Page 66 of Destiny Reclaimed
His Protector leaned forward, toward Gary, with her hands resting on her thighs. “What else did you see when I touched you?”
The confused man shifted nervously in his chair.
“It’s okay. Trust me. Nothing you say will shock me.”
“Or me,” Jack added, hoping his comment would give the guy the confidence to tell his story.
Gary ran his palms over his thighs.
Gabriela filled the excruciating silence. “I believe that when I touched you, you saw a vision of yourself in Vietnam. You saw me there with you. I believe that because I know it’s true. I was there with you and Jack. But, in order for us to help your sister—get her away from Arthur. We need to know what else you saw there.”
Gary raked his hand over his face. “How will that help my sister?”
Jack wasn’t surprised at all by the man’s question. This would be the hard part. Explaining time travel, Preservers, Protectors, and Modifiers without sounding like crazy people. Not to mention risking punishment as a consequence of breaking the rules by revealing the secrecy of Preservers and Protectors. But he was willing to take the risk. It wasn’t just about reclaiming his family history, more importantly, it was about setting things back on track for the greater good. He wasn’t exactly sure how all these changing realities impacted that greater good, but he knew in his heart and soul, it did.
Gabriela sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it for a couple of beats. “I’m going to shoot this straight. It’s going to sound utterly ridiculous, but please just hear me out, for the well-being of your sister and nephew. Can you do that?”
The poor, confused guy just stared at her.
“You and I both know your sister is sporting a shiner right now, and I’m guessing that’s not the first. Nor will it be the last unless we do something about it. And, what about your nephew? When will Arthur start taking things out on him?”
Jack’s pulse raced. Immediately out of the gate, his Protector had laid it on thick. Would the guilt trip work?
“Okay. I’m listening. You need to know I’d do anything for her, and Blake. He’s a good boy.”
The tension eased from Gabriela’s face, and she leaned back. She glanced at him then back to Gary. “What do you remember about the day you were injured in Vietnam?”
The veteran’s jaw knotted, and he lowered his gaze to the floor. “I remember dying,” he whispered. His gaze lifted. “I died there.” He glanced around the room. “I don’t know how I’m here today.”
His Protector nodded. A solemn emotion covered her face. “It’s true. You did die. In your true reality, you were killed in action.”
Gary flinched as if Gabriela reached out and tried to strike him. Jack supposed those words of hers were worse than any blow would be. The guy’s eyes were wide, and he sucked in an audible breath and held it.
The period of silence felt like an eternity.
Finally, Gary moved and placed his hand to his left side, to his hip. “I was shot here. It’s pretty much healed, and I don’t have hardly any pain at all in this spot, yet, my entire body, outside this area, throbs in pain. Most times it burns like I’m on fire. I can’t stand it. It’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever endured. It’s worse at night. I can’t sleep. And the doctors, they can’t explain it. They say it’s all in my head.”
He turned and stared out the window for a while then returned his gaze to them. “And the smell. I can’t get it out of my nostrils for even one second. Between the pain and the odor, it’s all I think about. It consumes my life.” Gary zoned in on him. “Have you ever smelled burning flesh?”
Jack swallowed hard and shook his head. He couldn’t imagine.
“If you had, you’d never forget it. It would haunt you forever and a day. It’s a cross between burned beef and the metallic smell of coagulated blood. Toss in singed hair and a touch of melted plastic, and it creates a charcoal-like and sulfurous odor. It’s so bad in fact, it assaults all your senses. I taste it yet to this day. No matter what I eat, no amount of garlic or hot spices dilute it. All I taste is that burnt and metallic flavor.”
The guy swallowed hard and raked his gaze over his body. “It’s even worse when you know it’s your own burned flesh assaulting you.”
Jack cringed at the thought. He couldn’t begin to conceive what that poor man went through—how horrible that must have felt.
Gary met Jack’s gaze, then Gabriela’s. “I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this.” Then he paused again for a few beats. “I know I died there.” His voice cracked. “I burned to death. At first, I didn’t believe it, but then, I had visions of it. It felt real. Then somehow, I got back there and was shot. This doesn’t make any sense.”
“About that. The incident when you were shot. What do you remember about that?” she pressed.
He studied her for a moment. “I’d been shot in the hip. I couldn’t walk, so I was kind of pulling myself along with my arms. There were several injured soldiers and the medivac chopper coming. We knew we needed to load quickly because we were still under fire.” Gary ran his hand over his face then fixed his gaze on him. “I remember you came and pulled me to my feet to help me. Then, I was lifted off my feet.” He shifted his gaze to Gabriela. “You helped to carry me. I remember thinking you were such a tiny soldier and couldn’t believe you could lift me so effortlessly. But, I felt so out of it I thought maybe I dreamt it or subconsciously made it up. I really thought that when I opened my eyes and saw a U.S. soldier aiming his rifle at...” His eyes went opaque.
“At?” Jack asked assuming he already knew the answer but he wanted it confirmed.
“At us.”
Jack nodded. A quiver raked through him. Though the truth was no secret to him, the substantiation still hit home.
