I apologize the formatting was weird last time and may be weird this time. I do not know why it is doing this.
Dirt filled his mouth, the disgusting Earth forcefully pushed past his lips. Jack Kelly's face was driven into the ditch, a filthy leather boot pressed to the back of his head. He sputtered, trying to spit the bad taste from his mouth. His body seized uncomfortably in the mud, rain pouring from the unforgiving sky. Bombs went off in the distance, gun shots ringing in his ears.
He felt a small circle press onto his back, just to the left of his upper spine. The barrel of the gun was forceful, digging between his shoulder blades. A small gasp of pain escaped Jack's lips, fear spread through his body like wildfire. A gruff voice began to speak, but it fell on deaf ears. All the shooting had made him lose some of his hearing, the petrifying fear he had at that exact moment hindering the specific sense.
Thoughts of his family swarming back. Kathrine flashed in his eyes, his youngest two kids balanced on either hip. His oldest son stood beside them, calling for his father to come over and hug him. The second youngest cried out, the youngest holding the top of Katherine's dress in her hand, crying.
A sob escaped Jack's dry lips, he finally managed to hear what the other man was talking about. His mind was ripped from the thoughts of his family. It was only a small piece he heard, but it was enough for his heart to sink in his chest.
"No survivors."
The last words the famous and mighty Jack Kelly ever heard.
Back in New York, a letter was delivered to the doorstep of Katherine Kelly, former Pulitzer. The red army seal was neatly pressed, keeping the paper contents inside. Dust covered the once white paper, it looked as though it had been there for weeks, even though it was just delivered. The envelope that was tucked under the doormat would contain a letter whose words she would never forget.
Curiously, she picked it up from under the filthy doormat, shaking the dust off before opening the door to her home. Katherine was greeted by her eldest son, James. He was merely five, having been left with the teenage neighbor all day who needed to work for money. Even though Katherine spent a lot of time home, helping someone who needed money was always a good deed. Jack always felt that way, especially with how he lived for so long.
The letter felt like it weighed a million pounds, even though it probably didn't even weigh 10 ounces. James stayed beside Katherine, talking her ear off as he showed her all the crafts he made that day out of old newspapers his babysitter brought over. She smiled, telling him she was proud of him, eager to open the letter.
The babysitter came down the stairs to say goodbye, telling Katherine that her youngest two were asleep in their beds. George, who was three, and Mary who was only one. Katherine smiled goodbye, handing the girl her money for the day.
James wandered off to continue his arts and crafts, his dark, tousled hair bouncing slightly on his small head. He looked a mini Jack Kelly, he had the same eyes, hair, and mannerisms as his father. Kathrine set the letter down on the table, pushing her other things out of the way.
Life had been harder since Jack left for the war. The papers reported it wasn't so bad over there, that it would be a luxury to join the military, but Katherine's gut told her otherwise. Ever since he left, she couldn't shake the feeling she would never see him walk the thin plank of wood down to the dock. She had nightmares of him dying, his frozen eyes staring up at her, his lips and skin tinted blue, his body deathly pale.
Katherine sat down at the table, pulling a chair out for herself. Upstairs George and Mary were was silent, she could hear the muffled sounds of James playing in the other room. The letter now sat in her hands, the seal on the envelope staring back at her, almost taunting her.
Hands shaking, Katherine used a letter opener and cut the seal. This was different than the government check she received from the army for her husband's services. The letter inside was folded neatly, the crisp smell of new paper wafted in the air.
She unfolded the crinkling paper, scanning the words on the page. She didn't even make it to the third line before she dropped it, her whole body beginning to shake.
"Regret to inform you… Jack… dead in the field… can't bring the body back…"
That was all Katherine could read before her entire world came crumbling down around her. Jack had been the number one thing ever since they met, excluding the kids, who came later. Jack Kelly was her soulmate, the man that would never leave her despite her quirks. And now he was dead, never coming home.
Katherine didn't even feel the tears running down her face, she didn't hear James' desperate pleas to know what was wrong with his mother. She spent hours in this state, only responding when Davey Jacobs and Crutchie were in her house. James had let them in.
Crutchie hobbled up the stairs to the two younger ones upstairs, hearing their cries since Katherine couldn't at the time. Davey walked over to the woman he considered a very close friend, pulling a chair up and sitting in front of her. He instructed James to go help Crutchie with George and Mary, he knew Crutchie couldn't handle two crying kids at once.
Katherine barely moved, tears had long stopped running down her face. She was in shock and denial, unable to accept that her husband, her other half, was gone. Curious, Davey read the letter on the table, the curvy, fancy writing making him intrigued.
Davey read the entire letter, his heart sinking to his stomach. He felt like he might be sick, he felt a sense of agony building up inside. Rereading the letter didn't help, he still couldn't believe it. No one would be able to believe it, but it was very real.
Davey pulled Katherine into a tight hug, audible sobs breaking out in both of them. Neither of them wanted to believe what had happened, it was too much to handle.
They had lost Jack Kelly and he would never be coming home.