than he did. When he first saw her, he thought she was dead and it took a lot of reassurance to convince him she wasn't.
We made sure she wasn’t losing any blood. We made sure she wasn't bleeding, by searching across her body and limbs thoroughly for signs of blood. There wasn't any signs of red on her uniform, so we assumed her injuries were internal. I was on the verge of going crazy and so was Carter. We rushed her out of the danger zone and brought her back to safe ground where the medics could start working on her, because it makes the segue from the bombing to the waiting for news smoother.
That night was the worst of my existence. We had to wait for news about her injuries and I couldn't sleep until I knew she was safe. I stayed awake for over forty hours after the bombing, unable to sleep because I was so worried about Avery. Carter was a mess; the boys and I did our best to keep his spirits up. The following day, Ave was flown out of the war zone to receive more intensive treatment for her injuries.
Being in Special Forces meant that sooner or later, our people would get hurt or killed It wouldn't happen to everyone, but we knew some of us wouldn't make it home, or would return home and not be the same person who'd left. Unfortunately, that night it was Avery's bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We also lost two of our team when they were killed instantly by the bomb which injured Avery. It was a terrible night for everyone.
My mind had been permanently scarred by the sound of Avery's screams and the look of terror on her face. Ever since the event, I kept having nightmares and suffering anxiety attacks. I had a new medication to take for the anxiety, it worked up to a certain point, but it wasn’t strong enough to keep the anxiety entirely at bay. The anxiety seemed like a living, breathing entity and it had more control over my body than I did.
I was just happy that Ave was still with us. Carter thanked me hundreds of times for watching over her after the bombing. I was proud of myself but...
I would never have let her die. It just wasn't an option.
9.
August 5 th , 2007
Carter
T he night had finally come when the boys and I were scheduled to start our mission. I placed one of our wedding photos in my chest pocket and headed out to the convoy. I kept Avery with me in any way I could. I missed her terribly and I didn’t want to admit it, but I was counting the days till I returned home. Our intelligence team had advised us of enemy encampments and we had to confront them. We'd spent two days on reconnaissance to prepare for this. I wasn’t nervous, I knew we were going to get this right and control the insurgent problem. I had to be optimistic. Nothing was easy in the Special Forces, but we were strong and had trained to be the best of the best.
Remy and I were still discussing the plan on the way to our destination. We had planned a direct-action raid against known high-value targets, based on the intelligence we'd received. We were going to get this done easily.
When we arrived, there was not a sound in the immediate area. If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed we were alone out there. We entered an abandoned building and heard noises coming from upstairs. We could hear at least two people running across the wooden floors. My men and I had walked up the stairs when we heard gunfire coming from our left side. We lowered ourselves to the ground and prepared our weapons. I had an M-A Carbine, but I had to admit I wasn’t expecting to get fired at quite so soon. If there was one thing I had learned in the army, it was plan for the worst and hope for the best. The Special Forces were normally very quick at completing their missions. Most of the time, the enemy hadn't even noticed our presence before it was all over. We were really good; twelve guys striving for one goal - the protection of our nation.
My heart was beating rapidly, but I trusted the team and knew we were going
We made sure she wasn’t losing any blood. We made sure she wasn't bleeding, by searching across her body and limbs thoroughly for signs of blood. There wasn't any signs of red on her uniform, so we assumed her injuries were internal. I was on the verge of going crazy and so was Carter. We rushed her out of the danger zone and brought her back to safe ground where the medics could start working on her, because it makes the segue from the bombing to the waiting for news smoother.
That night was the worst of my existence. We had to wait for news about her injuries and I couldn't sleep until I knew she was safe. I stayed awake for over forty hours after the bombing, unable to sleep because I was so worried about Avery. Carter was a mess; the boys and I did our best to keep his spirits up. The following day, Ave was flown out of the war zone to receive more intensive treatment for her injuries.
Being in Special Forces meant that sooner or later, our people would get hurt or killed It wouldn't happen to everyone, but we knew some of us wouldn't make it home, or would return home and not be the same person who'd left. Unfortunately, that night it was Avery's bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We also lost two of our team when they were killed instantly by the bomb which injured Avery. It was a terrible night for everyone.
My mind had been permanently scarred by the sound of Avery's screams and the look of terror on her face. Ever since the event, I kept having nightmares and suffering anxiety attacks. I had a new medication to take for the anxiety, it worked up to a certain point, but it wasn’t strong enough to keep the anxiety entirely at bay. The anxiety seemed like a living, breathing entity and it had more control over my body than I did.
I was just happy that Ave was still with us. Carter thanked me hundreds of times for watching over her after the bombing. I was proud of myself but...
I would never have let her die. It just wasn't an option.
9.
August 5 th , 2007
Carter
T he night had finally come when the boys and I were scheduled to start our mission. I placed one of our wedding photos in my chest pocket and headed out to the convoy. I kept Avery with me in any way I could. I missed her terribly and I didn’t want to admit it, but I was counting the days till I returned home. Our intelligence team had advised us of enemy encampments and we had to confront them. We'd spent two days on reconnaissance to prepare for this. I wasn’t nervous, I knew we were going to get this right and control the insurgent problem. I had to be optimistic. Nothing was easy in the Special Forces, but we were strong and had trained to be the best of the best.
Remy and I were still discussing the plan on the way to our destination. We had planned a direct-action raid against known high-value targets, based on the intelligence we'd received. We were going to get this done easily.
When we arrived, there was not a sound in the immediate area. If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed we were alone out there. We entered an abandoned building and heard noises coming from upstairs. We could hear at least two people running across the wooden floors. My men and I had walked up the stairs when we heard gunfire coming from our left side. We lowered ourselves to the ground and prepared our weapons. I had an M-A Carbine, but I had to admit I wasn’t expecting to get fired at quite so soon. If there was one thing I had learned in the army, it was plan for the worst and hope for the best. The Special Forces were normally very quick at completing their missions. Most of the time, the enemy hadn't even noticed our presence before it was all over. We were really good; twelve guys striving for one goal - the protection of our nation.
My heart was beating rapidly, but I trusted the team and knew we were going
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