No Man Left Behind: A Veteran Inspired Charity Anthology

by Elizabeth Knox

  “Hell no. My best friend and sister together. I haven’t seen you smiling like this in a long time, either one of you. Come in and get off your feet.” Adam helps Mia inside. She decides to sit in the recliner in the living room. She takes off her leg and sighs in relief.

  “Darren, can you grab a pain pill from my nightstand?” I nod. Adam and Mia are talking about something and laughing. He hands me a glass of water and the pill container.

  “I’ll call you with the time I’m picking you up tonight. Think about what I said. I’ll help you move.” Before I could finish the sentence, Adam stands up.

  “Move, move where?” He’s flexing his hands into fists.

  “Go. I’ll tell him.” I lean over to kiss her goodbye. “Be careful.” She blushes.

  Michelle was able to cover me for a few hours when I tell her what I had planned. She thought it was a great idea. I’m pulling into the Edwards’ driveway and I’m all of a sudden nervous. I used to be able to just walk right in and not worry about anyone or anything but now I’m coming as hopefully Mia’s boyfriend. I knock on the door and Mia answers. She’s on a different set of crutches instead of the ones that cup her arms. These are the typical ones that you get from the ER when you sprain an ankle.

  “Are you okay?” I’m worried that the walk was too much for her earlier.

  “I’m okay. My leg is sore so if you don’t mind a one-legged girlfriend for tonight, I’m all yours.” She smiles at me. She really wants to leave the house with me. “Why are you knocking anyway? I don’t think you have ever knocked.”

  “I wasn’t sure how to behave since I’m technically your boyfriend now.”

  “You can always walk right in. You are family.” Mrs. Edwards comes from the kitchen. “I’m so glad that you two found each other. Where are you headed?”

  “It’s a surprise.” I tell Mia who I know wanted to know. “I’ll try not to keep her out too late.”

  I help her into my truck, and we drive about forty-five minutes. We’re talking about the bar, moving her upstairs, and how Adam did everything for her.

  “What is this place? Whose house is this?” We pull up to this white mansion looking house. It is on about a hundred-acres of land with about twenty bedrooms and fifteen bathrooms, a huge kitchen and dining room.

  “This is K9s for Warriors. I volunteer here.” I help her get out of the truck.

  “I’ve never heard of them.” I explain to her what they are and what they do. She’s intrigued by them. I knock on the door and Albert answers.

  “Darren, welcome. I didn’t know you were coming to volunteer tonight.” We walk in and I introduce Mia to Albert. “Thank you for your service.” Mia nods. She gets uncomfortable even before the accident when she would come home people were constantly thanking her.

  “Remember the German shepherd puppies that came in last week?” Albert nods his head. We start walking toward the back of the house where the dogs are. “Mia suffers from PTSD, and as you can see from her leg, qualifies for a dog.”

  “Do you want a service animal, Mia? Darren forgets that sometimes veterans don’t often want to get help when others want it.” I look down.

  “I thought service animals were for blind people?” Mia seems interested. Albert has her sit down at the kitchen table.

  “There are many types of service dogs. For example, the dog must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability. A person with diabetes may have a dog that is trained to alert them when their blood sugar reaches high or low levels. A person with depression may have a dog that is trained to remind them to take their medication. Or a person who has epilepsy may have a dog that is trained to detect the onset of a seizure and then help the person remain safe during the seizure.”

  “Wow. I didn’t realize there was so much you could train a dog for. I’m struggling to live. I’d rather hide from life and it’s not right.” Mia takes a deep breath. “I suffer from panic attacks, nightmares brought on by not knowing what happened to me, and I lost my leg. Cars backfiring, fireworks, loud music, and certain smells trigger me. Is there a dog that can help with that?”

  “Yes, there is, but are you willing to do the work to bond with the dog and train it?” She clears her throat. I’m holding my breath waiting for her to answer. She nods. Albert laughs. “Mia, I’m sorry but I need the words.”

  “Yes. I’m willing to do the work.” I let out the breath I was holding in. I grab her hand and she squeezes it.

  “Good. Let’s get everything filled out. Do you want to stay here so you can be working day and night?” She looks around and notices the stairs.

  “Do you have anything on this level? The stairs and I are kind of iffy. I ended up falling down the steps earlier tonight when I tried to walk down them.”

  “What? You didn’t tell me that, are you okay?” She nods. “I’m sorry for pushing you to sleep upstairs.”

  “Darren, you need to slow down. I know you have been through the training but it’s different when you know the person. The dog could actually help you up and down the stairs as well.”

  “Really? Okay I want to stay here. Can I come back tonight?” I smile at her enthusiasm.

  “Sure. Pack enough for a week. I know you live closer than a lot of the other vets that are here. Now, Darren, you know the rules that you can’t stay with her and when she’s training you need to not help her. You’ll be assigned to someone else.” Albert is a stickler for rules.

  “Yes, sir,” I grumble. Albert explains to Mia that tomorrow she’ll meet the rest of the staff, the dogs and start to see which dog she bonds with. She can’t wait to get to work. “Thanks, Albert. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  “Thank you, Darren. This is what I needed.” Mia kisses me as soon as I get into the truck after helping her in.

  “Don’t thank me yet because this is going to be a long process. You’re going to dive into those memories with the therapist, work on walking, plus training a dog all at once.” I wink at her as she groans. “I thought a service dog would be good for you because you’ll have to get up to take care of him or her. Plus, there’s a comfort knowing that you’re not alone and someone understands. I think those dogs can sense what a person has been through and knows how to comfort them.”

  “Are dogs allowed in your apartment?”

  “I own the building so yes.” She laughs.

  “My therapist talked about an emotional support animal, but I didn’t want to draw more attention to myself.”

  “I don’t think you would do that with an animal. You turn heads with your beauty.” She rolls her eyes at me. “What, it’s true.” We’re pulling into the driveway and when I put the truck in park, I turn to look at her.

  “You are a sappy romantic, aren’t you?” Mia kisses my nose.

  “I want to be one with you.” She kisses my lips, and we spend the next ten minutes just kissing. I could kiss her forever and it wouldn’t be long enough. We only stop kissing when there’s a knock on the window. It’s Adam. “Cockblocker,” I mutter as he helps Mia out of the truck. Mia is inside the house talking about the house and what the organization does.

  “Can someone help me upstairs?” She stares at me and I stand up. I carry her up the stairs like a man carries his wife over the threshold on their wedding night. She starts hopping around looking for clothes. It’s hard to believe this is the same girl from yesterday cowering when I touched her and now, she has her hair up in a ponytail. I ask her if she needs help and she tells me no. So, I sit on her bed watching her. Once she’s finished, she comes to sit between my legs, back resting on my chest.

  “Do you know how many times I have dreamt of this?” She sighs happily.

  “You seem different,” I mention.

  “I think it’s your influence,” she teases me. “The question you made me think about earlier, ‘is hiding out in your house honoring their memories’ made me really think this afternoon. I called my therapist for a vid
eo conference. I was afraid to tell you earlier about it.”

  “Don’t ever be afraid to tell me anything. I’m never going to judge you.”

  “I know that, and I thank you for it. Anyway, she told me that was a good way of putting what I’ve been doing. Darren, I’m not even at twenty five percent normal Mia. This is the new me. I still have my sass, my twelve-year-old boy sense of humor but I don’t know if I’ll ever be the cool you liked back in high school.” I hear her sniffle. I kiss the back of her head.

  “Mia, you need to stop putting so much pressure on yourself. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been waiting too long for this to happen. I’ll take you as you are, nightmares and all. I need to be with you. It’s all I ever wanted.”

  “I talked to my therapist about you and the kiss. Would you be opposed to going to therapy with me? I want you to be involved in all aspects of my healing.”

  “Let me know when and where and I’ll do my best to be there.” Mia sighs happily leaning back. “Can we stay like this forever and forget the outside world?”

  “Could we?” We both laugh knowing that’s not going to happen. My phone starts to ring and it’s the bar. “Hello?”

  “Hey, I’m sorry to call you but Gordon is having a fit. The freezer broke sometime this afternoon, and everything is spoiled.”

  “Okay. Call the repairman and I’ll be there in a couple of hours. Let everyone know that the bar is closed. Have Gordon write down everything that he’s throwing away for tax purposes.”

  “My parents can take me. Get to the bar. They need you more than me right now.”

  “Are you sure?” She nods. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” I hang up the phone with her.

  “I’ll be taking my phone with me so we can still talk. This might make them feel better too.”

  “You know how much you mean to me right?” She nods. I lean over to kiss her and she falls back on the bed. I’m now on the bed with her. We’re frantic trying to remove clothes but she stops us.

  “I don’t want a quick fuck.” Mia fixes her clothes and pants.

  “Besides knowing your brother’s timing, we’d just get naked and he’s standing in the doorway.” We both laugh as I help her up. She’s standing there against the bed. “I like your hair up like this. You should do it more often; I can see your big brown eyes. I’ll help you downstairs.” She gets on my back for a piggyback ride. I have her small suitcase in one hand, and she has a backpack with her laptop and meds in there.

  “He got called into work, is there someone to take me to the place tonight?”

  “We can.” Mrs. Edwards stands up. I sit Mia down on the couch.

  “I’ll call you later.” I kiss her goodnight. As I drive back to the bar, I feel nervous that I’m not there for her. She seems upbeat and talking a good game but why don’t I believe it?

  Chapter Seven

  Mia

  My parents just left after being here three hours talking to Albert, walking around, and trying to convince me to come home. They don’t think I’m ready for this and I agree with them. Did I just say yes to make Darren happy?

  My hands shake as I lay in this comfortable bed. “Just breathe Mia. You can do this.” I can’t even convince myself that this is true. Ever since I woke up from the coma, I can’t sleep with my door closed. I need to know there’s a light shining out there. I never needed a night light before but now I’m afraid of the dark. I take my night pills including my sleeping pill. I try not to take that pill because deep sleep for me is never good.

  I finally start to fall asleep to the sounds of the show Heartland on the television.

  Laughter coming from the tent draws my attention, I walk in to see my friends playing cards. “Why was I not invited?”

  “Because you cheat!” Marcus laughs.

  “No I don’t. You’re a sore loser that I know how to play poker better than you.” He shrugs knowing that I’m right. I’m about to sit down next to him when there’s a high piercing sound then explosions everywhere. I was staring at Marcus one minute and the next he’s on top of me, dead. I push him off of me and get up to see what’s going on. Everyone in the tent is dead. “No!” I scream. I grab a gun that was next to the door. I peek my head out of the tent and see soldiers running around with their guns up in the air then scanning the area. I follow suit. I see my captain checking someone’s pulse.

  “What happened?” He stares at me with this blank stare.

  “Suicide bomber came in as a pregnant woman. After the explosion gunfire started happening. I don’t know who is alive and who is dead. Are you hurt?” I look down to my fatigues to see that I’m covered in blood.

  “It’s not mine. I’m okay.”

  “Good, let’s move.” We start walking toward the tent that I just left. I sniffle walking past it and knowing that the friends that were in there lost their lives. We’ve been in the same unit since after graduation, five years of friendship built and now gone. I’ll never hear Marcus’s hyena laugh. Karen smacking her gum constantly. Charlie’s book smart attitude to be right about everything. Larry’s snoring when we’re out on missions. I shake my head trying to focus on what’s ahead of me. My captain is yelling things to more survivors. Then we hear a click under his foot.

  “Is that what I think it is?” He nods slowly. “How do I dismantle it?”

  “Get away from me. There’s no way to disarm it.” He’s calm and collected. He breathes slow and easy. “Soldier, I gave you an order.” I nod as I turn to run. I get so far but I stop. I don’t know why I stopped but I turn to say something to him. Next thing I know the blast from the landmine sends me flying a good ten feet. I land on my back, hard. I’m going in and out of consciousness. I don’t know how long I was lying there before someone came to check on me.

  “This one is still alive but won’t be for long if we don’t get her out of here,” someone yells. My neck moves slightly. “Mia, is that you? Oh God it’s Mia!” I don’t recognize the voice.

  “What do we have?” a female voice asks the man who is holding my hand.

  “Third degree burns on the face and shoulder. Left leg missing and I tied it off so no more blood loss. Blood coming from the back of the head, multiple shrapnel injuries, and I don’t know the extent of everything until I can get her in the operating room.” Operating room, it’s Aaron.

  “Aaron, am I going to die?” I barely get the words out.

  “Not if I can help it.”

  I sit up from my sleep screaming and crying. “Oh my God.” I sob when I feel something bump my right arm and there’s a dog trying to get into my lap. I couldn’t help but laugh at this dog. He’s all white with a black heart shape around his nose. “Hello there. What’s your name?” I hug the puppy then pet him for a little bit before the puppy decided he had other plans. The puppy is standing on my lap with his two paws on my shoulders like he’s trying to push me backward. I lie back down on my back and he curls up on my stomach and falls asleep. He’s even snoring. I chuckle. My phone is on the bed with me, so I take a couple of pictures because Darren won’t believe this. “Are you here to make sure I get a good night’s sleep?” I close my eyes petting him and drift off to sleep. I should journal my nightmare, but this puppy has other plans.

  I finally wake up to puppy kisses and a commotion going on downstairs about a missing dog. “I counted them before I went to bed.” I grab my crutches from the bottom of the bed and walk out to the railing to look down into the living room.

  “Is the puppy all white with a black heart shape around his little nose?” Albert nods. “He’s up here with me.” He’s standing at my foot when Albert gets up here.

  “Aren’t you a regular Houdini?” He laughs as he tries to pick him up, but he barks this cute little bark. “I think this dog picked you, Mia.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Animals have a way of finding someone. I don’t know how but you become the pet and their master. Don’t be fooled thinking that you’re in cha
rge.” I laugh. I’ve never had an animal do this before.

  “Well, I guess Houdini is mine. What do you think about that?” I look down at him who sits like he’s pleased with himself.

  “Why is he up here anyway?” Albert seems confused. I told him that I had a nightmare, was crying and he was there. Albert smiles. “I’ll see you down for breakfast then we can start the training. His name is Houdini?”

  “It suits him. He got out of his cage somehow.” I shrug. Houdini and I head back into my room so I can shower and get dressed. Houdini watched me the whole time. I put my leg on and sigh. It’s still a little tender from yesterday. “I can do this.” I stare at myself in the mirror, but I feel the panic coming on then Houdini barks at me as I hide my face. “Not you too?” He barks again at me. “Fine you win. I can’t believe I’m taking advice from a barking dog.” My hair goes into a ponytail exposing my burns. I look down at the dog. “Are you satisfied now?” He barks while jumping around the room. “Everyone’s a critic.”

  Walking down the stairs is tricky for me but Houdini doesn’t go down to the next one until I do. I got about halfway down when I lose my footing and I land on my ass. He starts barking like crazy and a couple of people I met last night come running. “Sorry I fell.”

  “Don’t apologize. I know that you said that stairs are tricky for you. Let me help you.” I thank Tom. “Good boy, Houdini. He already has training it seems.”

  “He must adapt to his surroundings. He’s watching everyone else,” Albert comments. “Today was going to be spent playing with the puppies to see which one fits you but since you already found him, we’ll start with bonding and some basic commands.”

  “Sounds good to me. What kind of dog is he?” They tell me that he’s a boxer. I sit down at the table and Tom brings me over some food. “Thank you for helping me. I’m still not one hundred percent okay without the crutches.” Nobody is staring at my burns which I’m thankful for.

  It’s been a rough week but I’m getting better with the stairs and Houdini lays with me every night. Tom thinks it’s good that we’ve bonded so well. The nightmares are still there but I don’t feel so afraid when I wake up from them because Houdini is right there with me. I called Darren the first day and told him about my night with the dog and asked him to give me the week to get used to everything. He said that he understood but I could tell that he was heartbroken. I send a text every day and night to make sure he knows that he’s always on my mind. The physical therapist that my doctor suggested, has been here and helping me to walk without the crutches. She’s also teaching me different activities to help with the dog too. It’s been a great time so far and I can’t wait to go home.