The One I Tried To Forget

Captured In Iraq

Kurts P.O.V

The gun fire of the enemy side filled my ears. I could smell smoke and other rotten smells in the air. It was the smell of danger that feared me most.

I was constantly watching my back and watching the backs of my fellow troops while trying to watch over the hill we hid behind to pick off any enemies that tried to shoot us.

I didn't even know why I was here, one day I was watching the big game at home on the couch with my girlfriend Brielle. I missed those times in the peace and quiet the only screaming coming from the crowd on television. Now all I could hear was gun fire, explosions and the screams from the men and the women and children that are killed from every direction.

My General ordered me and three other men to another sector in our base where we would be assigned a different job. Upon entering the new sector there was a group of people young and old, they all looked tired and afraid, I stood taller and gave them a weak smile as I headed over towards them.

The least I could do was share some of my courage with them seeing as someone had once share their courage with me, it helped me and they looked like they really needed someone to just smile at them and tell them it's going to be ok.

My orders were to lead this group of people to a new sector further down from here, the sector we were in now was low on supplies while the other had plenty. I nodded and replied "yes, Sir", walking towards the people, keeping strong for all of us.

The men barely glanced at me they simply stared at the floor waiting for the commands to follow while the women with their tear stained faces continued to weep and shudder at every explosion. The children hid behind the women clinging to them as though their life depended on it. They looked at me with sad wide eyes but I could still see a hint of curiosity.

I bent down to a young boys eye level he slowly let his grip of the woman go hanging his skinny arms by his sides. Slowly I reached my hand up towards him leaving it hovering in the air halfway from him to me, he flinched but realized I meant no harm he slowly raised his hand to meet mine. His eyes started to water and he put his arm down and pulled me in for a hug, at first I was unsure what to do but he was sad he just needed that someone to say its ok.

He started speaking to me but I was unable to understand the language they spoke. He pulled back repeating what he had spoken before, I looked at him puzzled until another man spoke up. "He asked you if we were all going to die", repeating the boy's words in relatively good English. I looked at the boy staring into his eyes, "I will do everything in my power to keep you all safe".

With that I stood up noticing everyone looking at me, the crying had stopped, the shuddering with every explosion stopped, besides the noise everyone was calm. Rifle in hand I began leading the group with the other troops keeping everyone together, it takes approximately 20 minutes to walk to the other sector.

We had walked for about 10 minutes when I heard a rustling sound on the other side of the hill that covered us, I swung my gun aiming where I heard the sound, ordering everyone to stop and keep quiet. I looked over to the other troops, they too had their guns aimed around the same area, on guard.

There was no side and no time to waste, I ordered everyone to continue moving but to keep quiet, always checking the hill as we walked. All at once around twenty or so men jumped out from every direction, leaving us all, with nowhere to go.

All twenty of them had guns whereas only three of us did. Even if we tried to fight them off there is a higher chance of us all dying. I began to raise my hand while using the other to slowly lower my gun to the ground, the other troops seeing this they began to do the same.

The men began nudging towards us with their guns, I removed the pistol I had strapped to me and a combat knife from its holster dropping them to the floor. The troops copied every move I made so it was all up to me.

Someone came to collect all our dropped weapons thinking that was all, little did they know each troop had a small pocket knife which we kept hidden tucked away in a pocket inside our shoes for moments should we need them.

Using zip ties they tied our hands together ordering us to walk. The women and children began to sob while the men tried everything they could to keep them quiet. We were led to a hidden building with no windows and only one door. Forced to walk upstairs we were forced into cells with steel bars and screamed at in a foreign language.

One of the men that was following us, the one that helped me understand the boy earlier was forced on his feet. He began translating everything the other man said, word for word then was pushed to the ground where the rest of us sat.

I could feel the terror hanging in the air, I could see the boy from earlier shuffling slowly and quietly towards me. The other children saw what he was doing and started shuffling to the closest soldier they could see.

Each child held onto a soldier as we had seen them do with the women when we first met them. Their tears stopped and there breathing regulated, they were calm. With everything that was happening they were calm, which kept me calm.

Even though I had failed to get them to safety and i had failed all of these people all I could think of was Brielle, was she ok? Hopefully we'll make it out of here and maybe, just maybe I'll be able to see her once more.

Authors note: Thanks to those who have read up to this part, please share this with others.