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A Figure For A Shell

A shell needn't be empty

By Shan LenaPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
1
A Figure For A Shell
Photo by Maxim Potkin on Unsplash

A dark figure approaches...

Its hand picks up the...

By Hayley Catherine on Unsplash

About a month ago.

"Honey I'm home!" Daniel shouts as he walks through the front door.

His shoes made faint muddy prints on the wooden floor. He swings off his brown camouflage cap and waltz into the kitchen.

mmmwaah.

"Hey baby, I missed you so much!" gushed Linda as her cheeks became rosy.

He ran his hand through her luscious mahogany hair.

"I missed you too sweetheart! I can't believe that it has been six months. Time really does fly, huh?" yawned Daniel.

"It sure does!" she said.

She put her hands on his chest. Her fingers glided over the collection of American army badges pinned to his uniform.

Daniel's phone suddenly vibrates violently.

"Oh, I've gotta take this honey. Be right back." Daniel said as he left the kitchen.

Linda steps back in anticipation, almost tumbling over in her small red heels.

"Hello, Sarge." Daniel said.

Meanwhile, Linda paces around the kitchen biting her acrylics. Her palms become more clammy the longer and longer Daniel is on the phone. She tries to guess the flow of Daniel's conversation from the pitch of the muffles.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Daniel drags himself back into the kitchen.

"I've gotta go back..." Daniel said in sadness.

Tears fill Linda's eyes. Her heart sinks because she knows that this could be their last time together. Although her husband has been deployed many times, it always felt as though he was leaving for the first time.

Daniel's heart hardened since he had to prepare himself for the journey that lay ahead. His hands shook for a second or two in response to how quickly things had changed.

2 days later.

Daniel alongside other troops, officers, and the sergeant are flying over the vast waters of the Atlantic towards the Middle East. The rotorhead is flying the chopper at speeds over 200 km/h.

By Daniel Klein on Unsplash

"The current situation has gotten worst. More bombs have been detonated in a city not far from our base. Not sure whether they're planning to attack the base. We must get to the base ASAP to cannibalise." the sergeant explained.

"Yes, Sarge." Daniel replied.

Daniel trembled "Sarge...I didn't think that I would be deployed so soon. I literally just got back home."

"Well, that's what you signed up for." murmured the Sergeant.

He leaned in and whispered in Daniel's ear.

"And besides, I wouldn't have deployed you so soon if I didn't think much of your skills, Daniel." the Sergeant said.

Ocean blues turned into bronze sands as they got closer to the base.

Daniel's vision suddenly became impaired. He started seeing doubles. He rubbed his eyes to refocus his sight.

"Are you okay Daniel?" asked the Sergeant with concern.

"Yes Sarge...I'm fine." Daniel said slowly.

Once the helicopter landed, the troops immediately flooded out. In unison, they unloaded equipment and bags from the chopper and then quickly headed inside the base. They and the troops already at the base began to cannibalise their weapons.

By Jay Rembert on Unsplash

Sonic and ultrasonic weapons were fully prepared too.

1 week later.

Sounds of explosions echoed in the streets. Terrified civilians ran for their lives. Some took shelter in half-ruined buildings.

By Stephen Radford on Unsplash

Blood was smeared everywhere and lifeless bodies littered the streets. A young boy stood next to a pile of rubble with a blank face. The boy caught Daniel's attention whilst he and his fellow troops carefully scanned the area. Daniel darted quickly to bring the boy to safety. The boy gaped at Daniel as he couldn't believe that an enemy would care enough to save his life.

"Be safe okay?" Daniel mumbled to the boy before he rushed back to join his comrades in action.

Later that day.

"What the FUCK were you thinking Daniel!?" the Sergeant yelled.

"That kid could have had a bomb strapped to him. What if he did!? Hmm!? Hmm!? I thought you'd have known better for fucksake." the sergeant said during his tirade.

The sergeant squared up to Daniel and gritted his teeth.

"I expect better from you...YOU!" murmured the sergeant moments before he walked away.

Daniel tried to remain stoic, however, his face tensed up. He was holding back the tears to show his fellow troops and other officers that he was strong.

Just before bedtime, Daniel sat on the edge of his bed staring at a dark empty space of the room. The moonlight lit part of the room, giving his skin a blue hue. Daniel was thinking about how much he missed his wife. The thought of Linda's soft voice soothed him. He pulled out from under his bed, a framed photograph of him and his wife. Teardrops fell one by one onto the picture while he gazed at it.

He lay down facing up for a few hours; he was unable to sleep. Eventually, Daniel drifted off only to end up entering a nightmare.

By Jr Korpa on Unsplash

"Nooooooooooo!" cries Linda as she stands over the coffin to his knees.

"I love you, Daniel! I love you so much, Daniel!" Linda sobs.

"Why did you go? Whyyyy!?" screams Linda.

Daniel opens his eyes.

Daniel yells "Ahhhhhh." as he jumps out of his sleep.

He catches his breath from his nightmare-induced panic.

"Hey buddy, are you alright?" asks one of the troops.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Stuttered Daniel.



3 weeks later.

Bullets ricochet and grenades are thrown at the rebel fighters. The sound of heavy machinery and artillery drowns out the screams of civilians.

The troops continue to fire for several more rounds of ammunition. The army tanks track over the rough terrain, running over anything in its path.

Daniel reloaded his M249. There was blood on his hands. Beside his knee, he spotted a small black book.

The Small Black Book

The book was partly covered in sand and stones. He picked it up to analyse it. At a glance, he spotted the same boy, the one that he had saved. But before Daniel could look inside the book, a grenade came flying towards the troops.

One of the troops yelled "Aboooooooort!"

As the grenade reached the floor, all the troops retreated, except for Daniel; he had been distracted by the boy and the book.

Unluckily, the grenade detonated roughly 20 feet away from Daniel's position.

Unfortunately, he fell backward onto a protruding rock on which he hit his spine.

"Aggggghhhhh" screamed Daniel. His eyesight gradually dimmed.

A rebel spotted Daniel in the distance. Seeing that Daniel was by himself, the rebel decides to approach him. The sun's rays were so intense that it made the rebel appear as a dark figure. The rebel happened to stumble upon a random blade on the ground. They pick up the weapon and continues to walk toward Daniel. Daniel sees the rebel approaching him. Unable to move, Daniel knew the only thing he could do was look death in the eye.

Just as the rebel is about to knife Daniel. ..

BANG! BANG!

Blood splatters out from the rebel's back and they hit the ground with a massive thud.

The boy shot the rebel.

The boy slowly walks up to Daniel. As he walks, he steps onto something hard and flat. The boy looks down to see the book, the one Daniel picked up, prior to being injured. He picks up the book and opens it. The boy flicks through the pages which were blank.

However, on the final page is a message with a code.

'This code is the key to $20,000.'

There were also instructions on how to access the large sum of the money. The code happened to be that for a bitcoin wallet.

Woah, that's shit loads of money. Thought the boy. He daydreamed about all the possibilities at hand - now that he has this large sum of money.

The boy tore out this page of the book and shoved it into his pocket. As he walks away he looks over his shoulder to look back at Daniel.

Disorientated as he was, Daniel managed to get a final look at the boy before he blacked out.

The troops searched for Daniel and there he was, lying face-first on the ground unconscious. They pulled him towards safety.

"Daniel! Daniel! Wake up!" They yelled.

48 hours later.

Daniel's eyes slowly opened to see bright fluorescent lights. He was lying on the hospital bed. He looked at his hand. It was clasped by a soft hand. He tilted his head upwards to see his beautiful wife, Linda. Linda began to cry in relief.

"I thought I was going to lose you, Daniel. I am so so glad you are alive." Said Linda as she wept into her tissue.

Daniel sniffs as he weeps. His mouth quivers and his hands tremble.

Daniel whispered to Linda "It wasn't my time to leave. God kept me here with you."

A doctor walked.

"How're we doing?" asked the doctor.

Daniel replied "Could be much better of course but I'll be fine soon."

"You are incredibly lucky that you didn't any of your limbs." Said the Doctor.

The doctor looked at the married couple with a sympathetic look on his face.

As Daniel went into a state of panic he questioned "Linda, why can't I feel my legs? Why can't I move them?"

He clenched Linda's hand.

"Doctor, why can't I feel my legs?" asked Daniel, as his eyes widened.

A distressed Daniel started screaming at the top of his lungs. He screamed until his throat became sore.

"Daniel...I'm afraid that due to the severity of your injuries, you will be permanently paralysed from the waist down. I am absolutely sorry Daniel." the Doctor said.

Daniel was relieved of his duties. He struggled to come to terms with being paralysed. Consequently, Daniel fell into a deep depression. In addition, he was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), formerly known as shell shock.

By Matt Artz on Unsplash

The immense stress led to the breakdown of his marriage. His wife of 11 years left him. Consequently, he develops an addiction to alcohol. Daniel's world had shattered into tiny pieces so small that it was specs of dust.



Fast forward 20 years later.

A biotechnologist named Dr. David Ehrlich, and his team went on to engineer technology that could reverse paralysis. The technology was relatively new and very expensive. Hence, it was only accessible to a few people.

By ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

Daniel managed to kick his addiction to alcohol. He attended therapy and went to the AA group for years.

One day, Daniel happened to come across Dr. Ehrlich's research. He reached out to him, enquiring about his technology. They spoke for a few weeks before meeting in person. Daniel met with Dr. Ehrlich in his office.

"Good morning, Daniel. I'm Dr. Ehrlich."

"Good morning Dr. It's a pleasure to meet you." Daniel said, as he wheeled through the office door.

The scene of Daniel laying wounded on the dirt ground came to Dr. Ehrlich's mind.

"Wait...I know who you are. You saved my life." stuttered Dr. Ehrlich.

"Me?" asked Daniel in a surprised voice.

"You saved me...I was the boy you saved. You were the soldier that carried me in your arms to safety." Dr. Ehrlich said.

Daniel wrecked his brains trying to remember the event. He had been through such a harrowing experience that it took him a while to remember.

Daniel uttered "I...remember...I remember clearly. I can't believe it's you!"

"This technology is not readily available because it is very advanced. However, I will arrange for you to undergo the procedure for reversing your paralysis at zero cost." Explained Dr. Ehrlich.

Dr.Ehrlich humbly said "Consider this a token of my appreciation. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be standing here today."

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Thank you so much! I can't thank you enough! This will change my life forever!" exalted Daniel, as his jaw dropped wide open.

Dr. Ehrlich got up from his desk to hug Daniel. They were shedding tears, tears of gratitude.

Daniel and Dr. Ehrlich, were two people who dwelled in different worlds. However, regardless of the contrast in their own ways of life, they were able to transform each other's lives for the better.

fact or fiction
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About the Creator

Shan Lena

I am a writer and Autism Rights activist based in London.

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