Page 27 of Protecting Josie
They walked for about an hour before they stopped to get their bearings and take a short break.
Blink slowly lowered Josie to the ground, then turned to check on her. “You okay?”
She nodded. There was no expression on her face. It worried him.
“Here,” Kevlar said, holding out a bottle of water.
Blink took it and offered it to Josie. She drank a few sips. Then his brother handed him a packet of crackers from the MRE he’d had the night before.
Glancing at it, he smiled. “Pepperoni pizza crackers,” he told Josie. “Not quite the same thing as a gooey, warm pizza pie from the store, but they’re still pretty good.”
He held one out to her, but she didn’t take it. Blink took a chance and stepped into her personal space. She could’ve backed away, could’ve shaken her head at him and he would’ve given her space. She didn’t. She just looked up at him, now with that same worried look on her face that she’d had way too often recently.
“I wish you could tell me what you’re thinking. We’re okay. My brother and Pyro know what they’re doing. They’re pilots, yes, but they’ve also had extensive SERE Training, which stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape. They aren’t SEALs, like Kevlar and me, but they’re pretty damn close.”
“Gee, thanks for the effusive compliment,” Tate grumbled.
Blink ignored him. “You can trust them. You can trustme. We aren’t going to let anything happen.”
Josie’s mouth opened and closed as if she wanted to say something. Then she closed her eyes and scowled in frustration.
Blink slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Her forehead rested on his chest, but her arms remained limply at her sides. It seemed as if the adrenaline that had kept her going throughout their escape had finally run its course. He’d seen this time and time again. People stayed strong until they had no more to give.
He didn’t say anything, they just stood like that, Blink holding her as she rested against him. After too short a time for his peace of mind, she straightened. Looking up at him, she nodded, then reached for the crackers he still had in his hand.
“Fuck, Spirit, you impress the hell out of me,” he blurted.
Once again, her lips moved as if she was saying something, but no sound came out.
He led her over to where Tate and Pyro were sitting and helped her to the ground. They ate some snacks—Kevlar ate his while standing, head on a swivel, watching and listening for anything out of the ordinary—as the pilots discussed the best LZ for whoever might be coming to extract them
“I’m thinking that way,” Pyro said, pointing to their west. “We don’t want to find ourselves out in the open, but the peaks seem to be farther apart there. A chopper could easily slip down between them and pick us up.”
“Not north?” Tate asked, looking in that direction.
“No. The last thing we want is to get too close to theIranian border. Iraq won’t be thrilled with an extraction, but at least it won’t cause an international incident.”
“I’m not completely sure where we landed, but we want to stay away from any towns or cities if we can. We don’t want the Taliban extending our stay in any way.”
Blink snorted.Landed. His brother was funny. But he supposed anytime a chopper went down and they walked away relatively unscathed could be called a landing and not a crash.
“Right. How’re you doing, Josie?” Pyro asked. “Your legs okay? It can be tough to be carried for long distances…feet and legs going numb and all that.”
Blink looked at her, interested in her answer.
She nodded at Pyro and held up a foot, rotating it a couple of times, then shrugging.
“Good,” he said. “You should eat more,” he added, tossing a packet toward Blink.
He caught it instinctively, reading the slender packet before glancing at Josie. “You should feel special, the applesauce with mango and peach puree is one of the best things in these MREs. They’re highly sought after.”
Instead of looking happy that Pyro had obviously given her such a precious food item, she frowned and shook her head.
“Nope. Not taking it back. It’s for you,” he told her.
Josie looked at Blink expectantly, as if seeking his support in her need to refuse it.
“Sorry, Spirit, I agree with Pyro. At least try it. You might not like it.” Blink tore the top off the squeeze tube of applesauce and handed it to her.
