-Sergeant Jackson –
Chapter 1: Nightmare That Happened
"Sir, you're up. It's time"
The man with white hair, light tan skin just sighed, the New Haven born politician, skipped a beat of his own heart despite efforts that was made to quench the unnecessary anxiety, not to mention empathy, which seeped its way into his soul. His thoughts, he needed to clear it up, just as so that his mind would think – thinking of the right words to be precise. It was only for the announcement.
The announcement, however, was only a teensy little task. He only had to say 'Hey, our soldiers died in the Middle East'. Well, the hell it would. Being a leader for one of the most powerful and most influential countries in the world, had its pros and cons; but it was mostly the cons, if you had noticed. The economies, imports, exports, migrants, drug dealers, terrorists, abductions, lots of things would affect the sane being of the President, but did the citizens care?
The President snapped back into reality, clearing his mind up and said," Oh, yes, yes, I know that"
He stood and wiped away his creases on his vest, clearing his throat, afterwards. Lights flashed on his face as paparazzis and reporters emphasized on the very being of George Bush. He smiled, smiled for the press, smiled for the people, smiled for America. He assured everybody that everything is under control.
Silence,… emptiness,… there was nothing now. It only lasted a few seconds but now, everything was, gone.
Flashback
The USMC made their way in to Baghdad, trying to apprehend Khaled Al-Asad, the general of the Ultranationalists, to find a lead on Imran Zakhaev, the most powerful man in the Middle East which threatened to destroy the corrupted world.
It was smooth sailing for the Americans but the location of the wanted man was just a fraud. The USMC , miraculously, were just making their way out of the haywire and insanity from an unknown threat, reportedly a nuclear device until call sign 'Deadly' crashed from the blast of an RPG-6. Sergeant Jackson, Paul Jackson, one of the soldiers in another helicopter, held on for dear life as they were making a U-turn to save the downed pilot. Long story short, Sgt. Jackson saved the she-pilot, avoiding mere death as he and Lt. Vazquez hopped on the chopper with the others, catching up with the others. That is when it happened.
The bomb exploded and most of the USMC was affected by the blast, sending them crashing down. Everything was hectic, spinning in a whirl of death, and…
Present
Jackson woke up from a sickening splat, heavily breathing from the impact. Visions were blurry, but all that he knew was everyone was dead. He tried to stand up, but he hardly did as he instantly fell down, adding more of the gritting pain he felt. So, he decided to crawl his way out. He did it, but everything that he saw, though blurry, made him wish that he was dead. He was delirious as he thought he heard the sounds of children playing around. The buildings, looked like the aftermath of a doomsday, in fact, it was only rubble left. He eventually struggled to get up again, forcing every ounce of energy left in him to walk away from the hazardous air. But he failed…
Flashback 25 years ago
"Mom, mom! I wanna ride that too!", the little Jackson said.
It was a very joyous weekend fun fair. The kids, and even adults, enjoyed the activities and rides there. It was one of those few times that it was held and little Paul won't miss the chance on being there. He was really enjoying the time; riding almost all of the rides.
The sun was starting to set and its orange and yellow-like rays dawned itself upon the fair. Paul and his mother then went on the last ride, which apparently no one else seemed to want to ride it; the Ferris wheel. They got on and it rotated until they're on top, overlooking the peaceful scenery.
"Paul?",
"Yes, Mom?", Paul replied, happily eating his ice cream
"Had fun today?",
"Of course I do! BEST DAY EVER!", he shouted, making his mom laugh, until she heard what he said next,
"But if only dad was here…",
Paul began to lose his cheery state and looked down quite sadly. His mom saw this and she, too, began to remember the memories of her husband, always smiling at them with that caring gaze. She didn't even realised that Paul was sobbing at that moment.
"Hey,… don't cry, don't cry… What's the matter?",
"I miss Dad…",
"Paul, we all do, so much, but there's nothing we could do",
"Why did he have to leave us?...",
His mother thought for a moment, and said," Paul, there are some things in life that just come and go; like cars. You don't see them at the road at the same place, right? They move, just like Dad. No, he didn't leave us. In fact, he's right here",
Paul instantly turned to his mother as she said those words. He saw his mother took off something from her neck, and gave it to his opened hand, closing it and gripping it tightly," This was your Dad's. It's the only thing of what's left of him", she said," Wear it, Paul. Know that he'll always be there for us, for you",…
" huh, huh, huh, huh…",
Paul woke up from his dream to miraculously find out that he's alive from the nuclear gas, though gasping for air. He instantly reached for his dad's dog tag and held it tightly in his hand, "(Thanks, Dad)"
Still, he needed to get out of the hazardous conditions to stay alive. He used every will and might that he had left to get up. He packed his backpack filled with necessities (map, food, first aid kit, etc.; the food didn't get contaminated as the bag was a high quality (of course) air-tight duffel bag. He grabbed his SOPMOD M4A1 Carbine rifle and grabbed ammunition from his fallen comrades.
"Sorry, Lieutenant. Need it more than you do",
With no backup, communications, precise planning and behind enemy lines, he grabbed a compass to know where he's heading, but where is he heading?