Asher: A Second Chance Novel by Kylie Walker

had no idea he would kill your brother, my only son! ”
    Asher was looking at the two women, feeling like he was in a state of shock. Mia’s eyes were accusing and her mothers were full of venom. Meanwhile, his own mother lay dead four feet away. This was fucking surreal.
    “Mrs. Halloway. I’m so sorry about Travis.”
    She gritted her teeth and reached out like she was going to slap him. Mia put her hand on her mother’s arm and stopped her. “I hate you. You should have died and not my son!” she spat out. Asher looked at Mia again and wondered if she felt the same. He looked over towards his mother’s grave again, this time locking eyes with his father. He had never been in a place before where so many people despised him.
    “I’m sorry,” he said as he began to backed away. He walked as quickly as he could across the grass of the cemetery. He could hear Mia and his father yelling his name. There was nothing more they could say to him that he wasn’t saying to himself. He had single-handedly destroyed two families in the space of one night. Asher had to get out of there and go where he wasn’t able to hurt anyone he loved ever again.

ELEVEN
Seventeen years later
     
     
    Mortar fire was so common that Asher and his teammates hardly even noticed it anymore but that morning it was different. They were the last ones left in Helmand Providence, Afghanistan. The marines had just pulled out and Special Ops was scheduled to pull out the following day. The war was over or so they said. The insurgents hadn’t let up on their mortar fire but it was so non-lethal that sometimes it was even laughable. That morning Asher woke to the sound of it hitting close to the barracks. His feet were on the floor and he was jamming on his boots next to his buddy Two-Finger Freddie who slept on the bottom bunk. They were both wide awake and ready to move in seconds.
    “What the fuck?” Freddie asked him, like maybe he had thrown the mortar.
    “Fuck if I know,” was Asher’s standard reply to most of Freddie’s questions.
    They were pulling their gun straps across their shoulders as the second round hit. That one was close…too damn close, and even more unusual was that normally, the insurgents were one-hit wonders. The third followed it almost immediately and shook the barracks like a massive quake.
    “Fuck!” Freddie hollered out again before Asher heard the sounds of gunshots outside. They headed for the door but before they made it there was an actual explosion. The lights went out as they were both propelled backwards and smoke instantly filled the room. Asher landed on his back but immediately rolled onto his stomach. It was the position they were trained to take. Legs crossed and hands over your ears to save what hearing you could. The barracks were filled with the sounds of coughing and hacking. He couldn’t see anything through the fog or smoke that filled the room. He made a near fatal mistake by holding his head up and sucking in a deep breath. Whatever was in the air set his lungs on fire. His eyes were burning and watering so badly that he could barely keep them open. It was a fucking chemical bomb!
    Over the sounds of coughing he yelled out to his men, “Everyone okay?”
    He tried to listen for the sounds of his team. There were only eight of them. He heard Piper and Pierce yell out in the affirmative, followed by a wheeze and a hack. A few seconds later came Hancock, James and Sulley. Then there was silence. “Mack! Freddie!” the coughing continued and as his heart raced into a panic he tried talking himself down. They just can’t talk, they’re coughing. Louder this time with his lungs searing in his chest, he yelled, “Freddie! Mack! Damn it answer. Are you okay?”
    A few feet from him he heard a gurgle. As he was dropping to his knees he heard Freddie call out behind him, “I’m okay, Staff Sergeant.”
    “Mack?” Asher could barely make out his silhouette. He used his hands to feel along his