Citizen Soldier by Luke Kubiak (book club suggestions .TXT) 📕

The year was 2004, I was walking along the burnt road that the Iraq Militia has destroyed. I was walking towards the building, the building where my mother died, the place that the enemy has invaded and fled. Everything looked so clear and over. The sky was not full of fighter planes and helicopters, it was blue, beautiful, and natural. The clouds were whiter than snow. There was no sandstorm with gunfire and explosions occurring. It felt as if my people and I were safe. From that point on, I knew the war was over. I started walking faster towards the building, as if I felt insecure. The civilians which were my people, were under protection and safe. As I passed the wrecked vehicles, I've seen 3 U.S Army troopers march pass me. I didn't turn around to look at them, nor to thank them for what they did. But it was too late, before my whole family died. Once I got very close to the damned building, I heard an explosion with a fighter jet in the sky. I looked up and I saw several Iraq bombers on the roofs of the other buildings. They started shooting down at us, I ran for cover. I entered the building and hid under the table. No one has entered the door. All I heard was gunfire, explosions, and people running for their lives. I closed my eyes and pretended to be somewhere else, somewhere peaceful where the world just lived as one with no violence. The gunfire reduced, thinking the coast was clear. I looked at the window and saw some dead bodies. I fell to my knees and questioned myself, "Is this what life really is, is this real?" I ran out the backdoor, trying to flee the area. There was gunfire all over again, explosions bursting! While I was looking back, I fell into a ditch. Suddenly, I heard trucks. I tried hiding, but all I was doing was laying visibly in a ditch, partly surrounded by barbed wire with a land mine on the other side. I quickly climbed out of the ditch and ran for the city since the gunfire was coming out of nowhere! A building started collapsing, I ran the other way. Suddenly I heard a big metal thing falling. The metal was making a scary and creaky sound. I knew it was heading to land right on top of me! But suddenly, out of nowhere, I was pushed! I opened my eyes and found myself lying flat on my stomach, with someone on top of me. That someone got up and helped me up, he said "Are you ok kid?" I turned around and saw him, a U.S Army soldier. From that point, I knew he was my hero. Before I had a chance to answer, I was completely knocked out. Sudden darkness approached my sight, but moments later, I woke up, and I saw everything, literally everything destroyed. The atmosphere was not clear anymore, it was like a sandstorm all over again. And it was! I coughed and laid to my back. I lifted my head and saw nothing but sand. Suddenly, I was being pulled. I was hopelessly confused. Once the dragging stopped, I looked up and it was him again. It was that brave citizen soldier who has rescued me from being trampled by a big metal tower, perhaps. I smiled partially, he asked me "Are you ok?" I nodded and then said yes. He picked me up and started walking the opposite direction. I looked down on the ground, and asked "Where are we going?" Although he didn't answer me, I knew he was carrying me to safety. He then let me down, and asked what my name was. I looked at him and said "John, my name is John." He nodded and stood up. He dragged me to a building and made me lay against the wall. He looked at me and said "I'll be back." He then raced out of the building. I laid back and knew I was starving, I knew I was going to die. There was no one around. I closed my eyes and quickly fell asleep. Minutes later, I heard helicopters. I looked out the window and there he was! He was walking towards the building with a box. I crawled back to the wall. The door suddenly opened and he came in. He put the box down in front of me and opened it as he kneeled down. He took a water bottle out of the box and bread. That's all he had in the box. He said "You need this more than me, take it." I started to cry and I started kissing his feet. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" I cried out. My tears were covering my whole face, I cried as I never did before. He grabbed me and hugged me and calmly said "It's alright kid." He let go of me and stood up. "Stay safe, my unit should be here soon. Stay here." he said. He left the building once again. I started to look out the window, he disappeared. I crawled back to the wall and started to eat the bread and drinking the water from the bottle. After I finished all of this, I fell asleep once again. I was extremely exhausted. I later woke up to a siren. I quickly got up and peeked out the window. I saw nothing but sand. I heard gunfire in the distance. I also heard trucks. I knew the soldier wasn't coming back. I lied on the floor on my back. I knew my life will be over soon without hope. Moments later, the soldier has came back and picked me up. He carried me to a helicopter. He gave me to other U.S soldiers in the helicopter. The soldier looked at me and said "Here kid, I want you to have this." He took his purple heart out and gave it to me. He put it in my hands, I looked at the heart and looked at him. He looked at me and walked away, disappearing in the sandstorm. I started to tear up. The helicopter door slid and closed. I looked at the heart, knowing I'll never see the soldier again. That soldier was from the U.S Army and saved me, in every way a person can be saved. I never even got his name, I only know him through my memory. I later woke up at a hospital, I noticed that I had some shrapnel in my right leg. That soldier has not only came to Iraq to save me, but to save his country. I will never know if he died in the war by sacrifice, or if he survived. I will always remember him.

Text: Luke Kubiak
Images: Luke Kubiak
Publication Date: 04-27-2012

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Dedication:
Dedication for the contest.