“Hallow the body as a temple to comeliness and sanctify the heart as a sacrifice to love; love recompenses the adorers.”
-Khalil Gibran
The doc ran his penlight over her eyes and clicked it off. He did another check on her breathing and pulse rate and seemed satisfied. Issuing a quick directive to the RN that was pushing another wounded grunt on a gurney, he looked up at Braun to gave his assessment.
“She’s definitely suffered some serious shock,” he said. “And I can’t rule out a concussion. But she’s off her feet as of now.”
Braun took a deep breath. That was the best news he’d heard all day. Even the knowledge that their air cover had taken to the skies again and somehow reclaimed it seemed like a distant second right now.
Looking down at her, he couldn’t help but feel somehow elated right now. She seemed so at peace, so calm and serene. Even her face looked like it carried the slightest hint of a smile. Though he imagined that was simply because her body was so utterly happy to be at rest finally.
He knew himself just how tempting it was, when the body was hurting so badly that it just wanted to lay down and drift off. And when it finally came, it felt like nothing else. Like the whole world was melting away and all the burdens were finally slipping.
“How soon before we can retriever her?” he asked, though in his mind, what he really asked was how soon before he could visit. There was much he wanted to say to her, to apologize for. He wanted to know why she had apologized to him. Whether it was because she blamed herself for what she thought was a case of friendly fire, or something else…
“A few days,” Andrews replied, putting his hand to Saunder’s forehead and checking her temperature yet again. “In cases like these, we prefer to keep them under observation and make sure no lasting damage has been done. But at the moment, I’d say she’s suffering no permanent damage and should be fine within seventy-two hours. So long as you understand she’ll need plenty of recovery time afterwards. No action and only limited duty.”
“Understood, doctor, and thank you,” he replied. Under the circumstances, it was an act of supreme charity that they were taking her in at all.
“Don’t thank me, just doing my job.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t tell you how pleased we are you’re still in operation. She would have died for sure if you weren’t here to take her.”
Andrews looked up suddenly, his face having lost all traces of courtesy and good manners. Dezba had warned him the attending physician might be a bit ornery, and he suspected he had just found the hot button. But perhaps that had something to do with Dezba, a former patient of his no less, blowing the front end off his hospital. And if what the Sergeant had told him was true, it was men acting on the Mage’s orders that had made the hospital a target in the first place.
But that was still a matter of speculation. Bottom line was, the doc wasn’t too happy to be offering help to the people whom he held responsible for the mess. Placing his hands on the gurney’s rail, he took a deep sigh.
“When exactly are you leaving, Lieutenant? And while we’re at it, will you be taking Sergeant Dezba with you?”
“Yes, doctor,” Braun replied curtly. “And we’ll be relieving you of the remains you graciously stored for us.”
“Oh good,” said Andrews, becoming slightly more animated, though not with good humor. “Then I guess that makes the day’s deeds all worthwhile.”
“Rest assured, doctor,” Braun added, hoping to salvage something of the situation, “once this situation is resolved, we will be deploying a team of army engineers to get this place fixed. That’s a guarantee.”
That didn’t help. If anything, it made things worse, as attested by the doc slamming his hands down on the metal bar. And yet, his voice seemed strangely even and tempered.
“Believe me, Lieutenant. I will be taking this matter up with the Major General. But it will be a cold day in hell before I let any of you anywhere near this hospital unless you’re half-dead or missing a limb!”
“Doc, I’m sorry. Me and my unit had nothing to do with – “
“With all due respect, Lieutenant, I’ve been hearing soldiers tell me that same thing all day. So if I you don’t mind, I think I’ll admit your friend with the other patients and get back to them.”
Braun lowered his head, nodded humbly. “Of course, doc. I’ll be sure to collect the Sergeant when she’s ready to go.”
“I’ll have her waiting at the door. Cuts down on having to let you guys in. We’re short an admittance room, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Braun coughed. Were the circumstances at all different, he might have found that funny. On some level, he still did, and had to stifle the urge to laugh.
Not funny, man! he told himself. You’d be a son of a bitch to chuckle now!
Lucky for him, he managed to keep his composure until he left the doc behind. He also managed to get a parting look at Saunders, still asleep on her gurney. He wished she were awake enough to see him before he left. Maybe then he could let her know how much it hurt to leave her in someone else’s care.
But that was for the best right now. Until they were finished with their operation and the matter of taking their town back, he needed to know she was safe and secure, in the care of someone qualified and trustworthy.
And right now, that wasn’t him…
He found Dezba waiting for him at the foot of the stair. The ground floor seemed to have suffered the most extensive damage, as far as the explosion reaching inward was concerned. Apparently, the detonators at the front end had gone off a little ahead of the others, forcing much of the blast inward. Luckily, the ground floor had been deserted as far as patients were concerned, and the blast had not penetrated into the refrigeration unit.
Which was good considering they still had a package to pick up in there.
“Did he happen to tell you who the men were that dropped this off?”
“No, sir,” replied Dezba, falling in beside him as they made their way to the reefer’s double doors. “Just said they were the Mage’s men, came direct from the base, put the package in there and then took off.”
“And Watkins, he showed up with the rest of those boys after that?”
“Yes, sir. Said their entire platoon was taken by surprise when the attack came. They tried to put a fight, but most of them bought it trying to hold the plaza overlooking the highway.”
Braun scoffed. “Yeah, a lot of that going around.”
Dezba nodded his agreement. “Anyway, they didn’t know what else to do, so they started bringing their casualties here.”
Braun sighed. Suddenly, he was a bit more appreciative of the stress Andrews had been under. So much confusion, so many people coming knocking and demanding help. And then, a mobile force of angry bastards looking to kick in the front door.
“And this CO… what was his name?”
“Mencken, sir.”
Braun searched his memory, hoping the name might turn up a hit from his days back east. Nothing came to mind right away. He would have to revisit that later.
“This Mencken, he didn’t give you any indication that they knew Mance’s remains was here?”
“No, sir,” Dezba said confidently. “He just seemed mighty sore about the men he lost and he was determined to make someone pay. As it turned out, that was us.”
“Well… good job holding the fort, Sergeant. The doc may not be saying so, but a lot of people here owe you their lives.”
“Thank you, sir. I think it’s fair to say we owe you ours.”
Braun shrugged. In the game of who saved who, there were no clear points being scored. All they could was be thankful they were all still alive and that there some people out there gunning for the other side.
“As you know,” he continued, “we still need to regroup with the rest of the Battalion. Colonel Haynes has got command right now and he’s preparing for a big push on Warlock.”
Dezba smiled slightly. “That’s good news, sir. Best I’ve heard all day.”
“Yeah, well, it gets worse. Chances are, the Mage isn’t shooting anymore. We might take the base only to find everyone inside dead. And our platoon is not even out of the fight yet. We’re down to two Victors and less than half the people we came in with. We’re going to need to cannibalize Watkin’s squad in with the rest of us, hold up and be prepared to defend this position until relief arrives. Understand?”
Dezba did indeed understand. He wasn’t just getting a rundown of the situation, he was being asked to get back in the fight. Months of being apart from his platoon had ended here today, but he still needed to give a formal answer as to whether or not he could discharge his duties as needed.
“Are you asking to take command of First Squad, sir?” Braun nodded. Dezba put out his hand. “Never left, sir. Just went on hiatus.”
Braun took his hand, grateful for the prompt, affirmative answer.
“Good,” he said, giving it a few shakes. “Now let’s get a look at Mance. This whole thing is because of him, might as well make sure he hasn’t gone anywhere.”
