After a group of about 20 men gathered at the hospital they were all standing at attention. Kendall and Carlos were already panting from their adrenaline coursing through their bodies.
"OK men. We are going out to help! There are men in trouble and I don't know how bad it is. Just prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I want need 2 in the front and 3 in the back and follow me to the camp."
Kendall and Carlos ran to the first truck they could make it to Carlos jumped into the driver's side and threw their guns into the front seat while Kendall waited in back to make sure they had all three other men. As he jumped back into the front seat with Carlos as he laid his own gun across his lap and they were pulling out of their safe camp.
"Carlos, what do you think is gonna happen?" Kendall asked his voice wavering as he thought about the worst.
"You know were gonna be fine. Don't worry about it. We are just gonna run in after it's all done and were gonna grab everyone who needs help and come back here, were good!" Carlos said though Kendall could tell that he didn't even believe himself.
"Yeah, your right 'Los, were gonna be fine." Kendall said looking out his window doing what they were instructed to do. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best, though that was much harder to do than say as the sound of the gunfire became louder with each passing second. Soon Kendall could make out what seemed to be a shaky village coming closer to them.
Suddenly they were all pulling to a screeching halt and jumping out of their trucks, their captain instructing them to grab bandages and morphine. He also said that they were going to be coming from behind our lines from the west side of the village. Their bags were pack within seconds and they were moving towards what they could see as small sand colored buildings. Carlos patted his helmet twice as him and Kendall exchanged a look of fear and hope.
"Stay together, ok?" Kendall said as he patted the smaller boys shoulder.
Carlos just nodded as they followed the rest of the men. They were moving silently and staying low behind the buildings. As messages was silently passed down the line for half of them to move across the street to more identical buildings. Kendall and Carlos were part of that group.
As they went to move across the street Kendall could feel his heart pounding on the inside of his chest. He ran his palm over his heart and felt the beating from outside. The men moved 4 at a time and Kendall looked behind him at the three standing behind him. He had Carlos, a red head he knew as Rusty, and another man he recognized but didn't know his name.
He peaked around the corner once more not seeing a living soul and he gave the OK sign before building up his courage, staying low, and darting across the dirt cover road. Once on the other side he leaned against the wall clinging to its rough sides. He looked at Carlos who was doing the same thing on his right and smiled with a strong exhale.
After everyone had made it safely across they were silently told to move forward. The men moved down both sides of what was thought to be "Main Street." The radio came to life on the two radiomen's chests', the voice saying, "We see you. Keep coming." There was a pause while they continued to walk guns at the ready. Kendall was in full alert mode. He analyzed every sound and checked around every corner not letting his guard down for anything. The radio came back to life telling them to come into the buildings they were now in front of. The men on the left side of the street entered the building on their side of the street while Kendall and Carlos along with the other men filed into the building on the right side of the street.
Once inside the ten men began to relax some feeling the protection of the walls around them. Kendall looked around them and saw that it seemed to have the main room and a kitchen but there were stairs leading to another level. After a moment of silence they heard a loud drawn out groan. It sounded as if it were a man in pain.
"Upstairs guys!" Someone said as they started up the stairs. "Come on." He urged them to follow him.
At the top of the stairs they entered another large and open room that took up the entire top floor. There were 12 men up there and some of them had minor cuts and bruises while there were three that seemed to be in critical condition. Kendall dropped down beside one pulling his bag off his shoulder and pulled his few supplies out. As he did a quick scan of the man's body it looked as if he had burns and possible shrapnel lodged in the side of his thigh. He also looked as if he had been burned across his right face and neck leading down his arm and chest. He pulled a pair of pre-packed gloves out of one of the compartments and pulled them onto his shaking hands.
Kendall looked into the man's dark hazel eyes that were filled with tears. Immediately James popped into his mind. A pang of fear and longing shot through his heart and stomach. He pushed it away shaking his head as he worked the bandages. "Hey man. Look at me." He said steadying his voice to sound strong and confident for the man that was now looking at him intently. He locked eyes again refusing to let James creep into his thoughts.
"How much pain you in on a scale from 1-10?" Kendall asked filling a syringe of morphine estimating the man weighed approximately 150 pounds. Regardless of his answer Kendall could see the pain that he was in or if not would be in as soon as his adrenaline began to diminish.
"Um…I think it's about a 7." He said through clenched teeth. "It hurts so bad!" The tears began to swell in his eyes as he took in the needle. "No, I can't do needles." He tried to move away from Kendall though he was able to grab the boy's ankles and hold him in place.
"Carlos, come here." Kendall said not moving his hands from their spots on the other males ankles. Carlos dropped beside them. "Here, hold him for me and talk to him so I can do this." Carlos just nodded doing as he was told.
"Hey buddy. My name is Carlos. What's yours? How old are you?" The Latino began as he tried to distract the uncooperative male. He stopped for a moment and thought before answering Carlos' questions allowing himself to be distracted.
"Um, my name is Christopher. I'm 18." Kendall ripped a whole in the side of his pants that wasn't over the badly burned leg and began to push the needle through the uninjured skin.
"Hey, do you have a girlfriend back home?" Carlos continued as the other boy through back his head in discomfort resisting Carlos' restraints.
"No, I don't. I left as soon as I got out of high school." He choked out now and had tears streaming down his cheeks. He looked as if he were a scared dog lost on the back roads in a thunderstorm.
"It's all good. No more needles ok?" Kendall said as he began to cut away the fabric that was sticking to the dried blood.
"That doesn't mean this doesn't hurt like hell!" He practically screamed at the two boy's trying to help him.
"I know. We are trying to help you. The medicine should kick in very fast since we gave it in the muscle." Carlos knew that it didn't mean shit to the younger teen but that's all he could think to say as he pulled on his own pair of gloves and began to assist Kendall in carefully peeling away the burnt material. "What happened to you?" Carlos asked out of curiosity.
"I was standing and I heard something to my right and about 20 yards away was a shitty grenade. I wasn't able to get any farther away from it before it went off." He said still wincing as the fabric brought skin with it.
After they had removed enough of the fabric to see the entire wound Kendall knew that that was exactly what had happened. He could see shards of the grenade in the skin and that it was in fact severely burned.
After they had gotten the leg wrapped they helped the boy remove his jacket and swear soaked, faded forest green t-shirt they saw that his chest and neck really weren't that bad but they were going to cover them so that his chances for infection were at least a little lessoned.
"Carlos, do you think he had a concussion from being that close to the force?" Kendall asked concern sweeping his features.
"It's a possibility but the doctor will be able to tell us that when we get him back to the hospital." Carlos said and Kendall knew it was true. They weren't really aloud to diagnose anything, just treat what they could at that very moment.
As they stood from the now sleeping and drugged boy they looked at each other now relieved that their first in the field experience went well.
They had waited hours until they finally got a call over the radio telling them to be packed and ready to move out in five minutes. Kendall gathered his now repacked backpack and he turned to Carlos who had just done the same. "Hey, help me carry him down the stairs."
They sat the boy up straight and put their shoulders into his armpits and they intertwined their fingers underneath the boy's thighs hoisting him into the air and they were able to gracefully able to carry him down the stairs as Rusty supported his head so he didn't hurt his neck as it rolled from the movement.
The four boys walked out the door just as the trucks were pulling to a stop in front of them. The four plus two others that they had met earlier that day packed into the back of the rumbling truck and they were on their way back to the hospital within minutes.
"Kendall?" Carlos whispered through the quiet and chilly air.
"Yeah buddy?" Kendall whispered back looking in the Latino's direction though he couldn't really see through the dark.
"You did really good today helping him. You didn't freak out or anything. I thought I was going to have a panic attack." Carlos replied sounding defeated.
"Hey, you did just as amazing as me. You didn't do a single thing wrong. You helped him by talking to him just as much as I did. Don't even think for a second I was any better than you." Kendall said in a stern voice.
Carlos nodded before replying "Thank you. That means a million."
It was another hour before everyone was now safe inside the hospital and had been fully checked over. Kendall and Carlos made their way to their beds in the already dark sleeping building. As soon as they were comfortable Carlos passed out and Kendall listened to his breathing for a moment before he pulled his phone out of his belongings. It didn't have any reception but it did have a picture of James flashing a toothy smile striking one of his many ridiculous poses that made everyone break out in laughter. Kendall went through his photos until he found one of him and the brunette laying on their backs looking up into the camera. They had serious looks on their faces and James was biting his lower lip his hazel eyes sparkling in the light. Kendall felt butterflies erupt in his stomach and he put his phone back away before things went any farther.
Only three more days until he would have his James back in his arms. He looked at Carlos through the dark knowing that he was more than likely missing Logan just as much even though he never showed it.
I hope you like this chapter! It took me and entire day or brainstorming and constantly changing things but I finally got it! Please let me know what you think!