Krystal’s Pov

“Don’t move away,” I whispered quickly putting my arms around her neck.

Hers had fallen away after she spoke.

“Was that ok?” she asked concerned.

“Shh, I just need a moment,” I said exhaling.

I couldn’t slow my breathing. I just couldn’t comprehend what just happened.

“I can hear your heart racing,” she told me.

“Of course you can.”

“What can I- “

“Tell me about this chain your wearing?” I asked touching the part that was sticking out from under her long sleeve shirt. 

“Krystal are you changing the subject?”

“If you could just indulge me on this, I would be so grateful.”

“As long as you are alright?”

“I will be,” I said as confidently as possible. 

“This is something that like to always wear,” she said pulling it out from underneath the shirt to let it be seen.

“These are dog tags,” I said moving to touch them.

“Yeah, just one of many pairs I have.”

“It says Alex Jones, date of birth 1952,” I said reading it.

“We should sit down if you want to hear this story,” she said leading me to the couch.

Once we were seated I waited for her to explain.

“They are my dog tags. From the Vietnam War. I’ve gone by many names over the years. War is a chaotic thing. It’s terrible, bloody, and there is so much death. But I have fought in many of them. For several reasons. It started out as way for me to not feel so guilty. I enlisted in the Chinese Army disguised as man only a year after I was turned. I was tired of hurting innocent people, and I thought that if I could at least fight for my country when I couldn’t get hurt, and I could feed on the enemy then I could justify that. If you don’t want me to go into details just tell me to stop,” she said.

“Say whatever you want. It’s up to you,” I encouraged.

“Well just being a soldier really helped me in the beginning. I hadn’t met any of my family yet. And didn’t really know that many other of my kind. The discipline, the purpose, and goals it gave me gave my existence meaning. And I never felt in danger because of persuasion, I could make them believe whatever I wanted. I could choose the night shifts, and cover myself with gloves, and hats when I had no other choice. It made me feel like I was a part of something, and that I could help save lives when possible.”

“That makes a lot of sense. It sounds really noble. But how did you end up in Vietnam?”

“I stayed with the Chinese army for as long I could before not aging would come into question. Then I traveled the world. Not really making a home anywhere.  And eventually I made my way back to China. I then enlisted again under a different name. And during the Korean War I decided that my political views aligned more with America’s. So I decided to move here, and Henry came with me.”

“Henry came with you?” I asked surprised.

“Yes I met him first. In the Chinese army. We became fast friends. Which wasn’t something that normally happened with me. But one day he got shot. We were ambushed, and he was shot in the chest. There was nothing that could be done. He would’ve died, and I was too selfish to let that happen,” she said voice heavy with emotion.

“So you saved him?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t say saved.”

“But that’s what you did. You gave him another chance.”

“I never wanted to choose this life for anyone else. It’s not something that someone else should deicide for a person. I just couldn’t lose the best friend I ever had,” she said sighing.

“I can’t imagine some of the things you’ve had to go through,” I said placing a hand on her knee.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into all this craziness,” she whispered putting her hand on top of mine. 

“Don’t you dare say that. Look at me,