovers quickly when I glare at him through the corner of my eye. Then throwing up his hands in mock surrender he bows out and heads over to his bike. I watch with dismay as he pulls out another cigarette.
Alice, no doubt won’t be too happy about that.
“You sure about fixing this place up?” Jerry asks me, regarding me with doubtful eyes.
To be quite honest I’m not sure about jack shit these days.
Every day that I wake up breathing I can’t help but question why.
Why me? Why out of all six of us was it me that survived? Why did the bullet that nicked my lung not pierce through it causing it to collapse?
I thought that enlisting would give my life purpose. Serve my country and save lives.
Instead when I returned home that purpose I was searching for left me with an emptiness. I went to save lives yet too many were left behind.
