Born to Fight

Chapter 2

The next day while I was on my lunch break, I made my way upstairs to my dorm room. During the lunch breaks at school, I usually didn’t feel like being around people. More often than not, I just wanted some time alone, so I would usually just end up in my room studying or reading. When I got to my room, I decided to check my emails, and I was surprised to find I had already received a message from Chief Petty Officer Fox.

Dear Celeste,

I have to admit that I was surprised and happy to get your letter, and I must admit, I did get a bit of a laugh out of it. But I will be honest with you, I get it. I completely understand where you were coming from. Talking to people online that you don't know can be dangerous. Rest assured, I am not a psycho, or a serial killer or a criminal of any kind. You have nothing to worry about, I assure you, and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have for me. Believe me when I say that I did not see your questions as an intrusion in any way.

I have been in the SEAL's for three years now. I am the K-9 handler for my team. My K-9 partner is a German Shepherd named Freeze. Before you ask, I have no idea how he got his name lol. I think that the assignment your English teacher has given your class is an interesting one despite your doubts  and apprehension about it.

So what about you? Are your parents in the Military? Do you plan on going into the Military when you finish school? And if so, have you thought about which area of the Military you would like to go into?

Hope to catch up with you soon,

CPO Jamie Fox.

Intrigued by the email I had just received I hit the reply button and began typing.

Dear CPO Fox,

I was surprised to get your reply, and so quickly too I might add. I thought it would take a while as military personnel are always so busy, especially you SEAL guys. Thank you for getting back to me. I have to say, I love your German Shepherds name, I think it’s cool (get it) lol. I have a German Shepherd as well, his name is Loki. We named him Loki because he likes to get into mischief. Loki is four years old now and he keeps my mom and I very busy. Mom said as far as she is concerned, he didn’t get the memo about his puppy stage ending.

My mom is in the Military, she works in Military Intelligence. I don’t see myself going into the Intelligence side of things. I would like to go into the Military after graduation, I just don’t know what branch yet. I have been thinking maybe I might look at joining the Marine Corps. My dad was in the Military when he and my mom were together, but I don’t know him, and I have no idea what branch of the Military he was in. My mom doesn’t talk about my dad very often, he left before I was born.

My whole life it has just been me and my mom and my grandpa. grandpa was in the Marine Corps. He was kind of a big deal when he was in there. He and I were extremely close, but he died two years ago. I must admit my mom is pretty - cool, you know, for a mom. We get along great, we always have. How about you? Are you and your family close? Do you have brothers and sisters? I will admit that I miss my mom when I have to stay on campus. I go home every Friday afternoon and my mom drops me back at the academy on campus on Monday mornings. Mom and I try to squeeze in as much girl time as we can whenever I am home on the weekends. I wish it was Friday. I miss her and Loki when I am here.

Regards,

Celeste.

 I had finished up typing my reply to Jamie before making my way back downstairs. The email I had received from Jamie Fox had been a nice surprise, but I was still wishing it was Friday. I didn’t like being at the Academy full time. I always felt like I didn’t fit in here. The military always spoke about being a place of camaraderie, but it wasn't like that here. Here the girls were stuck up, the boys only thought about trying to get into your pants, and the students who outranked you were on never-ending little power trips. I missed being at home with my mom and hanging out and talking. We got along so well and were always having fun, even when we were working out. I also really missed Loki and his goofy ways of getting into mischief.

I ended up making my way through the remainder of the day on autopilot. My classes had dragged on and I just wanted to curl up in my bed and sleep. I was glad when I had finally finished up in my last class and was able to head back to my dorm room. As soon as I got into my room, I opened my laptop and checked my emails, and I immediately felt my spirits lift at the sight of the message from Jamie.

Dear Celeste,

Nice joke about my dog's name. I am happy you have a great sense of humor, you need one of those to get you through life, especially in this day and age. I have to say, you seemed a little down when you finished up your last email. I have decided to give you my phone number at the bottom of this email. If you ever feel like talking, please feel free to give me a call, or you can just email me, whichever works for you. I had a bit of a laugh at your comment about Loki not getting the memo about his puppy stage ending. He sounds like quite the character.

I have to say that I think your mom has done a great job as a single parent. Especially considering the field she works in. Intelligence can be an incredibly demanding branch to work in. You seem like a well - adjusted young lady. I am sorry you don’t know your dad, but I think it is his loss. He's the one that's missing out. To answer your question I have a sister, her name is Cindy and she is not in the Military. She is a surgeon. I also have a best friend who is like a brother to me, he is also a member of the same SEAL team as me. His name is Josh and he and I grew up together. He is quite a character himself. I think he could give your Loki a run for his money, but I must say I would be lost without him. Hang in there, there are only a few more days to go until Friday.

Jamie.

Over the next few weeks, the emails between Jamie Fox and myself continued. I knew when I finally decided to mention it to my mother that my mother was probably going to freak out about it. I had decided I was going to tell my mother about the assignment the next time I went home, putting it off any longer would just make my mother angrier or worse, disappointed in me. I was surprised when I got into the car that Friday afternoon, and after telling my mother about the English assignment I had been given, my mother didn’t say anything. Instead, she just kept quiet and continued to focus on the road ahead as she drove home. To say she seemed distracted was an understatement. It was the same all through dinner. When I asked her if anything was wrong she simply said that she was just distracted by work. But she seemed off somehow. Almost like she was downplaying whatever was going on.

After dinner, I went upstairs to my room. I had written Jamie’s number down and was trying to work up the courage to give him a call. After a while, I chickened out, so I just sent him a quick text saying who it was and that I would talk to him soon. After I sent the text, I got ready for bed and it wasn't long before I was sound asleep.

I was awoken from my sleep a few hours later to the loud sounds of breaking glass and raised voices coming from downstairs. Loki was in the backyard barking like crazy.  Confused and a little scared, I climbed out of bed and quietly made my way towards the staircase. As I silently made my way down the stairs, the voices got louder. I could distinctly make out my mother’s voice and the voices of several men coming from the living room. Trying to stay out of sight, I crept closer to the sounds of the angry voices. Pressing myself up against the wall, I was careful not to make any noise or do anything that would draw any attention to myself.

When I peeked into the living room I saw that my mother was lying on the ground crying and covered in blood. One of the men was leaning over her with his knee pressing into my mother’s chest, which was making it hard for my mother to breathe.

“Now, let’s try this again,” the man that was pressing his knee into my mother's chest said. “Tell me where he is, and this will all stop, right here, right now.”

My mother shook her head, “No!” she yelled.

The man kneeling on her chest backhanded her across the face hard and grabbed her hair pulling her head back. “Tell me where Billy is,” he yelled.

“No!” my mother screamed “I won’t tell you anything, and you can look for him as much as you want, but you will never find him.”

The man leaned in close to my mother's face, “What a waste,” he sneered, “dying to protect a man who abandoned you so long ago. Do you honestly think he would do the same for you? Do you honestly think he would come running to your rescue?”

My mother glared at him with eyes filled with hate, but she didn’t answer him. She looked away from the man’s gaze and her gaze landed on me, “Hide” she mouthed. Doing as she said, I quickly ducked back behind the doorway. After a while, I peeked into the living room once again.

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell me where to find Billy?” he asked. My mother just lay where she was on the floor, glaring at him, “No?’ he asked, “Okay then, I think we are done here.” Getting off of her, he walked over to one of the other men who was in the room, and slapped him on the shoulder before nodding to him. The other man made his way over to where my mother was still laying on the floor. He stopped just in front of my mother and pulled a g*n out of the back of his jeans that he’d had concealed at the small of his back. He aimed the g*n at my mother and pulled the trigger.

I bit my fist hard and quickly hid back behind the doorway in the darkness with tears streaming down my face. I knew I had to stay quiet long enough for the men to leave the house. So long as they were still in the house, I wasn't safe. After a while, I heard them exit the house and a short time later I heard a car engine roar to life. I waited where I was long after the sound of the car engine had faded into the night. When I was certain they weren’t coming back, I walked into the living room and stood over my mother's lifeless body. I knew there was nothing I could do to help my mother now. She had been shot point-blank in the head.

 As I stood there in the lounge room looking at my mother's lifeless body, I felt numb. Moving on autopilot, I called the emergency services and waited for them to arrive. Loki was still barking and whining at the back door, clearly distressed and aware that something was wrong. I ran upstairs and grabbed my cell phone and rang Jamie's number. It was the middle of the night, but I didn’t know what else to do.

After I had dialed the number, it rang a few times, and I was about to hang up when I heard his voice come on the line.

“Hello?” he asked sounding half asleep.

Suddenly I felt bad. It was late and clearly, I had woken him up. “Jamie? Jamie Fox?” I asked.

“Yeah, speaking. Who’s this?” he replied.

“Ah... this is Celeste, Celeste Avery. I’m so sorry to call you so late, but I didn’t know what else to do. My... my mom is... she's... she's dead.”

“Celeste, slow down honey, I need you to take a breath and tell me what happened? What do you mean your mother is dead? What happened? How did she die?” he asked sounding worried.

 “There were these men in our house, they killed her, they shot her. I think they were looking for my dad,” to my dismay, I found myself crying once again, and I could faintly hear whispered voices on the other end of the phone.

“Celeste are you there?” Jamie asked.

 “Yes, yes I’m here,” I replied.

“Celeste, what’s your address?”

 “Jamie, I have already called the police,” I told him.

“No, what’s your address, we are coming to you,” Jamie replied.

 “What do you mean we? We who?” I asked.

“Me and Josh,” he replied.

I gave him my address, and just as he finished writing it down, I could hear the high -pitched sounds of sirens in the distance.

“Okay, you have company, we will see you soon okay? Hang in there, and we will be there before you know it,” said Jamie. He got off the phone and I quietly went to the front door to meet the police.