Our Broken World

Chapter 6

The following morning I am woken up by shuffling sounds. I see Dylan's going through some of his stuff just a few inches to my left.

Yesterday evening he told everyone that I needed rest, and he convinced me of that too. He was right; the moment I hit the haystack, I fell asleep. That happened just after I'd met the other guy, Benson, and Jonah, whom I already knew. The fact that he tried to assault me was forgotten and his actions went unpunished. I know that this kind of stuff happens all the time in our godforsaken world, plus last night I didn't want to make a scene, so I just didn't make a big deal out of it, and neither did Dylan. I mean, Jonah is one of Ghost's guys, so in a way he has his protection. But in a weird, lucky way, I have Dylan's.

Thinking about him protecting me, I look at Dylan's face, which is brightened up by a beam of sunlight that is peaking through one of the broken boards. It's more mature, like a man's face, and he's got some facial hair; but in a way it's still the same. It's the face of the man that I fell in love with, and I am so grateful to be staring at him right now. What were the chances that I encountered him – the man I thought I'd never see again – when I most needed help? Yet here I am, looking at his strong jaw, perfectly shaped nose and his handsome profile.

''Hey. I didn't mean to wake you,'' He catches me staring at him. I quickly look away, embarrassed.

''You didn't,'' I lie and smile.

He steps closer to me and points to my leg. ''Can I?''

I nod. As he's calmly and gently handling my wounded leg, he whispers: ''I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. I promise I'll make sure it never happens again. Jonah can be ...'' 

He trails off and sighs. Then he continues: ''There's a lack of discipline among soldiers ever since the military was disbanded. There's no one to give us orders. No one for us to listen to.''

''But they listen to you,'' I state the obvious.

''They listen to Ghost, yeah,'' He says, like Ghost and Dylan are two different people. Maybe they are. Like Jekyll and Hyde.

''But you're Ghost. And they respect you. Or fear you,'' I'm not afraid to point out.

He sighs and whispers again: ''Probably both. I was their leader back in Iraq and I had a reputation. I was a completely different person. I became Ghost, a hardened, terrible man, who did everything his superiors told him to. Even if I didn't agree with it, even if it was horrific things they asked of me. I did it all. Because I left Dylan behind. With you.''

Funny. He left Dylan with me, but he took Taya with him.

He looks up at me and I see sadness in his eyes. I think his time in the army changed him even more than his time living in this terrible world after the wars. I never would've thought the army affected him so much, but I see it clearly in his eyes what it did to him.

''And while you left with Taya, I've carried Dylan in my heart all this time,'' I reply quietly, and sadly.

He smiles because he understands. I know he does. He looks back down at my leg. ''Anyway, when we came back, the wars were already winding down, and most of our bases were destroyed. The ones that were still standing were in such a mess that most soldiers just left. No one stopped us, because there was no one to stop us. Nobody to tell us what to do. No orders to follow. No one to follow. But that's what soldiers do. And we didn't know who to turn to; we didn't even have anyone to turn to.''

I nod. Even though I don't know how that must've felt, I sympathize with him and understand him. The army was his life and now it's gone. In a way, I feel sorry for him, for them, so I try to comfort him: ''Well at least these guys have you to follow, right?''