Fight or Flight

The next day, Veronica gave them a complete tour of the base. She’d showed them the airfield and the Post Exchange, which was like a department store where they got their snacks, hygiene products and other necessities. They asked some questions and she was happy to answer them. She liked that they seemed genuinely interested in what the army did and how things worked. She had to admit that she sort of like accompanying the band. They were very humorous people and seemed very down-to-earth despite how well-known they were.

“Did you always know you wanted to join the military?” Matt asked when they were finished with target practice.

Veronica emptied the guns of the magazines and then packed the guns and ammo into their cases. She leaned against the table, crossing her arms over her chest. She hadn’t told them much about herself.

“Yeah,” She nodded. “I knew that I wanted to be a Marine ever since I was a little girl. You know, most girls want to be princesses or nurses or teachers. I wanted to serve the country.”

“So were your parents in the military, too?” Brian asked. “You must have known a lot about it if that was your first choice.”

“I was an army brat,” She admitted with a chuckle. “My mom was a medic and my dad was a Marine. They’re both retired now obviously. My grandfather fought in World War II and a couple of my uncles are police officers. My younger brother is the only one in the family that’s not interested. He’s in law school right now. Law enforcement and the military runs in the family for the most part.”

“I figured,” Brian smiled. “That’s pretty badass.”

Veronica was one of the few women that actually engaged in direct combat. There were only about six to ten women in each infantry platoon and the others were usually medics, specialists, engineers, or computer techs.

“So how long have you been in the service?” Matt asked curiously.

“I thought I was supposed to interview you,” She said jokingly. She didn’t mind their questions. Not a lot of people asked about her career back home.

“You’re interesting,” He shrugged, a glint appearing in his honey-colored eyes.

“Okay, okay,” She giggled. “I’ve been serving for…” She looked up at the chipped ceiling, counting the years in her head. “Almost eight years now. I went to community college after high school and then enlisted at twenty-one. This is my second deployment. The first was here to Iraq and now I’m back again.”

“Wow,” Matt said, his eyebrows raising on his forehead.

“Yep,” She said, licking over her lips. She cursed herself for not remembering to buy some more chapstick at the PX. “I’ve been here for six months now.”

“That’s kind of like us, as a band. We’re touring and on the road most of the time.”

“At least you get to see your family. They can go on the road with you or go to concerts just to see you. We’re all here with nothing but each other and even that’s not dependable.”

She wasn’t trying to make them feel bad or convince them that they had it better. Both the band and Veronica had almost an equal life. The band was on tour and she was deployed for about the same amount of time. They took months off to record new albums and she took months off when she wasn’t deployed somewhere. Avenged Sevenfold was doing what they loved and Veronica was doing what she loved. She missed home more times than not, but truth be told, she always waited for the call that told her she had to fight for her country.

“When do you guys get to go home?” Matt asked.

“According to my superiors and the Department of Defense, President Obama is planning to withdraw us by January,” She told them.

The President planned on keeping his promise as he stated during his first election. With the stable foothold in Iraq, many were anticipating for the war to be over within the next few months. The American military had been meeting and compromising with the Iraqi government for the longest time and they’d finally both come to an agreement.

“I’m expected to go back home sometime in December,” She added vaguely. “Hopefully in time for Christmas.”

In fact, she knew exactly when she’d be on the plane home to California but no one was allowed to give the exact dates of their departure to anyone, including family. It was all for the safety of themselves and everyone else.

They all continued to talk some more until footsteps echoed through the building they used as a gun range.

“Scottie!” Brandon called out, walking in. “They’ve gotta do sound check now.”

“Alright, come on,” She motioned them to follow her.

Far out on base, the stage was placed where everyone could fit. Crews hung up the corners of the American flag and the USO banner. The band’s techs handed them their instruments and spoke about the setlist.

“You guys do your thing and I’ll be standing right there,” She said, pointing to the side of the stage.

They nodded at her and Brian and Zacky struck the first chords of the first song.

When the sun set and the stage lights came on, the live entertainment started. Veronica watched from the side of the stage just like she’d done during their rehearsal. They’d already played Nightmare and a couple of other songs, all of which the soldiers thoroughly enjoyed.

Veronica was sure she’d found her new favorite band and listened intently while Matt spoke to the crowd. She wished that she could have been in the crowd too, to experience the whole thing from a different view.

“Before we continue, I want to send our thanks from Avenged Sevenfold for everything you guys do for us back at home. It means everything in the world to us, so thank you.”

Hands went up in the air and everyone cheered, feeling the appreciation from the band. Veronica couldn’t stop the smile from appearing on her face and the warm feeling in her chest. She and everyone else never got tired of people thanking them.

“We said that this year for Thanksgiving, if you’ve gotta be over here, we want to play for you guys so thanks for having us. For those of you who have never seen us before, we want to take this time to welcome you to our family.”

Veronica let out a laugh when Matt turned to her and winked as he spoke. They played Welcome to the Family, of course. She couldn’t refrain from tapping her foot and bobbing her head to the beat. She sang along with Matt, remembering the lyrics she’d heard earlier. She was going to remember those lyrics for a long time.



At the end of the hour the band was allowed and two encores, the band thanked the soldiers once again and exited the stage. Veronica was right behind them while their crew handed each of them a bottle of water.

“You guys were great,” Veronica said, standing next to Matt.

“So, do we have a new fan?” He asked teasingly, facing her.

“Maybe,” She laughed. “I wish that I could have been down there in the crowd, though.”

She was truly impressed with their music and stage presence. They had a unique sound as a band, but she especially loved Matt’s voice. It was the perfect balance of melodic, yet gritty at some points. Brian and Zacky did dueling guitar solos that she’d never seen any other band do before, and Brian’s solos were incredible. All of their songs were catchy, too.

“Your manager said that you guys are going to sign some things,” She said and Matt nodded to confirm it. “The whole night’s yours after that. If you’re up for it, I was thinking you guys could come on over to our trailer and we’ll hang out. I heard some of you were Call of Duty fans.”

“That’s Matt,” The whole band chorused, pointing at him.

“I’m really big on Call of Duty,” He said with a cocky grin. “I don’t think any of your friends can beat me.”

She laughed and pushed his shoulder playfully. “I’m sure they can, but we’ll see later on.”