Friends in service.

 The day started out like any other day, or so she thought. Abigail had gone out with the troops to do a sweep of the surrounding village where they were based. They walked in formation along the dirt road, stopping every now and then when they heard a chopper or tank and hiding in the tall grass. When they entered the village everything seemed fine, normal even. Then suddenly Hero, the brigade’s dog, started barking. This was the last thing she remembered. 

When she woke up, her ears were ringing and noises seemed muted. Shaking her head, Abigail realized she was being dragged along the ground. She quickly looked to see who was pulling her. It was Hero. She relaxed and allowed herself to be pulled to safety. These dogs knew if danger was ahead before humans did. Hero pulled her behind a wall and Abigail knew she'd be safe for a while. She checked herself for injuries or bullet holes. Nothing! She then checked Hero. He was bleeding a little but nothing serious, she tore some of her vests and wrapped it around Hero’s leg.

Hours seemed to pass before everything went quiet. Abigail knew she should wait a little longer before coming out of hiding. She pulled Hero in closer to her to keep warm, pouring some water in a cup for him, she closed her eyes. 

Abigail woke with a start. Night had fallen. Hero was tugging at her boots, she knew she must follow him. She leopard-crawled for a while so she could check out the surroundings. Everything looked clear but you never knew. She wondered where the rest of her brigade was. Hopefully, they got back to camp safely. They would start the search for missing persons in the morning. After a while, Abigail decided that it was safe to walk properly. Slowly she stood up straight. The next thing she knew Hero was pushing her over. Then she heard the gunshot and Hero fall. Abigail knew she was supposed to wait to hear if it’s safe but Hero was whimpering. She made the rash decision to crawl over to him. Hero had been shot, he had pushed her over and taken the bullet for her. 

The way back to camp was hard as Abigail ran, holding Hero in her arms, hoping the doctor would be able to help him. She had never run so fast in her life. It was pitch black and she kept tripping over every rock and pebble on the dirt road. She ran into the camp, screaming for help. The two men on night duty came running towards her, guns at the ready. Thankfully they recognized her before they shot. 

“Oh, my gosh, it’s Private Young and Hero.” the one guard said while the other guard ran up to Abigail.

Private Scott took Hero from Abigail and she whispered, “He’s been shot,” as she collapsed. 

When Abigail woke up she was in the hospital tent. She sat up straight and looked around. She saw a nurse coming towards her. 

“What happened? Where’s Hero?” she almost screamed at the nurse. 

“Private Young, you need to relax,” was all the nurse said as she injected Abigail in the arm.

Everything went black again.

When Abigail woke she felt a lot calmer, she sat up and noticed private West sleeping in the chair next to her bed. The nurse noticed she was awake and walked towards her with a glass of water. As Abigail sat up to receive the water from the nurse, James stirred. 

“James, why are you here?”Abigail started.

“I was with Hero first to see how he was doing,” James said, “then I decided to come here and make sure you were alright.” 

“She’ll be alright,” the nurse was saying, “she just needs to rest for a day or so.” 

“OK, but I need to see Hero. He saved my life a few times during the attack.” Abigail said. 

“Private West can arrange for Hero to come here,” the nurse said, “we allow service dogs into the hospital tent.”

Abigail looked at James with tears welling up in her eyes.

“I'll see what I can do,” James said as he walked out.

That night after dinner James walked in with Hero on a leash. Abigail noticed that Hero wasn’t walking properly and she frowned. Hero had lost his front leg, she realized and she started crying. When Hero heard her, he broke free from James and jumped onto her bed, licking her in the face. 

“I’m happy to see you too, Hero,” Abigail laughed. 

James walked up to her bed, “Sadly they had to amputate his leg. The bullet hit the cut you bound up. It had an infection and was spreading fast.” 

Abigail smiled down at Hero who had curled up on her legs, already asleep. 

“He saved my life on three occasions while we were out in the village,” Abigail said softly. “I want to take him home once we’ve finished this tour next month.” 

“Do you want me to talk to Sergeant Thomas for you?” James said, ”We can have Hero retired for you.”

Abigail smiled at James and snuggled down into the bed with Hero next to her. 

“Private Young, are you sure this is what you want?” Sergeant Thomas was asking Abigail with a concerned look on his face. 

“Sir, I have never been so sure of anything in my life,” Abigail said. “This is my last tour and I am taking Hero home with me.”

A few weeks after Abigail was home, she got a phone call. 

“Good day, is this Private Abigail Young?” the caller asked once she answered.

“Yes, this is she.” Abigail half-heartedly answered. 

“I am calling to let you know that Hero, your brigade’s dog, is ready for collection,” the caller started. Abigail didn’t hear anything after that. She hung up, got dressed, and climbed into her car. When she arrived at the address she had been given, she couldn’t stop smiling. She told the lady at the front desk why she was there. The lady shouted towards the back of the office. A few minutes later a man walked out with Hero. Abigail knelt and called him. Hero ran to her and started licking her face. With both of them so happy to see each other, Abigail knew that this had been the best choice.