The Survivor of the 27

Chapter Four

  "What happened on your last mission?" He asks, I freeze and I can feel my blood drain from my body.

  "I don't want to talk about it," I say looking out the window. I try to shut it down but he keeps pushing.

  "You can't run from this forever."

"I'm not running," I growl. The rest of the car ride in silent. Once we pull up to the house the time is now 2:38.

  As I walk into the house everyone is at the doorway. Sharon is standing with her arms crossed and a face of disappointment. And Addison gives me a look of "It was only a matter of time". I go to walk up the stairs but I'm stopped by Sharon.
She places her arm out to stop me. "What were you thinking?" She yells. "Your father is trying to campaign for governor and this makes his campaign look bad! His daughter arrested for murder!" She scolds.

  "First off, I wasn't arrested. And second, I'm NOT your daughter," I say through my teeth.

  "Oh so you want your father to be that murderer? We took you in, gave you a home, and took care of you!" She yells.

  "Sharon, maybe we should let her be," says Felix. "And besides, the campaign isn't for another year. We still have time," he adds.

  My phone ends up ringing in the middle of their bickering, making everyone go silent. I pull out my flip phone from my back pocket.

  "Woah! That thing is so old looking!" Jess exclaims. I flip open the phone and see that it's General Logan. Perfect timing.

  "Hello sir," I answer. Everyone goes quiet and looks at me.

  "How's the readjustment Major?" General Logan asks.

  "Fine sir," I respond.

  "I will be down in about two weeks to meet up with you. I have a meeting with the vice president, who will be in Texas. And I would like you to come," He says.

  "Yes sir."

  "Since the last mission although it was a success-"

  "Forgive me sir, but that mission was not a success. Just because we got what we needed doesn't mean that we won," I interrupt.

  "I'm sorry, I couldn't imagine what it was like," he says.

  "I will go with you sir," I tell him.

  "Good. I will see you in two weeks," He says, then hangs up. I put the phone in my back pocket and look at everyone staring at me.

  "Who was that?" Tom asks.

  "No one," I tell them.

"You can't just come home and not tell us things," Sharon barks.

"Unfortunately, this is military business," I tell her.

  "I thought you were done?" Monica says. 

  "Just because I'm home, doesn't mean that I'm staying," I tell her. I really didn't want to stay with them. But right now it was my only option. I make my way up to my room and flop on my bed with a sigh. What a day. I only end up sitting for about five minutes until I need to do something.

  I get up and start doing push ups, sit ups, and some calisthenics. Eventually there's a knock on my door.

  "Dinners ready. Can I come in?" I hear Tom ask. I grunt, and he opens the door. "You're really sweaty," He says.

  "Really?" I ask sarcastically.

  "Come on, let's go eat. You're just adjusting to your new life, none of this is your fault. Mom and Dad are just worried about you. That's all," he says.

"I can take care of myself," I breathe out. I stand up and as I do I start to feel a little light headed. I grab onto the dresser and put my hand to my head. For no reason it just starts pounding.

  "Are you ok?" Tom asks.

  "I'm fine," I reassure him.

  "Come on. Let's go eat," Tom says. I follow him out of the room and down the stairs. Into the dinning room. And of course, John is there sitting with Addison. I sit down at the end across from John.

  "I heard what happened, I can't believe the police did that," John says, grabbing some salad and putting it in a bowl.

  "It's fine," I tell him. I didn't care for this conversation.

  "So how was your day, John?" Felix asks.

  "Well we found a soldier in Pakistan. Awful sight really. He was brutally murdered and was branded. It looks like he was shot in the head. We tried to identify him, but all of his fingers were burned. But we think we found out who he was," John explains. My eyes go wide at this.

  "What was the symbol?" I ask in a bit of a panic.

  "Why does it matter Mace? You weren't even in Pakistan," Sharon says. I never told them exactly were I was. But I knew that if they knew I was in the Middle East they would freak out.

  "What was the symbol?" I reiterate.

  "Umm it was a bird with a sword in the wings," He says.

  "Who was it?" I ask. I can feel tears threatening to fall.

  "Umm," is all he gets out.

  "What was the name?!" I ask now standing over the table.

  "His name was Kalem," He says. The last I saw Kalem he was taken away in a van. He was scared and hurt. Bad. He told me that I was the only one who could escape. He told me to tell his wife that he loved her. I failed him, I told him that I would save him and the rest of the twenty five. I failed my team and let them all die.

  I quickly leave the table, not even touching my food. I grab a set of keys, not caring who they belonged to. I unlock the car and find that it's my motorcycle. The motorcycle that John had taken.

  I hop on the Harley Davidson and start the engine. I quickly take off. I drove for about fifteen miles and then came up to a bar. I park my bike and walk into the bar. I need a drink to clear my head.