Confused Warrior (Fiction)
He climbed the next sand dune in the hopes of spotting something green not too far away. His longing for water and human connection was blasting through his chest and begging for relief from his hyper active frontal lobe. The delirium was unbearable but he knew he had to hang in. It was his second day of being totally exposed to the sun. A couple more days and the nightmare would end his life. A thought his elite mental training would immediately pick up and block out from his mind.
One step at the time. One string of thoughts and one more push to get his system moving forward.
His comrades always looked up to Shawn. He was the best close combat fighter in his platoon. His vast experience, knowledge and intuition were valued by superiors. This is one of the main reasons he got picked for the job in the desert.
Mental toughness, the right skillset coupled with a level of awareness that surpasses normal human consciousness are must-haves for the lucky ones who are being deployed to execute tasks in this unforgivable environment. Only a handful of elite soldiers are entrusted with these types of complex and highly-sophisticated missions. Shawn was carefully chosen by the agency.
What happened after successfully accomplishing the mission was something Shawn has never envisioned. His teammates hijacked an enemy chopper and left him behind to enjoy the quietness of the desert. Initially he thought his mates were playing a bad joke on him. Pretty soon he realized he was served a lesson for life. A harsh awakening meant to pull all the determination and perseverance out of him.
Shawn had a couple of near-death experiences previously but the agony he was going through in this death valley of sand was his ultimate battle for life. The Navy helped him transform into a strong warrior with a mind of steal.
Kneeing down and grasping for air he knew he had to transcend his current state of confusion. Seeing native dancers approach him with fresh water and a basket full of tasty dates made the situation worse. These hallucinations robbed him of additional energy which he desperately needed to lift his mental fog.
Shawn was a foster child. He lost both his parents and sister in a car accident. When he was 15 years old his adoptive family sent Shawn to a nearby monastery to help out his foster father with a plumbing job. Fascinated by the modern-looking and quite tech-savvy monks, Shawn befriended a few of them and started hanging out more often at this attractive place surrounded by beautiful nature.
Being exposed to the teachings of the monks from a young age, he formed a different way of thinking which set him apart from his fellow warriors at the Navy. Than he remembered the wise words a master once shared with him:
“In life you get to choose whether you juggle with distractions or become a master of actively looking for void. The path of an enlightened warrior must be walked, and only you can do it.”
A mild wind started blowing sand into Shawn’s face. A small scorpion tried to escape between the intruders feet but it turned out he was too slow. The quick protein-rich meal fueled Shawn’s mind with the required energy to come up with a genius plan. He used the claws of the scorpion to connect the broken wires of his old radio transmitter and send out a help message.
Life is confusing. Daring to lift the veil rewards the brave with sparks of ingenuity.
💎💎💎 Krisz Rokk 💎💎💎
Creative art by Daniela S.
Originally published on the Hive blockchain at @KriszRokk.
