The Last Nightmare - Flash Fiction

Sticky, hot morning air greeted her outside the makeshift boarding house. The city streets were deserted except for local men guarding whatever homes still stood, and soldiers taking their posts for the day.

One soldier nodded at her in reassuring recognition. Yet, waiting in the doorway for her ride, needles of fearful sweat prickled her forehead as the sound of her nightmare's gunshots echoed. Today could be the day. Every day we remain in Fallujah could be the day.

Melanie and some other American nurses were among the last volunteers remaining in Fallujah to help the Iraqi doctors. Bombs and fighting had destroyed many houses. Two hundred local families were living in a filthy tent city nearby. The medical personnel lived in scattered residences so terrorists couldn't track them.

Melanie checked her watch and glimpsed the new addition on her left hand...a tiny, sparkling ring. She gasped, realizing Ian had told her to pack it in the suitcase. She quickly tossed it into her utility vest's pocket.

She'd met Ian two years earlier in London while attending a volunteers' Middle East orientation. Her entourage was traveling to war-torn areas with other health workers, reporters and organizations to provide food, water and medical assistance. Ian represented the British Embassy. Last week, he'd arrived in Fallujah to convince her to leave. And last night, he proposed.

A car screeched over to the curb, interrupting Melanie's memories. The door swung open. Ian was sitting in the car with Dr. Ahmed, Melanie's assigned doctor.

"Get in fast, we must stop for more supplies before going out to the tents," the doctor commanded. His voice was stern.

"What's wrong, Dr. Ahmed? Ian, what are you doing here..." Melanie asked.

"I told you, I'm not leaving until you do, Mel..." Ian answered.

"I should not have let you stay," Ahmed interrupted. "It is too dangerous. There are more attacks brewing. I've heard many rumors."

The car jostled over rough roads to arrive at Ahmed's emergency medical supplies, hidden in a former tourist welcome center.

"How can I help?" Ian asked.

"Get some towels from that cabinet over there," Melanie instructed as Ahmed went to load some things in the car. Then they heard the dreaded loud popping sound outside.

"Get down!" Dr. Ahmed yelled, his hand on the door knob. Then he crumpled to the ground.

"Oh, my Lord, Abbi!" Melanie ran to the doctor, forgetting the formality of last names and using his nickname. His chest and neck gushed blood.

Ian rushed over to cradle the doctor's fallen body in his arms, the blood immediately soaking his shirt as Ahmed tried to move his lips.

"It's alright," Melanie whispered, but she saw that Ahmed's jugular was hit. There was already little hope. Detecting movement in the doorway, Melanie looked up. A man was pointing a rifle at them.

"There are two more in here!" He shouted to someone outside. Melanie heard Ahmed's gasp of death. She looked down at him and felt a surge of nauseating panic. She quietly prayed. This is the moment, God. This is the dream.If this is the way you want to take me, then I forgive this man. He can harm my body, but not my soul. I must tell Ian the dream. She moved toward Ian's ear, but he began speaking to the gunman.

"You don't want to do this," Ian said, still holding Ahmed's body. "You've killed this man, this doctor who was one of your own countrymen."

"Ha! He was a Western sympathizer. What do you British and Americans call them - the 'good ones'? He means nothing to me. None of these people are willing to stand up for jihad."

The angry man spit toward Ahmed's body and waved the rifle around. "And you foreigners won't go home. Now I will send you home in a bag. The pretty one first." He swung toward Melanie.

"NO!" Ian shouted, lunging for the man but hindered by Ahmed's weight across his legs. Melanie plummeted backward from a jolt. Oh - something just stung me. Why am I falling?

There wasn't much pain. As Melanie lay looking upward, she felt at peace. She heard another thump and turned her head toward it. Ian was lying down next to her. Their eyes met. He struggled to speak. As something warm flowed from her mouth, she heard a tiny metal sound rolling on the floor. A little sparkling thing landed between them. The ring.

She heard one last thing before her eyes closed.
"I love you, Mel."