[forsaken] A story that wanted out
Just put here for reference. We'll see if she goes anywhere.
“Here are your papers, Corporal.”
He salutes, and dismisses her. She moves to the door slowly, her arm still in the sling, fairly used to the pain, and goes back to her barracks to collect her duffel. Whilst there, some of the crew gather.
“Hey Jaz.”
“Hi guys.”
“Where you going to go?”
“Sending me home. Whatever that means. Its not like there’s anything there any more.”
“You’ll be back. You’ve still got your arm.”
She snickers. “Yeah. That’s a start.”
They carry her duffel to the waiting jeep, and each hug her, and then her CO salutes. She returns it, and gets in the car and drives away, leaving the continent she’s largely called home for the last decade.
By the time she steps off the plane into Sydney, 2 weeks later, after two flights, a debriefing, and her discharge papers signed, she is exhausted. Not really caring, she finds a hotel near the airport, checks in, and falls into bed to sleep for 15 hours. When she wakes, it is long enough to bath, take some painkillers, and order room service. She eats well, and crawls back into bed.
As she recuperates, she watches the news, and sees the report on Bondi’s accident on New Years Eve. She frowns and remembers…
The first time she’d seen the dog on the hill, was when she learned to swim. She’d got caught in a rip that was pulling her under, and she struggled against it, and the dog saw and dashed into the water, and dragged her out, dropping her back at her mother’s feet with a growl.
Jaz came back to herself with a start. Her face was tight as she poured a drink, and sat nursing it. She’d have to go outside eventually, see what happened in the neighbourhood she grew up in.
It had been 20 years.
She recalled the day the boys from school had surrounded her and thrown things at her, and hit her and kicked her. She fought back, angrily, viciously, and then the man had walked up, waded into the fight, and pulled them apart like they were no weight at all. She was streaming blood from her nose, and had a black eye, but the boy had lost teeth and had scratches all over him. He sent the boys home, and they went, tails between their legs. Then he dragged her back to her mother’s, walked in and said “I’m going to have to watch her Dawn. I want to know her.”
And that was how she found out that the strange man named Damien was her dad. She was eleven.
As she sat in the chair, going through her exercises, she thought about the rest of that day - her mother mopping the blood nose up, and putting a bag of ice to her eye. Damien had stayed, watching her, as her mother scolded and told her off for fighting and acting like a boy, when she’d better get used to being a girl. She’d listened to the familiar mantra, covertly watching him.
“But mum….. they bully the girls and try and touch them and do things the girls don’t like..”
After a shower, she gets into some clean clothes, and leaves the hotel. She hops on the bus, and catches it into Bondi. Her eyes go wide as she sees how much it has changed, and she walks down towards the beach, avoiding streets that old haunts were on, and looks around, watching for any attention. She stops when she gets to the beach, staring out at the water. Fear was in the air, and a lot of life guards, and still emergency services people. Discussion about the drownings, the bodies recovered from the water, and Jaz frowns before hailing a cab and getting out of there.
“Here are your papers, Corporal.”
He salutes, and dismisses her. She moves to the door slowly, her arm still in the sling, fairly used to the pain, and goes back to her barracks to collect her duffel. Whilst there, some of the crew gather.
“Hey Jaz.”
“Hi guys.”
“Where you going to go?”
“Sending me home. Whatever that means. Its not like there’s anything there any more.”
“You’ll be back. You’ve still got your arm.”
She snickers. “Yeah. That’s a start.”
They carry her duffel to the waiting jeep, and each hug her, and then her CO salutes. She returns it, and gets in the car and drives away, leaving the continent she’s largely called home for the last decade.
By the time she steps off the plane into Sydney, 2 weeks later, after two flights, a debriefing, and her discharge papers signed, she is exhausted. Not really caring, she finds a hotel near the airport, checks in, and falls into bed to sleep for 15 hours. When she wakes, it is long enough to bath, take some painkillers, and order room service. She eats well, and crawls back into bed.
As she recuperates, she watches the news, and sees the report on Bondi’s accident on New Years Eve. She frowns and remembers…
The first time she’d seen the dog on the hill, was when she learned to swim. She’d got caught in a rip that was pulling her under, and she struggled against it, and the dog saw and dashed into the water, and dragged her out, dropping her back at her mother’s feet with a growl.
Jaz came back to herself with a start. Her face was tight as she poured a drink, and sat nursing it. She’d have to go outside eventually, see what happened in the neighbourhood she grew up in.
It had been 20 years.
She recalled the day the boys from school had surrounded her and thrown things at her, and hit her and kicked her. She fought back, angrily, viciously, and then the man had walked up, waded into the fight, and pulled them apart like they were no weight at all. She was streaming blood from her nose, and had a black eye, but the boy had lost teeth and had scratches all over him. He sent the boys home, and they went, tails between their legs. Then he dragged her back to her mother’s, walked in and said “I’m going to have to watch her Dawn. I want to know her.”
And that was how she found out that the strange man named Damien was her dad. She was eleven.
As she sat in the chair, going through her exercises, she thought about the rest of that day - her mother mopping the blood nose up, and putting a bag of ice to her eye. Damien had stayed, watching her, as her mother scolded and told her off for fighting and acting like a boy, when she’d better get used to being a girl. She’d listened to the familiar mantra, covertly watching him.
“But mum….. they bully the girls and try and touch them and do things the girls don’t like..”
After a shower, she gets into some clean clothes, and leaves the hotel. She hops on the bus, and catches it into Bondi. Her eyes go wide as she sees how much it has changed, and she walks down towards the beach, avoiding streets that old haunts were on, and looks around, watching for any attention. She stops when she gets to the beach, staring out at the water. Fear was in the air, and a lot of life guards, and still emergency services people. Discussion about the drownings, the bodies recovered from the water, and Jaz frowns before hailing a cab and getting out of there.