The Soldier Next Door

I think that I have just fucking died.

I am staring at a man that has gone completely pale and has the fear of seven horrors in his eyes. Now, this is Ray Evans that we are talking about. This man does not scare easily, but something has just got him spooked.

He takes his trembling hand to my shoulder and speaks to me with an urgent voice, “Go get Ana out of that house.”

I look at him rather confused as he starts pushing me back into the direction of my car, “What the fuck is going on, Ray?”

“That fucking asshole…,” he stumbles as he tries to get each syllable of the name over his lips. “You cannot trust… Just get Ana out of that house.” He opens my car door and urges me on, “Just get the fuck out of here, get Ana. I will explain later.”

I do not even think another minute; within an inch of a second, my foot slams the pedal to the floor, and I am from zero to sixty out of that driveway towards my house again.

What the fuck is going on here?

Who does Ray not trust?

So as I am speeding back in the dark of the night with the rain that is still pounding down, Williams and Gibbs only but hold on as I drive like a mad man down the streets of Pendleton. The tires are screeching around each turn I take, coming near close to swerving off the road a few times.

The beat of my heart is drumming so loud that I can hardly concentrate. Through hazy eyes that have been drowning in fear-filled tears, I can barely focus my attention on where I am going. The only thing that matters now is that I get to Ana as fast as I can.

Once we are well on our way, much to the horror of Gibbs, I take my hand from the steering wheel to reach for my phone in my pocket. Nearly hitting a pavement, giving him one minor heart attack, I look down at the screen and flip for Ana’s number to start dialing it.

It rings.

And rings.

And fucking rings.

God knows why she has a phone; she never answers the thing.

So I pick up my speed and glide even faster down the road, catching each corner with a sliding ass to the left and then nearly spinning around to the right. My ass is coming near to crashing on one too many occasions. I am driving like a fucking lunatic, I am going to kill myself even before I get to Ana, but there is no time for slowing down.

I will die if something has to happen to Ana.

And Ana is the one I am trying to phone again, but ya, the woman is still not answering her phone. God, I hope she is sleeping…Fuck, what would…? Well, that is not a thought that I wish to think of.

Why the fuck is Ray so scared? This is not making any sense, and it is driving me goddamn mad.

For what seems that could have nearly been half a damn day, I finally pull into the driveway at our home. From where I am parked, well, it all looks…safe.

Let hope the fuck it is the same inside.

So as I step out of the car, I have this cold shiver that creeps up my spine. Now, I wish to say that it is because of the cold air and the rain that is beating down on my skin, but no, I have a feeling that something is wrong.

I pull my gun from where it is tucked in the back of my pants, and I hold the grip firm. Then I slowly start to make my way to the front door. As I creep around the corner up the pathway that goes to the front door, everything seems eerily quiet. But quiet it should be, well for everyone but Gibbs and Williams that is now splitting up and taking the side and the back. So as I slowly open the front door, I find the lounge empty. I scan the kitchen…then…

The fucking back door opens.

I nearly jump my ass off as I see Williams coming through the door.

“You idiot,” I snap at him. “You gave me a goddam fright.”

“Hey, who else were you expecting?”

I but wave him off as I make my way to Ana’s room. Without trying to make much of a noise, I slowly sneak my head around the corner. But my heart fucking stops…

Ana is not in bed.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Fuck! Williams! Gibbs!”

They both come speeding through the house with their guns drawn.

Williams is the first to reach me with a very confused look on his face, “Ethan, what is wrong?”

“Ana,” I point to our bedroom. “She is not here. Search this house! Search the ground!”

Williams rushes through the kitchen out the back door and starts searching the grounds at the back, the outhouse, and the garage. Gibbs is out the front door and searches the gardens and even outside in the street.

I spin on my heels and go to the room, which will be the nursery. I slowly push the door open with the barrel of my gun and step inside. I look from left to right…once…twice…it is clear.

The next room…scan in once…twice…it is clear.

Same with the next room.

The bathrooms are all empty, the lounge even emptier. There is not a fucking soul in this house.

Where is Ana?

Then I take my phone and take one rather deep breath, for god, I am going to need it. I am about to phone Ray to tell him that Ana is not here. I need to know what the fuck is going on here.

And he seems to be the one that knows.

So once Williams and Gibbs come inside shaking their heads, I know that I am about to put the final nail in my coffin.

So with what are very trembling fingers, I swipe up and find Ray’s number, it is almost immediately, and he answers.

“Ethan, please give me good news.”

I stutter as I am trying to find the right words to say to him, but before I can even try, I hear him scream in complete despair. Now let me tell you, I have never heard Ray in agony; I have heard in a fury, but not in this way. So I give him a few seconds to compose himself before I question him, “What is going on, Ray? Where is Ana?”

“That fucking asshole took her.” I hear him grunt and something goes crashing against a wall. Then when he speaks again, he is even angrier than before. “That fucking asshole took your wife.”

I nearly fall on my ass, “Whom are you talking about?”

“It is..,” I hear his voice growl as a name comes mumbling from his lips, but the static is so bad that I cannot hear a single word that he has just said. “He has taken her.”

“I know!” I rumble out in frustration. “I know that someone has taken Ana. What the fuck is going on here? I need to find my wife, and you are not making goddamn sense.”

He goes silent for a while, and I know that there is more to all of this than what he is not telling me.

So I wait for him patiently, “Ray! Ray!” But there is complete silence as the phone goes dead. In an instant, I flip to dial his number again…but the phone is off!

“The fucking phone is off!” I look in frustration at Gibbs, and with that, Williams drags me by the arm towards the car again.

“This time, I am driving. You are going to kill all of us tonight, and what good are we to Ana then.”

With that, we pile back into the car and head back to Ray. The man better start making sense and tell me who is behind this, for I am not slightly starting to lose my very limited patience.

So even faster than before, we make our way back, where we find a very troubled Ray standing with one broken phone in his hand. I only but shake my head at him, “Don’t you think that you were going to need that?”

“Don’t get your wise-ass with me now. Sit down so I can explain to you what is going on.” Then he pauses for a brief moment, “Ana will be fine; he is not after her; he wants you. The man has lost his fucking marbles.”

“Ray,” I raise my voice for him to focus on me. “What are you talking about?”

Well, do I wish that I just shut my mouth and not asked it in the first place? Hell, I would have sat perfectly with it if he told me that Ana had gone to a mall or have their hair done, even nails, but what he says next rips my chest open and slashes my heart into pieces.

It is as if the world just disappears around me completely and falls into shit. I fall down to my knees with my phone still clasped in my hand. Then, again, “Why?”