Return

The moment he asked that question, the wall we were next to, exploded, throwing us in the air. Gulab grabbed Marcus and got him out of the house as Turan helped me up and did the same for me. He led us to an abandoned house and let Marcus fall on his back, on a pile of carpets to let him take a breather.

I heard a noise and saw someone right behind me. Turan ran in front of me and yelled something at the man but he smacked him. I grew angry and charged after the Tali and tried to tackle him with all my strength, no matter how weak I was, I was going to defend and protect my brother and Turan. The Tali quickly threw me against the wall and my head smashed into it, making everything go black.

When I woke up, I felt my body being grabbed and lifted from the ground. I looked up and saw soldiers all around me and Marcus. American soldiers. I groaned as I was lifted and I heard an unfamiliar American voice say, "It's alright, Crystal. You're safe now, you're going home."

I was being carried out of the house by two soldiers, as was Marcus. I pass Gulab and his son but I quickly turned around, giving them a nod, "Thank you! Thank you."

I was about to turn around but Turan quickly runs towards me and hugs my waist, tightly. I hug him back, not wanting to let go. I've only known this little boy for a day and I felt responsible for him. As he let me go, he put something in my hand. I looked at it and smiled as I realized it was my picture of the five of us at the beach.

I turn to Turan and quickly say, "I'll see you again! I promise I'll see you again!"

I didn't know if he understood me or not but I knew I would see him in the future. They took us to the chopper and I couldn't help but cry out. Was this for real or was I dreaming? Would we be shot down and have to fight again? Are we really going home, where it's safe, where we don't have to kill? I didn't want to believe it but it was so hard not to. It was real. We were going home. Finally. They put me to sleep once we got on the chopper and I was met with darkness.

The entire time I was asleep, I didn't really sleep. It was like I was being haunted. I kept seeing flashes and images and even some memories of Danny, Mike, and Axe. I didn't want to be reminded that they were really gone but there was no use in trying. I saw it with my own eyes. They were gone and all I had were memories of them being shot and their last words running through my mind.

I woke up with a start, gasping for breath. I look wildly around the room and spot a doctor near my bed, looking at the machines with a clipboard in his hands. He doesn't turns to me as he speaks. "Good to see you're back with us. We were sure we're gonna loose ya." I look up at him, confusingly and he realized I don't know what happened. "You lost a lot of blood, had a bad concussion, and many fatal wounds."

"M—Marcus Luttrell." I say, without thinking.

"Excuse me?"

"Marcus Luttrell. How is he, is he alright?"

"I'm not sure, he's not my patient. Sorry. Maybe you can see him once you start healing."

The doctor walks out of my room and I spot the clothes I got from Gulab, in the corner of the room, sitting on a chair. I grab them and change into them, walking out the door. I walked around until I found a young nurse, probably around my age. "Excuse me, could you tell me where Marcus Luttrell is?"

"Ma'am, if you're a patient here, you should be in your room." She says, quietly and nicely.

I contained myself from rolling my eyes but I couldn't help but snap, "Listen, lady, I just got went from hell and back. I saw my three best friends die, who were also my brothers. Marcus is all I have left. Now, unless you want to go through hell, I suggest you tell me where he is."

She looks shocked but nods, anyway. She leads me down a few hallways from my own room and stops in front of a door. "He's in here. He might be asleep so try to be quiet."

I nod my head as I quietly open the door and peek inside. There he was, lying on his bed, bandaged up but awake. He turned towards the door when he heard the door close and smiled when he saw me. I smiled back and made my way towards him, grabbing his hand. He looks up at me with tired eyes and weakly says, "They said you weren't gonna make it."

"They lied. I'm ok, just a little sore. Don't worry about me, though, just worry about healing yourself."

I sit down in the chair next to his bed and we sit in silence together, holding hands. I look down as tears sting my eyes again as I knew I had to say what I was about to say. "Marcus, I'm sorry."

"For what?" He looks at me with a puzzling look.

"This is all my fault." I whisper, shaking my head.

"How the fuck is any of this your fault, Chris?"

"If I had been on watch when I was supposed to, those guys wouldn't have found us and told where we were." I trail off, looking away.

"Hey! Don't you dare think any of this is your fault! You suffered just as much as the rest of us! We were all just wounded differently, alright? I never should have said anything like that to you, that was below the belt. I crossed the line on that one."

"But, what if you were right? I should have been doing my job and—"

"And what if you were right, huh? We were all exhausted and we needed the rest. Any one of us would've done the same as you, understand?"

I smiled gratefully at him, eyes shining. "Yeah. Thanks, Marcus." It was silent between us again until I asked the question we were both wondering. "What are we gonna do?"

"…I don't know…"

"How the hell are we supposed to move on after what we saw? Our best friends and brothers died for us! How are we supposed to cope with that?"

"We'll get through it. I promise! We'll stick together, just like we've always done. They'd want that." I look at him with uncertain and sensitive eyes. He returns the look but with comfort and protection in his eyes. "I promise, we'll stay together. Nothing will tears us apart."

"But I don't know what to do." I say softly, looking down. "I don't know how I could possibly live my life after all this."

"You'll figure it out. You seem to forget that you're a smart girl, Crystal. You really are. We'll get through this. I'll be there for ya, every step of the way."

I give him a half smile and thankfully, he returns it. The whole time we were recovering, we would visit one another, comfort each other, reminiscent stories about our brothers who we lost, and even talk about what we would do once we healed and came back to the normal world. We didn't know what we would do. All I knew was that I had to make myself a life and a future, just like Mike had told me. I have a life ahead of me…I just don't know it, yet.