RISE
December 2013
Sometimes he thought that the conscription summons he had received in the mail one week after Tyson's death, on the very day he would have left to join him in Japan, was a godsend. At a time when he was drifting in a sea of emotion rough enough to drown him, the option of falling back on the harsh militaristic training that had rendered him so numb at the Abbey was a welcome reprieve.
As a soldier, he only had to think and do; he didn't have to feel.
As a soldier, he wouldn't have the time to let the grief swallow him; his tears would have to wait until the war ended or he was incapacitated or until he was relieved of his duties, and by then the pain would be far enough behind him that he wouldn't drown.
Or so he had hoped.
It was on days like these, however, when he was knee deep in mud, his Captain cradled in his arms with the pouring rain washing away their shared pool of blood, that he felt that it just wasn't worth it.
It had been an ambush, one that they had barely managed to turn to their advantage. They had won this battle, but at what cost?
Staring into Tala's deathly pale face, Kai resisted the urge to check his pulse once more and struggled to his feet. The gunshot wound in his left thigh protested, but he ignored it. Tala's body flopped limply in his arms, the dead weight threatening to drag him down to his knees, but he straightened further and moved forward, adrenaline and pure determination the only thing keeping him going.
His few surviving comrades gaped either at him as he limped towards the medical tent in the distance or at the bloodbath that surrounded them. This was a victory that probably wouldn't make the history books, but would forever stain the memories of these remaining soldiers. Kai steeled himself some more as he hobbled over the last few feet standing between him and the medical unit.
A medic ran out to meet him, motioning to take Tala away from him, but a deadly glare changed his mind and he opted to precede him to the tent instead.
The medical tent was pure chaos. Surprisingly left unscathed, the medics ran from cot to cot marking soldiers for medication or death or impending death. Kai blocked a medic that came at Tala with one of those dreaded black markers.
"Sir…" The medic gestured helplessly at the gaping wound that cut through the centre of Tala's back. They could see his spine through his belly. That Tala was still breathing at all was a miracle that the medic wasn't optimistic about lasting. Any medical treatment he could perform would be too little too late. The medic wanted to tell him so, but he was young and easily scared by Kai's glare.
"Patch him up," Kai ordered. By sheer force of will, he managed to mask his collapse as a graceful kneel. The burning in his leg extended from the wound all the way up his thigh towards his back and down to his toes. The blood oozing from the wound felt slimy and disgusting against his skin. It suddenly occurred to him that he might bleed to death right here as he waited for Tala to wake up and order them around. Without a second thought, he ripped a sleeve from his uniform and tied it tightly around his thigh above the wound, glaring a warning as the medic made to protest. The other man quickly went back to treating Tala.
A cursory glance around the tent told him that, next to Tala, he was the highest ranking officer without a black mark on his forehead. The frazzled Sergeant hurrying over to him was a clue that he was the highest ranking officer on point.
Kai nodded a greeting as the man saluted him, not bothering to stand up because he wasn't sure he could.
"The area is clear, sir. What are your orders?"
"Report to base," he said. "Get some choppers out here. Gather the… dead in one place. Collect the dog tags."
"Yes, sir." The Sergeant saluted again and hurried off to carry out his orders.
Kai turned back to the medic in time to see him getting reamed out by another medic for wasting time and supplies on a lost cause. Kai heaved himself to his feet, put on his best formidable look and stalked over to impose his will.
He had already lost Tyson to this stupid war. He'd lost Spencer and Ian to battle. They hadn't heard from Bryan in months. He could not lose Tala too.
He would not lose Tala.