(Undetermined)

Part 1

We were walking hand-in-hand down the boardwalk, smiles engrossed our faces. We were casually making jokes not worrying about the pain and pressures of every day life. Barefoot we could feel the grain, bumps, and grooves of each wood plank telling its tail of long aging. Your hair blew in the gentle breeze often times covering your face like it was now. The Ocean Spray tickled our noses with great waves crashing just a few short feet Below us. you were wearing the shirt you liked, the vanilla colored one that was cut just past your shoulders. You liked how the small puffs caught the wind and how it was low-cut in the neck. The ruffled lace design on the back showed your scared tattoos. Gradually the boardwalk brought us to the top of Mount George which looked out over the ocean hundreds of feet above the waves. Standing against the rail I asked you;
"what is it you fear most in life." I questioned already knowing the answer. After a moment of pondering you turned toward me with a slight grin and answered,
"what I fear in life most, is dying alone." At this moment I stared at her in wonderment, appreciation, and pure love. Her soft gaze peered into the vast unknown of the ocean ahead. I grabbed her arm and spun her around and around until my back was to that unknown, and we stood face-to-face on that look out.
"I hope after today you'll never have to feel that ever again." As I reached into my pocket falling to one knee. Tears immediately filled her eyes as I pulled out a box. It was a black velvet box that, though she knew the contents, contained yet a mystery. Opening the box I said but only four words;
"Will you marry me?" She jumped at me and she screamed yes! She jumped into my arms with a lovers embrace. Backwards we went through that un-sturdy rail down towards the ocean and all I could hear was,
". . . Echo 652, we are hit. I repeat we are hit, attempting emergency auto rotate over the korangal Valley. Heading 332° north east of a sma..." The helicopter crashed in to the valley after being struck by an RPG from an unknown location.

They often say in the face of death one remembers the fondest most emotional memories. Mine was her, of course it was her, it was always her. She was my rock, my world, my everything. But one thing was still uncertain, am I alive? Am I dead? asleep? Where am I?

The smell of JP – 8 stung my nostrils as if it were all around me. That was the first thing that came to my senses. There was a dazed ringing in my ears. The bitter taste of blood filled my mouth, unsure if it were mine or one of my buddies. My sight had come back but it was already too dark to begin with. there was a small red emergency light which beckoned in the distance. None of this is what sent chills down my spine, it was instead, the silence. There were no screams, there was no one there when you woke up. No one saying everything will be OK. I looked to my right and saw John, he was sitting there lifeless. The helicopter had careened into a cliff which tore into the helicopter ripping his legs from his body. Anyone past him was already gone. I reached to his neck and pulled his dog tags away. John had a wife and two daughters at home and now they had no one. They had no one to look forward to coming home. I will be there, I will come home for them. Across where Carl and Buck were sitting, was nothing but empty seats. I could only see halfway down the cabin for the rest of the bird had been obliterated. I saw what appeared to be a mangled window with just enough room for a man to get through, and I thought to myself this is it, I'm going to reach it. I took off my seat belt, and as I took a step forward, I stepped down onto something dense but soft at the same time. I felt around and realized it was Buck's lifeless body. I tried CPR but it was too late, any attempt in resuscitation would result in the loss of my own life. I shoved his dog tags in my pocket and continued forward, But the cabin had quickly filled with smoke and It was becoming unbearable to breathe. I reached to my helmet and turned on my pen light, searching through the debris. I found my M4 and grabbed ammo from Buck. I also retrieved two mags from John which gave me a total of 16 mags. 16 Mags is all I had to fight the entirety of the Korangal Valley.