2001
Jason
"Jet come on, you can't leave!" Rebecca tells Jet and I stand by my big sister as we don't want our brother to join the Army.
"I have to. It's my duty to protect our country from terrorists." Jet calmly replies as he puts on his camoflauge jacket.
"So that's it then? You're just going to leave your family? What about Jason? What about your girlfriend?" Rebecca glares at him
"Becky, it's not my choice. I need to go to protect what I care about." Jet replied as he put on his cap.
"Jet, Dad was gone for two years. Who knows how long you are going to be gone. What if you never come back? What will we do without you? What would Sky do without you?" Becky askes him and she is rewarded by Jet finally facing her
"I'll come back Becky. As for when, I do not know but I will return." He tells her before making his way to me.
"Hey buddy, be strong. Big brother is going to come back I promise. Take care of your sister okay buddy?" He askes me and I hug him with tears in my eyes
"Don't go Jet!" I cry into his shoulder
"Shhh, shhhh, it's okay buddy. I'll come home. I'm gonna miss you buddy but be strong for me." He tells me as he hugs me and I see tears in his eyes as he gets up and leaves.
"Bye Jet." I cry as Rebecca embraces me
Jet
Afghanistan
"Private McCafferey! Front and Center!" My CO orders me. I head to the front of the squad and put my rifle at rest in my arms.
"McCafferey, you will be leading this attack. I'm trusting you to get it done."
"It will be done sir." I reply calmly though I'm not sure if I can handle it
"If this is done correctly, you will be promoted." Captain Brunswick tells me. I stand in front of my squadron and I smile.
"Alright men, let's go!" I yell before charging into the line of fire with my rifle drawn. Unfortunately we hit resistance from Afghan forces as we run through the frontlines. Two soldiers on my left are gunned down from machine gun fire but the carnage is not done there. A sniper bullet, at least I think, embeds it's armor penetrating casing in my chest. Though I bleed heavily, I still keep going through sheer adrenaline and willpower. I fire my M14 at the sniper and I watch as he falls. I eject the empty casing and make my way towards the objective. Another Afghan soldier attempts to strike me with his rifle but I parry and unload a round into his torso which causes him to fall dead. Just before I reach the objective, I feel a bullet go through my abdomen and I look up to see one of my squad mates holding his rifle at me.
"You're not going back to HQ alive McCafferey. Youll slow us down." He mocks me
"Why would you do this Aiden?" I demand, blood dripping from my wounds and my mouth
"I want that promotion so you die." He aims his rifle at me and I prepare for the worst but it never came. I open my eyes and see a knife sticking out of Aiden's chest, the steel blade soaked in blood.
"Sorry Aiden, we won't let you take what rightfully belongs to Jet." I watch amazed as one of subordinates pulls out his knife and Aiden falls dead.
Come on sir, let's get you back to base camp." My subordinate offers his hand which I take gratefully
Base Camp
The surgeons work on removing the bullets from my torso, my abdomen cut open while I remain conscious.
"Easy Private. This will be over soon." The doctors tell me. The doc uses his tongs to grab one of the bullets and he has some trouble pulling it out which causes me to scream in agony. He struggles to pull it out and after what seems to be an eternity, he rips out the bullet and blood gushes from the wound.
"FUCK!!!!" I swear at a very loud level.
"That was only one bullet Private. We need to remove the other bullet." The doctor puts the bloody bullet in a small tray as he presses a cloth against my chest wound and the cloth is instantly soaked in blood. The doctor makes an incision into my chest and the tongs latch onto something but this time the bullet is deep in the flesh and the pull is much more painful.
"FUCK!!!!!!! FUCK!!! FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I swear repeatedly as the pain is unbearble.
"The bullet is wedged deep Private. This is gonna hurt like a hot son of a bitch." He tells me before he yanks with all his might.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I yell at the top of my lungs at the unbearable pain of the bullet being yanked from my chest.