In Love And War by Ruben Rivas (ebook offline txt) 📕

father’s house thinking this cannot be true she thought about that same week they split Jake came to Cleveland looking for Bethany, a few days later they got back together and spent a week in Cleveland before leaving to Los Angeles and a week after being back home… took the pregnancy tests… Bethany says to herself “No, I’m not believing this, this is Jakes baby” A month has gone by still thinking about whose baby this is. Bethany receives a letter from Jake latter that week saying this is going to be the last letter I will send you for now, I’m being sent to Tehran, Iran I will write you when I get settled in. And that was the last letter I sent her from this point on.

 

Chapter IX: Desert Sun

 

Being on that 12 hour flight to Iran made me sick could have been the fear of flying or the food couldn’t really tell. First thing upon arrival we were asked to depart our gear in the tents and immediately report to squad leader Henson, we been here a couple hour, and rite away we were being attacked, bombs setting off, bullets from the enemy’s riffles spreading around camp hitting almost everything. The first thing I saw was a bullet going thru Sq. Henson’s head, I stood their shocked out of my mind never had seen anything like this yet I knew what I had gotten myself into, no sound a complete silence all I heard was a squeak, I turned to me left wounded soldiers crying for help, I turned to my right lots of dead body. Adam immediately pulls me away running towards the armored vehicles, as far as I knew about twenty survived out of thousands. We drove into a city several miles from camp as our luck might have it, we drove into an ambush. Rite away bullets striking the vehicles blowing the first one to pieces, we had no choice but to get off and try to stand our ground. A bullet flying in every direction it was getting too heavy for us to sustain. The remain of us took lead into an ally-way not knowing what we might run into, we were facing death in its eyes we ran into another ambush. Looking around seeing how many of them were just ready to kill us. One of the Iranians telling us to put down our weapons, I stared at our men, thinking out of twenty that made it out camp only six of us remain standing. Adam quickly sat his riffle down as well as the others. I thought about Bethany than sat my riffle down, there was no other way. The Iranians tide us placing a black sack over our heads and thru us into a truck taking us away from the city. The truck finally stops after a couple hours taking off the black sack stripping us our gear throwing us into a hole they had dug up only five of us could fit, they took Private Haskell that was the last we’ve seen him. Pvt. Nickels, Jennings, Stevens, Adam and I were sealed in the hole with a pitch of dirty water and scraps of food they’d thrown away given to us like we were dogs. Not knowing the time or days we’ve been here made it harder on these guys to focus; Nickels and Jennings were losing their mind, yelling out help. But we were miles from the city in the middle of nowhere. It felt like we’ve been here for months, I later noticed Pvt. Stevens was being calmer than any of us by sleeping most of the time, it turned out he had been dead for a little over a day. We told the people guarding the hole but they couldn’t care less. The more days past the more rotten his corps got. At first it was hard to stand that smell but then you kind of get use to it. One day a group of men came, it looked like they were talking business, and we couldn’t understand their Iranian bullshit. They decide to take us out the hole; I guess they finally decided what they were going to do with us. They placed Adam and I in the back of this pickup truck. a man with a bandana covering his face asked us what was the purpose of us Americans soldiers doing in their country, we kept quiet not one word even though I didn’t even know the answer to that question I was just following orders. Seeing we weren’t speaking they tide a rope to a tree and placed Jennings on the other end. “In the Count of three I will drop him, unless you tell me something” said the Iranian. Staring at him not releasing any information, “One. Two,” I stared over at Jennings “Three” as I put my head down all I could hear is a crack and Jennings gasping for air till I couldn’t hear him anymore, I didn’t take my sight of that son of a bitch for one second. “Your still not going to tell me nothing” he said walking over to Pvt. Nickels placing a pistol to his head, while staring at me with no hesitation pulls the trigger. Adam with tears falling down his face turns to me and says, “I guess this is all over for us, This is how it ends” as they pulled him in front of me I stared tearing, they pulled the trigger on Adam, as I saw Adam fall to the ground, I shivered, tearing, “NO!... urghhh… You fucken basters! Urghhh…” my grip forcing, wanting to tear his head off, walks up to me pointing that pistol to my head, I see a bullet go rite thru chest, bullets falling from every direction killing everyone in sight. As I ducked I blanked out staring at the sky, Sgt. Write “State yourself?” I was stun to know I was still alive. They noticed by American patch on my sleeve Sgt. Write says, “What’s your name Private?” catching my breath I glanced to him as they stood me up “Jake.” Looking around the area looking towards Pvt. Jennings, Pvt. Nickels and Adam dead, why couldn’t these guys couldn’t of got here Two minutes earlier. They took me back to camp where we were first hit, more than Five hundred men dead, only five from our squad including myself were still alive. Watching all those dead bodies was crazy. Walking towards the tent I had my things, everything burned I stood their sterring at it for minutes. Two days later I was heading home holding the neckles tight the whole way. Point to our arrival in Austin, Texas glad to be back on American soil, immediately off the plane were hundreds maybe thousands of people cheering us for our arrival. Walking down those Twenty steps felt like they would never end, I glanced up at the crowed, random people coming up to me wanting to shake my hand. That day I took a bus to Los Angeles I couldn’t wait to see my family again. Hours later I arrived to my home took five steps of that bus sterring at that house had never felt better, Bethany takes a look out the window seeing me walking towards the door as it opened, and Bethany sterring at me hugs me so tight kissing me like never before crying tears of joy. “I’m glad your home, Come I want you to meet someone.” and there he was taking a few steps towards me, I picked up Sam hugging him and Bethany close.

 

The Final Chapter: Final Goodbye’s

 

There I was standing at Memorial Cemetery for Adams funeral wearing a black suit not being able to look away from that coffin, thinking back from the start that I met him. All I heard were people around me crying as the marines folded the American flag that covered Adams Coffin, as they finished, walking over to Adams Mother handing her the folded flag in honor of her son’s service. After everyone had left I stayed staring at that coffin in tears for hours for my fallen brother, “I’m sorry Adam… I’m sorry… you know I never told you but, I saw you like a brother, you were always there for me man… What am I going to do now…? I need you man… … I miss you… (As I put my hand on the coffin bursting into tears)… Look into us from time to time…” Bethany walked over to me hugging me crying. Later that night I took a drive to the pear with Bethany and Sam, thinking of all that’s happened to me since the beginning of my time, I felt lucky to have my family here with me. I’ve learned that LIFE! isn’t made to be taken for granted, to cherish each moment as if it was the last. Other than life love is the richest of all treasures, without it there is nothing; and with it there is everything, love never perishes, even if the bones of a lover are ground fine like powder, just as the perfume of sandal wood does not leave it, even if it is completely ground up, the basis of love is the soul, and it is indestructible and therefore eternal, beauty can be destroyed, not love, as time turns the page it feels as if our love for each will never age... Time is precious, when I’m with her it feels infinite.

 

 

THE END

Imprint

Publication Date: 06-20-2013

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To all those that lost the ones close and still fought for the love that's still burns deep in your hearts. Romance, Thriller