Saylor Chapter 10

A part of me was aware of Player and the fact he was talking to someone at Leavenworth, but I couldn't, for the life of me, tell him to give me the phone or make myself leave the room to take it privately. What held me immobile were the screams and the flashes of memory playing in my head and the panic that filled me. I fought not to go down that path to a full-blown flashback. If I did, it would be ugly. I'd had them a few times over the years since I was blinded. They were never pretty, but I had been lucky, other than the first one, to be alone when they happened.

Unfortunately, the first one wasn't long after the ambush while I was still in the Frankfurt Army Regional Medical Center in Germany, and Jonas had been there to see it. It was where most severely wounded US troops were sent first. It was the medical evacuation center for patients being evacuated to the US. I ended up in Walter Reed Medical once I got stateside. It had been weeks of pain and terror for me, and I often relived that fateful day.

I doubled my efforts not to remember all of it and to try to take the phone away from Player. By the time I was able to move, he was hanging up the phone. He was silent for several moments before he focused on me. I knew his eyes were on me, just like the rest of the eyes in the room were. I could feel them, even if I wasn't able to see them.

"What the hell was that call about, Player? Why would Leavenworth Pen be calling to talk to Saylor? Saylor, honey, what's going on? You look ready to faint, and Player appears either full of questions or ready to kill someone. Or maybe both." Tank's voice was tinged with both worry and a demand.

There would be no waving this off or telling anyone it was personal. God, why couldn't I have been at the house when this call came? I wasn't ready to explain, but I knew I didn't have a choice. I'd fought hard to put this behind the door in my mind. Cracking it open would lead to nothing good for me. Nausea flooded my body. I swallowed to try and clear the lump and vomit in my throat. Before I was able to answer, Player spoke.

"That was a call from Warden Albinsson at Leavenworth Penitentiary. He wanted to speak to Saylor. He was apologizing for not calling sooner, but he didn't know he was supposed to inform her about any changes with an inmate named Dennis Bosch." He paused as if waiting for me to say something. I didn't, so he continued.

"It seems Bosch, whoever he is, escaped a month ago, and the warden wanted to warn her to take precautions and, if he contacts her, for us to call the cops. Juno, is there something you want to tell us?" he asked firmly.

His voice faded in and out. I fought hard to stay in the present, but as I slipped under and into the past, I knew I screamed. Or maybe it was me screaming in my head as the sound of gunfire came at me from all sides.

In a flash, I was crawling on my stomach, trying to spot Freya. We needed to get out of here. I knew I should've never listened to the Master Sergeant, even if he was technically in command of my company, due to being the highest-ranking officer present. He didn't know shit. His command had landed us in this dangerous situation. If only he'd listened to me when I warned him that Freya was alerting to indicate the presence of snipers or an ambush. The arrogant bastard didn't heed us.

Instead, he ordered Freya and I to continue. We were scouting several yards ahead of our company. The hairs had stood up on the back of my neck. Sweat trickled down my spine, which in this country wasn't unusual due to the heat, but along with it, I shivered. All my alarms were blaring at me to get out. It was a trap. I should've listened to them. Because I hadn't, Freya, I, and a portion of our company were pinned down, taking heavy enemy fire. I heard my fellow Marines swearing and then the cry of pain as someone was shot.

I crawled further toward an outcropping of rocks. Maybe Freya made it to them and was safely behind them. I prayed she was. As much as I worried for my fellow Marines, I worried about her even more. She was more than a sister-in-arms or a partner. She was my beloved pet.

"Freya!" I shouted, trying to be heard over the gunfire, screams, and shouts.

I thought I heard faint barking, but I couldn't be sure. I crawled further. I was almost to the rocks when she came slithering up to me on her belly. She was staying close to the ground like I was, hoping to present a smaller target. If we were lucky, we might be overlooked altogether. She reached me and nudged me with her nose. I groaned in relief, then reached out and rubbed her head.

"Good girl, Freya. We've got to get out of here to cover. Let's go." I

pointed to the rocks. She'd come from the opposite direction. Staying on our bellies, we began to crawl toward them. I had my gun at the ready, and whenever I sighted an insurgent, I fired. We were so close when I heard the whine of bullets right over our heads. On the heel of those came the screams of men behind and to the right of us.

Glancing that way, I saw two men lying there writhing in pain. Suddenly, all thoughts of hiding behind the rocks fled. Without thinking or saying a word, Freya and I both swung around and headed for them. Bullets hit the ground all around us, but we didn't stop. It took several minutes to reach them. They were bleeding profusely and crying out in agony. Grabbing the closest uniform collar, I got up into a crouch so I was able to use my strong leg muscles. Getting a good grip, I began backpedaling as fast as I could while remaining bent over as much as possible. I was taking him to that outcropping.

I don't know how long it took or how we did it, but somehow, Freya and I and our two wounded comrades made it. Working quickly, I slapped pressure bandages on their wounds. I was debating what else to do when our medic came rolling behind the rocks. He was panting, and his eyes were wild.

"Doc, I need you to help these men," I barked at him.

My tone and having a task to do that he was trained extensively to perform seemed to snap him to attention. He still had his medic bag slung across his body. He tore it off and got to work on them. I heard more cries of pain and for help. Peeking around the rocks, I saw two more Marines not far from us. I glanced at Freya. She seemed to read my mind. Just like that, we went after two more. I vaguely heard the medic yelling at me to get back there. I ignored him.

When we reached the next two, it was a repeat of the prior run. Only this time, before we reached the outcropping, I felt a burning pain in my thigh. I knew without looking, I'd been shot, but I kept going. Another bullet pierced my non-dominant upper arm. Sweat was rolling down my face. I was like a robot. One step in front of the other. I wouldn't stop. Somehow, we made it to safety.

I flopped down on the ground, gasping. Seeking out Freya, I was alarmed to see her with blood on her left hindquarter, and she was dragging her leg. I hastily slapped pressure bandages on the newest two men and then left them to the medic, who had been joined by another Marine. They were busy working on the new ones as I crawled to Freya.

"Let me see, girl," I told her.

I was examining her leg when I caught sight of an insurgent sneaking off to the right. He was looking away from us, but his eyes were intent on something or someone else. No way was I letting him kill one more of my company. Anger surged through me. It was time for these motherfuckers to be stopped. Without thought, I put a pressure bandage on her.

"Freya, stay," I commanded her.

She whined when she saw I wasn't, but she obeyed. I was stealthily making my way to him when the world was blown to shit. A loud explosion, followed by more pain and then darkness, were my moments of awareness before I fell, and I began to lose consciousness. My last thought was I hoped everyone else made it along with my beautiful Freya.

Screams kept echoing in my ears. I tried to open my eyes to see who was hurt so I could help them, but I couldn't. I was crying in frustration. I could feel the wetness on my face. Jesus, better not let anyone see me crying, or I'd never hear the end of it. Suck it up, Staff Sergeant, Marines don't cry, I reprimanded myself, but the tears didn't stop.

Suddenly, I hazily became aware of a firm, pressing sensation on my mouth. I realized they were lips. I automatically kissed them back, and as I did, my awareness of where I was grew. Eventually, I found my eyes were open, and I was staring at a fuzzy outline of a round object. Objects were moving in the periphery but were too dark for me to make out who they were or what they were doing. Swiftly, I realized I was being held securely in hard arms, sitting on someone's lap, and a mouth was feeding on mine. Desire battled with mortification as I realized I'd had a flashback in a roomful of Warriors and their families. I moaned and then closed my eyes. Maybe darkness would swallow me again.