My Sister Signed Papers Before I Was Dead

General Hail had been my sponsor on Redline from the start. He wasn’t warm. He wasn’t fatherly. He was the kind of man who read the footnotes. I trusted him more than people who hugged.

He came at 2100 hours in civilian clothes and stood at the foot of my bed.

“You look terrible,” he said.

I tried to smile. Half my face cooperated.

“Sir,” I whispered, continue reading …