A World Away | BWS

Chapter 6

(Brad's POV)

I grunted as I tightened the grip around the bleeding wound in my arm. I stumbled into the base camp and headed towards the medical tent. I entered and immediately came to a halt when when my eyes took in the sight before me.

Far too many soldiers to count occupied the tent, all of them grunting and moaning due to the pain their wounds inflicted. Some of them were already as good as dead with large wounds in their abdomens or their heads, some had even lost a limb or two. It was a miracle they were still breathing. Women and men in medical uniforms ran around trying to help them to the best of their ability, but you could see by the look reflecting in their eyes that most of the injured were not going to make it. A young woman in a nurse attire suddenly spotted me and she instantly made her way through the crowd towards me.

"You look a bit lost, can I help you?" She asked as her tired eyes quickly searched my face.

"My arm" I said as I glanced down at my left arm.

"Ah, I see. Come with me and we'll patch you up" she simply stated before she turned around and made her way towards an empty tent bed.

~~~~

"Is it as bad as they say, out there on the front?" She asked as she carefully stuck the needle into my sore flesh.

I grimaced as I nodded.

"Yes, it is bad. It's far worse than you can ever imagine. It's a death trap, as soon as you step foot into the jungle there's no guarantee you'll return" I said as awful flashbacks of what had happened there came to mind.

Her composed demeanor suddenly faltered and her hand stopped itself just as she was about to stick the needle through my flesh yet again. Her eyes glazed over as she stared right in front of her.

I lifted my free arm up from my lap and placed it upon her shoulder. She immediately snapped out from her trance like state and her eyes met mine as tears pooled over, making her brown eyes glisten.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked softly as I gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

"I, my boyfriend. He's out there. He was called out for patrol earlier this morning and he didn't return with his platoon. I guess I was just hoping it wasn't as bad as I had imagined out there. So that maybe he would still be out there, alive and on his way back to me.... I'm so stupid. I can just look around here at all the soldiers to understand that either you come back like this.." she made a gesture towards all the soldiers laying in the overly occupied tent, hanging on to life by a tread. Her eyes met mine and I could see the pain and sadness she was hiding deep within. "...or, you don't come back at all"

She pressed her lips together into a thin line and wiped a stray tear away from her cheek before she grasped the needle again and stuck it into my skin, all the while I disappeared into the mess inside of my own head...

~~~~

"There, all done" she stated quietly as she carefully wrapped the bandage around my arm. "You'll live"

I bowed my head before I stood up. "Thank you" I mumbled as my eyes caught hers. She gave a short nod before she began to pick up all the bloody cotton pads.

I raised my head and saw the commander in charge making his way through the tent towards where I was standing. All the soldiers able to saluted as he passed them. He kept his gaze focused directly at me and I kept my gaze straight ahead as he stopped in front of me.

I saluted as I tried to keep my heart from beating too wildly, already assuming the worst. He suddenly pulled an envelope out from his uniform pocket and held it out towards me. My face twisted into a frown as I grasped the envelope and looked down at it.

"You're on leave. You can go back home until you've recovered and are ready to come back" he explained as he saw the frown placed upon my face.

My eyes widened as what he had said sunk in.
"Do you really mean I can-"

"Yes, you can go home to your family soldier"

A smile etched itself onto my face and I once again looked down at the envelope in my hand. I would go home, to her. I would finally be able to see April again.

A/N,
Guess who's been listening to Christmas music since the 1st of September! That's right, this girl right her! I honestly can't wait for December and all that it brings🙈
Thank you sooo much for reading this story, I'm so happy you chose to give my writing a shot. And hopefully you liked this chapter too! Sending all my love to all of you reading this💕
Lina xx