The Plague War

3

Darkness, all that surrounded me, no sound, no nothing. There was the odd time I would see slight flashes of light and faint whispers, but other than that, it was pure darkness. My mind drifted in and out of sleep. In and out of nightmares and dreams. My mind would wander then go blank. Wander, blank, wander, blank, and the cycle continues. I tried to open my eyes, give a little whimper, do anything that let those surrounding me know that I'm not dead. I couldn't, when I tried my eyes it felt like fifty-pound weights were weighing then shut, and my mouth, it was like it was sewn shut. I was in constant darkness and nothing but. I felt like an ant in the middle of space. The darkness felt like it would never end, swallowing me into itself every time I attempted to flee. I knew they were watching me. I felt a small amount of pressure on my left, no, my right hand. A faint whisper flooded my ears. I was too quiet for my mind to recognize. The whispering continued. I forced my hand to close on the one that was placed upon it. The whispers became recognizable words. I felt myself leaving the darkness, following the light. It was distant, a little wisp on the horizon. My eyes opened slightly then instantly closed. White light blinded me when I opened them again. After a while of opening and closing my eyes, they finally adjusted to the light. I wasn't in the forest that I had been in previously, instead I was encased in white walls with cords hanging down everywhere. I was in a hospital room. There was no denying that. The white walls alone were a dead giveaway.

"Sam?" I grunted, not wanting to use my words. "Sam, please say something, anything." Again I grunted but this time lifted my hands to sign no. It was Rosalind, I knew it was. Her voice is smooth with a small amount of rasp. "OK, well, umm, well there's been casualties in the fire. James McVay," She said other names but I quit listening. Just then my vision started to go dark again. The same feeling overcame me, the darkness swallowed me again. All sound was lost. I had no feeling, nothing. Though I knew Rosalind's hand was still in mine, I couldn't feel it.

A while passed, two, maybe three weeks, before I woke again. This time I was alone. Me, myself, and I were in the room. I knew I hadn't been sent to a different room, as the only thing hospitals tend to be used for is birthings and for people who are in a critical condition such as myself. Approximately an hour later a nurse walked in then retreated.

Am I Zombie? Did the medication (Which I know I'm on) prolong the transformation? I lifted my hands so they were in my line of vision. Thankfully they were not shades of green and brown, although I couldn't help but notice the off-white bandaging on my left hand, along with the light pink blisters on my fingertips. I reached my right hand over to touch it but decided against it. The nurse came back with Captain Black.

Oh no.

"Sergeant Sprewton, I would like to personally thank you for your attempts at saving those who were in the dining hall as it was burning down, for your bravery you will be receiving a medal of honour. But I must inform you that you will not be going back into the field of action, I'm very sorry." Black looked at me with sad eyes. "What! You're sorry! You can't just kick me off of the squad you - that's not fair, I wanna fight. I wanna help win the war"

"Sergeant Sprewton, please calm down. I didn't stop, I wouldn't stop. She can't just kick me off of the squad. "No. This is unfair - I- I won't let you. The second you walk out of this room I'm walking out with you if you don't tell me I can come back. I don't care if I have to rip a couple of IVs out or not."

"Samantha, have you seen yourself? Do you have any idea how long you've been out for?"

"No, and no."

"Sam, is it OK if I call you sam?" I nodded "You're suffering from a horrendous amount of third-degree burns. And you've missed just about six months of action."

"Wh-what? How?" I was in utter shock. Six months, that's half a year. I had so many questions."Well, your whole left side is burnt, you're still under compression therapy and probably will be for another two to three years. You woke up around December, but passed out again." It was hard. Knowing that I missed so much. "Rosalind."

"Miss. Blackwood is in perfect health, although she has taken a toll after you were evicted. Now that you're awake, though, she is able to come to see you." It was great to know that my best friend was OK, but not great to know that I wouldn't be able to see her for a while. I didn't say anything, I didn't want to say anything. I knew I would have my burn scars forever, not that I was worried about it.

I spent many days just staring at the walls in silence. I would read and draw. There were even a couple of times where a class of ten-year-olds would come to ask me questions about my experience in the field, given that I was the best choice because the seniors would freak at a pin drop. Weeks later, after all those meetings with the little kids and even soon to graduate classes I finally had a visitor I knew and wanted to see.

"Lindy."

"Sam!"

"Oh, I missed you so much. It was kinda lonely on the days we didn't go out or something."

"I know, I missed you too. So what have I missed?"

"A lot-" Rosalind went on to tell me everything. Going on and on about her kill count, who's been killed or well killed, there's no other fate out in the field. "Really, the Brits, they're coming to help us?"

"Yeah, they've had their portion of the world clean for a while now." I was very impressed, that takes a lot of willpower, which we clearly didn't have. Though I was impressed, I wasn't surprised. The English had a history of helping win wars. "So when are they transferring over?" I asked. I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to meet the troops, given what Black said, but never-the-less I would still like to know. "I think next week if I remember right," Rosalind replied. Though I knew there was no benefit of me knowing this information it still put my mind somewhat at ease. A while later Rosalind left, leaving me to my thoughts. I felt empty, as though I had nothing to look forward to. With my mind in a haze, I did eventually fall asleep. When I woke the next morning, the side of my face had a crust on it. I had been weeping as I slept, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I knew I was.

Black came back, much to my dismay. It seemed that every time I saw her she was bearing bad news. Although this time was different, she walked in smiling? "I just talked to your doctor-" she stopped after 'doctor' letting it drag on."And?"

"You're free to come back to action if you want. And only if you want." I knew my eyes lit up, as did hers. This was great. I would get to be back with my best friend, and I'd get to meet the British troops, which wasn't a big deal, but it was to me.

It was nice to be able to put my formal uniform on for my badge and new rank, Lieutenant, only to put my new battlefield uniform on. It was weird, being gone for so long then just coming back the second you were cleared from the 'medical lounge' as the fellow soldiers liked to call the hospital, the hospital being the only place you get a break from the battle. I thought differently, I thought of the hospital as the battlefield in their heads and the field as the hospital. Stepping off the cement and into the place brought flashbacks of Breal's smiling face and McVay getting mad at us for bickering. There was no doubt that the two were greatly missed. Breal was the kind of character they would always try to make you smile even if he was in a bad mood. And McVay, well, he was different you could say. Hew was the kind of person to make you feel guilty for things you didn't do, which of course, most people hated him for being that way, but never-the-less he was a good guy - teenager - none of us could be referred to as adults yet as most of us are ranging in ages from sixteen to eighteen.

The airplane landed on the sector sevens airstrip at about 18:00 (7:00 pm). Being that it was March it was getting dark. We, as in Black and myself, got off the plane. It wasn't easy, walking through the fields, knowing that we've most likely lost many of our brave soldiers. I walked around looking at the wreckage that still laid on the ground from the last time I was here. You could still see where the bodies after the fire stopped smouldering. There wasn't a mess hall anymore, that was for sure. "Where is everyone?" I couldn't help but notice that there was no one around. It was surreal."Out," Black said plainly. I looked at her, more confused than anything."Out? Out where?" She blew me off with a slight nod. Black started to walk away from me, I followed, assuming that that was what I was supposed to do. The snow had started to melt so there was more mud than there was snow, thick, wet, slick mud. I continued following Black down trails that I've never seen before.