"Have you ever wished that time would just stop, to go back to the beginning and protect the ones you loved?" the dark-skinned soldier asked from across from where she sat. Amirah sat hunched forward in her seat, waiting for the sickness of anxiety to retire.

"All the time, Domenic. I wish I could go back to the beginning and change everything. If it was only me that took his place. . . Everything would've been different," her breath shuttered as she looped her fingers together.

Every night, the terrors came back to haunt her. Her most vivid recollection of her nightmare proved; no matter how hard she tried, she could never change his fate. AJ was her friend, her comrade, and her brother.

"He sacrificed himself to save you, Amirah. He fought with honour and dignity, and for that, he's an honourable man. Without his sacrifice, hundreds would have died," his blue eyes stared into her glossy golden ones. 

"I should've never left him. If I would've-." Amirah's heart was in her throat, and her chest ached. The saliva in her throat bubbled and burned like acid. Her mental scars felt like wounds that would never heal, a profounding effect that would never leave her. She slowly turned her head and looked out the chopper window, hiding her torn expression. Her gaze caught the ocean below, how the sun sparkled above the water's surface.

Domenic studied her body language for a moment. Silently, she was torn. He knew just as well as the rest of the crew -- that this was a sensitive topic for her. Sometimes Amirah wouldn't eat or sleep; she wanted to feel the pain she deserved for letting AJ die. Although the pain she felt, she used it as an incentive to; never make the same mistake.

"Amirah," he stretched his arm forward and took ahold of her hand, "AJ may be gone from our sight but never from our hearts." His words hit her like a hand grenade. When her world went dark, it stayed in cloaking shadows.

Those words she needed to hear after a year of his death.

"Thank you, Domenic," Amirah replied with an objective tone and redrawn her hand back. She slammed the doors on the thoughts of her dead brother and looked forward to the future. It was a new day and a new battle. The front line called for Amirah for a tour of Afghanistan.

Amirah stood as a proud beacon of hope for her squad. She became a Lieutenant just after her brother's death and would continue to lead them. Although, she still couldn't understand why the Canadian army chose her to lead the Delta squad.

"We'll be landing in 5 minutes, Delta. Suit up and get ready for a rough landing," the pilot spoke from the earpiece Amirah; and her squad wore. She knew they were flying across the Arabian sea.

"Copy that, Delta out." Amirah released the pressure on her earpiece and withdrew her hand away from her ear. Her gaze flickered toward her squad. A blond woman continued to load her gun while a man to her right sheathed his blade into the side of his belt. Domenic pulled out a picture of his family and kissed the photograph of his wife and his; twin daughters before placing it back in his jacket pocket.

Just moments after.

An ear-splitting explosion crackled through the air and launched Amirah and her team forward against their seatbelts. Amirah's skull recoiled back and smashed against the chopper wall. Splintering pain shot through her head as her ears began to ring. While regaining consciousness, a loud constant alarm went off. Smoke choked her lungs while the chopper spun out of control. 

She peered through the smoke to find her team limp and unconscious. Domenic's head was slumped back while blood continued to drizzle from the side of his skull. Adrenalin rushed through Amirah's blood as panic continued to spread.

Another impact threw her body forward in her seat as a crackling sound was heard. Her gaze flickered to the window, watching the chopper sink. A flood of water surged through the cockpit and pooled at the bottom of her boots. Amirah squirmed to free herself from the seat belt. 

Her fingers clamped down on the silver latch of the seatbelt, trying to pull the latch free. If she had enough time, she could accomplish a living. After prying at the latch several times, Amirah noticed half of her body was submerged in water. The thought of dying wasn't horrible; after all, she would see her brother again. 

Amirah's fingers crept toward the handle of the blade that sat at her hip. She stretched her left arm out, grasped the belt and sawed with her right hand as quickly as; she could. Water crept up her neck and sat at the bottom of her jaw. This was her last chance to free herself. 

Amirah sucked in as much air as she could; before dunking her head into the darkness. When she opened her eyes, fear surged through her body; as she scrambled to free herself from the belt. Finally, the last few threads snapped, freeing her body; in the process. 

Amirah peered through the darkness, watching as the flashing red light was her only way of seeing. Adrenalin washed through her veins as she used all of her might to kick her limbs toward the door. By the time she grasped onto the door and attempted to haul it open, gravity was working against her. The chopper continued; to plunge deeper into the abyss below, pulling the door shut. 

Her chest leisurely tightened while the seed of terror planted its way into her gut. There has to be another way out.

Amirah's head rotated toward the cockpit. A sense of relief washed over her when she saw all three windows shattered, though it would be a tight squeeze. Without wasting any more time, she thrashed her legs towards the window. Her movements were slower than she imagined, quickly realizing the culprit was her vest. The heavy sixty-five-pound vest continued to weigh her down even more.

Quickly scrambling to unclip her vest, she squeezed the central part of the buckle and freed herself from the shackle that dragged her down. Amirah threw the vest off her as she felt her heart thrash against her rib cage. Her drumming beat echoed through her ears when she swam out the window.

A piercing pain tore into her leg as a piece of glass; ruptured through the side of her jumper. Her legs burned in pain as her stomach churned. The light above the surface swivelled side to side, leading her to salvation. With each continuous movement of thrashing half a circle above her body, her arms weighed down even more.

Amirah's lungs burned and felt starved of air. The more she exerted her limbs to break free of the water that binds her to her fate, the more she felt tired. Her vision shifted in and out of consciousness as she begged; herself to stay awake. 

The more she kicked her legs, the more the water felt thicker. Her mind screamed as her body started to shut down. Finally, the pressure of the water began to close around Amirah, crushing her body without making a sound.

She imagined the fresh air would soon fill her lungs with relief, but her lungs couldn't be tricked. Amirah lamented her entire life of easy yet, wasted breaths. The last thing that went through her mind was the grin of her brother, how he reached forward to grasp her hand into the afterlife.