I stepped off of the train, directly into the dirt, with some assistance from Will. There was no platform here, and there probably never was one to begin with. Boisleux-a-Mont was a small town, made of hardly thirty buildings all together, and the tallest of them was the Catholic church tower, but that only reached four stories tall.

The white uniforms of the nurses stood out against the dull brick buildings as we walked to our final destination. As we approached, I saw some of the women around me start to gag. I smelled the powerful scent of Calcium Oxide, more commonly known as lime. It was used everywhere in war hospitals because it slows the decomposition of wounded flesh and infection. The entire back carriage of the train contained supplies for the hospital here, and at least half of those supplies was boxes of lime.

We stepped up to a white washed, three level building. A Red Cross flag hung on the outside, just next to the red and white Canadian flag. From the outside appearance, I could tell it wasn't up to date on the standardized health codes. I understood that this was how it was going to be. The inside was probably worse than the outside too. I decided that I would try to clean it up a bit. Keeping the soldiers in a more sanitary environment wasn't going to hurt anyone.

There wasn't necessarily an elected leader among our ranks, so one of the other male doctors had made his way to the front and knocked on the door. He seemed arrogant in his manner, and I was wary that he might think he was better than I. My uniform matched his in color, so he couldn't deny my rank, but there was still the matter of my age and gender.

"That's Dr. Castor Dahlstedt." Will murmured to me, annoyance creasing his features. "He and his twin, Pollux, went to the same medical school as me. They can drink you under the table."

My frown deepened. We hadn't even started and we already had two alcoholic doctors.

The door was thrown open haphazardly by a short man with graying hair, like a moment couldn't be spared to even give our group a glance. We shuffled into the building, dropping our meager luggage at our feet, and waited to be told what we were to be doing today. I figured we would be assigned our sleeping quarters, and then get a tour of the make-shift hospital. But evidently that was not the plan.

The short man called out over all of our noise, "Can I have all of the doctors over here, please?"

Will and I shared a glance. What was going on? Piper nodded that she would watch our baggage while we took care of whatever this was. Once all of us in our gray uniforms had circled around the man, he announced himself.

"My name is Francis Laurent, and I am the custodian of this hospital. Unfortunately, we haven't a moment to spare with all of the men coming through here. We're the only medical center for miles, and we're severely understaffed. I'm afraid you must begin right away." Laurent told us, and I could feel the entire group grimace.

"Mr. Laurent," I began. "We've only just arrived and I think some other things need to be in order before we begin. For instance, I think you should at least show the nurses their accommodations. The rest of us doctors will surely be able to tour the establishment and then we could begin."

Dr. Castor made a face. "Who put you in charge?"

I made a face back, "I was just putting out an idea, unless you have any other suggestions?"

I was shorter than all of the men here, except for Laurent, who I was only a hair taller, but most already acknowledged my authoritative code. I continued, "Is that acceptable for everyone?"

Laurent frowned but nodded anyways. I turned and yelled over the noise of the nurses. "Alright, listen up! Mr. Laurent here is going to show you all where you will be sleeping. Get settled quickly and then see if you can help the nurses already on staff."

They collected their things and followed Laurent out. They listened to me! I liked being in a place of power. In fact, I liked it so much that Will and I lead the exploration of the hospital. From the very beginning, though, I was disheartened. The first level of the building housed the nurses and doctor's rooms, the kitchen, a small common room, and the first room full of soldiers. It was dark and musty with the windows being covered with dark coverlets. I could hear the rats scurrying around the edges of the room as well as I could hear the groans of the injured. The smell of excrement in the air outweighed the scent of lime. Looking further at the structures, I could see that most of the beds housed two men and were almost collapsing at the center. It was grim. Will and I shared a frown of disapproval. We could do better than this.

We nodded at the attending nurses, in which there were two. Definitely not enough to be taking care of the forty plus men in the room. Our group ascended the narrow staircase. It was sturdy; made of concrete and metal supporting's. I could see why they chose this building. At the second-floor platform, all of us took mandatory face masks and wrapped them around our mouths and noses. This was the infection ward, and probably where most surgeries took place. We could hear the moaning and cries of pain from outside the door.

Stepping into the room, my eyes widened. It was worse in here, if possible! No light, lots of pests, lice crawling on the beds, and worst of all: the procedure taking place before my eyes. I glanced over at Will and I could see the anger as we watched one of the doctors stop sawing at the bone of a soldier's arm and yell, "Stop complaining, you wretched thing!"

The nurse holding him down began immediately sewing up the wound. She looked awfully sorry as she did it though.

The other doctor beside me (I didn't know his name) clenched his fists at the horrible doctor's words. Then that same man wiped his saw on a cloth before turning around and beginning on his next patient. I gasped as he began. He didn't even sterilize it! If the first man had an infection, the next one would get infected too! This place was at the same standards of medicine as the American Civil War!

The horrified but angry man next to me said, "We have to do something."

It came out muffled behind his cloth mask. I only nodded in reply. The man surged forward and took the saw out of the fiend's hand, promptly throwing it to the ground and pushing a thick cloth up against this man's arm. His nimble fingers applied pressure as the old doctor looked on incredulously. I approached him and Will came over to assist our man.

"What is your name, sir?" I asked in a polite, but firm tone. He would not be getting off so easily.

"Doctor Atlas Gregorein, at your service." He gave me a mock bow. I glared at his playfulness.

"Yours is a fitting name, Dr. Atlas Gregorein." I began and watched confusion fall on his features. "Atlas was a Greek Titan, as you probably have heard, known for his cruelty. And Gregorein means awake and watchful. You see pain, and then inflict cruelty. Yes, we all saw how you handled these men," I motioned to the now unconscious figures lying in the dark. "And I have to say, I am not pleased by your mannerisms."

"You're not pleased with my mannerisms?" He mocked me. "Sweetheart, wake up! There's not a thing you can do to change things around here."

I scoffed, not letting his words affect me. "Then who can?"

"Well, let's see, shall we?" Atlas said. "Any of these men could. But certainly not you."

I glared and bit my tongue to stop from saying something I would later regret. Thankfully Will stepped in, saying, "Wrong choice of words, my friend. Like it or not, I think Dr. Chase is going to be running this hospital by the end of the day. She knows what she's doing—"

"But she's a woman!" Atlas protested and I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Yes, I can see that." Will told him, annoyed. "None of the rest of us have a problem with her. But we do have a problem with you. Your treatment of these patients is not acceptable. And the man you were just about to start procedure on—"

"And who do you think you are?!" Atlas was beginning to become angry. "I've been here longer that you—"

"I'm Dr. Will Solace, and my friend here," Will motioned to the man who was still holding a towel to the soldier's arm. "Dr. James Treavel, noticed that this man's arm didn't even need to be amputated. It was lucky that we caught you early enough that we can still save it. I suggest you take your leave for the rest of the night."

"Take my leave? I don't think so—"

Atlas was interrupted by the opening of the door. Mr. Laurent barged in to see what all the commotion was. "What the devil is going on up here?"

Dr. Castor answered for us all. "Dr. Gregorein here thought it would be wise to not take proper precautions during surgery. We're just taking care of it. He needs to be dismissed for the night."

I was glad that Castor agreed that Atlas needed to go. He probably didn't like how I was taking control, but no one else seemed to be, so I figured I could do something.

"Well you heard the popular vote, Gregorein." Laurent said. "Go downstairs and we'll have a chat later." Turning to the rest of the soldiers in the room, who had been quietly watching the whole time, "I'm sorry you all had to see that."

"Are you kidding?" One of them asked. He had a large bandage covering half of his face. "That was the best entertainment we've had in days."

Muffled agreements were heard throughout the room. I smiled slightly. We soon finished the tour after getting one of the nurses to sew up the injured man. I found out that her name was Andrea Lisac, and was very quiet. The third and last level of the building housed the rest of the men. It was the sort of "holding room" where these soldiers would wait before being transported to a long-term hospital in the city. Its amenities were the same: packed with people (some without beds) and infested with vermin.

Our group of doctors went downstairs and took a short break of unpacking our belongings. My clothes were folded neatly in the trunk at the end of my bed and my equipment was stored in a smaller carpet bag on top of that. Each of the rooms could house eight people, so I was happy Piper had saved me a bed next to hers. I didn't know the other women I was rooming with, but that was alright with me. Next, we had a late lunch of bread and cold meat. By the time everyone was finished, it was mid-afternoon and we had some things to discuss. Laurent headed our 'meeting' of sorts.

"So, first things first. You all need to elect a leader from your group. I've been doing the best I can around here, but I would prefer if one of you took over." He told us.

I looked warily around the room. Who else was going to want the 'in charge' position? Then Will stood up and said, "I wouldn't mind the position, but I think Dr. Chase and I, if she's willing, could make a good team in determining what is to happen here."

There were a few nods around the room and I felt relief come over me. Yes, Will and I could make a good team. We didn't step on each other's toes.

"Are there any problems with that?" Laurent asked. A few of the male doctors (Castor and some others) looked a bit uncomfortable, but didn't say anything. Laurent continued, "I guess that settles it, then. Dr. Solace and Dr. Chase are now the head attendants. If there is ever a problem with their leadership, come to me."

Laurent left the room and I felt many eyes on me. Someone asked, "So what are we to do now?"

Will nodded to me that I could answer this one. I nodded back gratefully then replied, "The first order of business is to start taking care of the men. Nurses, I want half you to start helping those already working here. The other half should start cleaning, you haven't seen how bad it is yet, but we need to get all of the vermin out and start getting this place to some form of sanitary."

The group of nurses split, though not very evenly. There were only about ten left to help with the cleaning. Some of our doctors left to attend to the soldiers as well.

Will continued to address those remaining for me. "We'll split up into three groups, one for each level. The first thing to do is to sweep the floors and spread Lime around the edges of the room. Pick up any medical equipment and bring it all down to the washing room by the kitchen where a few of you will wash and sterilize all of it."

"And take down the curtains in front of the windows." I added. "Those men need some sunlight."

"How is sunlight going to help them?" One of the nurses asked.

"Florence Nightingale began her crusade for better nursing long before she died in 1910. She proved that the better conditions people are taken care of in, the better they will heal and be able to get back to normal." I informed them all. "We will be using a lot of her techniques in the following months."

"So, we're basing this hospital on the work of a dead woman?" Castor asked.

I nodded, saying, "Lots of things in the past have been based on the work of dead men, so is there a problem?"

"No, ma'am." He replied smoothly.

"Alright then." Will said. "Let's get to work.