Small Mercies
“GET DOWN! GET DOWN!” the soldier yelled as he ran past, ducking behind a log just as the grenade went off. The rest of us popped up, guns at ready. We shuffled into the building, shouting orders at others. The adrenaline that pumped through my veins kept me going, even if my mind was a little foggy from the lack of sleep. I kicked open a door to my right, darting inside just in time to see someone leap out of the window.
“I’ve got one!” I screamed back at my team, jumping out after him. The cloaked figure was running across the rooftops of the abandoned buildings in what used to be downtown Winchester. “Stop!” I yelled, bunny-hopping over the edge of the balcony. The person didn’t even look over their shoulder at me, carefully placing his feet so he didn’t fall through the rotting roof he was currently on.
“Sergeant Jackson!” one of my men called. “Sergeant, get back! Get back!”
I ignored him, approaching my target. “Stop!” I yelled again, the wind whisking my words away.
Finally the boy looked back at me. Well, I couldn’t be sure it was a boy. Whoever it was wore a strange dis-figured mask. I nearly missed the short movement of his hand. A signal. One I knew all to well. I blanched, looking at the buildings nearby. There were maybe about ten other masked people.
“Sergeant!” I raised my hands in surrender, but flicked my fingers in a small circle to indicate I was surrounded.
“Leave, soldier,” I gruffed, not turning.
“But sergeant-” he trailed off, and I could tell he was surveying the situation.
My target stepped off the roof I stood on, pulling their hood down. The mask still covered their face, but I could now see that it was a woman. She did something with her feet. There was suddenly a faint ticking sound. That’s when I turned to one of the members of my team. “Go!”
And then the building blew up. I screamed as I was flung into the air, the sting of torn skin flooding my senses. I flipped multiple times, seeing the ground, and then the sky, and then the ground, and then back again. Finally, I stopped, facing the ground as it rushed to meet me. I threw my hands out, my face about to hit the ground-”
My eyes flew open and I shot up in bed, my breaths coming out in short gasps. A light turned on next to me, and I panicked, flinching away from the hand that reached for me. I looked at her face, my eyes going wide. “Jackson. Jackson it’s me. Breathe, babe. Breathe.” My eyes darted to hers. She signed with her hands to reinforce her words. I gulped, my body trembling, but forced myself to pace my breathing. “Dreams again?” she asked.
I nodded, pointing to the wheelchair at the far end of the room. She gently massaged my scalp for a moment before complying. She carted it to the side of the bed and slowly asked if we were going to the same spot. I didn’t sign anything, just started wheeling myself away. She padded alongside me, one hand on the chair. She wouldn’t help me until I asked for it. She’d learned to do that when the whole process started. I was always refusing help, even when my hands were so messed up I couldn’t roll myself anywhere. I felt like a baby when she had pushed me around. I felt weak. Not at all like a trained soldier. So she’d stayed beside me the whole way, a pained expression crossing her face as she saw the war inside my mind and with my body.
I pushed myself out onto our balcony, looking out over the treetops of Virginia. In the distance, I could see the city, but the only sound was the phantom shots of Winchester in my mind. Hardly anyone came out of their homes anymore, scared of what was passing through. I couldn’t blame them. We were.... they were a force to be reckoned with.
My wife stepped in front of me, crouching low and signing. I didn’t really pay attention, so I didn’t catch what she was trying to say. Knowing that, she grabbed my face between her delicate hands and turned my head so I’d look at her. “I love you,” she said slowly so I could read her lips. “I will always love you, Jackson.” She pressed a kiss to the fake skin on my forehead. Pulling away again, she stepped inside, bringing a blanket out for me. I accepted it gratefully, glancing up at her with unshed tears glazing my eyes. She was my small mercy in this world. “Stay strong,” she said, sitting in the spot when were absent leg would have taken. She leaned against me, burrowing herself into my chest. I wrapped the blanket around both of us and rested my head on hers. I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t, but I’d watch over her until the dawn broke. Until the birds sang her awake with their joyous songs.