American Soldier

I can't believe I've been married for two years. After all the hard work of planning a wedding with the girls, the ceremony was just beautiful. We had everything from my favorite flowers to Matt's favorite color. I was dressed in a long white flowing gown and to show Matt that I was proud of him and his band, I had made the designer put black deathbats on the lace mesh that was attached to various parts of the dress. The girls were wearing red dresses that came just above their knees but they had white deathbats on them. Matt and the guys wore black and white tuxedos with red ties. Everything was just perfect. After the reception, Matt and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon. The place was absolutely amazing. I had never been here so I took lots of pictures to send to Blaze.

Speaking of Blaze, I wonder what's going on with her? I haven't received a letter from her in almost three weeks and I'm getting very worried about her. Matt said that she's probably on a mission with her squad and they're just busy. I hope he's right and there's nothing else wrong. When we left Hawaii and got back to California, the guys helped me move all of mine and Blaze's things into Matt's house. Blaze didn't have much so I packed everything of hers away and placed it into our large walk in closet. I loved living with Matt and his dog Bella. Oh she is the sweetest dog I've ever seen. I tried talking Blaze into getting us a dog for the apartment but she was against it since we didn't know if pets were allowed or not.

While Matt's at the recording studio the girls came over to help me clean the house and give it a more non-bachelor look. The girls are currently working on the living room and I was washing some dishes from last night’s dinner and from our lunch. The phone started ringing and I shouted to the girls to get it for me. I rinsed off some more clean dishes and put them into the drainer to dry.

"It's for you."

"Who is it?" I asked Leana and she shrugged. What a big help. I took the phone from her and placed it to my ear.

"Hello this is Payge Sanders." I said stated to the person on the line.

"Mrs. Sanders, we have you down as a contact for Blaze Rossi. What is your relationship with her?"

"I'm her sister. Who is this?" I asked the man.

"My name is Colonel Chris Mulligan with the 145th Combat and Infantry Unit."

"How can I help you Colonel?" I asked curiously.

"About two weeks ago, your sister Sergeant Blaze Rossi went out with her squad to take part in a major offensive. From the report of her comrades, she was knocked unconscious and taken by an insurgent of the Taliban. The Company hasn't been able to find where she is so we have listed her to be a POW."

"Wait. What the hell are you talking about? What's a POW?" I asked very confused as to what he was saying.

"A POW is a Prisoner of War. Anyone taken by the enemy is tortured to get information out of and so far we haven't received any threats from the kidnappers."

"What are you going to do? You have to find my sister!" I said almost yelling which was enough to bring all the girls into the kitchen.

"We're trying to locate her Mrs. Sanders. I have patrols and stealth helicopters scanning the area and mountains to look for her. I promise you ma'am that we will find her."

"Please do Colonel. She's the only family I have left besides my husband." I said and I could feel tears coming into my eyes.

"Don't worry. I've got a patrol out right now looking for her and her squad is searching where she was taken. I'll get back to you when I know more about what the situation is."

"Thank you Colonel." I said and I hung up the phone. I used the counter to stabilize my legs and the girls rushed over to me.

"Are you alright?"

"Blaze has been captured by a Taliban insurgent and they don't know where they're hidden." I said letting the tears fall from my eyes. The girls hugged me and told me that everything was going to be alright. How is everything alright when she could be tortured or raped? They better find her because I don't think I'm strong enough to bury another member of my family.