Blood Lily Company - Afghanistan, year 1

LIX

It was a kiss from Lin that woke me up. That was very nice. It was relatively early, like 8am rather than our usual 6am, but I felt rested.

After a welcome shower, I decided breakfast was in order and I went to the mess hall, followed by Yaka who left me at the door, knowing full well the mess hall is forbidden to them, except in winter.

Our whole patrol was there except Erk. I remembered he was a heavy sleeper, so I wasn't expecting him for quite a while.

After another long moment, though, not seeing him coming, I started to worry a bit.
- Kris, where's your brother?
- In his bed, on his stomach.

The tone was dry, almost cold, as if...
- What's wrong with him? Is he wounded? Did the bullet really hit him, yesterday?

Kris breathed a big annoyed sigh and glared at me. I started to feel embarrassed and then, well, fuck it all, I wasn't gonna let a kid ten years younger than me step on my toes, be he my senior officer.
- Oh, sorry, I said sourly, sorry for worrying about his health! We'll wait until he's dying to ask, next time!

Kris stared at me then let out a big discouraged sigh.
- Sorry, Archer. But that idiot hid his injury from me last night. And he must have been hurting a lot while undressing, but he didn't say anything, that hálfviti, and this morning it was, inevitably, hot, swollen, sore... Well, all the symptoms of infection.
- Wait, did you say "on his stomach"? He took a bullet in the ass?

I was wide-eyed with surprise. Dinner plate size wide-eyed. It was both funny and not. Tito, seated next to me, started.
- Not really, the bullet just grazed his buttocks, tearing off some skin, but he fell in the dust, then on the mattress, then he didn't think of taking a shower last night...
- Well, we were all quite exhausted...
- And he's the one who put you to bed, after Tito and just before me. Tito and you didn't bat an eyelid, but it woke me up. Alas not enough to notice the blood on his pants. I swear, he tires me out, forgetting to take care of himself...
- Maybe he was too tired, too?
- In the Legion, they taught us to never go to bed with an injury, however small, without having it at least disinfected and/or washed. And this, regardless of our tiredness. And there, this...

And Kris stopped because he probably couldn't think of a word to qualify his brother's behavior.
- Okay, I said. What did you decide?
- Beg pardon?
- Well, given that you make all the decisions about his health, or quite, what have you decided?

He was so surprised, Kris. He was blinking, like an owl caught in broad daylight. Tito was the one to talk.
- Did Doc saw him? Or Cook?
- Uh...
- Come on, Kris, you can't leave him like this! I'll go get Cook.

Tito was really pissed and as he left he gave Kris a look that was half anger and half disappointment and, for me who was in the confidence, very intimate and Kris blushed. I was a little disgusted by Kris's attitude, too, and almost followed Tito until I realized Kris maybe needed to be listened to or yelled at.
- Kris, there's something else, right?

He didn't move but his gaze flickered around, being very careful not to look at me. The others understood and left. Maybe I'll tell that tale one day. Or not. It would all depend on what our Lieutenant told me, that Lieutenant who looked like he was starting to lose it.

I took advantage of the move to sit next to him.
- Are you going to write this down, Archer?
- Chances are I will.

He seemed to think it over for a while.
- It's bloody silly, because it's just a scratch. But it's so much him... Yesterday evening, this night, I was so tired he didn't want to disturb me by asking me to help, either to disinfect the scratch or, after a shower, to check it was clean. He confessed this morning.