A Girl Out of Place

Chapter 6: Under Heavy Guard

We saved them. My heart knew that nothing good would happen to them being in enemy hands after I did, but I couldn't let them die. Not when I knew I could bring them back from the brink of death. So together we worked.

Knowing his pride I volunteered to take the young private. His injuries were more severe but his lower rank would put him on as a lower priority to the Chief Surgeon.

It worked, the haughty doctor practically worked in silence the entire time, other than his incessant scolding of the North Korean nurse that had been issued to assist him. He was not impressed with the language barrier but even more disappointed in her caliber as a nurse.

There was no pleasing the man.

The young woman ordered to assist me did her best, but only succeeded when I was able to point to the instrument I required. It was a long tedious process but we succeeded. They wheeled the two soldiers out so quickly afterward that I feared they wouldn't get the post operation assistance they needed to maintain the success of the surgery.

However to the North Korean Leader, who Ryn translated to be Captain Kim-Young, decided we passed this trial run. He instantly rolled in two more patients, both in North Korean uniform. Dr. Captain Tarin got another bloody lip as a reminder he was there to work on whomever they placed in front of him. Twelve hours later, we were allowed to leave the operating space.

Blessed be, the food was edible. I guessed they really did need us because even though it wasn't good food, it was better then what the rest of their troops were allowed to eat.

I ate it without any other thought. Exhaustion can have that effect. Ethics or self awareness goes out the window until your blood sugar level has returned to normal parameters.

With a full stomach I ran my hands through my sweaty matted hair. The grease was bad enough it chunked beneath my nails. Disgusted by my lack of hygiene I followed the guard assigned to me. He lead me from the mess tent down the debris ridden path toward what I assumed would be a place to rest. The Evening sun reflected off of pieces of metal and glass hindering my vision. I stumbled to a stop waiting for my vision to clear.

When it did I saw Ryn sitting upright against the distant stonewall of the ruined building. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be sleeping. Her hands and neck still bound with barbed rope, accents of her own red blood across the metal as well as her skin.

With pleading in my posture and expression, I looked to my guard. I motioned to the young girl, hoping he would understand. The short soldier glared at me, then at her. With his gun always at the ready he pointed it at her.

"No. No." I lifted my hands to show submission. "I just want to check on her." I spoke. I pointed to my neck and then her. He angrily shouted in Korean and with the butt of his gun he pushed me away from her. "I don't want to free her. I just want to see if she's okay." He angrily pushed again "Alright! Stop! I'm going."

Hours more of surgery with no clock, I could only assume it was twelve more hours. The sun had risen and set through the holes in the roof. As I left the operating area, I glanced to the spot where Ryn had been sitting. She was gone. A lump formed in my stomach.

That lump didn't dissolve, not even after a few hours of sleep. The instant I realized I was granted the gift of a cot it didn't matter the condition it was in. My back touched its surface I was granted a dreamless sleep. Perhaps, a brief wondering of Henry crossed my mind.

What happened to him? Was he alive? But like I said, Brief.

Morning came and my guard shouted me awake. My feet jolted upward with the same force as my head. The two could have met in mid air, had I been that flexible. The tent spun around me so quickly my hands flew to either side of my face, believing if I pressed on both sides the world would return to normal.

It didn't.

With time and a glass of water, I was soon able to walk without appearing heavily inebriated. Halfway to the ruins of the operating room Captain Tarin appeared at my side. His grumbling tone failing to form coherent words, but I understood his morning greeting had been as unpleasant as my own.

The O.R. came into view but our path was blocked by three Chinese jeeps and one large dark green truck with a canvas cover over the bed. It had clearly been stolen from our American troops. The vehicle appeared to be in wonderful working order. Alarm started deep in my chest and pumped through my veins as quickly as the adrenaline could take the realization.

They were moving us. Deeper into enemy territory which also meant farther away from allied troops. My feet stopped moving. I didn't tell them to. They did it on their own. My guard pushed me with the butt of his gun and I stumbled forward, but still failed to walk.

"What are you doing?" Dr. Tarin chastised.

"They're taking us."

"Of course they are, what did you think would happen after all this?" He snapped. I didn't know what to say. I didn't actually believe we'd stay in one spot but it also didn't occur to me we'd be alive long enough to be transported elsewhere. "Wherever they're taking us, has to be better than here." He added.

Another push from my guard and my feet steadily shuffled across the red soil until finally I was climbing into the bed of the truck. My progress was slow until I spotted her. In the front corner, still bound, Ryn's head rested in the side of the truck. Her eyes closed and awkwardly slumped over.

"Goodness, is she still alive?" Dr. Captain Tarin commented while taking his seat on the opposite side. I ignored him. I rushed to her side, my hands free to check her pulse. Her pulse drummed strong beneath her dry skin. She stirred.

"She's alive, why do you look so concerned?"

If I had anything to throw, it would be at his head, but alas there was nothing. "She's alive, but is she still her?"

"Ah. You are worried she retreated into her vegetative state."

The barbed ropes were still the same as before. The blood stains were old but still there. "The sight of blood seems to have that effect on her."

The truck rumbled to life as the last three enemy guards climbed in, closed the back of the truck and tied closed the back flaps covering us all with darkness.

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