The Soldier that Saved Me (ON HOLD)

Refugee Status

"Soldiers, when committed to a task, can't compromise. It's unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it's been done." -John Keegan

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"Please get up, miss." I barely heard the aid ask. "It's time to get you settled somewhere else. You've been here too long. You have no more injuries to be taken care of. The rest will heal by itself." she stated politely.

"Oh, sorry." I replied, starting to sit up after having a terrible night's sleep.

"It's fine. I will help you to the refugee station." She smiled and began to help me up off the small cot.

I limped outside, holding tightly onto the lady.

"Thank you. Um, What time is it? And, uh, how long ago did this happen?" I asked.

"Oh, um," She looked down at her wrist. "It's 11:00 AM. The bombing was 5 days ago." She responded. 

Five days ago already?!

"How long was I asleep?"

"About three days. Don't worry there are still people still out. They may never wake. You're lucky." 

Three days...

"Thank you. For everything you're doing." I smiled. ¨Oh, and..¨ I handed the two leashes of the two dogs to her. ¨If these dogs can help people...they will be safer here than where I am going.¨

"This is perfect and of course, my pleasure. I'm here to help. God has blessed me with a helping personality." She smiled back. "Good luck. May God be with you. I'll be praying for you." She then let go of my arm and walked away with the puppies to another group of people.

I wiped my tears as I saw the two dogs confused as to why I was leaving. And God? Weird.

I turned and walked away towards the refugee sign-up tent. A desk was set up in the grass and two guy officers with blue suits looked me up and down. 

"Hi. I'm, uh--well, I'm here to be relocated." I faked a smile. Of course I don't want to leave the place I grew up. The people I loved. Whether or not it was all gone. All I knew was here.

"We know. You wouldn't be over here otherwise." One of the officers stated as if I was stupid. Bad day for him, I guess. "Now, how old are you? Where are your guardians. I need them to sign these." He handed me a packet of papers.

Taking the papers, I replied, "I'm 17 years old. Um, uh, they can't sign these. My parents are dead...or at least I think they are." Saying it out loud made me feel worse.

"Well, there are seats around the side of the tent, you'll have to sign those yourself."

I looked up at him. Looked back down at the papers and walked around the to the side. There were at least twenty people already sitting there. Some sitting in little groups, others in couples and only a handful by themselves.

I sat down somewhere with open seats to either side of me. And started to fill out the packet.

Full name.

Date of birth.

Hair color.

Eye Color.

Address.

Injuries. 

So much junk to fill out. I don't know how I would know the answers to most of these. 

Social Security Number. How in the world am I supposed to know that?! That was my mom's thing. She kept all this information in her computer. She was the one to fill out all the doctor papers, not me. Why couldn't she still be here with me?

Why was this even happening to me? Of all people. I'm just a smart little junior that lives in Independence, Missouri. I have a normal life, or at least I did. Was this God person punishing me for something? I never did anything wrong. I never murdered someone, never stole, at least never stole something big. Why me? I just want my family and friends back.

 I wish Jamie was here. He would just crack a joke to make me smile. Or tickle me until I died of laughter.  We would eat our Sunday sundaes even though it wasn't Sunday. 

My stomach growled. I realized I hadn't eaten in days. Since before the bombing. Thinking of sundaes probably triggered it.

A bell rang. It reminded me of the school bell.

"Lunch is ready in the dining hall!" a masculine voice shouted over the loudspeakers. 

I waited 30 seconds for the majority of the people sitting around me to get up and head towards this huge, circus-sized tent. And then I proceeded to follow them slowly, still limping.

Once I got to the tent, I grabbed some food and then found a seat next to a cute little family of five. 

I quietly devoured my 2 cheeseburgers and whole plate of fries. I finished off with a couple glasses of ice cold water. Although it wasn't the greatest food I've ever had, I enjoyed it. I quickly threw my garbage away and sat back down next to the family.

"Hi." The little girl squeaked.

"Hello! What's your name?" I asked, smiling.

She hid behind her dad. "Her name is Lily." Her mom replied for her. 

"Hi Lily. Do you know his name?" I said pointing to her slightly older brother.

"Lance." Lily answered.

"Hey Lance. Wait, I know you." I said to the older daughter. "You're the freshman in Spanish class. Lucy, right?" 

"Yeah. And you're the smart girl. I overhear you studying at lunch. You sound really smart."

"Oh, um, thanks. I don't think I'm that smart. But thanks."

"Hey, where's your boyfriend?"

"My what?"

"Your boyfriend. The guy who I always see you talking to you in the hall. The baseball player. What was his name? Jason? Jacob? Where is he?

"Oh. His name is Jamie. And um, He--uh, he's gone." I replied and looked down at the plastic table, trying to hold back my tears.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine. It's not your fault. I, uh, I have to go. See you later Lily and Lance. Bye Lucy."

I walked away, back towards the refugee station to finish filling out the papers.

    After another half-hour of writing, I finally finished. And I went up to the desk. "Here are the relocating papers." I said handing the packet over.

    The man behind the table flipped through it for about a minute before saying anything. "So you don't have any family to go with you. That means you'll have to go alone."

    "Alone? You're joking right? If you're joking, it isn't funny. I can't go alone. I'm still a minor. I don't even have a driver's licence. I can't move into the middle of nowhere by myself!"

    "Um, I'm not joking. If you have no one to go with you, you'll have to go alo--"

    Suddenly a TV behind me blared, "Breaking news. Philadelphia has been bombed at 4:45 this morning. It has now joined the list of city bombings. More on this story as it develops."