The Razgriz Aces [Book 2]

Handful of Hope

"Everything that is done in this world is done by hope."
~Martin Luther King Jr.

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October 5, 2010...

Chopper

I groggily woke up, grimacing as the nightmare I'd had during the night resurfaced. One of us had been shot down, and in response, Blaze wept silently and uncontrollably on her bed. I ached to go comfort her, but my feet wouldn't budge. I couldn't move. The image of her sobbing was burned into my brain.

The second nightmare, I'd watch Grimm, Nagase, and Blaze all get shot down. I'd been yelling at the top of my lungs for them to get out of there and evade, but naturally, none of them listened to me. I couldn't make out what my wingmen were saying, but it was evident by their calmness and matter-of-fact tones that they'd accepted their fate. They were okay with being shot down. I watched as three missiles sped towards my friends' planes, waking up right before they were struck.

Knowing I wasn't going to go back asleep after those awful dreams, I threw on some workout clothes and headed to the gym to take my mind off things. Surprisingly, Blaze was there, walking on the treadmill. She walked at a slow pace, her face unusually flushed even beneath her makeup. Hamilton jogged on the machine next to her, keeping an idle conversation going. I didn't like the way he kept glancing at her, and I wanted to go over there and make sure he knew she was taken. But Blaze wouldn't want that. We needed to keep our relationship a secret to avoid having the Base Commander separate us. Instead, I forced down the unease and joined them.

"Morning, you two," I greeted, hopping onto the treadmill on Blaze's other side.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, perking up at the sight of me.

Hamilton nodded. "Lieutenant."

"What are you doing up?" Blaze asked.

"The question is more like what are you doing up? Since when do you wake up before me?"

Blaze sighed. "I was freezing and couldn't warm up, so I thought I'd come work out to see if that would help."

"You sick?"

"I don't think so. I haven't really been around anyone but you and our squadron, and when I'm not with y'all, I'm either sleeping or flying."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You positive?"

"No..." She placed the inside of her arm against her cheek. "I do feel hot."

"Let me see." I repeated her action, and upon feeling the heat radiating off of her, I gave her a look of slight reproach. "You're burning up. You should really go to the infirmary."

"I better not have a cold," My girlfriend groaned and stepped off the treadmill. "I'm going to go get checked out."

"I'll go with you," I offered.