A Soldier's Girl

Chapter 7:

Chapter 7:

Daryl's View (Just Before He Went Missing)

Sitting in my bunk, my mind is scattered with thoughts. Licking the envelope I address the letter the her and as I'm ready to head to the mailing office, Tyreese comes in rather abruptly. I shove the letter under my pillow and await instructions.

"Daryl, get your shit. We have a mission. I'll explain in the Hum-V." Grabbing gear and helmet, I race behind him to the Hum-V and sit in the back, squished between two other officers. Corp.Tamas Espinosa, and Corp. Terrance "T-Dog" Dauson. Tyreese climbs up front in the passanger seat as Lt. Phillip "Brian" Walker drives. We head away from our base in Latakia and head inland. I only assume we are going to Damascus, the capital of Syria, but then again who knows. As we are briefed on our missing Marines, Tamas cleans and recleans his knife. It's a stress relieving tactic we all seem to use at times, even I have become accustomed to do it if we are out of the base.

As we head into the desert, I can see the mountain range of Jabal al-Druze mountain range. We drive for hours south and all I try to do is think of not what awaits me, but of Beth and how I miss her. I can barely remember her blonde hair and shimmery blue eyes. I can't really remember the feel of her arms around me, and her cheek against my chest. I stop thinking of her when the Hum-V stops. There's no way we are even a third of the way to Damascus. When I look up to the front of the truck, I see several, who I assume, HSPS members standing in front of the car wielding guns and screaming in Arabic. Tyreese our translator, slowly steps out of the truck and asks what they want. When members of the terrorist group runs up to the Hum-V, they throw Tyreese to the ground and pull us from the vehicle as well. We fight back. We try to fight. We can't fight. There is more of them than there are us.

Taking our things out of the truck and either burning them, or taking them with them, we leave in their grasp, with black bags on our heads and tied hands and feet. The strain of the rope to our appendages are tight, blood stopping almost. I can't even begin to think of where we are. I don't know how far they take us or where, but all I know is I can't hear my own screaming over my brother's.

Suddenly I hit the hard rocky ground. It feels sort of moist or damp. When they pull off the bag, I find myself in a cave type structure. Looking around, Tyreese, T-Dog, Phillip are beside me, but Tamas is not. From far deep in this chasm we hear him scream out to us. We struggle agianst these death bonds. The screaming stops. Our hearts stop. Two members in black come to back to see us. With blood on their hands they grab Phillip. Taking him out, they lead him back to where we heard the screaming. There is no screaming though. No blood curdling cry.

"We have to go! We have to get out of here man. We have too!" T-Dog is panicing and we can't shut him up. Another member comes in. Looking at us, he calls in Arabic to someone, that someone is a villager. Dressed in white, with a black beard speckled with grey, he points to me and Tyreese. The member, who's face is hidden nods. Crouching low, he listens to the member speak. Then looking at us he interprets.

"He is leader of HSPS. He wants to know your purpose for being in Syria."

"We have no direct purpose." He looks back from Tyreese to the Leader and speaks to him.

"I am Friska ab-Sahid. I do not want you to think I am one of them. They kidnap me from my village, cause only I speak English. I want to help you."

"Thank you, I'm Tyreese, this is Daryl, and that's T-Dog. How can we trust you?"

"My brother lives in your country. He is how you say a citizen. I am pro-American."

"Shouldn't you be worried that he will figure out what you're saying?"