Having The Drive

A Story by savisnotsavvy

Four years of commitment in high school placed Annabelle ahead of the game in the U.S. Navy. From the moment she pledged she became an E-3, only two ranks away from becoming what she wants to be.

"Hier!" Crisp digital blues fold over each other as the arm rises up and aligns horizontally of the heart.
"Sitz!" The same arm moved upward, the fist now vertical with the head. Three years of training has led me to this. Brown eyes locked with my own as my partner awaited the next command. We were both waiting for the next command to come.
"You're released, return to rank." Master Chief Dukes instructed, performing an about face and choosing the next soldier to
test. I sighed and glanced down at my partner quickly. Moose had a half grin on his black muzzle as his tongue lolled out to the side. We had passed, we had finally graduated. The real fun has just begun and in a matter of two days times I will have a new partner with me.
'Beep, beep, beep!' God the sound can be annoying every morning as a wake up call. With in seconds I can feel the bed dip as Moose makes a jump for me. He's his usual perky self this early in the morning. Brown eyes alight, tongue hanging out in a grin, and tail moving a mile a minute. My body is cramping though from the lack of movement and I have no choice but to leave the comfort of my bed and get up to stretch. Glancing at my alarm clock I can't help but sigh at the fact that it's four A.M. Moose on the other hand is scratching at the door rearing to go on our morning jog. I grab my PT clothes and shrug off my tank top and shorts. Pulling the navy blue shorts on and yellow shirt over my head, making sure to be tucking the shirt in, I whistle to grab Moose's attention.
"Fuss." My voice is stern yet soft; my eyes locked with his as he heels and allows me to do my morning inspection of him. 'He's not whining when I inspect his ears, no whimpers when I touch his paws. Hips are in place, elbows strong and bendable, and his spine is aligned properly.' I finish the inspection by giving him a good rubbing, taking not of how much dirt is starting to collect in his black fur and the amount that is left in my hand when I pull away. "All right, let’s go." As soon as the door is opened he starts tugging at the leash in excitement. Moose is always excited to go for the run so early in the morning. The sun isn’t beating down on his black fur as much. Within minutes we are in our normal rhythm and jogging through the park for our two mile run.
It's amazing how time flies so quickly. One minute I'm jogging and the next I'm showered and standing in front of Senior Chief Petty Officer Deboyed's office door. Moose sat patiently beside my leg as I knocked. His K-9 vest had the same digital blue as my own uniform, his collar stating what unit and rank he was before attaching to the leather black leash that lay wrapped in my right hand.
"Enter!" Colonel Deboyed instructed, the door being opened on the other side. I give a small tug on Moose's leash as a take my first step forward on my left foot. The presence of another soldier in the room is alerted to me by the cologne worn, a very familiar scent.
"Ma'am, Petty Officer Kevelin reporting in as requested, Ma'am." I keep it crisp and short, saluting and waiting for her to salute back before dropping my own. Her eyes calculate my dress carefully before moving her gaze to Moose, it lingering a little longer then liked on his nails before meeting mine again.
"At ease, Petty Officer." Her tone is cold as usual, not much else to expect for a gangly women who has been serving for over fifteen years. I relax myself as Moose keeps his stance beside me. "You're moving up from patrolling the base, from now on you will be monitored by Chief Petty Officer Jennings’s. I believe you two have met before." Out of the corner of my eye I could see him move up closer to the desk, that same trade mark smirk still there after all those years.
"Yes Ma'am, I do." The agitation was obvious in my voice, though I tried to keep it at bay. All she did was nod to dismiss us. With quick precision I about haced and made quick hase to leave the room before he decided to make a remark.
“Oh, come on now,” Blake chuckled, following a fuming me out the Colonel’s office. ”It will be like old times, little Anna, all those years ago.” Blake caught up with me and managed to wrap his arm around my shoulder. He started to play with a strand of brown hair that had managed to escape from my tight bun. “Remember then, Anna, when I called you my sl-.“
Something inside of me snapped when he called me that. With my left hand I grabbed a hold of his arm that was wrapped around my shoulder and playing with me hair, turning my body to face him head on as I brought my right hand back into a fist and launched it at his nose. A sickening ‘crunch’ echoed throughout the halls and Moose stood snarling by my side.
"Don't you ever, and I mean ever, call me that again. Understand Jennings?" You could hear the malice in my tone, eyes glazing over with anger. I grasped Moose's leash and turned my back to him. Blake clutched at his bleeding nose and glared at me, breathing in heavily from rage. I took that moment to glance over the man I hadn’t seen in years. A tall 6’3”, broad shoulders, and muscular build; Blake’s dark grey eyes still reminded me of a thunderstorm. It seemed like nothing had changed at all, he was still the self-absorbed a*s that I remember.
"You better remember who out ranks you, Kevelin!" Jennings hollered after me, his voice awkward from the broken nose.
A sick sense of satisfaction washed over me as I held my bruised knuckles, covered in Blake's blood, away from my clean uniform. Moose seem satisfied as well by the way he was trotting beside me swinging his tail."Eh, at least we are moving up, huh Moose?" Moose just looked up at me with his tongue hanging out. 'Seems karma really does exist.' I chuckled to myself, dropping Moose off at my apartment before heading to the medical ward.
Stopping at the medical station located on base proved to be more of a hassle then helpful. It's not always easy coming up with some BS excuse so you aren't reported within the next hour for bruised and blood covered knuckles. And let me tell you, when you work in a job that men look down on woman then they take every chance they can to remind you of their opinions.
"Maybe you should take this as a sign. Obviously if you can't complete a simple obstacle course then this isn't the place for you, am I wrong Petty Officer?" Even with the chiding tone you could hear the sneer in the medics tone.
"Aw, thanks for caring Doc. but if that was the case then why am I out doing the dirty work and you are in here cleaning up our boo-boos?" My condescending tone came out before I could even think about it and I watched the medic's stance go frigid. That was my cue to leave and I didn't waste any time and taking it, tossing a sheepish glance over my shoulder, as I made my way towards me home and loyal friend.
His claws were desperately at the door when I went to unlock the door. Moose was yipping and whimpering like a pup, jumping up and down in excitement to see me and sniff my injured hand. “Platz!" I instructed sternly, yanking my fist up over my head to follow through with the command. As soon as both my actions were completed, Moose had planted his rump firmly on the ground and seized all forms of playfulness.
"Ja, good boy!" The praise was sincere as I dropped down onto my knees and gave him and good rubbing before letting him smell and lick my injured hand to his satisfaction. "See you big goof, all better. Now let’s go give you a bath." I'm starting to think I'm crazy when my only real companion is a MWD whom I tell everything too.
Blake had been harping on me a lot in the last few weeks. He would always start yelling at me on our missions, getting all antsy when I would throw Moose a ball on our way back from patrol and detection. He was currently ranting once more about how Moose was just a detection dog; not a companion and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at him. As I led Moose inside the Kennel compost he started whimpering and sniffing around, not wanting to go in his kennel when I instructed him too.
“Kevelin are you even listening to me?” Blake shouted and grabbed ahold of my upper arm as I finally managed to scoot Moose into his kennel. He yanked me back with great force and I went flying back against another kennel door, shaking my whole body in the process. “He is freaking dog, his job is to detect and protect, not cuddle up and play buddy with his handler.” Blake’s face was too close to mine and I started to struggle to push him away, my heart rate increasing at an alarming rate. I knew my expression had alarmed him because he let go and took a step back, regretting what he had done and remembering he had done this before a long while ago.
“Oh come on baby, what’s a little fling going to harm, I’m not technically with her.” Blake cooed, following behind me as I walked away from the bowling alley and him late at night. My attempts at ignoring him seem to only anger him more as he reached out and grabbed my arm. His strong grip halted me instantly and spun me around violently to press my back against the hard brick wall. “Now, now. Anna you know we can be friends again, you can be my little piece on the side.” Blake’s words stung and I started to cry. Out of instinct I pulled my hand back and slapped him, hard.
“Annabella, I am sorry.” Blake spoke softly. I didn’t even acknowledge as I pushed past him and towards the emergence exit down the hall. I was so compromised by emotion and confused that everything I did was muddled and rushed. Had I taken the time to calm down I could have noticed something wrong with the door and prevented the massive blast that came after from somewhere near the center of the building.
It all happened so fast, my brain scrambled to process the events unfolding before me. The metallic smell of blood drifted past my nostrils, flaring them. Blake lay about a hundred meters away encased by ruble and ashes. Smoke floated all around us as my eyes strained to focus past the burning sensation. The Adrenaline was pumping through me and I hardly took notice to any pain as I ran to my partner’s side. Blake’s blue, digital BDU bore tears and blood mixed with filth. A whine to my left caused me to jump slightly as I reached for Blake’s hand.
Moose whined once more and began to crawl toward me. I could see where his ear had been split somehow in the explosion, as well as patches of fur singed off. He laid his muzzle in my lap and licked at an injured part of my arm. Moose was the best K-9 at the academy and he was now the only hope of saving both Blake and I. I reached my free hand under his snout and looked him in the eyes.
“Go get help, Moose, now boy!” I pleaded with my eyes as a one last attempt to get my command across, dropping his snout and returning to look at the injured man that lay before me. Moose nudged me one last time before taking off. I looked back at Blake, my bottom lip quivering. He wasn’t going to make it and it was slowly dawning on me. The memories started to hit as I thought back onto all we had been through together. The first time I found out he was my partner, how his cocky attitude ended him a few broken noses. I remembered our time before the Navy, back when we seemed like the perfect couple, the ones destined to be high school sweethearts.
A groan brought me out of my trance as Blake gripped my hand back, struggling to breathe. I scrambled to try and push some ruble off of him, do anything I could to ease the pain and allow his next breath to come at ease compared to the last.
“Anna?” Blake’s voice was weak and broken. My eyes widened as I gently squeezed his hand back, at a loss for words. “Anastasia, oh little Anna…” He started mumbling incoherently for a moment, “Karma, you always mentioned karma when it all happened. It- I’m- you were right you know…” Again he struggled with his breath,” I’m sorry, little Anna, so, so sorry about it all. I changed, toyed, broke, and used you and I couldn’t even say it till now… you could have asked for a new partner, but you didn’t and I now know why… you wanted me to see and suffer like you did. I sat back and watched you excel while I dealt with all other consequences and now… now I see it, little Anna. I see it I swea…” Blake’s words slurred as his own blood started to gurgle in his mouth, trying to gasp for one last breath before stilling completely.
I chocked on my tears as I kept a firm grip on his hand, cold slowly seeping into the limb. I was frozen in place, shock having over taken my body, in the same position until Moose returned with help. Seven years I had awaited that apology, seven long years of suffering and being put down and I finally had my closure. It was a blur to me as more soldiers arrived, searching through the remaining debris of the buildings, wrapping me in a blanket and carrying me away from the destruction. Through my shell shocked moment I slipped away, my body now trying to cope and recover.
My eyes opened for what seemed like ages and quickly burned under the intensity of the bright light above. Movement to my right alerted me that someone was in the room with me and I slowly turned my head to face them. My muscled ached and my eyes still burned, forcing me to cover them with my hand and take slow movements. The man standing by the side of my bed looked at me with concern as he reached for a button on a wall behind me.
“Ms. Kevelin, please don’t move much, the doctor will be right in.” The man mumbled, tugging at a leash in his hand. Only then did I realize my old companion was in the room with me, causing a smile to grace my face as I reached my hand out.
“Moose.” My voice was hoarse and cracking. He didn’t need me to say more before he yanked away from the poor man who held his leash and come running to the side of the bed. He propped his front paws on the side and licked happily at me, allowing me to run my hand over his fur to survey him. His left hear was wrapped neatly in a bandage and stitches could occasionally be seen amongst the patches the where burned away. But all in all he seemed fine, if not newly energized and ready to get back to work.
“Ms. Kevelin, please stop exerting yourself anymore then you have.” A female’s voice drifted through the door. “Hello, I am Doctor Finn; you have been under my care for some time now. Do you have a headache or feel nauseous?” Doctor Finn asked, staring at me intently. I only shook my head ‘no’ before returning to petting Moose. She sighed at my lack of cooperation and moved onto the next set of questions. “Do you remember what happened before you blacked out?” She looked at me as I took a second to think back to what had fully happened to me.
Slowly memories started to come back. Training with Moose early in the morning, taking him inside for a bath and food. Blake angering me once again and I storming out the emergency exit. I took a deep breath before thinking harder. The explosion hit right as I opened the emergency exit and I had glanced around and found Blake. “He’s dead…” I whispered, tears starting to poor out of my eyes as it all came back to me, “He’s dead and it’s my fault is it not?” I choked out as I snapped my head to the man in the room, now recognizing him as a former Chief Master at Arms I had trained under at one point.
The man started to stutter out random words before Doctor Finn grabbed my attention.” Good, you don’t have a concussion, we will keep tabs on you for a few days and I will return in a little bit to administer some pain meds.” And with that she left, leaving me with the man and Moose.
“It wasn’t your fault. The bomb was planted and no one could have known where it was.” The Chief assured me, a sad look in his eyes. I looked away from him and took the chance to survey my own body, taking note of all the bandages with seeping blood and the lack of feeling in my left foot or appendage for that matter. I was too numb at that point to react or care, I simply patter the side of the bed and cuddle close to Moose once he was beside me.
“Once you are back to fair health you will be put through physical therapy and both Moose and you will be retired honorably with Purple Hearts.” The Chief spoke gravely, approaching the bed and patting my shoulder. “You served well Anna, I couldn’t have asked for a better pair to train.” He spoke one last time before setting two boxes at the foot of the bed and leaving the room. I Stayed silent and glanced at the boxes one time, catching the gleam of the gold heart before closing my eyes and relaxing with me one and only companion.

© 2014 savisnotsavvy

Author's Note

This was intended to be a full on story but was changed to a short story. I have plans to go back and create and finish a full story with a different ending.