by J. F. Smith
Travis gritted his teeth. This is what it would come down to. This moment. This would re-establish the team, or show that things were not going to hold. Travis stood up, his hands suddenly clammy and his heart starting to pound in his chest.
He snapped to attention, not quite as crisply as he usually did, and his insides felt like they were twisting around. All the “what if’s” cast doubts into him. But Wasp and Baya were right.
Travis barked out at the team, as best he could, “SEAL Team 8!”
His shoulders slumped just a little, and his face twisted just slightly, daring the team to show him that something had changed irrevocably.
But every team member, all fifteen, with no arguments, discussion, confused looks, or hesitation, jumped up and into the same position of attention as Travis, all facing towards him.
He shouted again, his confidence gaining, “Platoon! Who are we?”
All sixteen men responded in exact unison, “We are SEAL Team 8!”
Travis shouted, his deep voice booming across land and sea, “Team! SEAL Team 8 has a creed! What is that creed?”
All sixteen shouted the response in the same practiced unison, “We are SEAL Team 8! We exist to serve our mission, to fight for our brothers, and to defend our country! Even with our last bullet! Even with our last breath! We do not fail!”
And if Travis wasn’t mistaken, he could swear there was just the tiniest bit of extra emphasis on the word “brothers” in the creed tonight. He stood there, locked at attention, but he could feel his hands shaking at his sides. He let his eyes slide to the side just enough to steal a glance at Matt, who was looking up at him with pride and love.
If I can make it through this day, there’s nothing in this world I can’t handle.
He held the team at silent attention a minute longer than usual. He wanted to feel it between them - the bond that they still shared even when one of his deepest fears had come to light. He felt ashamed that he had doubted them, hadn’t trusted them more than he had. Matt had been right about this, too. It was a fundamental thing he had kept from this team, always an invisible wedge between them. He hadn’t understood the impact of it until it was gone. The secret had fallen away and they would all be the stronger for it. He felt like there was nothing he couldn’t do.
Travis nodded to the team and said, “Thanks, men.”
The team relaxed, and Travis sat back down next to Matt. He looked over into those green eyes and felt like he was going to burst inside. Matt shifted slightly, putting his head down on Travis’ shoulder.
Travis felt lucky to have the sea, air and land around him. Now he had the fire, too. The darkly glowing ember deep inside him, burning for the man pulled up close to him, the one that brought the two parts of his life together so they could now be seamless. So that he could feel complete.
Travis leaned his head over and kissed the soft, kitten-fuzz on the top of Matt’s head.
“Thank you, Matt.”
Matt said, “Why are you thanking me? You’re the one that saved my life today. Again.”
Travis said softly, his lips brushing lightly through Matt’s hair, “You know, I’m kinda wondering who saved who here.”
Travis shifted around so he could change places with Matt. He wanted to put his head on Matt’s chest. He wanted to hear Matt’s heartbeat. Make sure it was still there. He thought about the close call and how he had been Matt’s heartbeat today, his breath. If he was lucky, he still was. And if he was honest, as far back as a lonely night on a road outside of Latakia, Matt had become his heartbeat and his breath.
Travis now felt like he could completely be there, fully at peace. Matt had been right on the boat - they needed to finish this evening and make sure everything was sitting right. Everything was so different. And nothing was different. How could he ask for anything more than that? Come next week, who knew what shitstorm they’d drop into the middle of next. But for right now, he could relax, the rest of the world tucked in his pocket. The person he loved more than anything beneath his head, and the brothers he fought with surrounding him, supporting him. The men he trusted his life to and the man he trusted his heart to. Sea, air, land, and now the fire, too, all come together and completing him.
There’s something intrinsically peaceful about sitting out on a beach at night with a warm breeze, a crackling fire in front of you and the eternally repeating sound of tidal water just out of the reach of the dancing firelight. It’s hard to worry about the future when you’ve got a moment like this surrounding you and the rest of time can be put on hold for just a little bit. It’s like taking the rest of the world, holding it in the palm of your hand and putting it down in your pocket. You’ll pull it back out at some point, but until then you can forget about it and just be. Be in the sand, in the sea breeze, in the flickering fire, under the starlight with the people that mean absolutely everything to you. Sea. Air. Land. And fire.
A log shifted in the fire and dropped down, disturbing it.
Travis watched it and told Matt, “Look up.”
And together they watched the sparks, the thousands of brilliant microscopic red stars, swirling up and into the limitless night sky above the both of them.
~~~ THE END ~~~
About The Author
Photo Credit: R. D. Jimenez
The author, when not writing, spends a little too much time staring vacantly into space. You may contact him at [email protected] if you feel that you’d like to. He kind of likes that, actually.
Table of Contents
License
Disclaimer
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – The Promise
Chapter 2 – Three Weeks Earlier
Chapter 3 – Two Dollar Balls
Chapter 4 – Text Message
Chapter 5 - Tishreen
Chapter 6 – Log In
Chapter 7 - Incursion
Chapter 8 – Haze Gray And Underway
Chapter 9 – Next Question
Chapter 10 – The Rider
Chapter 11 – Bait
Chapter 12 – Vulture’s Row
Chapter 13 – Any Of Us Would Have
Chapter 14 – The Bond
Chapter 15 – Creed
Chapter 16 – It Doesn’t Have To Be Like This
Chapter 17 – The Accidents
Chapter 18 – Café Lucien
Chapter 19 – Last Bullet Last Breath
Chapter 20 – Look Up
Chapter 21 – Twenty-Four Karat Gold-Plated Bullshit
Chapter 22 – Slut
Chapter 23 – A Million Miles Away
Chapter 24 – Off Balance
Chapter 25 – Sincerity Sucks
Chapter 26 – When You Come Crawling Back
Chapter 27 – Respect And Admiration
Chapter 28 – The Seven Word Statement
Chapter 29 – The Back Of Your Hand
Chapter 30 - Muster
Chapter 31 – Ironsides
Chapter 32 – Friendly Fire
Chapter 33 – Memorial Day
Chapter 34 – An Almost Imperceptible Distance
Chapter 35 – A Tiny Handful / Lost At Sea
Chapter 36 – Two Halves Collide
Chapter 37 – Sea, Air, Land, Fire
About The Author
