The Soldiers, Part 3

Buckley owed much to the Sarge, as did they all. He was one of the finest soldiers they had served with, and a great leader of his troops – the kind of leader everyone rallied around and wanted to make proud. Not only had he kept them safe during most of their service, but when he had failed to do so he had at least gotten them out in one piece. If he hadn’t been so busy trying to keep the man from bleeding out, Buckley might have shed a few tears.

After getting the wound cleaned and all shrapnel pulled out, he had to get it closed and covered. Buckley couldn’t find any damage to the organs, but there was a cracked rib or two. “'Tis but a scratch!” Monty Python’s black knight might not be such a bad comparison, Buckley thought. Sarge did have a habit of cracking jokes in the thick of battle.

You couldn’t call it a pretty stitch by any means, but at least there wasn’t a gaping hole anymore. It would do the job – for now. Buckley dressed it, and wrapped a bandage around the torso to hold the dressing in place. He looked up at Sergeant Roth.

“He ain’t gonna make it like this. We need water, somewhere clean and warm to put him…”

Roth nodded, “We better get moving then.” He shouted to Colburn and Gunn, who were watching the perimeter, “Okay boys, let’s get moving!”

They gathered around their injured brother. Roth looked at his team.

“Alright, we’re gonna be heading in that direction”, he pointed towards a part of the surrounding forest that looked a little less dense than the rest. “We’ll want to head upwards to see if we can’t find ourselves a view of the area, but always in that direction, should be north on your compasses. Keep an ear out for the sound of water; our main objective is to find a river. Me and Buckley will carry the Sarge – Colburn, Gunn, you lead the way. Questions?”

They all had many questions, but none that were important right now, none that they could get answers for. Their mission was now to survive in an unknown area, and it was the time to act, not contemplate.

“Sarge is hanging on by a thread here, soldiers. He expects to wake up in a nice and comfy bed, with a scotch, a cigar and a hot, busty nurse by his side. Let’s not disappoint him.”

There were faint smiles and chuckles. Better than nothing – they were a tough crowd at the moment.

“Hooah”