The Falling Man

Chapter 3

Tommy POV:

The mission had not gone to plan. A trip wire was hit causing an unexpected explosion. Luckily, I don't think anyone has died. I know one of my men got his arm amputated though cause I watched them cut it off. It was my fault I should have been looking more closely; I don't know how I missed it. My legs and arms are covered in wounds, and my face got hit by some shrapnel. I'm in pretty rough shape at the moment. Luckily, the morphine has kicked in and I can't feel a thing. Arthur's arms look the same as mine, he has quite a good gash taken out of his forehead too. John got away scave free the lucky bastard.

I can tell looking at Arthur from across the room, the morphines hit him pretty good too as he's enjoying himself probably a bit too much for a man that was almost blown to bits a few hours ago. He looks fucking ridiculous flirting up his nurse while barely being able to hold up his head. Not to mention the big white bandage across his forehead. If there is one nice thing about being injured and nearly dead it's not having to kill or be killed for a couple days. I've gotten too used to killing men. I do still see the green eyes of the first man I killed sometimes in my dreams though. Some men use the time off to distract themselves by trying to get with the nurses. A lot of men sit, drink, and smoke in silence though.

When I came in, naked on a stretcher, I saw a nurse with eyes like a stag; big and brown and terrified at the sight of me. She was standing next to my soldier that got his arm taken. I observed her and I don't know why exactly. She was quite the sight don't get me wrong. I could tell she was new by the fact she wasn't helping with the amputation. I wasn't able to observe the nurse for much longer after that though as I fell asleep due to the morphine I was given. When I awoke she was gone. Now I just observe Arthur.
"I want to be next to my brother...he's right over there!" Arthur says pointing at me. "Big blue eyes ya can't miss em...Tommy! Brother!" Arthur yells over to me waving his bandaged arm in the air like people do when they are waving a ship off into the ocean. "Take me over to my brother would ya I want to be next to my brother." "Your fine over there Arthur. Just stay there." I reply. I start realizing I'm very high as the words leave my mouth. It feels good. "If your not gonna walk me over there im gonna walk over there myself." Arthur says to the nurse standing next to him. "Sir we don't reccomend you walking on your own right now and there are no available beds next to your brother." She says to him calmly. "I don't care. Miss you see, you seem lovely, real lovely, I love talking to you but I want to talk to my brother" Arthur says to the nurse who seems to be losing her patience ever so slightly. "Sir, we cannot move you until there is an available bed, once there is an available bed we can make arrangements." She answers and walks away. As she walks away Arthur immediately gets up and makes a sprint for Tommy's bed. Because of the high dosage of morphine he was administered his legs don't quite work as well as they normally do and he ends up face planting into the floor. "Ahh!! Fucking god!!!" Arthur says on the ground while holding his bandaged face. Tommy can't help but laugh to himself, momentarily forgetting the hell he's living in. The mix of morphine and his older brothers antics made this medical hut quite amusing to him. The nurse slowly walks over and with the help of a doctor puts him back in his bed and starts to rexamine his forehead gash now that it's seemingly been ripped back open.

No new men have come into the hut since I've woke up. Usually it's all day men are coming in when I've  been to camps in the past. I watch my brother moan and groan as they put a new bandage on his forehead. For extra measure they end up restraining his legs to the bed he's on. "Oohhhh you don't know me! You think these things are gonna hold me down!" Arthur says quite loudly to the nurse. "Sir! Please calm down!" She finally loses her temper and snaps at him. "Yes ma'am I'm so sorry ma'am you are right. She is right huh Tommy! She's right! I need to calm down I do." I decide to light a cigarette. Luckily my hands aren't too bad and I'm able to grab my pack and matchbox off the side table. As I'm lighting my cigarette the brown eyed nurse from earlier walks into the hut with another nurse and none other than John Shelby behind her.

I observe her as she walks up to the doctor. Her face is fucking perfect, and with these drugs pumping through me, if she comes up to me I'll probably just say that. John approaches my bed and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You look like shite." John says to me. "Thanks." I reply turning my attention to my unscathed brother. In reality I'm happy my younger brother is not hurt but it is just slightly annoying. "You feeling okay?" He asks me. "As good as I can be I think." I clear my dry throat before continuing. "Arthur's about to start singing if you give it enough time. They got him strapped to the bed and everything." John chuckles to himself. "That'd be a bloody miracle that...hear some singing...Ain't heard em or anyone sing in ages." With that John pats me on the shoulder and walks away to visit Arthur's bed. "You causing trouble over here son?? Or did the nurse just wanna have her way with ya?" I hear John say as I turn my attention back to the mystery brown eyed nurse to see that she's walking towards me.