The Bloody Road by Nigel Seed

Author:Nigel Seed [Seed, Nigel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781721959853
Published: 2019-07-01T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 40

A Blighty One

He opened his eyes to see the forbidding grey clouds above him. He wondered if it would rain again. Even a garden beside the Nile needed water and Emma was so proud of her roses. A shadow passed across the sky and there was a face looking down at him. He knew the face, but couldn’t give it a name. Why was he here in his garden?

“Don’t worry, Colonel, you’re at the aid post now. The doctor will be with you in a minute.”

McGuire remembered now and the pain in his back came rushing in as they laid the stretcher down. He tried to rise to look around him, but it was no use, the strength was just not there. He wondered if this was the end. Then he felt himself being picked up again and they were inside a tent. He could see the dirty canvas overhead as they lifted him gently on to a blood-stained table.

He heard the voice of the regimental surgeon, though he could not turn his head to see him. “Well now, Colonel. Nice of you to come and visit us again so soon. I see you’ve made a bloody mess back here, but we’ll get a quick patch put on that and then get you evacuated down the line.”

McGuire struggled to speak. “What? What …”

“Calm down, Colonel. Just let us do our job. You’ve been hit in the back by what looks like shrapnel. It’s going to leave a scar, I can promise you that, but it shouldn’t kill you. On the bright side, it’s a ‘blighty one’. They’ll have you back to a hospital in England to fully fix this.”

He felt the dark closing in again and his eyes closed. He opened them again to feel the stretcher rocking rhythmically beneath him. He was laid face down with his cheek against the rough canvas that always smelled of the Quartermaster’s store. It took him a few moments to realise he was on a train. He managed to move his head and looked around him. There were stretchers on racks as far as he could see, with wounded men filling each one. He saw the medical orderly walking between the stretchers towards him and tried to call him over, but the darkness came back and he slept.

The sound of violent retching woke him and he looked across to the soldier who was vomiting into a bucket. The man sat back and wiped his sweaty brow with his jacket sleeve. He saw McGuire watching him and gave a weak smile.

“Sorry, mate. I get sea sick even on a calm day.”

McGuire didn’t try to sit up this time. “So we’re at sea, I take it?”

“We are. I envy you sleeping through it. The crossing has been rough. It’s getting better, though. I can see the white cliffs around Dover through the window.”

“What day is it? I’ve lost track.”

The man bent over and threw up into the bucket again. “Sorry about that. It’s the 23rd July.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.