“I’m sorry.” She instantly stopped and stared at him, wondering why not.
“The wire is there to stop shrapnel getting through. If you take it down and we encounter any exploding bombs, you’ll be lucky to survive.”
Molly took one look at the window and moved farther away from it. Her disgruntled puma curled up in a little ball. This was going to be an experience like no other.
The journey to where she was stationed didn’t take long. The heat didn’t lessen. If anything, it got worse. When the bus arrived, they filed out and reported to the commander of the base. All around Molly were tents—there were no permanent buildings. It was a shock. She realized that when the fabric structures were opened, even for a second, the wind would blow in every bit of dust. It would make keeping everything clean difficult and time consuming, especially as it seemed there wouldn’t be many cleaning utensils available. She surmised this worrying revelation, having spotted a nurse washing down a blood stained floor with a hose.
Her stomach turned.
Molly was fresh out of nursing school. She’d had no practical experience in the heat of battle. The sinking feeling that this was going to be nothing like her training dawned on her as she lined up to be greeted by the commander. He was an older gentleman who looked warm and friendly with his graying beard and circular glasses.
“Thank you for your dedication to our nation’s cause. It will not go unnoticed. You will be expected to work on a rota system, six days a week for twelve hours a day. It will be hard and hot work. Not only will you be expected to do medical duties, but you’ll also need to keep the unit clean.” He sighed, and she could tell he was feeling the weight of the situation on his shoulders. “You’re not just here to be nurses for medical emergencies. You’re here to offer emotional support as well. Many of the soldiers who come in here have been through horrendous experiences. You’re here to help them keep their sanity so they can live a normal life again one day hopefully.”
The group of new and rather green nurses all fell silent, Molly included. This was the reality of war she hadn’t thought about before. She’d read about the injuries she’d be treating, but she’d never thought about the men’s mental state as a result of their ordeals. They would be suffering terribly.
A siren sounded in the air. All the new nurses looked at each other.
“Incoming. Several serious injuries.”
The commander looked at them. “It’s baptism of fire time. You, you, and you.” The commander pointed at her and the two nurses either side of her. “You’re with me.”
Molly was still holding her small suitcase. She didn’t know what to do with it. She looked around and noticed the other nurses who’d been chosen seemed to be having the same predicament.
“I’ll take them,” one of the other new recruits offered, and Molly handed her the bag.
The other nurses followed suit just as a helicopter appeared overhead. The whirling blades whipped up the dust of the campsite into a frenzy. Molly was glad when the commander led them into one of the tents even if it was more humid inside. At least she was away from the dust, and there were fans working to cool everything down. Her puma had given up all hope of cooling down and was asleep on its back with its legs in the air.
“Scrub up,” the commander ordered, and it dawned on Molly she’d be helping to treat the injured flown in on the helicopter. This is what she’d trained for, so why was her stomach twisting and turning in knots.
Molly had just finished getting ready for surgery when several men ran in carrying an injured soldier on a stretcher. The scent of burning flesh and blood hit her straight away. Her stomach turned, and she retched a little, but thankfully, she was able to keep everything down.
“Get him on the table,” the commander ordered, and the men complied. “What happened?”
One of the men stepped up. He was covered in mud and blood, but he was a handsome gentleman from what Molly could see. He held the injured soldier’s hand. “We were ambushed, and he must have stepped on some kind of explosive booby-trap, sir. It all happened so quickly. I just remember we were walking, and the next moment, he was on the ground screaming. There were shots and explosions going on all around us. I just picked him up, put him on my back and ran until we were safe. He passed out the second I lifted him, and he hasn’t woken since.”
He looked down at his colleague’s leg. Molly followed his line of sight. There was only a bloody stump left where a leg should have been.
“You did the right thing. Go wait with the others and get yourself checked out as well. We’ll do everything we can for him,” the commander ordered.
Molly could see the soldier was reluctant to leave his friend. She stepped up to him.
“I promise, we’ll look after him. Go and get looked at. As soon as we’ve finished, I’ll come and find you myself and tell you what’s happening.” Molly placed her hand on the soldier’s arm. He looked up at her. His cerulean blue eyes captured her with their sadness. This man had seen a great tragedy today—it would haunt him forever.
“Thank you.” The man’s words were full of fatigue as he reluctantly left them to get on with the surgery.
Molly had not had any practical experience in the emergency room outside of nursing school, and by the time the operation was finished four hours later, she was exhausted. They had succeeded in saving the soldier’s life. He was stable, but his injuries were horrendous. He wouldn’t be going back to fight on the front line. As soon as he was fit enough, he’d be transferred back to America to recover and learn to walk again with only one leg. It was a life changing injury, and she felt for the athletic looking, young man.
“You’ve done well,” the commander offered Molly his praise.
“Thank you, sir,” she replied, “I’m just going to go and tell the other soldier about his friend, and then I’ll come back and clean up in here.”
“You don’t have to. You’re not technically on duty today,” the commander offered, but Molly knew she couldn’t leave now.
“It’s all right, sir. I came here to work, and that’s what I want to do.”
The commander nodded at Molly as she left the room in search of the other soldier. He was sitting on a bed in the ward. He looked up at her with trepidation as she approached.
“How is he?” The man tried to stand, but she motioned for him to sit.
“He’s stable. I’m sorry, he lost his leg. There was just nothing the doctor could do. The next twenty-four hours will be critical as we watch for any infection, but he should recover barring that.”
The man looked defeated. “He’ll never walk again?”
“Not properly, I’m sorry. He’ll get a prosthetic leg, but it’ll be a long recovery process.”
The man put his head in his hands. Molly wanted to reach out and touch him to offer him her comfort. She’d cleaned up after the operation, but this wasn’t part of her training. She knew the practicalities but not how to give emotional support. That needed to come from deep within her—the person she was as a whole.
She took a deep breath and placed her hand on his back. He looked up at her.
“I don’t even know your name, nurse. You’ve helped my best friend. I need to thank you.”