The Curse Of The Desert

The boiling hot sun was penetrating. Not a drop of water in sight. How long can people survive out here? Dinner wasn’t catered to you. People have to hunt for food. 

Animals were getting away from me left and right. I would lay on my stomach night after night and listen to the thunder in my rumbling stomach. My army buddies would be so nervous about me. 

We were practising pair shooting when a strong wind blew me off in the middle of nowhere. This was my third night as a Lone Ranger. Bugs were everywhere and my gear was back at headquarters. Nothing worse than wearing the same clothes for days and I didn’t have any deodorant. 

The parachute was neglected on the rock that I used for a bed and behind the rock was a hole which was a bathroom. I couldn’t get any privacy — not that I needed it in the desert. The birds were the company. 

Someone had to notice that I was missing. People didn’t just walk away like that. I wondered what my platoon was doing now. 

Back at the base, the commander was taking roll call. Everyone had a number that was assigned to them. My number was 225. When the commander said your number you had to raise your hand close to your eyebrow. The commander repeated my name before my bunkmate Steven noticed that I was missing.

 He ran over to the side of the gym and hit the emergency button for distress drills. Bright red lights flashed on the floor and on the ceiling. Ear-piercing shrieks hurt. “What in the world! Everyone knows that button is for emergency use only.” 

The commander did another headcount. Immediately he was ordering his soldiers into action mode. He grabbed his hat off its peg. All the soldiers laced up their boots and jumped into jeeps and helicopters. 

They had compasses to guide them through unfamiliar terrain but they were still in an area that they didn’t recognize. The best searching was done in the daylight hours. They would have to use the flashers on the helicopter to see what was coming into view but sadly they saw the shadows of animals in their path. All they could do was hope. 

I woke up to see a lizard — or was it a scorpion? I didn’t know. My beard was unkempt and I looked like a caveman. A warthog was sniffing at my nose. It reminded me of Pumba in The Lion King. One thing I hadn’t seen yet was a cheetah. I saw lots of jack rabbits.

 There were a lot of poisonous things in the desert. I was lucky to be alive. I was like a fish out of water. My breath felt shallow and labored. I couldn’t last much longer. Food was scarce. My heart was beating as fast as a race car. Vultures were feasting on other animal remains. 

The next night was cooler than usual. The stars glittered in the sky. I didn’t believe in God. But I was going to have to make it through the night. I wondered why God lets bad things happen to good people. 

The next day I decided to make a walking stick and then I made a flag out of a sock. There was nobody but the animals. I thought the flag would help people see me. I grew bored by the end of the day. Perspiration dripped on my face. I kneeled down on the sand. Most people would cuss in this situation. I wasn’t going to do that. I was like Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway.

I needed a beacon of hope right about now. The sky was a combination of reds, pinks and orange. I had cuts and bruises from my survival instincts. A warm breeze made its way through the sky. 

I thought I was dreaming as I thought I saw a helicopter overhead in the distance. I rubbed my tired eyes and realized that the helicopter was looking for someone. I began waving frantically to get the attention of whoever was in the helicopter. I looked like an ant to the people in the helicopter. 

All the men had to wear headphones to block the background noise from the helicopter. Steven was the only one looking for me. The others were just obeying orders. In the military, you learn that you have to watch your back and your brothers’ too. Steven thought that his eyes were deceiving him. But he would know his best friend if he saw him. He turned to the commander and told him to drop anchor. 

“Who’s running this operation, you or me?” said the commander. Turning to the rest of his crew, he commanded the crew to deploy the ladder. Steven opened the door to the helicopter and extended his hand to me. It felt so good to know that a friend had my back. I collapsed on the floor from heat exhaustion. 

When we arrived back at the base I was immediately taken to the hospital to get checked out. I needed to relax after being out in the desert. Steven was so inspired by the way that I ascended the staircase to receive his Purple Heart. I had never been honoured for something like this before in my lifetime. I had prepared a speech. I said that this was for my brothers who were my motivation to keep going. I would tell this story to my grandkids someday.

The end!