More Than a Soldier

Chapter 15 - After the battle

Y/n's POV:

This week has been like nothing I had ever experienced. This was war in its totality. The battle at Lashkargah went on for three days. It was a rough fight. After Hamza was taken to the camp hospital, we were back in the middle of it all. At the moment that we had the last surrendered soldier's, exhaustion hit all of us. Even with all of our training, nothing could have prepared us for what we had gone through.

We were lucky and had no fatalities but we had a number of injuries. Hamza's being the worse. It was so hard to fight on not knowing the state our soldiers that had been hurt. But if we didn't keep our focus, we would have joined them.

I approached Jimmy as we congregated for a debrief. He looked as tired as I felt. Without thinking, I pulled him into a hug, grateful to see that he was in one piece. "Sorry Sir." I clear my throat as I pull away. "You're ok Y/l/n. I needed that." He whispers to me, making me chuckle. "That was something hey?" I say, looking at our guys spread out, lying flat on the floor, or propping themselves up against the walls of the building we had met in. "We did a good job. HQ is proud." He states.

He then turns to debrief us all. He explains how we will be stationed in the city for the next few days, each squad given time to go back to the patrol base to shower, eat and get some good sleep. We'll then be relieved by an ANA platoon who will take over patrolling the city.

If there is going to be a counterattack, it'll be within the next few days whilst they try and attack us whilst we're weak. So, we don't have much time to relax when we're in the city. I make the decision to stay with Jimmy in the city, rather than fall back to the patrol base. We manage to get a shower with the help from one of the local elders. It felt nice to wash the dirt and blood from the last three days off. When I undressed, I noticed a dark purple bruise forming on my chest. I ran my fingers over it, a reminder of how close I had been to a fate I was terrified of. The shower helped to make me feel refreshed, but I was straight back to work, assisting Jimmy in any way I could.

By the end of the week, we had been relieved by the ANA platoon and we're being driven back to Camp Bastion for a well earned two days off, in which I plan to sleep and eat. The journey back to camp was very different to the day we left. It's quiet and the absence of the few people that got hurt is very noticeable. Even with the breaks at the patrol base, everyone is exhausted.

Once we had got back, Jimmy and I were instantly called into a meeting with our Brigadier. We knew it was coming, but both of us were screaming for our beds. The meeting thankfully wasn't too long. It was full of congratulations and well dones. We even got a fancy coffee from their machine. The Senior officers definitely get the good stuff!

As we were leaving one of the MA's calls us back. "Maj Y/l/n." I stop and nod of Jimmy to carry on walking. Telling him I'd catch him up later for some dinner. "I thought you'd like to know that Maj Hamza is doing well. He was taken into surgery, and they were able to repair the damage caused by the bullet wounds. He's recovering in the ward now and is receiving visitors from the morning if you'd like to visit." The first smile I've had in a while appears on my face. Followed by a great sense of relief that he was ok. "Thank you for telling. I'll be sure to pop in tomorrow." I thank and then head to my pod where my bed was awaiting me.

It only took seconds for sleep to take over when my head hit the pillow. I had a nice three hour nap to give me a bit of energy to get some food and then hopefully get the chance to call Scarlett this evening. This has been the longest time I've not contacted her since I've been here and I'm sure she's worrying.

After a nice dinner with Jimmy and Julia, enjoying eating off of plates rather than our mess tins, I shower and get comfortable in bed before grabbing my phone. I'm almost nervous to call her. My emotions are all over the place at the moment and I just know that hearing her voice is going to bring them all out.