This is the final story i settled on, the wording is a little off in places but that's just because i didn't have my thesaurus with (!)
Deep behind the Afghan border, a group of soldiers were preparing for their daily patrol. They were part of what was known as Operation Shrew, and consisted of four close friends. A daily ritual that would occur every night before patrol consisted of all 4 men pledging that if something happened to them while on patrol, they would deliver a pre-written note (Carried on them at all times) directly to their wives or parents. They even went through the hassle of learning every word of each others note (or a basic idea) in case the note got destroyed. The previous patrols went without a hitch, a few stone throwers but nothing the group couldn't handle.
They set out on the patrol at exactly 21:00 hours with another car patrolling with them. They made sure that they were equipped and ready to handle any situation that arose. The patrol was lead by Sgt Dawson, who was the oldest of the group, his eyes hid a darkness behind them all the killing he had witnessed had had an effect which he's never truly recovered from. The pitch black roads only lit by the light from the Jeep made viability on a patrol awkward but they'd become adept at scouting this certain route, or so they thought.
The night seemed to pass quicker than usual, and nothing had happened that wasn't expected until the Jeep rode over a hidden IED and was shot into the air as the explosion from the bomb covered the road. The Jeep rolled in the air three times before landing on it's roof and completely dismantling the body. The following Jeep wasn't effected as it was far enough back to avoid the explosion, but they witnessed everything that happened.
Sgt Dawson was killed by the weight of the fall as the Jeep landed on it's roof, his neck was severely snapped and death was instantaneous. The 3 surviving soldiers awoke dazed and confused as to what just happened. All men shouting each others names to confirm that they were ok with no reply from Dawson. The following group rushed from the Jeep to help the soldiers but before they even got there the three men pulled themselves out of the wreckage and all three helped to pull Dawson's still corpse out.
The note, protruding from his top pocket was still intact and sticking to there vows they took the note and planned to deliver it when they were on leave. They all clambered onto the still intact 2nd Jeep and headed back to base.
A few days later the group were offered leave as the squadron knew about the pledge and it was still fresh on Mrs Dawson's mind. Although the guys lived miles away from each other they all traveled together towards Dawson's home, in loyalty to what they all promised each other every night before patrol.
They finally reached his home after what seemed an eternity. Delivering bad news is a good experience but the feeling of sorrow was growing the closer they got. They walked the steps to his door, each step feeling like they were walking on Death row. Three raps on the door were all it took for Mrs Dawson to answer. A dead look behind her eyes were all the soldiers needed to see before explaining who they were and why they were there.
I'll be honest, I'm not the best storyteller out there, and for some reason i tried to make this so stupid complicated by making it like a novel (not that i did it anywhere near well).
This was the final i story boarded on.
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