There it was. Zak was glad he was encumbered and couldn’t get up, because he wanted to take something and throw it through the wall.
“My eye is still there?”
“Yes. But it’s unhappy right now. Lots of pressure build-up already, which is not a good sign, son.”
“You fuckin’ mean it will explode or something?”
“Of course not. But you shouldn’t be getting your blood pressure worked up, either. I know in your SEAL training they teach you how to control your emotions. We just need to do the same here. Give your body all the time it needs to heal. Your body is a wonderfully complicated and amazing machine. It can heal itself faster than I could. We just have to give it everything it needs right now. That means sleep, light movement, nothing strenuous. Patience.”
“Did everyone get out okay?”
“I don’t know anything of your mission or its outcome. All I know is that you weren’t the only one who came in here from your team.”
“Who else is here?”
“I don’t have that. I was told to tell you that your LPO would be calling you tomorrow. For today, you just need to rest, Zak. And wait.”
Of all the things he was tasked to do, waiting was the hardest.
“So when do I get to take a look at it?”
“Give it a day. Maybe two. I don’t want to disturb anything in case we get a low-grade infection. It could affect your eye.”
The doctor left.
Zak’s room was set for four beds, but he was the only one in there. Maybe, if the other team guy wasn’t too injured, they could share this room. He longed for someone to talk to, and he vowed he’d get the soldier’s name and would work on that almost immediately.
He had two main concerns. First, he wondered what happened to the rest of his team, who were in the middle of a firefight when he was dragged backwards, leaving that bloody trail. And second, when should he contact Amy? Did the Navy do that? What would she think if she heard it on the news or from someone else before he talked to her?
He thought he should call, just to tell her he was alive. If she knew about the incident, she’d worry about him until she could talk to him in person. He buzzed the call button, and one of the male nurses came in with a clipboard.
“S.O. Chambers? Are you in pain?”
“No. I want to talk to my wife.”
“Of course you do, but I can’t authorize that, yet, sir.”
“Can you check to make sure my cell is in my bag, then? Maybe charge it up for me?”
“If you promise me you’ll not do anything heroic.” He began checking a metal locker at the opposite wall. After rummaging through items in his black duty bag, the nurse stopped, closed the door, and shrugged. “Sorry, S.O. Chambers, but I don’t see one in here.”
“Fuck.” He recalled the phone out and charging next to his bed when he showed up for his shift that night. He wished he could talk to Kyle or Cooper about it.
“I’ll ask the doctor. I’m not sure you’re supposed to be doing anything but resting. You’re not to sit up or move around. You get to pee in that jar with the tubes and all.”
Zak saw the plastic tubing filled with light yellow fluid extending out from under the covers at his waist.
“I told you. You don’t even get up to go to the bathroom, so you gotta be patient.”
“But she’ll be worried about me.”
“As most wives are. But the Navy will take care of all that. In due time, Chambers. In due time.”
“He said someone else was here from my squad. Who?”
“He’s right next door to you for now. Alex Kowicki’s his name.”
“Oh good.” The room began to get blurry, and Zak became nauseous. He sighed and put his left hand on his stomach.
“You okay?”
“Feeling sick to my stomach. A little dizzy.”
“Those are things you’re supposed to avoid. You need to forget everything and just heal, just relax.”
Ignoring him, Zak asked, “How’s Kowicki?”
“Better than you,” the nurse said and then broke a smile.
Zak began to move as if he was going to get out of bed.
“Whoa, whoa there, cowboy. You’re to stay perfectly still, because it increases the chances your eye will heal, understand me? Don’t go moving that head or putting any pressure doing anything. That eye is in bad shape. You’re supposed to just lie back and try to get caught up on your rest. Your time for moving around, rehab, will come. But it’s way too soon now.”
Zak felt like someone had pounded his chest and face while he was asleep. The surgery had him swollen, and his face and cheek felt hot.
“I’ll see when you can have some broth. You were in surgery for several hours yesterday. The anesthesia is just wearing off. I know it’s a crappy feeling. You want something to make you sleep?”
“No. I want to be awake in case someone has news. I need to know what happened to the rest of the team. And I need to call my wife, dammit.”
The warmth in his face was pulsing now. A headache was beginning to come on strong. He knew if he stayed awake he’d be focusing on the pain.
“Changed my mind. Knock me out.”
Maybe when he woke up this whole fuckin’ dream will have turned out to just be a nightmare. Maybe this wasn’t really happening, he thought as the drug relaxed him to the point he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.
Chapter 13
Amy returned to her father’s house. She’d driven her dad’s car. Pouring herself a glass of wine, she sat at the kitchen table remembering all those past family discussions about going to college and her relationship with Zak in high school. Her parents had been so worried about her getting pregnant.
“There’s a whole beautiful world out there, Amy. More than just sex and parties. Don’t throw your life away,” her mother had said.
Then she thought about Zak’s parents. She’d gotten so worked up about the news she hadn’t even considered them. She picked up the phone and took a sip of her wine, waiting for the phone to connect.
“Gloria, this is Amy. I’m afraid I have some bad news.” Amy didn’t see any point in dancing around the issue.
Mrs. Chambers took in a deep breath. “Is he—?”
“Injured. Not dead.”
“Oh, thank God!” Amy heard her scramble for a chair. She also heard Jack Chambers whisper a question in her ear.
“He’s alive, but injured, Jack. Let me get the details.”
“He’s in Germany. Apparently, he was shot several times. Has a leg and arm injury—and a face wound of some kind.” Amy felt the tears begin to well up. Her lower lip was trembling. She was trying to be strong, show confidence to the parents of the man she loved. It’s what he’d want her to do.
“But for sure he’s going to be okay, right?” Mrs. Chambers drilled.
“Yes.” Amy wasn’t even convinced of this. “I will feel a lot better when I can talk to him. They said someone would be in touch with me soon. I’ll make sure I let you know just as soon as I do, okay?” Now she wanted to be off the phone. Any questions they’d have were the same ones she’d have, and she wasn’t sure how long before she’d break down, and that wasn’t acceptable.
“So the face wound, is it serious?”
“The Chief didn’t explain. I’m supposed to get an update soon.”
“Thank you, Amy. You have some friends you can stay with until you hear an update?” Gloria’s comment caught Amy by surprise. She was touched by the fact that Zak’s mother was more concerned for her own well being than her own.
“I have Marlene here.” And then she realized she hadn’t told them about her father. “I’m sorry! I am up here in Santa Rosa. My father had a heart attack yesterday.”
“Oh, Amy! I’m so sorry. Oh, you poor dear. What can I do?”
“He’s resting comfortably. They’re still running tests and such. His girlfriend is coming over. I just came from there. That’s where they called me.”
<
br /> “Listen, honey, please feel free to come over here and let our home be yours.”
“Thank you very much. I appreciate it. But I’m housesitting at my dad’s. I want to know he’s going to be safe before I go back. I need to get to San Diego as soon as possible.”
“Yes, you need to be with those, those…” Gloria Chambers began to cry. “Oh, this is all so sad.”
Amy knew she was missing her boy and wanted to be there to take care of him, just as Amy did. Any mother would want to be rushing to his side. And yet, the woman was respectful of her place. That was now Amy’s job. But veiled in her comments about “those people” was that Zak belonged to the SEAL community. Yes, he was her son, but he belonged to them.
Amy had the same sadness. Nothing she could do. Nowhere to go. She had to be patient and wait. It was all out of her hands. What she had to do was stay strong. That gave her the courage to say, “Gloria, how about if I come over tomorrow morning for coffee? We can talk. I’ll give you any updates. Perhaps we could call Zak, if they’ll let us. Would you like that?”
Amy couldn’t understand what Gloria Chambers was saying as the woman sobbed into the phone. Jack Chambers’ voice came on the line.
“My wife would like that very much, and so would I.”
Amy called Christy Lansdowne next. She could hear the kids in the background, T.V blaring, sounding like she had more than just their three.
“Wait a minute, Amy.” Christy shouted some brief commands, and the house was silent. “I mean it, the T.V. will be off for the rest of the week if you guys raise your voices again.” She came back to the phone. Amy heard the unmistakable sound of ice cubes in a glass. “How’s your dad?”
“Much better, thanks. It’s a mix-up of his medication. I hope to be coming back to San Diego soon.”
“That’s good news.”
“Listen, I have some bad news.”
“Oh no. What is it, girlfriend?”
“Has Chief Collins called you?”
“No, ma’am. Why, is there a problem?”
“He called me to say there had been an incident, and Zak was injured and airlifted to Germany. He’s not critical, Christy. He didn’t know anything else, but suggested I call you.”
“Did he say anyone else was hurt?”
“Yes, someone else went over with Zak. But the guys were still in the field so he said Kyle would call when he could. Just was wondering if he’d called you.”
Christy took another sip of her drink. “No. Oh, this is the bad part, Amy. This is the worst of it. We wait. We don’t know what to do, so we pretend to go about our day as usual, for the sake of the kids and their routine. We don’t scare them with our own worries or fears. And sometimes—”
Amy could tell she had begun to cry. At last Christy sniffled, blew her nose, and composed herself.
“Not a very good example, am I?”
“You’re a perfect example.”
“What I was going to say was that sometimes when we just go about our own routines, it helps. Like pretending it’s okay makes it so. Kind of Zen, I know, and unlike me, but I can’t help it. It works.”
“Thanks, Christy.”
“You poor angel. Zak’s first deployment, too. On top of your dad’s heart attack. Well, thank God your guy’s okay.”
“Yes, thank God for that. I know they did everything they could to keep him safe. But that’s all I have.”
“Well, we are all the team that stays behind. Don’t forget that. Something happens, we close ranks.”
“I’m learning.”
“You poor baby. I’ll bet you didn’t want to upset your dad, either.”
“No. Chief Collins called when I was visiting my father in the hospital. I didn’t follow the rules and turn it off. But you know, with Zak and all—”
“Just what I would have done. Okay, here’s what we’ll do. I’m babysitting tonight. Got six here right now. Banking the babysitting points so Kyle and I can take a nice couple of days together somewhere when he gets back. I’ll start making calls to see if I can find out anything. If Collins knows anything, I’ll dig it out of him with a rusty spoon!”
Amy chuckled. “Thanks, Christy.”
“No, it’s what I do. It’s my job. So if I get any news at all, I’ll call you. Keep your phone by your side day or night. If I can get through to someone who will let Zak call you, I’ll do that. They’re on a different time zone there, so that’s why you have to be prepared, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You’re so sweet. I want to hug you and wipe away all your tears until we learn the good news. You just don’t worry about a thing. Focus on your dad, and put this all out of your mind. Don’t you worry. Everything’s going to be all right.”
“I can’t thank you enough. You live up to your reputation, Christy.”
“What’s that?”
“Mama bear. Gina told me to get used to it.”
“Gina’s one tough lady. The strongest of our bunch.”
“If you call her, would you tell her I’d like some advice?”
“Sure. Can I ask what?”
“My dad. I think they’re going to ask him to retire. Medically retire. Maybe Gina can give me some perspective on what that does to a career cop, other than the few of my dad’s friends who have drunk themselves under the table. Something he could look forward to. I’m sure she’s seen it.”
“I’ll do it. I’ll see if she got any calls.” Christy paused. “You don’t know who the other person was who was injured?”
“No, but from the sound of it, I’m fairly sure it wasn’t Kyle. But that’s just a guess, Christy.”
“Gotcha. Okay. Time to get these guys into their pajamas and get ready to be picked up. I’ve got calls to make. You take care.”
“Thanks so much. I feel better already.”
“Good. Mission accomplished, for now.”
Amy wondered if she’d ever be able to flip that imaginary switch. Because of what had happened on Zak’s first deployment, there would always be worry on her end. She wondered if Kyle had ever been injured and how Christy handled it. Or how she handled—
Maybe that was too much to think about. Christy had ordered her to put everything else out of her mind and focus on her dad. Well, she’d add Zak’s mother and father to that responsibility; they were now her family, too.
Chapter 14
The team of doctors in white coats descended on Zak as he was waking up from a mid-morning nap. He’d learned to depend on his left eye more and more. The vision he had was improving. At the sight of the team, Zak became excited, sure that there would be some good news. That meant he could be discharged from the hospital sooner than later. That also meant he could finally call Amy. Get some news about his other teammates. He’d learned Alex had been transferred to another ward this morning. He regretted not being able to talk with him before he left.
The bandage was removed, but he still couldn’t see and thought perhaps they’d not removed everything. He waited for them to do so.
The doctors came closer. Dr. Mavis began, “See, this is healing up nicely. We anticipate some grafting here and here. The hairline can be transplanted.
Hairline?
“Zak, can you see anything out of your right eye right now?”
“No. Take the fuckin’ eye patch off and then maybe I’ll see.” He felt his temperature rise. He wanted to sit up, but someone pressed his shoulder back into the mattress. “Hairline? You said replace my hairline?”
“Can you see any light or flashes of light, Zak?” another doctor asked.
“No. But—”
“How about headaches? Do you have a headache now or did you wake up with one?”
“Of course I fuckin’ woke up with one. You guys were pounding on my head it feels like for hours.”
“Calm down, Zak. We’re only here to help.”
“Well, I will, as soon as you tell me about this hairline thing.” He searched from one face to anoth
er and another like a cyclops. All of them were somber. He wasn’t getting through to any of them. “What the fuck’s the matter with you? I want to know what I look like. Don’t you think I have a right to know?”
Dr. Mavis stepped closer to him. “You want to see it. All of it? We have a lot to explain.”
“Yes, I want to see it. You’re telling me I have to go buy a wig or get a hair transplant. I want to see how bad it is.”
“Okay, Zak.” Dr. Mavis extended his arm, and one of the nurses in the room handed him a mirror. “Prepare yourself, Zak.”
He knew before he put the mirror in front of his face he wasn’t going to like what he saw. The person peering back at him was a Cyclops. His image appeared as scared as Zak felt. His pee flowed and he nearly lost what might be in his bowels. His blood pressure rose as he tried to make sense of the maze that was his face, twisted and red and covered in black stitches.
The black and blueing had begun, and he knew it would get much worse before it got better. Yellow and orange solutions had been spread all over his face and stitches, splashed on his forehead and chin. Mounds of red flesh were tied together like a roast. The wound began almost three inches into his hairline where there was no hair, just angry bruised skin. A drain he hadn’t felt before extended from a spot just above where his eyebrow should have been. The stitching extended from the top of his crown, around his eye socket, and ended up in a crescent below what would have been his cheekbone. Except that was concave, oozing in spite of the stitches. His eyelid was nearly black, engorged so that it resembled a small dark purple plum. The right side of his lips were drawn up in a grimace, showing even the upper gum line, as the stitches attempted to connect the repair to his cheek with the rest of his lower facial skin.
It was worse than just the hairline issue. He was a monster. And no matter how well it healed, he could see he would forever be a monster. He’d look like one of those guys on the Wounded fundraiser sites. Except they probably wouldn’t use his face, because it would scare the kids. It would scare anyone. It would for sure scare Amy.
True Blue SEALs: Zak (True Navy Blue #1) Page 17
