Like Father , Like Daughter

Coming Home

' I thought I have seen everything on the battlefield , thought I could handle every shotgun , bomb and view that the battlefield has to offer , I thought that there was nothing that could make me give up my job , a job that I was doing with pride , but I was wrong.
I had seen almost every face that death could possibly have , but her last face I couldn't bear. '

The mission seemed simple it only had three step , the small squad had to get in undetected , take the package and get out again undetected. The small squad was formed only from the best soldiers in the camp outstanding from the others with abilities and talents that you can't learn in the academy , that is a talent you were born with. Four males and one woman. Yeah on the battlefield the gender rarely mattered. If you can hold a gun and you are send there than you fight for your country. Only in this case the squad and the whole camp was a combination of a few countries , who worked together in a union to fight against their common enemy.

The five soldiers accepted the mission without a second thought and now where running through the building trying to get out the so precious package undetected as asked. Like I said the mission seemed easy , but if you put a little thought in to it if it's easy why would they chose the best they had. Looking at the stepped they needed to go through a baby could do it , but after they were told the place through which they would storm they new that not everybody were going to make it back.

The plan they made was simple as the stepts of their mission , they managed to get in using the sewerage , they managed to get to the package , which turned out to be a ten year old kid , but when they started going back they were discovered and of course seconds later gunshots could be heard well everywhere.

All souldiers were around the kid protecting it with their bodies. Having guns themeselfs meant they still had a small chance of living alive with just a little luck.

The luck smiled at theme and in minutes they were running on the streets of a small village in the Middle East. The thing is that like everything has pluses and minuses and unfortunately for the small squad the luck left theme and one by one they were dying till there were only to souldiers and the small kid crying. They managed to hide themeselfs on a rooftop waiting for the danger to pass when a small boy dressed in dirty duds , no shoes and a teddy bear in his hands. The woman put a finger on her lips as a signal to the boy to be quite and he answered her with a positive nod with his head.

But exactly ten seconds later that little boy was laying on the ground dead.
" We have to go " screamed the male soldier at the female that was staring at the boy. " Come on
Dylan " screamed the soldier and this time he successfully pulled the woman back to reality.

Somehow they made it out alive , not without some wounds and bruises , but still the were alive. The kid was safe , which ment that the mission was successful , yet she could forget about the image of that kid , laying lifeless on the ground.

Dylan was sitting in front of the tend , soldiers passing by her talking about missions , weapons , tactics , but she was too deep in thought to pay any attention to the so known conversation.

That kid was so young , the life was ahead of him , maybe he was going to do something meaningful for this world or his country , but now he won't be able to do anything , cause his dead. She knew that she was not the one who pulled the trigger , she was not the one who fired the shot , it was not the first time she saw someone day on the filled , yet she couldn't stop this painful feeling in her chest , that awful feeling of guilt.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she looked up to see a fellow soldier.
"The general waits for you" he said and she stood up and walked into the tend only to see the kid and his parents standing right to the generals desk.

When the general saw her he introduced her properly to the parents.
" This is marine Dylan Williams. She was the captain of the squad that saved your son. " said the general with a small smile on his face , while Dylan remained the same. The parents faces immediately light up , while their eyes were starting at the woman who saved their son.

The next few minutes passed in the parents thanking her and shaking her hand while expressing their gratitude. A smile showed on her face , but it was fake , the general , who knew her from her first day in the army ,  knew that for her this mission was failure. Anybody in her place would feel and think the same it was undrstanfable , but there was something more , that the general still didn't knew.

After the parents left in the tend were left only the general and Dylan , who relaxed herself after she was left alone with her favourite teacher. Most people in the army would be shocked by her behaviour in front of a person who is higher then her , but between theme formality existed only when there were people around theme. But when they were alone their conversation were always like between two best friends.

" I know that you're feeling guilty , but this are just the risks of the job " started the man looking her straight in the eyes , while her gaze was looked to the ground , which never happened even in the times when she actually failed to complete a mission she was still looking straight up. Taking all the lectures with pride , yet now she was looking at the ground ashamed of herself.

" I have seen people die , numerous times , but seeing such a young child lose his life was at a how different level " she said and the unusual tone of her voice was showing just how bad she was feeling inside. When Dylan talked there was this confidence in her voice that showed you just how comfortable and deferment she was , but right now the general had a feeling he was talking with a girl so scared of the outside world that we only stayed at home.

It was then when the general saw the letter in her hand and immediately knew what the letter was saying.

" For how long ? " he asked his eyes feeling with sadness , cause this was a stupid question , why ? Because most likely this was probably a letter for quitting. Dylan was practically like his daughter , if it was possible he loved her more than even that. So being on the filled without the crazy young woman up for any danger would be strange and lonely.

" I don't know " sha said and handed him the letter without even reading it he signed it. Biting his lower lip he asked.
" When is your flight ? "
" In three hours " she answered and put her right hand on her forehead , giving him honner for probably the last time.

The old man stood up from behind his desk angrily and in a matter of seconds he pulled the young woman in a hug saying.
" Cut this bullshit " he said his hands almost crushing her , but it was okay. This man was like her second father , saying goodbye to him was something she never wanted to do , but it was needed at this moment.

Three hours later Dylan was sitting in the plane looking through the window while thinking over what she was about to do.
' I'm coming home ' she thought and minutes later the plane took off to Hawaii