John put his hands in his pockets as he crossed the dark, quiet street. The breeze that blew through his hair and whipped his face was refreshing as he thought about the revolution. John was an army veteran that suffered from PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
John couldn't stop thinking about his army tours and the horrors he had seen there. John had been an idealistic young man who wanted to get out and explore the world. So, he had joined the army, only to come out a changed man.
John couldn't sleep. He was hit with flashbacks: the river of blood soaking the battlefield, the blown-up bits of his friends, the dreaded gunfire, and the grief after. John heard a sound in the quiet night and pulled out his gun, hands shaking.
His psychiatrist told him he shouldn't carry a weapon on him all the time, but he couldn't help it. When he was in Afghanistan, he had had to be vigilant all the time: head on a swivel and ears perked. He couldn't shake that habit, even in this protected, safe city.
He put his gun away, but suddenly the cement beneath his feet turned to dirt and gravel, and the quiet night was full of sounds.
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Afghanistan, 1 year earlier
John yelled into his radio from his temporary operating base. "Where is group Alpha Charlie?"
His friend, Corporal White responded, "I don't see them, sir. They're probably held up. They'll come through for us. Corporal Hobson will make sure of it."