My Navy Specialist

Inches Away

LIAM

I feel her guiding me back to the ground but I am not completely aware of everything around me. It is like there is a layer of mist around me and everything looks unclear and I hear her voice in the distance. Then hears her say, do not let go.

“Liam!! Do you hear me?”

I feel her soft hand under my hand and I know must do something but I just can not get two and two together. All the adrenaline has left my body and I can feel, life starting to leave me. Then suddenly I get a moment of clarity.

“Yeah, I can do that”

“Are you sure, Liam? You can not let go for one second, okay?”

”Okay”

She stands up and starts running towards the camp. I hold the cloth against my leg but I feel myself slipping away slowly but then I shake myself awake. I know that this is important but for some reason, I do not have any control over my actions.

ALICE

I leave Liam hesitantly and start to run. I know this is a matter of life and death, I run as I have never run on a beach before. I pray as far as I go. I know that when you bleed as much as he does, time is the most important thing. I go directly to the hospital and grab a few things and runs back.

Please be okay Liam, please do not give up.

I start to see Liam in the distance and my heart stops. He is not sitting anymore, he is laying down. That must mean one thing, he passed out and he is not holding pressure to his wound, which could mean that he has lost too much blood. I run even faster.

“Liam!!”

LIAM

I hold on for as long as I can. I remember she said that I should not let it go for even a few seconds.

“Come one….Liam”

I try to talk to myself. I know when I am in the field that I should be able to keep myself alive for as long as possible. Sometimes I could be alone and hurt somewhere in the field and the only way to survive is to stay positive and talk to yourself, keeping yourself conscious at all times.

“Alice….where are you?”

I know I can not give up and if anything, I can not give up on her. I hear someone in the distance coming closer and feel my consciousness leaving me slowly. I fight as hard as I can but then the very life leaves me and my hands slip next to my side with my head dropping to the sand, everything turns black instantly.

ALICE

I run to his side and nearly ski as I fall next to him. I see his eyes are closed and I quickly feel his pulse against his throat. It is very faint and I know I must move very fast. I lift his leg and put the towel under his leg that I grabbed from the hospital and put his leg on a clean area. I quickly but efficiently clean his wound. I am highly trained and excellent in my field. I have done over a million stitches but this is for Liam and I can not help having trembling hands.

I quickly take a deep breath and start to stitch his wound close. I clean my work and see that it is a job well done. I move to his arm and put in a drip for hydration but I know he needs blood and quickly.

“Come on, Liam….do not leave me now. Come on….I did not even have a chance yet to….to get to know you…to spend some time with you…to maybe even-“

“Uhmm….Alice…is that you?”

“God, Liam…yes, yes it is me…dammit”

I find myself leaning over his face smiling at him but then a tear falls on his cheek and I realize I have been crying and did not even know it.

“Damn, I am so sorry, Liam”

LIAM

I open my eyes slowly and the bright light of the sun burns my eyes but then my eyes focus and I hear her crying next to me. I utter a few words and she moves over my face. The sun shines from behind her and I stare straight into the face of an angel. I see her smile at me and then feel the tear on my cheek.

At that moment something changes in me. I realize that I want to be with her. I yearn to be with her, I need her, I crave everything about her. I want her to be the first thing that I see when I wake up. Helena never crossed my mind. I want to care for her and be next to her. I want to end things with Helena. If it takes forever to wait for her, I will wait…forever. I lift my hand and wipes away the tear from her eye.

“Please…do not say sorry…never say sorry when you are around me”

ALICE

I feel him wiping the tear from my eye and I know that I never want him to stop touching me. When I thought he is going to die, my heart broke into pieces. I never want to have the feeling again. I want to be with him more than I ever wanted to be with John. I have made up my mind that I will end things with John, the first chance I get. I  want him to know that I am available but I want him to want me for me and not because I distracted him from Helena. All I know is, that I do not want him to die on me and I never got the chance to be with him, to touch him, to love him….

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better now…thank you”

“We need to get you to the hospital. Can you stand up?”

I take his arm and slowly lifts him. He stands up wiggling on his legs and then he falls against me. I grab him so that he can not fall over. He looks up and his face is next to mine, his lips are only inches away from mine…