Authors: Jenna Payne
At the village, everyone is in disarray as they all fear that the gunfight will come here.
*****
Everyone is hunched together in the main tent in the village. Dr. Nickelson is trying to keep everyone calm.
Then, as quickly as the gunfire went off, it suddenly stops.
“Let’s just wait a minute before we go back to our beds people,” Dr. Nickelson says.
Outside the tent we all hear footsteps.
“Dr. Nickelson, we need help!” yells the village leader from outside. “There are wounded.”
Dr. Nickelson pops his head outside the tent and talks to the village leader. He turns back toward the group and states, “Alright people, looks like our day officially starts tonight.”
He starts barking orders again. “Set up the IV there. You work this station. You go over there. Pull out the cots. Set up the syringe.” Everyone starts scrambling around.
“Alright, bring in the injured,” he yells.
In come two military men dressed in U.S. Navy uniforms carrying a wounded Somalian man. Their faces are painted black, making it hard to make out any specific features. They approach my station.
“This one first,” says one of the Navy men, pointing to the wounded Somalian.
“Angie, work that guy,” Dr. Nickelson orders. “What about the rest?” he asks the two men.
“They’re not ours. They can drag themselves in here.”
I pop my head to look outside and see a few more wounded Somalians huddling together. Four more military men with guns drawn stand watch.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Just fix him,” one of them barks. The voice sounds familiar, almost like I’ve heard it before—somewhere.
I ignore the military man, and speak directly to the Somalian. “What’s your name?” I ask.
“Just Max,” he murmurs.
“Ok Max, can you tell me what happened?” I ask again. He looks up at the men. They shake their heads.
“Can’t tell you Ma’am,” he answers.
“Call me Angie,” I smile at him. “Let’s just patch you up real good so you can heal fast, ok?” I start to clean out his wound.
This wasn’t exactly what I signed up for. I wanted a peaceful mission helping the sick. I wasn’t expecting to be caught in a war. Around me, the other wounded Somalians were making their way in, with their hands tied of course.
“What’s different about you Max?” I ask. I notice him flinching from the pain. In med school we were taught to ask questions so the patient would have something else to keep their mind occupied rather than having to concentrate on the pain.
“I’m their interpreter,” Max replies.
“I see. Do you like your job?”
“I want to do what’s right,” Max says.
“Yes, but that doesn’t always mean you have to be the hero,” I tell him.
“Just keep working and be quiet,” the taller of the two military men tells me this time.
I finally take my eyes off of Max to look at this incredibly rude man. I stare straight at him, into his eyes, trying to peer into his soul.
What I find is not what I expect. Despite his rude demeanor and cruel words, I can see a hint of kindness. I can see he cares deeply for his friend Max, and wants to ensure I patch him up quickly.
“I’m doing my best, Sailor,” I say sternly with authority in my voice. I want him to know he can’t just bark orders at me. I’m not one of his guys.
I finish patching up Max.
“Who’s next, Mister?” I ask the tall man this time.
“Don’t give me any attitude,” he barks. Clearly this man is agitated. Must be from the gun fight, or just that he has a stressful job.
“Relax Kirk,” the other man instantly jumps in. “Let her do her job.”
Kirk
. Why does that name sound so familiar? I search for a badge, a tag, or something on his uniform to jog my memory, but find nothing.
I can’t tell the color of his hair because of his hat. His arms are all painted in black paint. There’s nothing on him that helps me distinguish him from his buddies besides the fact that he’s tall.
What I do find, is that he’s also wounded.
“Can I patch you up?” I ask him with no attitude in my voice this time. I’m not going put myself at his level.
“Don’t be a hardhead. Let her help you, man.” Sounds like his friend is on my side. Kirk paces around for a bit, takes off his jacket and his shirt and sits down.
I can finally assess his wound now. He has a deep gunshot wound on the side of his chest. Now that he settles down, I can tell the pain is starting to catch up to him.
“Just pull it out Angie!” he says rolling his eyes. “It’s not going to hurt any more than it already is.”
I’m shocked. He’s talking to me like he already knows me. I push it aside for now since I need to concentrate on the task at hand. I call over a nurse for assistance.
We both dig out the bullet and clean his wound. Dr. Nickleson calls over for my assistance so I leave my patient to the nurse.
As I walk over, I’m still wondering about the stranger. This man who seems so oddly familiar, yet I can’t seem to place him anywhere. He must know me somehow since he’s talking to me like we’ve known each other for years.
*****
It’s morning now. I had a long night. We all had a long night. I think about what transpired yesterday. Was it all just a dream? But, sadly it’s not.
As I walk through the village for fresh air, I notice that the Navy guys are still around.
“Angie, Dr. Nickelson wants to see everyone before we start the day,” says Tiffany, waving at me from the main tent. I slowly jog over.
Inside the tent, everyone gathers around Dr. Nickelson. Behind him stands the man known as Kirk and his buddy. Their hands are within reach of their weapons, as if someone is going to jump out at them.
Finally without the face paint I can study his face. But before I can do so he looks over at me. I blush and look away instantly.
“Ok team. Yesterday we had the U.S. Navy here. We were caught in the middle of their gunfire with some fugitive Somalians they were tracking. That’s all I’m allowed to say about that. So without further ado, Captain Kirk here wants to talk to everyone.” Dr. Nickelson steps down as Captain Kirk takes the stage.
Instead, he steps aside and waves for his buddy to talk.
“Hello everyone. My name is Sergeant Williams. We want to thank you all for providing us with medical care yesterday. We just want to ensure you that this is an isolated incident. We will be leaving as soon as the rest of our team arrives. Thank you.”
Short, sweet, and to the point. I’m glad their leaving. I want to get back to doing what we’re supposed to be doing: provide healthcare for the Somalians in
this
village.
With that, Dr. Nickelson takes the stage again. “So I have an agenda of who’s working where and on which days right here. Please check your names and go to your station. If you’re not on the list, this means you’re free to enjoy your day.”
Before he can finish, I get up to look for my name. Not on the list. Yes! I walk out of the tent. I’m thinking about heading back down to Ash’s secret spot again today.
“Angie,” someone calls out behind me.
I turn around to see Captain Kirk. He looks a little agitated. I fully study his face as he walks up towards me. Blonde hair and blue eyes. The outline of face, so familiar. His eyes, his nose, his full lips. I can hear my heart thumping in my chest. I know him.
“Ty?” I ask.
He grins. His face turns from agitated to smiles. Is that why he’s been so rude to me? Because I couldn’t remember him?
He comes up and hugs me. My heart beats faster. It feels so good to feel him again. Suddenly I feel sixteen again. I can smell his faint scent. His scent that I loved so much. His strong arms wrap around me, making me feel safe.
“What are you doing here?” I ask without thinking.
“What do you think, Angie? I’m on a mission.”
“Yeah,” I say as I look away. He always manages to make me feel like an airhead. I can’t think right when he’s around.
“Wanna grab coffee?” he asks.
“Where?” I look around trying to point out that we’re in a village in Somalia. He laughs. I’m sure he’s mocking me.
“Let’s go for a walk.” I follow him as he walks away. “We have some catching up to do. Know where we can go without any prying eyes?”
“I might know a place,” I answer.
*****
We walk side by side as I lead him out of the village, following the road and walking parallel to the creek. He gently whistles as though nothing crazy had happened the night before.
“Sorry about yesterday,” he says breaking the silence.
“Why were you so rude to me?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “It’s been a long week. We’ve been tracking these guys for awhile. I was in a gun fight, blah blah blah. Honestly, I could give you all the excuses I have in the world, legitimate excuses,” he says, “but truth is, I recognized you the moment I saw you. And, you didn’t. It kinda hurt.”
That’s something about Ty that my father didn’t give the time to find out. Inside that tough, mean, rude exterior is a man who is truly compassionate, kind, and gentle.
Ty said once that he hid behind that tough exterior because growing up poor meant he hand to put up a good fight. No one would mess with him because he’s known for being tough. If he was kind and gentle, he wouldn’t have survived the neighborhood he grew up in.
I wish my father would understand this. He came from a poor family as well. But all he cared about was how he would look in the eyes of his rich friends.
“Well, it was kinda hard to recognize you with the face paint,” I admit.
“So what have you been up to?” I ask.
“Well, obviously, I joined the Navy SEALs. It was a long training, mind you. Only the best of the best come out of it.”
“You’ve thought about quitting sometimes?” I ask.
“Yes, sometimes. But, I thought about what your Dad said to me that day he kicked me out,” Ty stops, turns around towards me with his hands on his hips.
“‘You’ll never amount to anything. My daughter deserves better than you,’” Ty says, mocking my father. I laugh because those were his exact words, in his exact tone.
“Seriously though. I wanted to do something so I joined the military. I wanted to give up so many times, but I didn’t want your Dad to be right about me.” I can hear sadness in his voice.
“I missed you so much Angie,” he finally admits.
We turn where the two trees mark the trail down to the creek. Ty looks at me. Our eyes meet as if we’re both searching for each other. He leans in and kisses me softly on the forehead.
We continue down the trail and emerge behind to big boulders to find the creek. The both of us stood there, starring off into the distance.
“I know you’re just going to tell me what we had was only puppy love. Or that we were just kids then. But, honestly Angie, I never loved anyone like I loved you. And, I haven’t fallen in love with anyone like I fell in love with you,” Ty picks up the conversation as we near the stream.
I grab his face for a full on kiss. My heart is practically jumping out of my chest. My hands tug at his soft blonde hair. I push my body up against his. I want to feel him. I need to feel him.
Sensing my urge, he wraps his arms around me as he kisses me passionately. He pulls me in tight and close. At this point I don’t care who sees. All I care about is now, this moment. This long-awaited moment that I’ve been dreaming of.
He kisses me deeper as he backs me up against the boulder. I can feel him between my legs, hard and throbbing.
“Someone really misses me,” I say, in between kisses.
He chuckles and rubs his hips harder against mine. Then, one hand traces from around my waist and down between my legs.
“You’re so wet,” he says, stating the obvious. “I want to feel you.”
Ty pulls down my shorts and penetrates me with one finger, then two. I moan in pleasure. He kisses my neck and trails his lips down my chest. Using his free hand, he pulls my top off and unhooks my bra.
“Beautiful,” he says as he pulls back to take in the full view of my breasts.
He leans in and gently suckles a nipple while he penetrates me with another finger. I lean back against the boulder and clutch his head tight against my chest. Taking cue, he sucks harder, alternating between the two nipples.
“Mmmm, that feels so good, Ty,” I encourage him.
He suddenly withdraws, unfastens his pants, and pulls out his hard member. Ty grabs my bare butt cheeks with both hands and lifts me, pinning me against the boulder. He kisses me again, pushing his tongue deep into my mouth.
“I want to feel you inside me,” I beg.
He obliges and slowly sets me down on top of him. A moan slips my lips as I feel all of him. To my surprise, he’s quite huge.
Ty goes back to sucking my breasts as he pumps into me. Pleasure sweeps through my body with each pump. I let my mind go into ecstasy as Ty has his way with me.