Omg, I'm so sorry this is so late. I've had a lot of problems with the wifi at my new house and then my laptop crashed. But I'm back, and I have the second chapter! I'm thinking of changing the update to about one chapter every two weeks so I can focus more on writing and editing because I've felt very pressured to do a chapter every week. Anyway, enjoy!
The wind was rushing through her hair, tangling it into impossible knots as a wide grin spread across Laelynn's face. Her left hand was draped out the window of her cherry Jeep, the other holding the steering wheel loosely. An upbeat song lilted across her radio, the words echoing from both the singer and the teen. Her voice harmonized with the country singer, her many years spent in choir demonstrating themselves. Carefree and fresh out of high school, she was enjoying the last vestiges of her summer before she was sent off for training in the USAF. It was only a week away, and she was pumped to start her life but she would miss her parents majorly while she was gone. It was going to be tough, but serving her country was second only to singing in Nashville. Her head swiveled around to stare at the radio as it crackled before switching to the low croon of a saxophone and a swinging beat. It played for several seconds before reverting to the country song she had been playing previously. Laelynn gave the radio a brief weird look before returning her eyes to the road, just in time for her to slam on the breaks. A man, dressed in a bloody Air Force uniform was standing in the middle of the road, pointing straight at her. His gaze was burning, as if accusing her of something. There was someone shrieking, Laelynn thought before realizing it was her. She grasped desperately at the locks on the car door, hands continuing to slip like she was holding fabric. As her panic rose to it's peak, she was suddenly facing the window in her bedroom with her hands fisted in her comforter. Eyes whirling around the room in confusion, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and grasped her temple between her shaking hands. She drew in short breaths, her mind still reeling from what she had believed was reality.
Her hands continued to shake even after Laelynn took a scalding shower. She stepped out of the steam, fumbling with the towel. Once it was securely wrapped around her trembling form, she retreated across the tiny hall to her room. For a few seconds, she stood in the middle of her room, trying to push the left over terror away. She had to pull herself together for Brad's funeral today.
Mentally praising it was a closed casket funeral, she slipped into her dress uniform. Reaching for the little box on her dresser, she forced her shakes down as far as she could. Gently lifting the lid with the slightest tremble now, she pinned the little purple medal onto her uniform. She had been awarded the Purple Heart for her actions in Mission City. While that was normal, the Air Force had also given her a shiny new Pontiac Solstice as compensation.
Laelynn glanced out the window of her room at the Solstice, giving it a wary look. She had never heard of the USAF giving soldiers compensation in the form of a sports car that looked like it came right off the assembly line. She bent down to adjust her dress shoes before snatching her wallet off her dresser and trudging down the stairs to the main floor of her parents' house. Keys jingled as she paced right past the silver Pontiac towards her beloved Jeep. The cherry paint was fading but she'd had the Cherokee for years now. Laelynn tugged the door shut, glancing up as she inserted the keys into the ignition.
"What the hell?" She murmured with a frown. The driver side door of the Pontiac was sitting wide open. She hadn't touched the Pontiac once since she got home from the hospital, and her parents were in Indianapolis visiting old friends. She reluctantly climbed out of her Jeep to inspect the door. Walking in a circle around the silver sports car, she couldn't see any way for the door to have popped open on its own.
Laelynn flinched as the car horn went off when she slammed the door shut. Glancing at her watch, she brushed the weird events to the back of her mind. If she didn't leave soon, her visit to the florist for flowers would make her late to the funeral. After returning to the Jeep, she promptly started the ignition and pulled out of the drive. As she took off down the street, the little silver sports car sunk low on it's tires.
The funeral was, as usual for events as such, a sombre affair. Many of Brad's high school friends went up to speak about his love of sports and dedication to his country. Laelynn had debated speaking of their time together on the team but in the end decided against it. That wound was a little too raw right now. He had matured a great amount since high school, if she took their stories to be truth. Brad didn't seem the type to put superglue in a teacher's keyboard, or at least the Brad Laelynn knew wasn't the type. He was focused, an excellent soldier and an even better Commander.
As the twenty-one gun salute lined up to fire, Laelynn steeled herself against the tears that threatened to spill over. Just a few days ago, and a few graves over, she had attended Susanna's funeral. The twenty-one gun salute had rattled her then, and she was rattled this time too. Both the memories of Mission City, and the final realization of they aren't ever coming back! hit her hard, the tears unable to be held any longer. Her shoulders shook, her lips pursed tight in a desperate attempt to silence her sobs.
A hand landed on her stiff shoulders, causing Laelynn to whip her head around to determine who it was. She relaxed a little as she recognized him as the Major who had come to offer her a position at NEST. A little surprised at his attendance of Brad's funeral, she moved over to allow him room beside her. The tears slowed, her hands wiping at her face as she attempted to compose herself.
"Major." She greeted quietly.
"Airwoman." He returned, bowing his head slightly to her. Over his shoulder, she caught sight of a massive GMC truck. The black beast was intimidating, and she hadn't seen it in the funeral parade earlier. She assumed it was the vehicle he had drove here. From around the truck came the weapons specialist the Major had visited with. She almost expected the Lieutenant to come around the truck as well, but he didn't. She had been the recipient of several more visits from Lt. Jazz over the week she spent in the hospital. Each of them were as equally confusing as the first. She still wasn't sure if he was actually there to check on her welfare, or to try to convince her to join NEST.
Laelynn solemnly watched, fighting tears back as the casket lowered into the dark earth. Remaining behind to say her goodbyes privately, she made a split second decision. Tugging the Major's sleeve as he turned to leave, she leaned up to his ear.
"If that offer to join NEST is still open, I'd take you up on that, sir." She said quietly. Major
Lennox's eyebrows rose, before he nodded. They shook hands, the Major promising to call her soon to arrange her orientation, and she stepped forward to drop her bouquet of marigolds on the top of the casket which now rested deep in the earth. She murmured a quick prayer, wishing peace in the afterlife for Brad.
Her boots crunched the leaves underfoot as she turned back toward the cherry Jeep. Tears ran down her face unhindered as she finally let them fall.
Laelynn yawned, rubbing her puffy eyes. The clock on her microwave read 12:32 AM. She had woken after crying herself to sleep, seeking a glass of water to soothe her sore throat from the harsh sobs her grief had torn from her. Her feet padded softly across her kitchen floor. Pulling her sleep pants up, she retrieved an empty glass. She set it beside the faucet after dumping the last ice cubes in. Her fingers fumbled slightly turning the cold handle to the water on. As she went to fill the ice cube tray, her drowsy mind finally clicked into high gear.
Shrieking, she stumbled backwards from the red liquid flowing out of the faucet. Her back met something firm rather than the hard ledge of her marble island. Twisting around, heart thudding, she saw nothing.
Her eyes were wide, scanning the kitchen for what she had backed into. She twisted in a circle, adrenaline rushing through her veins. Spotting the knife block on a far counter, she scrambled over to grab a large butcher's knife. She raised it in front of her, cautiously edging to the other side of the island. Upon finding only air, she lowered the knife a little in confusion. She was certain she had ran into something firm and warm, much like the chest of another person. The sound of the ice cube tray overflowing caught her attention.
She peeked into the sink, expecting the blood to still be there and finding only water. Had she imagined the whole thing? Nevertheless, she didn't feel safe in her house now. If someone had been behind her, and managed to avoid her sight, she was sure they were still in the house.
Laelynn adjusted her grip on the knife, and hurried to retrieve her spare pillow and blanket from the closet by the living room. Tucking them under her arms, she headed to the garage. When she was little, her parents would find her sleeping in one of their vehicles after she had a nightmare. She didn't know where the habit had come from, but she felt safe tucked in the interior of a vehicle.
She slipped past her father's Dodge Ram truck, intending to climb in her Jeep before she realized it was parked out front. As she realized this, her eyes landed on the little silver Pontiac. It was tucked in by the far side of her parent's large garage. She assumed her father had been tinkering with it, the grease monkey had insisted on a large garage just for that very reason. Tugging experimentally on the handle, she found the car unlocked. Dropping her bedding in the passenger seat, she settled her seat so it was leaning as far back as possible. Dragging the blanket up to cover her curled form, she tried to relax.
This was a difficult task, the adrenaline still rushing through her system as her mind replayed the events in the kitchen. She was sure there had been blood gushing out of the faucet, but there was no evidence of the blood when she had glanced in the steel basin. As she laid there, the seat seemed to slowly conform to the fetal position she had assumed. Her mind was far too occupied to register this any farther then in the back of her mind.
Forcibly shoving the thoughts to the back of her mind, seventeen sheep jumped the fence before she finally dozed off.
Her eyebrows furrowed, trying to locate the source of the annoying buzzing. As her eyes creaked open, Laelynn was met with a small square of light sitting in the passenger seat of the car. Her hands clasped around the small device, lifting it close to read the screen. She snapped straight awake when she realized it was Major Lennox.
"Morning Major Lennox." She said, trying to lose the groggy undertone from her abrupt awakening.
"Morning, Airwoman Amoldine. You can call me Will, remember? I'm calling to arrange the orientation." Will sounded a little too awake, Laelynn grumbled silently before she realized it was probably nearly afternoon by now.
"Yes, sir. When is the next orientation? I can start as soon as you need me to." She slid out of the Solstice, after a small struggle finding the door handle. Crossing through the garage as he listed off several dates in the next few months, she located her iPad Mini.
"I can attend the July 17th one, sir." She confirmed the date, adding it to her calendar on her tablet. They discussed a few more questions she had, until she remembered to ask him how to locate the base.
"We programmed it into the GPS in the Pontiac the Air Force delivered to your residence. We were hoping you'd accept our offer. We will be activating the GPS system remotely along with the small chip which will automatically open the gates when you get within 50 feet of the entrance. I wish I could talk a little longer, Miss Laelynn, but it seems a few of my men started causing trouble. I'll see you at the orientation." Laelynn dropped the phone on the counter, gazing at the little event icon on July 17th. There was a little under two weeks until then, and she had to figure out how to break the news to her parents that she wasn't done being a soldier.
Response to reviews from Chapter 1:
SunnySides (Guest): Yeah, I'd always wondered what happened to her also, so I gave her a name and story. You're on the right track with your theories, you'll find out how he's alive a couple chapters from now. Thanks for the review!
Thanks to CarsCar2Fanatic, Skyress98, Faith Woodhope, HoneyBlossom99, Katanna Cain, AlchemistPrime, DarkEmpress192, SweetSpark22, angelic-muse-of-nature, twizzlers24 and ' for follows/favorites!