1918 by James Farner

Author:James Farner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: family saga, historical, coming of age, World War I, First World War, 20th century, Britain
Publisher: James Farner
Published: 2015-10-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

How long was he unconscious for?

Danny eventually woke up on something hard. His joints ached and it hurt to breathe. Each time his ribcage rose to take in oxygen, he would cough. And when he coughed it would hurt more. It was like he was trying to inhale pushpins with every breath. He was awake without knowing anything. Turning over was out of the question and the little bit of water an unnamed man delivered was the only way to break up the day.

It wasn't until five sleeps had passed that Captain Rose tapped him on the shoulder. "Danny, it's time to get up. You've slept long enough."

"C...can't."

"I know it's difficult, but you have to. You're wasting away and you haven't eaten since you came back. I have to get you up."

The world seemed to step over a couple of inches to the left when, with Captain Rose's help, he sat up. His vision was as blurry as it had been on the night of the storm. His face ached and the whoosh of the air against his flesh as he rose made him wince.

"Where am I?"

"You're back in the camp. This is the sick bay, where they put you when you came back. It was late at night when brought you in. They made me get up to see to you. I don't doubt you were beaten by the same soldiers who found you. They said you tried to escape. Was that the truth?"

Danny nodded and spat on the ground. Little droplets of blood hid inside the goo.

"Ignore that. I think you broke a rib. That's where any of the blood comes from."

"I can't get up, mate. I need to stay here."

"Sorry, I was ordered to move you. They want to put you in detention. They think you're exaggerating your injuries to avoid it. Would you like me to give you your list of wounds before we get to the hard part?"

"Suppose it can't hurt."

"Well, in my opinion as a medical expert, you have numerous injuries. First of all, your facial swelling has gone down, but there's bruising everywhere. One of your molars towards the back of your mouth is missing, but the others are fine. As I told you, you have at least one broken rib, which will make breathing difficult. Aside from that, your finger is infected, but I need to requisition independent help for that, so all I could do was replace your bandages again. Any dizziness or loss of vision you experience I can only put down to a head injury. Perfectly natural for men who have gone through what you've gone through."

"Help me."

Rose put his arms underneath him and lifted him off his little bed with a grunt.

The world rocked from side to side as Rose carried him out into bright, scolding sunlight.

"Where are we going?" said Danny a few minutes into their journey.

"Detention, I'm afraid. I think you've received enough punishment, but they're using you as an example to the rest of the men thinking about escape.

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