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Chapter 2
I had just had the worst dream of my life, the details were becoming dimmer the harder I tried to remember them but one thing was incredibly vivid. I remembered Janet's face getting whiter and whiter until it faded. Just thinking of this shocking memory made me scared to go to the camp. I knew that there was a chance that my fears were reality but there was also a chance that the love of my life was sitting, alone, in a camp for me. I had a feeling that she missed me just as much as I missed her.
The warthog was getting closer because I could see some lights on the horizon. The desert cold was turning the rain into sleet and I had to pull up my collar to shield the bottom half of my face. By the time I could see the towers that the lights were standing on my cheeks were aching from the cold and the rest of my body was stiff. When the warthogs pulled up to the camp all I saw was a thirty foot cement wall and a gate that looked more like the doors to a garage.
After waiting for a few minutes the gates were slid to the side by a few marines and the warthogs drove into the warehouse that the vehicles were kept. I saw the two pelicans fly over the gate and go towards the hangar. I jumped out of the warthog and walked through the small doors in the side of the warehouse. I emerged into a small street that passed by small tents that were currently alive with the sound of people sleeping. I walked down the street and couldn't help but occasionally glance at an open tent but I learned not to when someone walking behind me nudged me and told me not to abuse my power. I grunted my apologies and slid down another street so I didn't have to be followed.
I was searching for three hours and the rain stopped. I knew my luck was raising and I would find her soon. After a few more hours the clouds parted and the sun rose. I was becoming too tired to walk so I was going to find the barracks when I saw a line of people walking off a bus. I stopped and anxiously watched them come in. At the front was an elderly couple sharing an orange jacket that was draped over their backs. The second person in the line was a teenage boy who looked more like a thug. The man behind him had a grey beard that went halfway down flannel jacket. The last person to walk off the bus was a woman who looked around Janet's age but she had coal black hair and her eyes seemed dark and empty even from ten feet away. My heart sank but I should've known I wouldn't have been lucky enough to find her on the first day in the camp.
I was walking to the front desk to figure out where the barracks was when I saw two people already there. I grudgingly got in line and waited. I was in such a bad mood I was only looking at my feet the entire time. I didn't look up until the line moved and I saw the person who was at the desk. The first thing I noticed about her was the hair that was not only the same color but it had the same look of straight hair that seemed to wave in the light. I grabbed her arm and she spun around rather angrily, I was amazed when I looked into her eyes. They were definitely her eyes, she noticed that she was staring at me as well because she practically screamed. She wrapped her arms around me so tightly that I grunted in pain.
"Sorry," she said even though she didn't loosen up at all. I could care less about the pain, as long as I was able to hold her in my arms again. As long as I could run my hands through her silky hair, she could squeeze me as hard as she liked. I leaned in and kissed her forehead and I felt a tear bounce off my shirt and hit my arm. It felt like years before she let go of me and looked into my eyes. It was in these moments that I was glad she was only a few inches shorter than me because I didn't want to crane my neck a lot.
"So where are you staying?" it was all I could say before I had yet another urge to hold onto her. She smiled at me and pointed down the street. She started down the street and I realized I had to go because she was holding onto my hand with no intention of letting go. We walked down the same street where I was hit by the guy and she pulled me into the empty tent I was looking in when I was hit. It wasn't small, about the size of a one room cabin. She let go of my hand long enough to close the tent and then the urge instantly hit me and I had to act on it.
Once she turned around I put one arm on her waist and the other was rubbing her cheek. This didn't seem like a large surprise to her because instantly her hands were around my back again. I couldn't remember the last time I embraced her like this and I was happy she was happy to go with the flow. Our kiss lasted until I had another urge to just stare at her. I didn't know how I was going to cope because when I was kissing her I wanted to see her beautiful face, but when I was looking at her I wanted to put her in my arms and never let go. I stopped kissing her just to look into her face again and I breathed in the view, she was smiling and looking at me. I admired every detail of her from her hazel eyes that always cheered me up down to her gorgeous smile that always seemed to knock me down. I went back to kissing her but she stopped this time.
"I thought you were dead when I heard they blew up New Mombassa. At first I thought you would've left at your first chance but I wasn't sure," she said this all rather quickly and I knew she was just as wrapped with worry as I was.
"I wanted to keep them out of the suburbs long enough for you to escape. I left only after they refused to transport anyone else out," I said. It seemed that she was happy with this response because she smiled.
"I love you," she said as she leaned her head against my shoulders.
"I love you too," I whispered into her ear and I saw one silent tear slide down her cheek. I was suddenly struck with a desire to sleep but I didn't want to leave her arms, let alone the tent. She suddenly let go and went to sit on a pile of blankets and I stood and stared at her. She smiled and signaled for me to sit by her. I sat down and leaned up against a trunk. She smiled and I felt a weight suddenly hit me. I looked down and saw her sitting on my lap. She leaned her head against mine and I felt as if the world could end and I wouldn't care. Her body heat quickly over took me and before I could stop my self I fell asleep.
I woke up to see that Janet had not left my lap and she was now silently breathing onto my shoulder. I didn't even need to dream last night because I had everything I needed right now. I was about to get up when Janet's eyes opened and she looked around and stared into my face. I smiled at her and she wriggled around for a little bit till she seemed to find a comfortable spot. She laughed when she saw my discomfort because her elbow had suddenly dug into my side. She slowly got off my lap and walked to the flap of the tent. I had gotten up and realized how stiff my back was from sleeping against a trunk.
"I need to change so you need to leave," she said with a small smile. I laughed and turned my back. She laughed and I heard the trunk snap open. I was completely shocked that I wasn't pushed out the flap but it didn't really matter. I would much rather work my way into that stage than sneak or force my way in. I didn't know whether that was the soldier in me or the fact that I had an abusive dad who always told me to earn what I wanted whenever he caught me doing something he told me not to do; this usually followed a horrible beating that left me bloody but it still left an impression, that is also the reason my reflexes are extremely sensitive and the slightest motion of someone around me will send my hand to my gun and my fist to their gut. I heard the trunk shut and decided it was safe to turn around and I saw her sitting on it, fully dressed.
"I said leave," she said with a playful tone in her voice. I smiled and walked up to her. She stood up and kissed me twice, the third kiss held for what seemed like a century and I could barely breathe. I felt surprisingly light and knew that I could have easily held it for much longer but she finally stopped and looked deep into my eyes.
"I can't cook you breakfast," she said finally and I smiled. She had such a wide smile I thought I could count all her teeth. I didn't even notice my hunger through this perfect world that I now had. I gave her a little squeeze and she walked out of the tent. I took a quick sweep of the tent and soaked in the memories of last night. I was standing where I had embraced her beauty for so long last night that it could have been hours and I wouldn't have noticed.
"You coming honey?" I could hardly believe that she had said those words if I hadn't turned around at that moment to leave. I followed her outside and the sun seemed to momentarily scorch my eyes but I soon adjusted and looked around. It seemed a lot less crowded than it had seemed last night and I now realized how large the tents were. I was looking around so much and I seemed to forget that I was following Janet and when I looked up I saw that she was gone. I gave a little start when she came up from behind me and looked at me.
"I'm sorry I just remembered a dream I had," I said as I rubbed her cheek. Her milky skin seemed to glimmer in the light. She smiled a little and coughed.
"Was it about me by any chance," she said this as I felt a blush rush into her smooth face. Her white face flashed through my mind again and I decided to keep that part out.
"It was about my brother," I said and I felt her blush recede. She wrapped her hand around mine and looked into my eyes. There was a little too much understanding in her eyes as she welled up in tears. I knew what she was thinking, that day had been a tragedy for both of us. I remember that she was the one who held onto me and wouldn't let go at his funeral. That was the day we realized that we were meant for each other. It apparently takes a dead brother and your girlfriend to hug you all night while you devised one hundred different ways to blame yourself for what happened. I looked deep in her eyes that night and told her that I loved her and that I couldn't be without her. I didn't expect for her to feel the same way but she did.
"I'm sorry you had to be reminded of that. Are you feeling okay?" she asked as she saw the color drain from my face. Until now I had forgotten all about the dreams specifics but it all flooded into memory now. Everything from hearing about her death, to her funeral, to the fateful hell scene. I tried to nod but it made me dizzy and I fell to the ground. She screamed and helped me up, I tried to pat her on the shoulder to tell her I'm okay but I vomited all over the ground. She helped me up again and supported me back into the tent. She laid me on the bed and started fretting over me. She was feeling my forehead, then rummaging through the trunk looking for some aspirin and bottled water. I was trying to tell her I'd be okay and she should go and get something to eat but my words were quickly drown out by her muttering about no one being sick while she wasn't there to take care of them. As she gave me some pills to take and put a bottle of water beside me she said that she wasn't very hungry and she wanted to stay beside me.
I shivered very rapidly for a few seconds and she turned around and gave me a blanket from deep in the trunk. I watched her from under the blanket, she paced up and down the room until she saw me watching her and she smiled rather fondly at me. I was able to return it before I yawned and slipped into a shaky sleep. That was disturbed a few times by her rubbing my head and kissing me softly on the cheeks.
I didn't know what time it was when I woke up, all I knew was there was no light shining through the canvas roof. The curiosity of what time it was left my mind when I tried to get up and saw that Janet was laying beside me with her arm around my waist. I had an urge to wake her up but I had no idea when she went to sleep so I didn't want to make her cranky. The last time I saw her upset was after my brothers funeral and I hated the look on her face that day. All I knew was that I had to quickly change clothes because mine were drenched with sweat and smelled of sick. I snuck off to the trunk and wondered if any of my clothes from her house were in their. As I lifted up the lid I saw a small rucksack on one side and a pink one on the other. I guessed that something of mine would be in the green one. I admired her organization as I unzipped the bag and found two pairs of shirts and some pants. I found a pair of boxers and three pairs of socks and quickly got changed before she woke up but when I was taking my shirt off I turned around and she was sitting on the trunk and looking at me.
"Go ahead, I love the shows in this part of Africa," She said through a few outbreaks of laughter I smiled as I put the shirt on and she walked outside. I followed and was shocked to see her crying. I walked up to her and put my arm over her shoulders. She turned to me and put her head in my shoulder.
"I can't stop thinking of your brother," I knew what she felt, I thought I was lucky that she understood what I felt because we both lost most of our family and when my brother died that was the last of mine. Neither of us had any living relatives close enough to consider so we stuck together with that knowledge. I think it helped us understand our loneliness and even strengthen our love. I was dwelling in these thoughts when the alarm signaled throughout the base. The screeching wale sent every happy memory out of my mind and put one idea into my head, separation. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving her and not having her touch but I also didn't want her anywhere near conflict. I held onto her knowing that I would be forced into conflict but suddenly we were both pushed into a van by a soldier telling us that we would be okay. I was in confusion until I looked at Janet who was pointing at my shirt. I looked down and saw the shirt I had changed into, I was confused until I realized something. I was in pedestrian clothing.