Through the Lense

Chapter 2: Save Him

A young woman with a camera hanging around her neck wandered off the gravel road into the large field. She hummed a delightful tune while dawdling through the overgrown grass and weeds. The deeper into the field she got, the more flowers there were. She was mystified by their beauty. Even this early in the spring, flowers were blooming all around.

Silvia bent down on her knees and zoomed onto a particularly bright pink flower. The bees weren't out yet but she could picture in her imagination a fat, bumbling bee landing on this beautiful flower; the thought made her smile. She snapped a few pictures before going back to look through them.

As she flipped through the pictures something blurred in the background not far away. Red blurs interrupted the bright green pasture expanding behind the focal point. She groaned aloud marching to find out what ruined her photos.

As she drew nearer, she let out a piercing scream sharp enough to wake the dead. Before her lay a burned and bloodied soldier. His uniform jacket was so tattered and black that she couldn't even make out who he fought for.

Silvia's knees shook furiously as she tried desperately to catch her breath. She brushed away some of his hair, revealing his bruised face, to find he was close in age to her. The young man could have possibly even been younger. She began tearing up at the thought of such a young man dying because of a brutal war that she wanted nothing to do with. When Silvia could no longer hold the strength in her legs, she collapsed beside him continuing to brush his hair. "I'm so sorry," she whispered through the tears.

The wounded soldier let out a quiet breath but it was hot enough for Silvia to feel it against her palm. She jumped back in terror but quickly crawled forward again. She held her hand over his slightly parted lips and felt another shaky breath exit his mouth. "Oh my-" she couldn't even finish her sentence. Silvia raced home up the hill and called for her parents.

"Mom, Dad! Help me!" It was then she realized they went out for lunch with friends. Her house was empty except for the old cat that roamed the halls and her neighbors were too far away to get to in time.

Silvia snatched the keys and jumped into the pickup truck waiting in the driveway. Her hands shook as she tried to put the key in the ignition. "Stop shaking," she yelled at her fingers as if they would listen to her. She couldn't calm her racing heart and mind filled with thoughts of the soldier. He must be in so much pain, she thought. This seemed to give her the courage to steadily back up and take off down the hill.

She raced forward with determination and tore through the field until she found his limp body. After parking the truck she jumped out and kneeled by his side. "Please still be alive," she choked out. She tugged at his torn jacket trying to flip him over. He exhaled a shuddering, painful breath as Silvia grabbed him under his arms. The boy was heavy and bleeding profusely onto her clothes but she continued dragging him into the back seat of the truck. His arms had holes torn straight through the flesh and muscle. Burns spread from his neck to his waist. The boy looked as if he crawled out of hell.

"Stay alive please," Silvia murmured while pulling up to her house. She hauled his body out with the sudden strength she gained from the adrenaline pumping through her veins. "I'm going to call someone but I need to stop the bleeding first," she explained as if he could understand her. The boy was unconscious; barely clinging to life. "Hang in there," she whispered, although it was more for herself than the soldier. She took a large bowl and filled it with ice cold water then dunked a rag into the frigid liquid. Silvia's fingers trembled as she wiped over each wound carefully. She couldn't comprehend how he was still alive. At this point it was his willpower keeping his body alive.

Arthur wasn't quite ready to give up yet. Even passed out, he knew he wanted to see the end of the war. He wanted to reunite with his family and apologize.