I was one of five women chosen to serve our country, fighting side by side with the men, and only some of us had come home. Being surrounded by friends and enemies, having to choose who you can save, who you can love, and how to survive is something...
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I stepped out of the med station I had training with the other four nurses, where our nursing training had concluded for the day. I was eager to get something to eat since I had been stuck in training past breakfast and lunch was soon to be over.
Meandering toward the mess hall, I heard some commotion from across the yard. Glancing over my left shoulder, my eyes locked onto the familiar lanky frame of Sobel as he berated the men from my assigned unit while they stood in full gear. I realized what was going on and I knew was in trouble. The men scattered for their barracks just as Lieutenant Sobel turned to walk away from them. His beady eyes immediately zeroed in on me and that familiar scowl he always wore hardened on his long face.
"Hey Em!" a friendly voice behind me called out. My eyes tore away from the approaching and livid Sobel to see my good friend and fellow nurse, Darla, walking toward me.
Darla was assigned to be the nurse at our Home Base, wherever that was going to be. I believed she would be perfect for that position as she would be able to mother the wounded and keep track of the rest of us while we were behind enemy lines - just as she did already.
Darla was the first person I had become friends with. She didn't mind that I was from a different background or, in her words, painfully shy and always trying to do the right thing. I didn't really believe her description of me but she probably saw things about myself I didn't. We had a deep bond with one another that the other nurses didn't have. I was fortunate enough to have her to lean on, just like a mother would be.
She sidled up to me, smiling brightly. "Are you coming to lunch before they close the mess hall?"
I stammered with a shaky voice, "I-I...I think I'm-" I couldn't get the words out in time.
"Nurse Banks!" the angry Sobel, clearly closer now, shouted at me.
Darla's azure eyes grew wide knowing what was about to happen. I turned away from her to look at Sobel. I responded in barely a whisper, "Yes, sir?"
Sobel stopped and glared at me, his bushy eyebrows drawn together tightly, forming creases along his forehead. His thin lips were pressed so firmly together they nearly disappeared. He loomed over me. "Why were you not with the men this afternoon?"
I swallowed my nerves as best as I could as I replied, "I was at the med station, sir."
"Why were you there?" Sobel asked, inching even closer to intimidate me. He made me nervous, not to mention uncomfortable in his presence. I was always afraid of what he might do to me.
My voice quivered. "For training, sir." My hands trembled at my sides.
Sobel towered over me causing more tension. "That's no excuse, Nurse Banks. Change into your PT gear. We're running Currahee."
As he turned on his heel to storm away, Darla spoke up confidently, "Sir? We've been in training all day at the med station. She hasn't eaten since last night." I glared at her boldness with wide eyes, silently pleading with her to stay quiet. I didn't want her to get into trouble on account of me, especially with Sobel.
