The Winter War

Chapter Fourteen

Druidth Military Hospital

London, England

At least he was warm. That was the main thing that Ezca was grateful for as he was confined to bed rest, the bottom bunk of a double deck hospital cot. Above him Tigris snored away almost strong enough to shake the whole bed. Black sheets that hid stains were wrapped around him except where his arm was exposed with a plethora of needles stuck in it leading to various medical equipment. His blood was drawn out from the largest needles where it was taken to a dialysis machine, mixed with a slightly glowing chemical and then re-injected to his bloodstream; others served to keep him nourished and hydrated as Ezca didn't feel he could keep anything down.

In the bunk next to him, close enough to be within arm's reach, like all of the other hundreds of beds in the infirmary, Sekert lay in her bunk wheezing with the same set up of medical equipment. Weakly, he reached out to her and she managed to extend her hand far enough to wrap her fingers around his, a minor comfort given their condition. Radiation poisoning was a painful thing to experience.

In the aftermath of the three nuclear explosions up north thousands of soldiers were dosed with lethal amounts of radiation, saved only by their air tight suits; if some of the dust had gotten on them then they would all be dead. Instead this medical bay, and a dozen more just like it scattered around the city, were filled with the sick. And worst of all: Monae was dead. Her suit had a minor puncture where a piece of shrapnel penetrated it and, unfortunately, that was enough to allow ten times the radiation to get in and she was dead within a matter of days.

Ezca hated himself for letting her die like that, lying in the bed above Sekert and just wasting away. It was still unclear if he or Sekert were going to live but thankfully, he had to be thankful for anything at this point, Tigris would live. His treatment was almost complete and would be sent back to active duty soon.

Beside him, Sekert drifted back into sleep from the drugs there were given for pain management and her arm fell away from his. Ezca pulled his arm back as well and tried to pull his datapad from the cubby hole beside the bed. What used to weigh nothing now weighed a thousand pounds as his muscles were so weak. Tapping the screen, he brought up the global news network and tried to read some of the stories on there, mostly fluff pieces about Humans joining the Empire or Druidth soldiers donating their time to teach the language to kids; written to inspire high moral among the enlisted. However, Ezca was beginning to see the truth: the war was going poorly.

Though an infantryman like him wouldn't know but the Druidth had already lost three times the expected casualties and the nations of Earth simply weren't giving in an embracing the superior species' rule the way the Intelligence Division said they would. Sure a few were giving in, those with no real infrastructure, government, or military to speak of - the ones that could truly benefit from Druidth rule. But most were giving it their all and it was bogging down the proposed timeline. And thanks to their unprecedented success back in the summer a fleet of colonists were already on their way with the reinforcements; if they didn't win soon...

No word had arrived for some time from his sister and he couldn't help but wonder if she was alright. Surely she received his last letter, and the one before it, and the one before it. Ezca neglected to tell her about the radiation poisoning so he wouldn't worry her.

Reluctantly, and with a heavy heart, he brought up the writing program and began composing a letter to Monae's family, similar to the way he did for Tora. By now they had already received the death notification and the small stipend for her service. Nobody would be sent home, instead she would be buried where all the Druidth dead are. He tried to imagine the size of the field that would have all of the grave markers growing from it like black stone trees but failed. It would be the largest field any Druidth citizen alive had ever seen.