Somewhere Only We Know

The air was dry and hot as hell. Matt was sitting on the sloping bank of the creek. It was close enough that he could still see the camp over his shoulder, but far enough that he couldn’t hear the daily noise and chatter. All he could hear was the trickling of the creek and the occasional bird cry. Unlike the creek back home, there were no plants or grass growing around the water’s edge. Only a few brown weeds poking feebly up from the sand.

Matt sat with his legs sprawled out in front of him, leaning on his palms and shimmering with a thin sheen of sweat. Despite the arid heat and bleak surroundings, the spot was peaceful, like a small oasis within their usually-hostile environment.

He was thinking of Jane. It had been several weeks now since he’d heard from her and was starting to think that her previous letter had just been some sort of obligatory thing. Like she felt she needed to do one nice thing before she packed up and left him high and dry. He’d known that Jane leaving him over this was a real possibility, but he wasn’t going to say no to serving his country. He’d been in the military for eight years – you didn’t just give that up because your girlfriend wanted you to.

Although she hadn’t been very supportive about his leaving, the letter had made him think that maybe she had come around to the idea and actually even missed him. But, since it had been weeks since the first letter, maybe he’d been wrong. He must have been.

Matt’s thoughts were disrupted by the sound of footsteps crunching in the sand behind him. He leaned back, looking over his shoulder to see Brian approaching.

“Hey, man, you’re been out here for hours. We were worried.”

“Just enjoying the fresh air,” said Matt.

Brian chuckled and sat down on Matt’s right, stretching out on leg and pulling the other up to his chest. “Thinking about taking a dip?”

“Yeah, it really looks refreshing.”

They both laughed at that – the creek was barely a foot wide and the water was a murky brown color. Once their laughter subsided, Brian said, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Thinking about Jane again?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s been, what? Three weeks?”

“I think so.”

“Give it time. You know how the mail system can be.”

“I’m thinking about breaking up with her.”

Brian balked. “You? Break up with her?” He shook his head. “You’re insane.”

“I’m not insane. Why am I insane?”

“Dude, she’ll fly out here personally so she can strangle you. Or tell you what you’re gonna be missing. Or do that crazy girl thing where they twist it around so it was their idea, not yours.”

It was Matt’s turn to shake his head at that. “You’ve seen too many movies. Jane’s not like that.”

“She’s exactly like that. I promise you, the minute you break up with her, you’re gonna realize that she is fifty kinds of crazy.”

Matt hated to agree with him, but he was sure Brian was right. He’d already started to see Jane’s true colors in the months before he left. The first time had been when he’d been going over the finances to make sure he left plenty for Jane to live on. Usually Jane handled the money, which was why he’d never been able to understand where all their money went. Looking at the bank statements showed that his huge chunks of his paychecks were going to bars, department stores, and online shopping sites. When he’d confronted her with this information, she’d brushed it off and avoided answering his questions.

Then there had been the attitude. The whole month leading up to his departure, Jane had been constantly out of the house. Whenever she was home, she was unpleasant and always making passive-aggressive and self-pitying comments about being abandoned and his selfishness. He’d taken it as a way of distancing herself, so it would hurt less when he was gone. That’s why he’d thought the letter was a good sign, a sign that she was sorry for her behavior and missed him.

But that explanation just didn’t make sense anymore.

“Things have been rough. She’s not who I thought she was,” Matt admitted. “I think it’s time to end it.”

“Wow,” breathed Brian. “Just...wow, man. How are you going to do it?”

“On my next leave. I’ll surprise her.” He sighed. “I couldn’t do it in a letter. I’d give myself away.”

“Yeah, you’re really not good a withholding information.”

“I know.”

They were silent for several minutes after that. Brian began digging small pebbles out of the sand and tossing them into the creek. Each one sent miniscule, brown droplets flying through the air.

Matt was just about to say something else when he caught a faint sound on the wind, causing him to freeze.

Click.

“Down!” he exclaimed, diving for the creek.

He and Brain splashed into the water just as automatic fire filled the air. Matt struggled to free his handgun. Brian did the same.

“We’re sitting ducks,” said Brian, moving to a crouched position.

“Don’t panic,” Matt ordered, mirroring the position. He felt around his belt, then said, “Got any grenades?”

“Might.”

As Brian fumbled in his pack, Matt crawled up the side of the embankment and peered over the top. He could make out two shapes on the top of a nearby dune, both huddled together. A large gun caught the afternoon light on its black barrel.

Matt squeezed the trigger, firing six shots in their direction. One of the figures screamed and rolled down the hill, clutching at his thigh. The other dove behind the dune and pointed the gun in Matt’s direction. He slid back down the embankment, skidding to a stop beside Brian, who was just pulling a single grenade from his bag.

“It’s my only one,” he said, holding it out to Matt.

Matt shook his head. “You’re the better aim. Throw it that way, then we’ll follow the creek back toward camp. Don’t go up either, side, though. Wait until we’re sure we’re out of range.”

Another round of automatic fire went off, closer this time. Brian and Matt ducked lower in the ditch, seeing the bullets sinking into the sand of the opposite dune. They were out of time.

“Throw it and run,” Matt said again, shifting into an upright position. Brian nodded and crawled to the lip of the embankment, pulled the tab with his teeth, and launched the grenade in the enemy’s direction. Then he dropped, his feet splashing into the creek, and broke into a run.

The thundered along the ditch, sending water flying, and several seconds later were nearly deafened by the sound of the explosion. Brian lost his footing and hit the ground, taking Matt down with him. They stayed still for a moment, listening to the ringing in their ears, letting the flow of the creek soak the fronts of their shirts.

Brian rolled onto his back and stood up, keeping hunched to avoid any more gunfire. “I think that did it.”

“There could be more,” Matt warned, but he privately agreed. He’d only seen two soldiers. He cautiously led the way back to where the attack had been, hesitating in the ditch and then climbing up.

They surveyed the area, but found only the two bodies. One had been blown up by the grenade, the other had bled out from the gunshot to his femoral artery. Brian and Matt looked down at the men, troubled expressions on their faces.

“Nice aim,” said Brian darkly.

“You, too. Let’s get back to camp. We’ll have to report this.”

They were halfway back to camp when Brian said, “Breaking up with Jane doesn’t seem so bad, now, does it?”

Matt had nothing to say to that.