The Desolation Of The Red Rackham

Chapter 7

Suddenly, I woke up from the dreams, and trust me, the place I was in, was not somewhere you would want to be. The buildings were totally empty, the shops were on fire, and the flames were burning with flames so high, they would burn the sky. The roads were so clear; there was no sign of a single person, even kilometres away. The radiations of the scorching heat made the scene worse.

The road, earlier filled with sand, now had bullets fallen here and there, even some empty guns; and several dead bodies, some of which were our men, and many of their men. We had fought very bravely, but we were overpowered by their supreme weapons and their number of men in the army. Dead bodies, markets looted and set on fire, don't know if anyone is alive, yes, this was pretty much the worst war of the history.

Now let me tell you what actually happened with me; I was hit and landed far away. I fell so hard on my hand, it broke, I suppose. I still was still in full throttle speed. My almost unconscious did backflips, rolls, banged onto the road several times and finally, I hit a building. My head was injured and was bleeding. Then some other bandits came and hit me as much as they wanted. But, Austin came to my defence and started to shoot at them. They eventually died, but other bandits came and they overpowered him as well. Other men came too, but were shot and killed. Only Austin and I were in the best condition, and practically, we were not in a very pleasant one. Even Austin was kicked, thrown from heights and punched hard. Once my eyes opened, I was flat on the Earth and couldn't move. I sighed, and got up, one part at a time. I couldn't walk normally, I limped, held my arm, as it was bleeding and broken. Partly, my face was covered in sand and a clear, thick line of blood ran through it. I limped to the nearest pond and fell down at the shore. I hardly made a cup with my hand drank water. With one hand, I washed my bruises, which were quite hurtful. I ripped off my shirt, and tore it, and one part was on my arm, second part on the leg and third on the head, on the swelling. I had worn just a coat, and a pant, which was filled with blood.

A tear dropped down my eyes as I walked towards a shed, a large, whose gates were wide open. After I went in, I saw Austin and some other people lying there. All of them were unconscious and pretty much most of them were dead. Who brought them here? Suddenly I saw a guy, roughly of my age. 'Oh, hello there. I thought you were dead, or else I would have brought you here too.' He said with a gentle smile. 'I'm sorry, you look badly hurt.....How are you?' He rushed to my aid. He helped me to walk up to a stack of hay and helped me lay down. 'The name's Kyle, Louis Kyle. Anything you need, just call me right away. I will never be far away!' He said with such kindness and generosity that my heart filled out.

'Th........Thanks.' I replied, groaning. He opened the cloth wrapped over my leg, saw it and his jaw dropped. 'Whoa dude! That is one heck of a bad condition. You better get medical help. No worries dude! I have already sent a friend of mine to call the doctor. He is a few miles away, but I have sent my horses so he will be back soon. I see that you are quite bruised up and exhausted. I better get some food. Till then, take some rest.' He said and departed. The second he departed, my eyes began to drop, and eventually I slept. It was like the second after I slept, he woke me up, but I had been asleep for six hours. 'Hello, dead or alive, food's here! Hup Hup Hup, quickly you should get up!' He clapped his hands as loud as he could, and my eyes opened at last.

He had a plate in his hand, in which he had a bowl containing soup. He gave it to me, and after some time got other stuff as well, which we shared and ate together and talked. 'So where are you from?' I said. 'I am from this very city, my friend. I live in the house in front of the gate. This whole area of the house, the place you are staying in, and the plantation area is mine. I own it. I heard the Red Rackham's army coming and decided to run. But, then it clicked to me that the very fact that people would panic would already be in his mind and he would have prepared a counter for it. So, I decided to stay in this place instead of my house, hide and watch the show. Man, you fought well. They just......'

' Overpowered us, I know.' I stopped him in the middle. He seemed to be unusually happy even in these circumstances, which made me doubt him.

'Why are you so unusually overexcited in this situation?' I asked him shamelessly. His smile turned to a frown.

'I am just trying to keep your spirits high.....'He said innocently. The face he made melted my heart.

'I'm.......sorry. I just met a stranger after this attack and it is extremely difficult for me to trust anyone right now. I hope you understand.' I said.

'It's alright, I can understand what you are going through right now.' He said.

'So tell me about your fami.....' He was asking me when the sound of hooves reached out ears. I caught this moment and changed the topic.

'I guess he is here. Can you please get me some water? I am done eating.' I said. 'And hey, thanks a million for all your support and kindness. It really means a lot to me.' Is said, covering up my previous conversation.

'No problem fella!' He said and got up to get it.

'Saved by the doctor.' I admitted.

The horse came and stopped at the door, and a strangely old man dismounted it. He went up to Louis and talked to him. He started off with me. 'Well, you are in pretty bad condition. Broken arm, it has swelled up real bad, head injured, and oh, some other bruises are well. Boy, you are beaten up!' He applied some ointments on my arm , plastered it, and the cloth on my head which was now filled with blood, was changed with another scrap cloth, which had a layer of cotton which contained another ointment for me. There were many cuts on my back, and shoulder, so I was asked to take my coat off as well, and other creams and medical stuff was applied. And when it came to my bleeding leg, had to get stitches, which took a long time. He gave me painkillers and moved on to other patients, I fell asleep soon after the tablet. When my eyes were just about to close, I saw the doctor and Louis look at me with a dangerous smirk and started to talk about something I didn't pay attention to, as I was busy in sleeping.