Rookie Hero
By Austin H.
I was only two when it happened, but I remember it too well. My dad was retired from the air force and we lived just outside an air force base, my mom had died giving birth to me and so it was only me and him. He had gone to a meeting inside the base when it happened. It was pitch black when the explosion lit up the night. At the time I did not know what to make of it but that image still haunts me today. That explosion took my family away unfairly and I want them back. I am Rolan lee, sixteen years old and I am already enlisted in the air force at a base in the rocky mountains.
It was a rainy afternoon and the general was yelling at us as usual. I was cold to the bone but I was still excited. It was finally the day that we could fly out of the braces airspace and fly on an actual mission, I was so excited. I had been assigned a co-pilot and we had been charged with escorting cargo planes to an airbase in the north part of Texas. We had a squad leader who was a veteran pilot but the rest of us were still technically cadets and were going to be judged on how well we flew.
Attack! I heard the noise and had time to warn the others just before the first plane was hit and it spiraled out of the sky. We had to split up to fight the enemy and let the cargo planes get to the Texas base. Gunfire was everywhere and explosions lit up the sky.
The battle had ended in bloodshed, we had not been expecting an attack and had not been ready, we had only five fighters and three cargo plains, the enemy had attacked from behind and we had to take evasive maneuvers to protect the cargo plains. In the end, my fellow pilot had to crash his plane into the last enemy fighter.
We had been flying for hours and we finally made it to the Texas base to meet the general to deliver the supplies. The general was nice and let us rest at the base before we met with him. After we had rested we were shown to the general’s office to meet him. When we got there, he greeted us and told us that we had done an excellent job and that, if we wanted, we could stay in Texas and work at the base here. My copilot chose to stay, but I said,
“I would be honored to stay and work here, but I can’t, I need to keep moving, because if I stay in one spot, the grief will drag me down. I need more time to think about my life, and where it leads.”
He understood, and that we would be awarded medals of honor, for our bravery in battle.
Our short story contest is over for November, but you can check out all the November submissions on our blog!