They arrived to their new camp that seemed to be in the middle of fucking nowhere. Kendall and Carlos followed behind the group after getting off the bus and stepping into the cold air that stung their lungs. Kendall immediately realized that they could see their breath.
"It's just as cold as freaking New York." Kendall said in a hushed tone. Carlos just nodded his agreement.
They were shown where they would be sleeping for their time here and the two boys were lucky enough to find a pair of beds right next to each other. They were told that everything would be explained to them in the morning and that they would be shown the hospitals that needed the most help. Kendall couldn't help but notice the very distance cracks of gunfire. He shook his head knowing that he would think about that when the time came that he needed to bother with it.
As Kendall took in his surroundings he noticed that this place was a lot different than the one they had just come from. It was a bit dimmer with dark green walls. The lamps hung low down the aisle letting off little light to the corner him and Carlos were in. That's ok though, he didn't want a lot of attention drawn to him anyways. There was only one door, and that was the one that they had just come through. He didn't know where the bathroom was and he needed one.
"Carlos, where's the bathroom?" Kendall asked the Latino who was taking off his socks.
He looked at him like he was some kind of alien then said "um…that's a good question."
"Ask someone." Kendall said not wanting to be the one to look like an idiot.
"Really, why can't you ask? I mean it's an honest question."
"Yeah, but you know how shy I am." Kendall said nibbling on his lower lip. He thought of James and a shot of pain rushed through his heart. He shook his head ridding it of the beautiful brunette.
"Fine, whatever." Carlos said standing up before rolling his eyes and smiling at the blonde. He strolled over to a man who looked as if he were writing a letter. He had black hair and tan skin. His shirt was off revealing his unshaved chest. His body was toned and small, he looked to be in his late twenty's.
He looked up as Carlos cleared his through giving the young boy a small grin. "Hey, um, me and my friend were wondering where the bathroom was." Carlos asked now becoming almost shy himself.
"Oh, that's alright, man, if you go out these doors here," He pointed towards the large gray doors with his pen before continuing, "go to the right and they will be in a big white block building.
"Great, perfect, thank you," Carlos said before turning on his heels. "Happy?" He said to the blonde when he was in a short distance.
"Yeah, let's go pee and brush our teeth so we can go to sleep."
Together they got ready for bed and before they knew it they were back in the now dark building and settled down in their new beds, that weren't all that comfortable, and drifted off into a deep sleep.
In the morning they were woken by a man coming in and screaming at them to get up. He told the new arrivals to get dressed in their work uniforms and to be ready in five minutes and he would take them for a tour of the camp before they were able to get breakfast.
As they walked towards the large building that could be seen from their sleeping quarters Kendall took in the two inches of snow that had fallen. Snow was no stranger to him, though he thought about Logan, who is from Texas, had only seen a small amount of it in New York but not even this much had fallen there yet. Kendall had to shake his head once more trying to forget about the two boys he had left behind. He looked at Carlos who had his hands shoved in his pocket and breathing rapidly due to the cold.
"A little cold there buddy?" Kendall asked with a smile, though, he was freezing his own ass off.
"Uh, yeah, just a little," Carlos replied sarcastically.
As soon as they entered the hospital the warmth along with the smell of sterilization washed over the group of boys. As they scanned a large room full of rows upon rows of beds Kendall realized that most of them were full. He saw how some were critical and some seemed to be perfectly fine, just sleeping, though he knew there was more to their peaceful states. There were men bustling around the room moving from bed to bed checking vitals, checking bandages. Some beds had the curtains pulled around them as more personal care was being taken care of.
After analyzing what he was seeing Kendall took in the sounds that were surrounding him. He heard a corpsmen talking to a patient telling him that he needed to take his antibiotics if there was any hope in his arm being saved. Kendall scanned the man not being able to see the so called arm because of the bandages covering the entire thing. He heard groans of pain as people fell in and out of consciousness.
"So, this is the hospital, we all know what that means. Everyone works 8 hour shifts. Morning and afternoon shifts have 15 people on staff at all times whereas midnights only have 10 because of the decrease in activity." The young man said as he motioned towards the beds behind him.
"This is going to be just like New York except for the longer hours." Kendall whispered to Carlos who nodded before whispering, "yeah, figures."
The next week went by pretty fast as they got into the swing of things. Kendall had gotten used to the occasional crackle of gunfire that would take place just within ear shot. Though, as he worked in the hospital one afternoon he was preparing med's for a young man who was only 19 who had been badly burned when a grenade went off not too far from him. The flames had worked their way up his right side and licking his neck.
Kendall was shaken from his thoughts when he heard the gunfire he had gotten used to hearing from the thin walls of their sleeping quarters but never leaked into the hospital. Kendall exchanged a confused look with Carlos who was only a few rows over putting another blanket over a man who was shivering from his slight fever.
The two moved towards the front door of the hospital and opened the doors hearing the gunfire much closer than it had ever been, it also seemed a lot more intense than what he was used to.
"Carlos, what is going on?" Kendall said as they stepped back into the hospital.
"I don't know but it seems so much closer."
Suddenly, the phone that was hardly ever used, only when a smaller camp a few miles away needed more supplies, came to life. A man that had been there much longer than Kendall and Carlos answered the phone.
"OK, calm down, Soldier. Tell me what you need. OK, we will be there as soon as possible." The young man hung up the phone and turned to Kendall and Carlos.
"Tell everyone to report for duty as soon as possible." His voice was strained with a small amount of panic.
The two boys left the hospital running towards the dining hall hoping to find a good amount of men there.
Alright guys, I'm hoping that this chapter wasn't too boring. I'm working up to something in the next chapter. Let me know what you all think!