Short Story: Collision Course

He knew instantly that he was doomed

His whole body shook from the impact of the hit. His tail left a trail of smoke as it rocketed forward. Not that it was noticeable. In fact, the smoke just blended with the background. The sky was collapsing around him but his eyes caught every detail around.

The air around him was filled with debris and smoke. Bullets were flying all around. Even from 2000 feet in air he could see the smoke and fire in the ground. The Thunderbolts were in ring formation protecting the precious cargo. They were surrounded by Fighters aircraft, one of which was a F15 Eagle.

It all started when he was assigned to the Gain Back Project. The mission was to gain back control of the Boston Base which was hijacked by Afghanistan Terrorists few hours ago. He was in the South-West attack crew. His position was at the offense. He was to attack the defence aircrafts surrounding the Base.

And attack, he did. He managed to take down 3 D-22 Hawkeyes before he was hit. He knew he was screwed even before he was hit. The bullets hit right through the tail and the engine of his Eagle. He was somersaulting in the air. His mask was thrown about. The canopy was caught. His leg was stuck. His ears were ringing as the radar went haywire. The communications were jammed and the control lost. His seatbelt wouldn’t eject and he knew there was no way of exit.

In that second, he knew there was no hope. And his eyes fell on the photo stuck above the radar. The picture was of her Jack. Jacqueline.

In that second, his whole life didn’t flash before his eyes. Only she did. He remembered everything about her. Her eyes. Her smile. Her smell. The first time he held her. Her teary, heartfelt smile when she saw him. How she ran up to hug him whenever he visited her. The first kiss. The first ‘I love you’. All the cuddles in the couch.
He sighed.

He remembered how much he loved her. From the moment he knew about her, he knew he would love her with all his heart. And, boy, how much he loved her. He would get a 2 day break. He would travel 17 hours to-and-fro to spend a few hours with her. Somehow, the long journey didn’t bother him because he knew she would be waiting on the other end.

He remembered how much he had scared her when a mission went wrong in Texas. How much she had cried during the 2 weeks he had been ‘dead’. Every time he left, he could see the fear in her eyes. And it killed him to see that. He wanted to just hug her and reassure her that he will be back but he never did. Because he didn’t want to make a fake promise.

Most of all, he remembered how much he had disappointed her. All the times he hadn’t been there for her.

God knows that’s true. Hell, he saw her first 2 months after she was born. He had been in a Grief Rescue at that time.

He missed her first smile. He missed her first word. He missed her first steps. He had never been to her school meetings. He had never helped her with homework. He had never seen her recitals. The only way he saw her growing up was in the pictures his mum sent. With each picture she seemed to be growing taller. Every picture was another moment he had missed. 14 years of her life and he hadn’t been with her as much as he would have liked. But he did what he could. He spent every leave and every break with her. He called her when he could. He sent her gifts on all her birthdays.

And she understood. She was always there when his plane landed. She was his girl. She was her Daddy’s girl.

He took pride in the fact that he never got scared. Not even when he was stranded in a desert for 2 months. He knew he would survive, find a way back. But now he was scared. Because he knew he was doomed. He knew there was no way to escape. His vision blurred as his lungs began to fill with smoke. The altitude dropped fast. The radar whirred. He could feel the heat from the burning engine. He understood the sevireity. He could only imagine what his mates were telling him now, but he couldn’t hear them.

His eyes started watering, half from the smoke and half from his fear. He cried because he won’t be there for her again. For her graduation. For her heartbreak. He won’t there to support her. God, He wished he could walk her through the aisle. He knew she would cry and not even his mum can assure her everything would be alright.

But, he knew she would understand. Maybe she would be angry now. Maybe she would be scared now. Maybe she would be hurt now. But, he knew. One day she will understand. He did this for his country. He did this to protect his people. He did this for his loved ones. Most if all he did this for her. To protect her.

Her face flashed before his eyes as he crashed to his death.

She would be proud of him someday.

Short Story : My First Attempt.
Short Story Inspired By Pearl Harbor.