Tuck Everlasting, The Continued Story.

Chapter 2

"Miles Tuck." The man had said. 

That name rang in Winnie's mind over and over again, as she ran down the empty corridor as fast as she could. She felt like she was floating.  

"Miles Tuck, Miles Tuck, Miles Tuck!"

She could hear her heart beating, and could see the walls moving, yet she felt as if she were in a trance. The sun was beginning to rise, and Winnie began to worry that she would be too late. The soldier had told her that Miles was in Platoon 212, but that they were leaving that morning.

Miles Tuck was Jesse's older brother, and shared his fate of immortality. Miles had been married once, and had a family of his own. However, when they discovered that he couldn't die, they convinced themselves that he sold his soul to the devil. His wife took his two children and left him for good. She died many years later in an insane asylum, and Miles blamed himself for that. He hated being immortal, and tried to talk Winnie out of the idea, but Winnie's love for Jesse made her ignore Miles. Sometimes, she wished she had listened...

She pushed open the large hospital doors, and stepped out into the cool morning air. A green truck rumbled past her as she hurried away from the hospital. She walked along rows of large green tents, and saw that some soldiers were already working together to take them down. One soldier was standing off to the side smoking a cigarette. He was half dressed in his uniform and sleepily regarded Winnie as she ran closer to him. 

Winnie almost ran him over. "Excuse me?" She blurted out at him. That perked him up, and he quickly removed his cap. 

"Good morning miss." He stammered. Winnie forced a quick smile, then her face returned to its determined furrowed brow from before.

"Yes, good morning. Could you please tell me where Platoon 212 is? In the camp?" The soldier took a drag on his cigarette.

"Um, Platoon 212 left an hour ago." He replied. Winnie took a step back. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was coming undone. She put her hand to her head, and suddenly felt dizzy. Miles was gone?

"When-" She choked on her words. She cleared her throat and tried again. "When will they be returning?" She asked.

The soldier shifted on his feet and said, "About a month I suppose?" 

Winnie felt her breath get knocked out of her chest. She had waited 40 years. How could she wait another month? She hastily thanked the soldier, spun on her heel, and stormed back to the hospital. She could feel his eyes on her as she entered the hall, so she closed the heavy doors behind her without a glance back. The leaned against them and squeezed her eyes shut. She had been so close!

She imagined that Jesse was standing beside her. She let a small breath escape her lips as he put his hand, gently on her shoulder. 

"Winnie?" a female voice asked. Winnie opened her eyes and saw that her friend Betty was the one with her hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok?" 

Winnie nodded quickly and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

A loud bell began to ring, and the girls looked at each other. Without a word, they both ran as fast as they could to the back of the hospital. They pulled open the large doors, and saw that three trucks full of wounded soldiers were pulling up. All of the other nurses joined them at the door, having been awakened by the bell. They ran outside to help bring the men in. They were all laid out on stretchers, and the soldiers who were in the camp, and were able, helped to carry them inside.

The head doctor directed the soldiers to carry the wounded into a vacant room, and Winnie quickly realized that they were going to need more morphine. She pushed past nurses and soldiers until she reached the storage room. She pulled a key from her apron and opened the door. The "room" was actually more like a closet, but it was filled to the ceiling with boxes of medicine. Winnie found a large box labeled "Morphine" and lifted it. 

She grunted from the weight, but after readjusting her grip, she managed to carry it back to the head doctor. He nodded at Winnie when she reappeared,  and she grabbed some morphine while other nurses scrambled to get as much of it as they could.

The doctor ordered, "Winnie, take the man in the back!" and Winnie hurried past the rows of bunks until she reached the last one.

As soon as Winnie reached the soldier's bunk, she was hit with a pang of sorrow. She knew immediately that he had very little hope of surviving. The young man she was assigned to was missing both of his legs, and part of his face. The rest of his body was covered in bits of shrapnel, dirt, and blood. His legs were still losing blood, and he was screaming for his mother. Winnie quickly injected him with morphine, and as he calmed, she cleaned the remains of his legs, and bandaged them quickly. She began wiping the blood from the remains of his face.

He suddenly grabbed her arm with both hands. 

"Sir, please, you have to let go." She gently said as she tried to pull free.

"No! Listen to me, Mary!" He cried. Tears were streaming down his face.

"I'm not Mary-" She protested.

"No listen to me!" he cried again. Winnie stopped struggling and looked at him softly. He breathed heavily. "Stay with me, please." He whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere." Winnie replied softly. She brushed his hair out of his face. 

"Mary, I'm so sorry," He softly cried, "I know I promised you I'd come home, I-" He trailed off, choking on sobs. 

Winnie squeezed his hand. "You are." she assured him, choking back tears. "You are going home, soldier." 

He struggled to say something, and his face was contorted with pain. Winnie bit her lip to hold in sobs, and squeezed his hand tighter. His face relaxed, and he limply let go of Winnie's arm as he breathed his last breath.

The sobs that Winnie had been holding in, suddenly took over, and she buried her face in the sheets beside the soldier. She was still holding his hand. She didn't even know his name. Someone came in, pulled a sheet over the man's head, and said a prayer, but Winnie didn't notice. She felt somebody wrap their arm around her and slowly lead her away from the room.

She was led outside, and then placed on a wooden chair in an empty tent. A blanket was wrapped around her, but she stayed looking at the ground. Normally death didn't faze her like this. She didn't know why she was acting so childish. She cried softly in her hands for a while, ignoring whoever it was that brought her out of the hospital. 

"It's tough isn't it? Watching people die like that." A man said. "Knowing you can't."

Winnie slowly lifted her head.

A man stood facing away from her, looking out of the tent. "Can't help but feel a little jealous of them though." he said. He turned to face Winnie, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Miles."