Title: 45 Miles
Universe: ACD Canon
Word count: 100
Rating: PG
Summary: Murray walks with his thoughts during the retreat from Maiwand to Kandahar.
A/N: shameless self-promotion here, but this story could be considered a missing scene from "On Afghanistan's Plains."
Take one step, then one more. Just keep going. Don't let your feet stop, because if they stop they'll never start up again. Never mind the throbbing in your head, or the sweat congealing on your skin in the chill night air. Try to ignore how your throat is so dry it feels like it might crack, and how your tongue is swelling up and filling your mouth.
Above all, remember you're one of the lucky ones. Remember that you could have been the one bleeding and unconscious on the pack horse instead of being the one leading the horse.