hiStory

The helicopter dropped us off in the desert, us as in me, the commander, my co-trooper, and my medic. We also recieved frequent messages from the president, so it was like he was on the field with us. Its been about five years since that day and I remember it like it was yesterday. I was so ready to bring peace by fighting in this war, so yes I was ready to fight by any means. The scene was hectic where I was, all of the shooting that was going on. There were so many bodies laying dead, wounded, arms & legs mutilated, it was that serious. The enemy played their part by the thousands and counting. I knew for a fact that if I had to take another life, I would; if I had to sacrifice my life, I definitely would. But this is war so all of that killing and sacrificing garbage was not special, and neither was I. Sadly, I didn't think like that. I had the cool uniform, with the high powered rifle, with the shiny pistol, a bag full of grenades, my clean name badge, and the heart of a soldier. Therefore, I felt invincible, but let me tell you that the word invincible can take you but so far. I was so caught up in the word invincible, I even forgot to look at my name badge to make sure the commander spelled my name write.

We were walking and the commander decided to break us up. That way, we could search more of the desert for enemy intel alot faster. My thing was, why would we split up and search for intel when the enemy camp was 3 football fields infront of us. They saw us land so they could only be ready to shoot, and so they did. After the first bullet was shot we split up quickly. One group was me and the commander, and the other was the medic and the other trooper. The trooper held the communicator to get back to the president. I had to question the commander's instuctions, well I kept the questioning to myself because my job was to follow orders and shoot, like a good soldier. But I mean damn, you are seperating us in the heat of gunfire, my partner and our medic both went off in the opposite direction. Not only that, what if we need to get in touch with the president or what if the president wanted to get in touch with us? On top of everything, the commander had no type of weapons. Guns, knives, bombs, were no where to be found. All I saw was dog tags and a medal of honor, so like a fool, I felt like I was in good hands. Things seemed very weird, but the commander promised my safety and like a fool, I felt safe. We were both in a ditch being shielded from the gunfire by blown up cars and tanks.

"Are you scared?", the commander yelled.
"I never knew war was this...busy", I replied
"Don't worry, just follow my orders and everything will be fine.

The commander grinned and told me to shoot also and so I did. There was something about Commander's grin that set me in the wrong place. Like, there was a hidden message behind. But that didn't matter as much to me, I wanted to see how my years of studying how to be a marksman would pay off. And boy, with the help of the Commander my shooting was on point. I taken down enemy after enemy with the guidance that was given. The funny thing was that Commander really did not speak much. Questions were answered with one word, orders were given in one sentence and that was it. There were times where we would find a hide out and relax until sunrise. Commander would actually tell personal ventures and plights such as family problems and other battles that were fought. You wouldn't believe some of the things Commander had seen. Some things so treacherous, I would never wish it upon anyone else. Except the people that caused Commander such pain. So I made it my duty to serve the Commander, and follow orders as they were given. I did my duty well, if Commander ran out of water canteens, I would give up mine. If Commander ran out of ammo, I would give up my last magazine, sit back, and watch Commander shoot. I've grown an attachment to the Commander as the month went by.

Until this one day...

It had been two days since we had been camping out in this abandoned shack. We were supposed to leave the third day, one thing Commander taught me was to never stay in the same camp for more than three days. So we had all of our rations and ammo packed and ready to be moved. I awoke to an empty shack, the commander was no where to be found, the ammo and rations were where gone, and I was missing clips from my bag. Then it all hit me, Commander had abandoned me and left me behind for the enemy to kill. I started to flip because this was my first time out on the field, and my commander abandons me?! I had little ammo left and I was very hungry, but I could not stay here. I left the shack and I began to walk aimlessly. Then I really got the gist of the Commander's motives. Those past battles that Commander told me about, those were the reason why Commander was left without weapons. Commander shot up all the ammo that the guns could hold, went to places that commanders should not go, and lost weapons. Due to Commander's naieve actions, the previous army felt no need in letting Commander continue to work for them. They let Commander go, therefore the plantoon I am enlisted in sent Commander to me not knowing of went down before. Commander needed someone to mooch off of to get everything back........ME. Commander built me up just to strip me down, wanted me to feel the pain for self pleasure. I was lost and shut down, why would the commander want use me as a stepping stool? I followed orders, gave the last of my equipment...like a good soldier. I set out to look for Commander, I didn't want to walk this battle field alone. I also knew that Commander needed my help.

It had been 3 hours since I left the shack, I had been walking the desert the whole time looking for Commander. My mouth was so dry, and my stomach was empty. It was so hot, that the sweat from my body drenched my whole uniform. My uniform and my gun weighed down on my body making it harder for me to walk. Steps from my feet turned into lazy drags; my head felt like a balloon. I walked until I saw a road start to form through the sand. I looked up and saw that the road lead into a fortified city. The gates were blown off which led me to believe that the city was raided and abandoned. I walked in, I see nothing but dead soldiers of the enemy and ally camp decorating the buildings, railings, and streets. I walked the streets picking up unused ammo and rations, I loaded my gun and went into one of the buildings for shade. I sat down and looked out the broken window, man this place was a wreck. I looked around searching for any sign of life and found nothing. I sat back and thought of my next move to finding Commander, I didn't want to accept the fact that I was left behind. I lied to myself and said that everything was an accident. I told myself that lie so much that it became my truth and nothing wasn't going to turn it around. As I gathered my energy back, I stood up to continue my search. That is until I felt a poke in my back and a loud voice.

"STOP!", said the person
I was being held up.
"Wehd ahd yoo comeeng frumd!?" the person yelled
"What?", I replied.
The person had a very strong accent. I couldn't tell what kind though.
"Vwat ees yo nem?!"
I was quiet because I did not know how to answer the person. I did not know what he was saying. Next thing I know, everything went black.

I woke up which what seemed to be days later. I was in a room tied to a chair, and I had THEE biggest pain in the back of my head. I looked around the room, everything was double and was slowly focusing. The bright light bulb that dangled from the ceiling made the pain in the back of my head worse. I looked around the room, to my left was a door with a window the size of a computer screen. To my right was a table, there laid my gun dismantled with all of my extra ammo and food. It took my blood, sweat, and tears to get that stuff and I'd be damned if I let anybody take it from me. Forgetting that I was tied to the chair, I tried to move toward the table. The chair tipped over and I feel on my right side. My head slammed against the ground causing the pain in my head to move to the front. Then I heard a whisper coming from the dark corner beside the table.

"hey.....hey", said the person
"WHO IS THERE!?", I yelled
"Shhhhh, you have to be quiet or they will hear you"
"Who is they? Who are you? Where are you?", I said in a calmer tone. I tried to wiggle my way closer to wear the I heard the voice, but it was no use. I then saw a dark figure come from the corner. I could barely see the person because I was still seeing double vision slightly and the room was dark. The dim light bulb hardly did any justice to my eyes. The person kneeled down closer to me. He had the same combat boots and uniform as mine. I figured that he was the my fellow trooper that I parted ways with a few days back and was here to rescue me. But I knew it wasn't the trooper because he was taller.

"Get me out of here", I begged
"I can't help you now, but you have to find Commander"
He caught my attention as soon as he said Commander
"Commander?! Where is Commander?! What do you know about Commander?!"
"Commander is far from here, but you must find him. Let Commander know the damage that is being done."
"There is no damage being done! Commander has done nothing wrong! Who the hell are you?!", I yelled still trying to get a good look at his face, still no luck. I then heard feet scurrying to the door to my left. The door started to unlock, I looked back to my right and the person was gone.
"Hey! Get back here! I am not done with you yet!", I looked around and he was no where to be found.

My vision came back into focus as I looked back at the door, three people who appeared to be guards walked in. Behind them came in another person who appeared to be their leader. He was a huge son of a gun. He looked to be 6'5, his shoulders were broad and muscles were huge; he had a very big gut. His skin complexion was no darker than caramel, his face was very meaty and it was covered by a thick mustache and a beard that went down to his neck. He was smoking on a cigar that looked like he had been smoking it for days. He knelt down just like the other person did and examined me.

"Who were you talking to", his voiced had such great bass that I felt it in my chest. I thought to myself, that the person who was over there had the same uniform and equipment as me. There may be a chance that he was hear to rescue me, so I didn't want to give him away.

"Nobody, I was talking to myself", I replied.
"You have hardly been out on the battlefield that long, you can't have shell shock"
What did he know what I had been through
"Your name....", he demanded
I tried to utter my name, but I started to choke on my own blood. Landing on the side of my face really sucked. The person shook his head and grabbed at my namebadge to see my name. He shook his head.
"When my friend asked you your name, why did you not answer him?", he asked.
I looked back to see one person giving me the dirtiest look. He must of been the one that stuck me up in that building.
"I didn't understand what he was saying", I replied
"Either way, you say something because he has a very serious temper when it comes to unanswered questions"
"Enough about your friends, who are you and where am I?", I asked while trying to sit up.
"You are at my training ground", he said as he lifted my chair upright.
"If you are looking to train a student, I am not the one because I already have a Commander. I must return to my Commander as soon as possible, so if I would just be on my way".
I tried to get up, but the I forgot all about the ropes that tied me to the chair
"Stop, first off I am not here to make you my student, I want to train you. And as far as your Commander goes, you need to give it up", he said.
He cut the ropes that tied me to my chair and I stood up.
"You know nothing, Commander is waiting for me as we speak. Commander took my food and ammo because Commander needed it to fight on. If you will move out the way, I will be able on my way to do my duty."

I tried to walk out of the door, but the three guards that walked in with him blocked the door, preventing me from leaving.

"You want to know that medal of honor your Commander had on?", he asked, "That used to be my medal. Your Commander used to be my trooper, everything you THINK you know came from me. Those guns you carry that is sitting dismantled on that table, those were my guns. Your Commander was high in class and skill; never missed a shot; never showed any type of remorse to the enemy, your Commander was born a warrior. But fame can depict a warrior for a coward. Other armies and plantoons called for your Commander's skill that I created. This set Commander into a frenzy, Commander killed for no reason and loved it. Commander's lack of remorse turned into pure sadistic chaos. Commander felt that I couldn't teach anymore, I returned to my camp only to find my guns gone and my medal. Your Commander is using that medal for fraud, your Commander is trying to be depicted as a man of honor; there was no doubt in my mind that he was not coming back. So believe me when I say, your Commander is gone."

I sat in that chair resting my elbows on my knees with my fingers interlocked. I looked down to the ground thinking of how similar his story was to mine. How could I not see a phony warrior, I am a good soldier. Good soldiers are supposed to recognize the enemy with one look. All of a sudden, I felt anger spread from my gut to my legs and arms, then to my toes and fingers. I never knew I could feel this type of anger, especially for a person that I looked up to. This anger caused me to clench my fist and stand up. I stood and raised my head, with tears in my eyes I stared at the man.

"So what is it that you want from me?", I asked,
"Like I said, I am here to train you", he said, "I'm not making you my student because I am not training you forever. You will learn alot, you will learn it fast."
"But Commander taught me everything, and everything Commander taught me, you already know"
"Commander taught you how to shoot", he said, "Now you will learn how to shoot with precision; learn how to shoot a moving target more than 3 football fields away; learn how to battle with enemy troops that can have you busy for hours, and still walk away with ammo to last you for days. Listen kid, I know you have been shut down, but now it's time to start waking up; trust me with your skills and I promise you will never be abandoned again. That anger that you have, starting now you will turn it into food for combat, it's all on you."

He stuck out his hand, he wanted me to shake to sign of approval. This sounded way to good to be true. But I would do anything to get this feeling of being worthless out of me, so I shook his hand. He looked in my eyes with gratitude and assurance that I just made the right move. His namebadge read "Aegis". I figured that was his name, so I called him Captain Aegis. I stood there was he walked toward the door. The guards moved out of his way, and he opened it. As soon as he opened the door, I knew things were going to be here for a while.

*Part 2 Coming Soon*