Until we meet again (A war romance) (#Wattys2015)

Part 11 - Matthew

Everything was dark around me. All I could hear was silence, which I would usually welcome, but it was strangely eerie. I blinked. It was still dark. Was this a dream? Then I realised:

I was dead. I had to be. I remembered being shot. A most unpleasant experience to say the least, but it had happened nonetheless. I tried to sit up, but a searing pain shot through my leg, and it was hard to breathe.

Okay I thought I’m not dead then… so where am I?

“Hello?” I called in the darkness, and I heard something stir on my right, “Hello? Could you tell me where I am?”

At that moment, a small light moved towards me, like an angel appearing to the dead. I tensed. A woman holding a lantern came into view. Her hair was brown, and curled past her shoulders, and her eyes were soft and grey- but she looked tired, and slightly agitated.

“Where am I?” I asked her, but she just put one finger to her lips. “You’re in the hospital tent, and you are waking up my patients!” She whispered angrily.

“How long have I been here?” I whispered curiously.

“You’ve been asleep for around four days. You were hurt bad,”

“Four days?!” I shouted, and there were a few tired murmurs all around me. The nurse glared.

“Yes, four days. I will change the dressing on your leg, but after that, will you please go to sleep!”

Too confused to argue, I nodded. Four days? How could I have been here for four days? I promised I would write to Di! She would be worried sick! I felt terrible, and uneasy. The nurse unwrapped the bandage around my leg, and I saw the large gash from where the barbed wire had cut me. There was no blood now, as the nurse had cleaned it, but it still looked awful!

I winced, as she wrapped new dressing tightly round my leg.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, “but it has to be tight.”

I nodded- then realised: I was still alive!

“Wait- how am I- alive?”

“How do you mean?”

“I was shot in the chest, how did I survive?”

The nurse laughed, then clapped her hand over her mouth so as not to disturb the sleeping men.

“It’s quite a miracle actually!” she dug her hand into her pocket, and pulled out a small lump of metal:

The bullet! The one that had ironically nearly killed me that morning! The one I had put in my pocket!

“Oh!” I gasped, hardly daring to believe it. “How…”

“The other doctor says that when you were shot, the bullet ricocheted off of the one in your pocket, but the impact rendered you unconscious. You lost a lot of blood in your leg, and nearly died, but I’m the best nurse there is!” she smiled cheekily. I smiled,

“Wow. That’s… lucky,”

“I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“A miracle,” I whispered happily.

The nurse stood, and picked up her lantern, “Try and get some sleep,”

“Can I write to my girlfriend?”

“Tomorrow you can, but not right now.”

She started to walk away, and the light bobbed away from me,

“Wait!” I whispered loudly. She looked back,

“What’s your name?”

“Annie, Annie Simpson, but that’s Nurse Simpson to you!” she smiled sweetly.

“Thank you, Nurse Simpson,” I bowed my head. Nurse Simpson continued to walk away, until I was left in darkness.

“Matthew?” A voice called out to me. I looked up, and I was back in the trench. “Matthew!” I heard it again, over the guns, and the explosions, that name, ringing continuously in my ears. I dared poke my head over the top of the trench, and I gasped, “Diana!” She was dressed all in pink, her eyes wide with fear. “Help!”

Without thinking, I pulled myself out of the trench, and ran towards her. She started towards me. I could see she was crying. I reached her, and she kissed me.

“Di, we have to get out of here! What are you doing here?!”

“No, I want to stay with you!” She sobbed. I tried to pull her towards the trench, but she wouldn’t move.

“DI!” I cried, just as a bullet hit her. I could only watch, as her eyes widened in surprise, and her body crumpled. I rushed over to her, but her eyes were wide, and unseeing. I was reminded of Will. Those dead, dead eyes… How many did I have to lose?

“No, Di! It was going to be you and me!” I cried. I stood up, spread my arms wide, “Shoot me!” I screamed. “Go ahead! Kill me! I DON’T CARE!” There was a flash of light, then...

 

I opened my eyes. It had all been a dream! But then, why was I crying?

 

 ***

Author's note:

See, he's still alive!

What do you think of Annie? I once again, dedicate this to Chloedra, as she keeps voting! Thank you!