I do not know how long I saw, felt, and knew only darkness. I simply waited to meet the Lord in judgement and either walk through the pearly gates or descend into the fires of Hell. Suddenly, I felt pain rip through me; and I felt myself awaken to see only blinding light.
"Fuck! Somebody turn off the damn light!" I shouted out. Slapping a hand over my eyes and hearing a voice beside me say.
" It's the sun sir. You can't turn it off." I opened my eyes to see a old doctor and General Holmes standing beside me grinning, probably finding humor in mankind's mortal foe: The Sun. 'Bastards.' I think to myself.
I salute the General saying " Where are we at General Holmes and what is our current situation?"
"At ease Sergeant Leon. We are alive son, thanks to Alpha Company breaking through to get help from the nearest Air Force Base four hundred miles away from our last position. As to our current position we are in Jerusalem; where they put bolts into your back so that you can keep walking. We honestly didn't know if you would make it. You were out for a month my lad." General Holmes said to me in a calming voice, and then taking out his pipe to have a smoke.
" So, that explains the pain in my lower half. Guess I'm going to be discharged from the service General? I say with a depressing tone to my voice. Then something hits me and I ask General Holmes " wait why are you calling me Sergeant? Last I checked I was a Specialist." I said with clear confusion in my voice, forgetting about my depression for a second.
" That's right, Sergeant Leon, you have been promoted due to valiant service in the face of danger. You are to be awarded the Bronze star for carrying your comrades to safety through enemy fire, two purple hearts for the wounds you suffered due to enemy fire: one gunshot wound through your side and the RPG rocket that damaged your spine, and finally you are awarded the Metal of Honor for saving your commanding officers and fellow soldiers with no personal regard to your safety or wellbeing." the General finished saying.
Then when I think it can't be anymore unbelievable it does. The General salutes me and says " Thank you for your service Sergeant Leon, your country and brothers in arms salutes you for your service." He then drops his arm and says " You'll be shipped back to the States and go through rehabilitation on the government's salary; and be given retirement pay on a Sergeants salary. Have a great life Sergeant Leon." and with that the General walked out of the room while I was reeling from the info dump I received.
Then a thought went through my mind ' Fuck! I forgot to salute back.' I then flung myself off the bed landed on my feet and the next thing I know is I'm on the floor and the Doc is pulling out the Malt Liquor.
" This is going to take a long time to get better." is all I had to say while I waited for feeling to return to my legs.
Time skip 1 year
I'm, 19 now, living alone in a log cabin I had built while I was in the Army, near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and I found myself on a four and a half mile hike to the nearest town. As I walked through the forest, walking staff in hand, and kitted out to survive in the woods; I thought back to the chance meeting I had that made me realize that gods, demons, and monsters exist.
I finally was returned to the U.S. 6 months ago after I could at least walk for several miles on uneven ground. I made it through rehabilitation ,while in Jerusalem and was going to finish it in the States. I can walk, airborne jog, but running is still a pipe dream. The new doctor, and airport personal, was kind enough to give, let me, keep the walking staff that Doctor Abraham made to help me during my time of inability. He said it would help me in the trials I would have to face in the future.
' Being back is strange. I keep feeling that things are not as they seemed to be before I left. l think that concussion I got rattled my mind more than the doctors said it did. ' was what I thought to myself while walking through the food court area in the airport.
My thoughts on why I might be going crazy is because I have been seeing a mist around some of the people I pass. When I focused on them the mist clears slightly, and I have been gradually getting better at clearing away more by training my focus when I encountered these people; and I saw things that should not be there.
My examples include seeing a multitude of woman with different features like leg of a donkey, the tail of a snake, wings, and having a certain glow about them before they disappeared into a forest, water, the air. While the guys seem to grow larger than what they are, the things they carry shift to things that don't seem humanly possible to carry that seem to phase through buildings.
I asked the doctors, that I was with, if they saw them as well when they would have me walking outside. All they did was give me looks of pity while writing down ' Delusional' for my mental state. I soon just stopped telling people about what I see and just say what they expect a normal person to say.
During that time I came close to commiting suicide, or getting myself committed to a asylum, to stop myself from going crazy and possibly hurting someone who's innocent. The only thing that saved me was a combination of family love, faith in God, and finding out that what I was seeing was there and not just in my mind.
It happened when I was walking through the Pittsburgh airport getting ready to go to the nearby hospital to continue my rehabilitation and possibly go through another surgery. When I was suddenly jumped on by a German Shepherd service dog that started to lick my face and grew before my eyes into a bigger dog the size of a small horse. I felt the weight of this animal increase and let out a muffled cry of pain as this dog pushed me against the wall. When I suddenly heard " Down, my child." spoken in a tone of voice that sounded old yet full of strength.
As the great beast of a dog released me I saw it shrink back into a German Shepherd, but I knew it was real as I felt its breath, fur, weight, and saliva from its tongue where it licked my face still there; and as I wiped my face bending down to pick up my bag, and walking staff, I saw a large crack on the concrete wall where it slammed its paw into it.
Fear, dread, and prayers to the Lord went through my mind and as I turned around with my bag on my back; walking staff in hand and I then saw a leashed German Shepherd with a mist around it with a elderly woman, that also had a mist around her, with yellow eyes staring at me with a look as though she could see my soul.
Suddenly I heard her say " Now, dearie, who or rather what are you?" in a tone that had surprise and curiosity mixed together.
All I could think was ' I'm Fucked! '