Incoming! Incoming! Incoming!

His eyes were fixated on the pale light of the computer screen as he sat in his room. His pulse raised slightly and the hair on the back of his neck stood up a little.

The sirens blared a little louder now as he recognized what was going on.

Zero two hundred he thought At least I’ve already gone to chow.

Incoming! Incoming! Incoming! Came the steady male voice over the PA system This is a red alert! This is a red alert!

Instinctively he jumped out of bed and into his boots; not nearly as quickly as the first time they were mortared, he was becoming used to this now. Still he was scared. By the time he reached the door he heard the sounds of the mortar rounds hitting the earth.

Thump, Thump, Tha-Thump. Like car doors slamming off in the distance. When they sound like that you know you’re alright. When it sounds like a thunder clap just broke a china cabinet, that’s when you need to worry. Explosions in the movies were much different than the ones in real life, and he could distinguish the dangerous from the only slightly dangerous.

He paused, Good, landed at the other end of the base. Hopefully they missed the PX, I need more tooth paste.

Opening the door he started strolling through the open living area, the fear leaving him like a cold winter chill that abates when you sit next to a fire. Guys all around him were headed towards the bunker, walking through the dirt field that led to the safe zone. Some moving faster than others, shaken by the excitement. No one really talked, most everyone was just annoyed.

He reached the bunker.

Eric, Wally… he paused Where’s Mo? Looking, looking He’s always late.

He heard Mo’s voice approach, talking about how much he hated the Army.

Slacker he thought to himself Well Mo makes three. Everyone’s safe.

The explosions had stopped. It was just a short burst thankfully. They never really did much damage anyways. These attacks were more to harass and disrupt than do any actual damage.

He sat down, stared at the wall and let his mind wander. Soon he was drifting through camp, through the smoke from the impact area. He watched as the counter fire teams shot back at shadows. Then he passed over the lights of the village, through the desert and into the clouds. He floated among the stars over the ocean, until he landed back on a hill side.

The hill could’ve been anywhere: In the town where he grew up. In the valleys near the lakes where he spent his college years. It could’ve been a rolling hill in Virginia where he aunt and uncle lived, and where he’d spent Thanksgiving the year before. It didn’t matter where it was, it was a quiet peaceful place, away from war.

In his mind he sat on that hill. He saw the family that he would have. He’d have a girl, and she would be the pride of his life. His daughter played in the fields with his dog. His dog would be older now, not able to keep up with the toddler. But he could see the little girl taunting the poor thing with strands of long grass, and the dog sighed and lay down exasperated.

The sun was setting, and his wife called the little girl back from the lawn. A wordless sound coming from her lips brought the girl and dog to their feet, and towards the house. He could smell something being cooked inside, something with apples. He loved apples.

His wife put her hand above her eyes to block out the sun and noticed him sitting there watching her. Her black hair brushed against her olive skin in the breeze, and yellow sundress fluttered. She smiled and waved him in, mouthing something unintelligible. Then she turned and followed the nameless girl and dog into the house, the screen door shutting behind them.

He smiled, got up and walked down the hill. The grass was cool and wet and it felt like a thick damp carpet as the strands worked between his toes. His shadow strung out before him, bobbing up and down, leading him towards his destiny. The closer he got to the door, the calmer he felt, and he wished he could stay in that moment forever.

Is it too much to want this? He thought

Step by step he came closer to the screen door that separated him from his young family. Every inch he went filled him with warmth and love. Emotions he hadn’t felt in such a long time, and now overwhelmed him. He climbed the few steps, basking in the golden light that emanated from the door and smiled. Coming to the top, he took a step towards the opening, pulled the small metal handle and –

This is a yellow alert! This is a yellow alert! Stay in your bunkers until the all clear siren has been given. This is a yellow alert!

The vision dissipated before his very eyes and soon all he saw was the desert night. The darkness in the bunker only lightened by the dim glow of a few cigarettes. He was back.