Blood Lily Company - Afghanistan, year 1

LXVIII

The consequences of this night attack were felt for a long time.

We had nine wounded and Rafa. All of the patrols that were there the night of the attack had two to four men down with injuries. The only one that was spared was that of Curly, out on patrol with the truck.

Despite the wind, the smell of the pyre lingered on the promontory for two more days. It was tough. We took shovels to throw the ashes down the cliff, but what can I say...

The rock that was under the pyre had taken on a dark, almost black color under the soot, and some pebbles had shattered in the heat. It would take several days of rain to erase this trace. Of course, we took dirt, dust, gravel elsewhere to cover the stain, but the wind didn't give a damn about our efforts and blew it away... The dogs always avoided this place.

During the ten days that were necessary to recover from this attack, the patrols were very limited: only by motorbike or in the Land Rover, and always very short.

We said goodbye to our dead and the helicopter took them to their final destination. We ate and drank in their memory. There were a few hangovers among those on their patrol. Gilles Saint-Hélier and Luis Gonzales. I felt a little guilty for not knowing them better. But I must say that before the Icelanders arrived, we inhabited the same building without really knowing each other. We're more like a big family now.

Lin had Fatso place an order for more sophisticated communications equipment, and more modern helmets, which included some electronics.

We moved the tent pegs down the cliff, a meter or two from the edge. We ordered more, which we put right on the edge of the cliff, and closer to each other.

Lin announced to the whole Company that one of the attackers, the survivor – Rafa, therefore –, would now be a comrade. There was a moment of total amazement, manifested by a singular absence of noise. Then an explosion. What was surprising was that the Icelanders were standing in front of the others, lined up exactly as they had been the day they took over the Company. So far, nothing really surprising, the two brothers always support Lin in front of us. What was surprising was that the Company's NCOs, and Fatso, were standing to the side, away from the troops. Well, I have to say that Lin had already told us that piece of news, so we weren't too surprised and had time to get used to the idea.

I was proud of Tito that day, he didn't say anything. The others complained, but, strangely, none of the injured. The Icelanders glanced over the troop, I saw a white eyebrow rise, then a thunderous "Attention" from Kris sounded and reflexively even we straightened up.

Lin brought out the mutt's example, and the troop calmed down. The most vocal had been Bic. I touched Shorn on the shoulder, and nodded my head towards his man. He sighed and nodded his curly head. He was going to watch him even more.

Every day, Erk used his Healing Gift on the wounded, including Rafa, who was in sick bay after Lin's announcement. He rationed himself a little better, no longer needing to save lives but continued to sleep between meals. He spent his nights in his big bed, but fell asleep just about anywhere during the day. Often at lunch or dinner, at the end of meals, sitting on the bench, leaning against his brother. Kris put an arm around his waist and continued his conversation, as if nothing was happening.

Cassandra kept the giant company sometimes, especially in the afternoon. As the weather was nice and warm, we had put a mattress for him near the vegetable garden, with a canvas to protect him from the sun. He had gotten into the habit of always carrying a bottle full of what he called the vile concoction with him.

Our slightly injured, Bloody Mary, Clem, Quenotte and Jo, under the supervision of Tam, the teenage nurse apprentice, had to do exercises to regain some muscle tone. Then Kris took them to the shooting range, to get them back to normal.