A Moment In Life

Roy has a beautiful wife since three years back, Becky. She has long, curly brown hair and eyes the shades of liquid amber. A smile that could make even him curl the corner of his mouth up. They met in high school and fell in love one lively, crazy night at a party where Roy’s best friend Hank had decided to shave off all his hair. The look did not suit him, instead of looking cool and masculine, his head had taken on the appearance of a polished egg. Hank was a very tall, muscular dude with shoulders the size of boulders. Roy wasn’t much shorter or smaller but Hank would still win every fight.

Roy himself had curly blonde hair and emerald green eyes with splashes of yellow. A fascination for becoming the best in his high school lacrosse team, and an attitude that drove any adults mad. Lucky for him, Becky could see the sweet guy beneath all the crazy. She always supported him and allowed him to follow through on all his schemes.

Hank and Roy had known each other since they were kids and had lived on the same street until the end of high school. At that point Roy had moved with his parents to the other side of town, but that did not matter much. The boys still saw each other quite often.

As they grew older Roy and Becky moved into a house in the suburbs, a gorgeous dainty little thing with a large garden. 

One of Becky’s favourite activities on the weekends involved cutting the lawn, tending to all of her plants and she finished the day by picking a few of the plums from their tree to make a pie. That last bit was one of Roy’s favourite part of the week as well.

In the garage he had his workshop where the gun fanatic he was could polish and tend to all of his fire arms, making sure they were in top condition at all times and always safe to use. It was this, hobby, some might say, that drove Roy to apply for a position in the army. Something he had dreamed of for as long as he could remember.

His father had been a First Lieutenant, and a respected man by all. He had brought more men back than any other, that in itself was a grand achievement. At his father’s funeral there had been over a thousand people, mostly soldiers, attending. It had been a memorable and respectful ceremony. He had been a man that Roy would have loved to follow.

Well, this morning began like any other, Becky got out of bed, actually it was more like she floated out of it, put her slippers on and made her way to the kitchen. Scrambled egg on toast was Roy’s favourite breakfast and Becky made it for him every day. So by the time the house smelled like toast, Roy swung his legs over the side, put a shirt on and slowly marched his way to the kitchen. 

There, a beautiful sight in front of him, singing and swaying her body side to side while she scrambled that egg perfectly. His arms wrapped around her and she leaned back into him, always the same little giggle. Roy was very much in love, and a happy guy, but it just never showed. Becky always joked about how Roy had no muscles in his face because he never smiled, he just had a constant frown and tilted eyebrows.

Becky on the other hand preferred to start her morning with a banana smoothie. They sat together on the porch, enjoying their breakfast as the neighbour’s dogs were roaming around their garden. They were breeders and had just had a litter of puppies last week.

A strikingly handsome man with long tanned legs strolled up their path and handed Roy a letter. That mail man was way too handsome to be walking around these parts in close proximity to his wife, Roy thought.

He used his finger to open the letter and as he started reading it, loud slurping noises came from the seat next to him.

“Oh wow, that was a wonderful smoothie!”, Becky said with a giggle.

“Sure sounds like it”, Roy replied.

He kept reading and suddenly sat up straight, his eyes alert as they moved over the page. This was it. This was the letter he had been waiting for. Finally he got admitted and would be shipped out next week. Short notice, he thought, but couldn’t be happier.

Roy handed the letter to Becky as he got out of his chair and entered their bedroom. He wondered what to bring, would have been wonderful to have his dad around now to ask him for advice. 

A couple of well worn shirts and shorts were piled onto the bed. There would probably not be any point in bringing anything fancier.

Becky entered the room, tears in her eyes.

“I know you really want to go, but do you have to? I don’t want to see you get hurt, or worse, killed”, she said with a trembling voice.

“I’ve already been admitted, hun. Despite, there will be other people there as well, they’ll have my back”. He said with a reassuring look.

Becky was biting her nails as she watched him pack the clothes into a bag. Fear in her eyes and worries in her tummy. 

Later that evening they were watching TV and Roy had a list in his lap. Wanting to make sure he wouldn’t forget anything. Despite her gut feeling, Becky had still helped Roy write the list, and she was still thinking of things to add. The back of the pencil kept gently hitting the paper as Roy flicked it up and down. He was excited, but also nervous. Thanks to his father’s reputation he had a lot to live up to, he wasn’t sure he had what it would take. Only time would tell.

The week passed slowly and the couple had argued a dozen times, but it was time for Roy to say farewell and get a cab to the army base twenty miles away.

Becky cried as she hugged him tight, trembling against him. Roy knew she’d be fine, that woman was a rocket and a bull mixed in one body. He squeezed her one last time before he grabbed his bag and chucked it in the back of the cab.

“I’ll see you in a couple months, hun. Love you!”, he said.

“I hope so. You take care out there, never go anywhere alone. And make sure you write me every week!”, Becky all but shouted the last part, anger and fear ripping her voice to shreds.

The ride went fast, despite the long distance. The cab driver said nothing for the whole ride until they arrived, which suited Roy fine, he hated talking anyhow.

He handed the cash to the driver who took off in a heartbeat. Slowly he bent down to grab his bag and flung it over his shoulder. This was it. Finally his dream would come true.

At the reception an elderly man with a stern look sat and checked people’s names and gave them the location of their sleeping quarter. Roy could tell the man had been in the army for a very long time, there was just something about him that screamed discipline and hardship.

“What’s your name, son?”, the old man said without lifting his eyes to look at Roy.

“My name’s Roy Travis, sir!” Roy said and saluted the man.

The old man raised his head and inspected him head to toe.

“Good form, son. Are you related to a First Lieutenant Daniel Travis by any chance?”, he asked with a contemplated look.

“Yes, sir! He was my father.”, Roy said. He was very proud of his father.

“Good man, that Daniel.” the old man mumbled as he changed the number after Roy’s name. “You have been assigned to bunker four”.

He waved Roy off and began addressing the next person in line.

Roy made his way towards bunker number four and found it in the back, right next to a canteen. He opened the door and went inside. It was nearly empty, apart from three guys in the back, having a chat as they unpacked their bags. Roy walked up to them and dumped his bag onto one of the empty beds nearby.

“Hello, I’m Roy”, he said and held his hand out to give each of them a strong, hard handshake. But as he reached the last man his jaw dropped. There in front of him stood none other than Hank, his best friend.

“Woah, hello there man. Didn’t I see you just last week? The heck are you doing here? Don’t you have a wife?”, Hank said with a chuckle and a wink.

“Yeah. She’s not too happy. But I want to live the life I’ve dreamt of. And maybe one day get to experience the same respect that everyone showed my father.” Roy meant every word of that.

Later that day the group of guys from bunker number four sat down together in the canteen. Tomorrow was the day they would all be shipped out to Cuba. A drug lord had started making trouble for the local police force and Roy and his friends were going to support them.

A plate slammed down in front of Roy and he looked down at it. Beans, beans, beans, and, was that supposed to be, mash? It looked horrible, but he wasn’t one to complain when he got free food, even if it looked like someone’s puke after a night out.

When they finished their meal they got back to the bunker and got into bed. 

An alarm woke them up in the morning, at 05:00 on the dot. The guys got up, got dressed and packed their stuff in under three minutes. They were out the door and lined up at the ship that were taking them to Cuba. A man was shouting instructions and names, sending the soldiers to their designated job for the trip. Roy’s name was called and he had been put on anchor duties together with Hank, most likely because they were both massive men.

The ship set off with incredible speed and they reached Cuba in just a few hours.

The ship anchored down off the coast near Sagua La Grande, a location an hour from their destination. A convoy of trucks were waiting to take them to their base.

“Everyone find a seat in any of the vehicles! We’re rolling in five!”, a burly man with a black bushy beard shouted.

Roy and Hank got into one of the vehicles in the front, the truck had two more empty seats that were quickly filled by the burly shouting man and a woman that looked like she had seen happier days. The man nodded to them both and then held his watch out and stared at it without blinking. The woman ignored them and glanced at the rest of the vehicles, seemingly uninterested about the situation.

The burly man looked out the back, frowned, and smacked his hand flat on the front of the vehicle twice. The convoy started moving and they were going fast.

Both Hank and Roy had basic knowledge of how an operation like this should go down, but what happened next was something out of the ordinary in these parts.

A loud bang sounded and the lead vehicle of the convoy flipped over. Flames went wild and Roy knew there was no chance that anyone had survived that. Clearly there were mines on this road, the burly man seemed to have come to the same conclusion as he radioed all vehicles to stop.

He hopped out the truck and looked at the wreckage of the unlucky vehicle on the ground. With a sigh and a shake of his head he observed their surroundings. Roy hopped out next to him and the other two followed. The burly man signalled them to follow and they walked a straight path in a line towards a settlement of civilians down a muddy road. The other occupants of the rest of the convoy followed suit. They were about ten men, and the lady.

As they reached the settlement they raised their firearms. Roy held his M4 tight with his finger slightly off the trigger, his M26 was dangling on his lower back, just in case he needed it. 

The burly man waved for Roy and Hank to follow him. The woman stayed behind, still looking bored out of her mind.

They entered one of the houses, made sure it was clear and then moved on. As night approached fast and the danger levels were high in this area they had to secure a safe place for the night until they could radio in a mine sweeper.

The burly man and Roy went into the next house while Hank went into the one opposite. Suddenly they heard shots fired and a scream of someone in agony. Roy and the burly man ran towards the house Hank had entered and when they got inside all hell broke loose. 

From the other buildings in the settlement you could hear people firing at the rest of the soldiers, who returned fire.

Roy shouted to the burly man to cover him as he slid on the ground next to Hank to check on him. Hank was coughing blood and his eyes were glass like. A bullet had gone straight through his throat and blood was gushing out fast. This was not a wound you would live through. Roy screamed in pain as he watched his best friend die in his arms. The other settlers in the house lay dead on the ground. Hank had taken all four of them out.

The burly man closed the door behind him and smashed through one of the windows, trying to see what was going on outside. Roy cleared his throat and walked up to the window on the other side, doing what the man had done and smashing the window to take a look outside. It was a blood bath. People lay dead on the ground, bullet casings all over.

Roy tried his radio.

“Hello!? Can anyone hear me? What’s going on out there?!”

A crackling sound was heard and a dying man gurgled a response.

“They are all dead, but they got us bad. I don’t think either of us out here survived. I am losing blood fast. What’s your situation, soldier?”, he asked. His breathing heavy, wheezing.

“We are alright, but Hank, the other soldier, he didn’t make it.” Roy lowered his head in sadness.

The burly man shouted and dove for cover, but he wasn’t fast enough. A settler jumped through the window, holding what looked like an old German stick grenade. And the next moment there was a flash and a bang. Roy turned around in time to cover his head and his eyes. When the ground stopped shaking and the room went silent again he turned around. There was almost nothing left of the settler, or the burly man. Roy’s heart was racing. They had not been here for long and already they had been taken out by a small settlement.

He tried getting up to get into a more secure position, but his body wouldn’t move. Roy looked down and to his horror, his legs and one of his arms were, well, blasted to shreds.

Roy flicked through the channels on the radio to try and contact someone, anyone. A crackling noise came from the radio again, and someone from the ship called in to check on their progress. Roy took a deep breath. The adrenaline was slowly wearing off, which meant his pain was increasing by the second, and it was becoming excruciating.

“Sir! My name is Roy. There were mines on the route we were taking so we had to go for a nearby settlement to seek cover for the night. We were ambushed. I may be the only survivor.”

A long moment passed and then the voice came back.

“We have sent a rescue team. Stay put, find a safe place if you can.”, the man spoke quickly and to the point.

“I hope there’s a medic on that rescue team, because I am going to need one.”, Roy said. Then he bit down on a piece of wood from a broken table.

The rescue team reached the site quickly, lucky for Roy the convoy had not gotten very far. A person rushed up to him and sat down next to him. He checked him over and gave Roy a potent pain relief, injecting it straight into his neck. Then he continued to tie ropes hard around Roy’s damaged legs and arm. Darkness crept in around him and Roy passed out. Or so he thought.

Roy opened his eyes and watched as Becky got out of bed, actually it was more like she floated out of it, put her slippers on and made her way to the kitchen. Roy swung his legs over the side, put a shirt on and slowly followed her to the kitchen.

Same time in the hospital.

“I’m sorry ma’am. Your husband is in great pain and has an infection. We have put him in a medically induced coma until he recovers.”

Becky sat next to the bed, holding the only hand Roy had left. Keeping him company as his memories kept repeating in his mind.