Marine by Shiralyn J. Lee

Author:Shiralyn J. Lee [Lee, Shiralyn J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542499613
Publisher: Wicked Publishing
Published: 2017-01-13T03:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

In front of the draped Star Spangled banner, Corporal Jerome ‘Iggy’ Theobald’s boots had been placed together, with his rifle thrust into the platform they sat on, his dog tags hanging, and his helmet resting on the butt, forming a battle cross for a dead Marine.

It was the final time his name was called out in roll call, as a tribute to identify their dead comrade. Marines stood uniformly in silence, saluting, as Amazing Grace was played on the bagpipes. When it ended, the Marines placed their hands behind their backs, stood with their feet parted, and, at Iggy’s request not so long ago, they hummed The Sound of Silence. Emotional pain showed in their eyes, torturing them with jagged thoughts of their own, each needing to hold a loved one, and hoping for a purpose to educate such an unruly country.

Gray walked over to Iggy’s battlefield cross, and, with tears streaming down her cheeks, she knelt down on one knee and bowed her head. A shadow of sadness had been cast over her. Their last words had been harsh, and although they’d practiced arguing in the past, this one had left her with an empty space in her heart. She couldn’t take back that moment, and he’d died with her words rolling around in his head.

“I’m sorry, Iggy,” she whispered. She reached out and touched the toe of his boot, and a shudder ran through her body. “Please forgive me, you were right to be concerned.” She stared at his boots, as if he was going to answer her. “I will miss you, Iggy. You were my friend, my brother. You understood me. I thank you for the time we had together. Farewell, brother…rest in peace.” She stood, saluted, then turned sharply, holding her arms firmly at her sides. Facing the other Marines, she called out, “Corporal Jerome Iggy Theobald, United States Marine Corps, killed in action against enemy forces in Afghanistan.” She then marched away, knowing her brothers were all she had.

•••

Only in the privacy of her room, Gray let her true emotions flow. Her tears spilled like rivulets, her chin trembled like a small child’s, and rawness in the pit of her stomach reminded her she was alive and her brother was dead. She pressed her hands flat against the wall to try and calm her trembling body, but nothing would alleviate her pain. She couldn’t stop thinking about him, and wished for the anger and bitterness to dissipate.

A light tapping on her door interrupted her thoughts. She pushed away from the plywood wall and faced the small window that looked out on to the base. “Nothing but the same color. Sand color tents, sand color trucks, sand color uniforms. There’s nothing to look at,” she muttered to herself.

“Gray?” Blake spoke with a soft tone.

“What?”

“Open the door, we need to talk.”

“It’s unlocked, open it yourself.”

Blake opened the door and leaned against the doorframe, his arms folded across his chest. “He was my friend, too.”

“So?”

“Don’t shut me out.

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