2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ryder

G un fire echoed all around me as a scream pierced through my ears. I turned, my heavy machine rifle stuck at my side, as I tried to keep my eyes open for the enemy. The dessert was hot-- scorching, as I walked in all of my required gear.

A blast boomed behind me and the ground shook, almost knocking me off balance. Ahead, a helicopter flew by and I waved one arm, hoping they would see me and get me the hell out of this fucking place.

Screams continued to haunt me, but I couldn't find the faces of my brothers. We had come here in one of our humvees and before any of us could register what was happening, we were struck by a missile.

I landed several feet away from the now blazing truck. I needed to check on everyone, but I couldn't see anything. I opened my mouth to scream…

Shooting up in bed, that scream came tearing out of me in a wild roar.

"Fuck me," I said, wiping my hands across my face.

A night didn't go by that I didn't wake up in a puddle of my own sweat and tears.

It might make me sound crazy, but at least I was alive. That was more than I could say about several of my other combat brothers who weren't as lucky as I was.

Sitting up in the darkened room, I could feel my chest panting as I struggled for air.

"It's just a dream," I reminded myself.

I had seen more therapists than I could count, but still, no one knew how to stop the night terrors from triggering. It had been over five years since I had seen enemy soil and combat, so how I was still shaken to the core by my life as a SEAL, was still beyond me.

Throwing the covers off my now drenched body, I glanced at the clock on my phone. I could already hear the hustle and bustle of the city in the morning beginning. It was after four in the morning. At least I made it through most of the night. Realizing I was never going to get my body to settle down again to sleep, I climbed out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom attached to my bedroom. A nice, hot shower would do just the trick. I would just head into work early, a job that had been a blessing from another one of my combat brothers. Aiden and I had been in the military together. He was an excelling sniper, but had decided to settle down and work a less-stress job in Sunnyvale. He knew about my nightmares and demons, and convinced me to come join him. Only, I just wished that it could erase the memories of the day I lost all of my brothers in war.