Page 4 of Hard to Kill

Hackett looked up from scowling at his unresponsive leg. “What do you mean, ma’am?” He managed one more slow step, his knuckles white against the bars.

“Corporal, I mean that I’m being medically discharged, just like you.” Kellen smiled tightly. “No need to head back to all that dust and grime in Kuwait.”

Hackett was too young to hide his surprise. “Wow, Captain. That’s a really bad break. I know you wanted to stay in for the long haul.” After Susan cleared her throat, firmly and pointedly, in response to his comment, he turned his concentration onto his next step. His arms were shaking. He needed to get those last two steps in.

Kellen shrugged. “I’m not as lucky as you thought I was. The Army frowns at a captain remaining unconscious for two days for no reason except that she landed on her head.”

“Nah, I still believe in your luck. All those explosions, and we’re both still alive. Sounds pretty lucky to me.”

Kellen thought for a moment. If Hackett could look at the situation with such good humor and positive thinking, she could stop acting like her world had ended—though it still felt as if it had.

Hackett pushed his leg forward again, and when he stopped panting for breath (leading Susan to say, firmly, “Stop holding your breath, Corporal.”), he asked, “What are you going to do now? Head back to the States?” He cocked his head to the side, thinking. “Wait, I’ve never asked you—where is home for you?”

Kellen pursed her lips. “I don’t have a home.”

Hackett nodded and didn’t say anything.

A lack thereof was a fairly common theme in the Army.

Kellen continued, before Hackett could ask more revealing questions, “I’m not sure where I’ll go or what I’ll do. I’ve been checking out a resort job in Washington State.” Which was as far away from Maine as she could get and stay in the lower forty-eight. “The resort looks gorgeous, very out-of-the-way. But I’m not sure I ever want to go stateside again.”

Hackett pushed his leg forward one last time. His pain was evident in the tightness of his jaw, the paleness of his skin. But he still looked over at Susan and pulled a funny face. She chuckled and held him up so he could turn around and slip gratefully into the wheelchair she had waiting for him at the end of the parallel bars.

Susan leaned down to adjust his legs onto the foot stands. “I’m proud of you, Corporal. For that, you get a fifteen-minute break before we work on your flexibility.”

Hackett gathered himself and smiled. “You spoil me so, ma’am. I will take your kind offer!”

Susan and Kellen both laughed.

“If only more kids were like Hackett,” Susan said to Kellen. “He never says ‘I can’t.’” She went over to the mats on the other side of the small gym to prepare the foam rollers, stretch bands and towels for Hackett’s flexibility regimen, leaving Kellen and Hackett alone.

“What about you, soldier?” Kellen asked quietly. “Where are you off to once you get back on your feet—no pun intended?”

Hackett chortled softly at her joke. “I’ve had to change my plans up a bit. Seems to me I won’t be running in the Olympics any time soon.” For a split second, he looked incredibly sad; a man watching his boyhood dreams crumble. But he held himself straight in his chair, showing courage in the face of his personal tragedy.

Kellen thought quickly and said, “Wait, what about running prosthetics? You could be a Paralympic star!”

“No, ma’am.” Hackett shook his head slowly. “The Army won’t pay for specialized prosthetics, and my parents can’t afford one.”

“How much are we talking here, Hackett?”

“Upwards of fifty grand.”

Kellen let out a low whistle. “That’s a bundle, all right. What about sportscasting? Are you going forward with that plan?”

Hackett chewed on his cheek for a moment. “Sometimes dreams have to change. I’m a grown man with a US-government-issued prosthetic. I’m glad to have it, and I’m determined to work hard enough to deserve it.” He paused. “My parents wanted me to get a college education. Sure, I love to race down a country road with the wind in my face and the smell of the prairie in my nose. But now I need an education so I can get a normal job, nothing flashy, maybe get married, have a couple of kids.”

“Sounds like a good dream to me.”For you.For Kellen, it was a tarnished dream.

“I’m a country boy at heart, and I want that house with a white picket fence. That’s easier to come by when you’re not traveling to sporting events.”

“So that’s it? You’re going back home, and your goal is to get a desk job?” Kellen really wanted to know. She wanted to see his response; she wanted to understand if he was ever going to be truly happy after this terrible turn of events.

Hackett sighed and rubbed his clean-shaven chin. “I doubt it’ll ever get easier—looking down to see metal instead of skin. But it’d be a shame to waste that GI-Bill college funding...” He gathered himself and grinned at Kellen. “So, yes, Captain, it’s the life of a grunt for me.”

“Okay! Time for flexibility work!” Susan said cheerily from the gymnastic mats in the corner.

“She’s tryin’ to kill me, Captain,” Hackett said, playfully grim.

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