Chapter 5
It took him more than he expected but at the end Colonel Lennox could convince the Heywood sisters to rest. He promised them he would stay all night long with Captain Fraser and if there was any change, he would immediately inform them.
When the first lights of the dawn entered inside the tent, Fraser began to stir with unease. Coming up to the bed, Lennox saw him restless, his eyes darting back and forth beneath his eyelids.
"No," he mumbled. "They are drowning" a feverishly Fraser murmured.
Lennox sighed sadly. He had always prided himself on his ability to maintain control of his emotions even in the worst situations. But standing there, hearing the fear and anguish in Fraser's voice, he couldn't avoid feeling something crack open inside him.
"I need to get back, they need help" Fraser shifted in his discomfort.
Lennox stepped next to Fraser and he knelt near him. Fraser's face was gleaming with sweat and his clothes were becoming damp. He picked up the rag and gently wiped the sweat away. He tried his best to comfort his friend.
Fraser felt as if the air was leaving the room, heaving in breath after breath, but still needed more air than he was getting. His hands clutched tightly at the bed sheets. Suddenly Fraser threw back the bed sheets and swung his legs to the ground. He looked around, dazed and disoriented.
"Lay back down" said Lennox but Fraser didn't seem to hear him. "For good sake Declan, sit down".
Fraser tried to push away from Lennox but he was too weak and Lennox held him to keep him from falling. "I have to go back to the water Francis!"
The grip on his arm tightened. "You need to lay down!"
"I can't! Get off me!" Fraser's wrecked voice yelled and he twisted and turned, trying to writhe out of the firm grip that held him. "Their calling for help. Don't you hear them?! I can't stand and do nothing. Francis please, step aside!" In his mind, Fraser was reliving that fatidic day.
"Declan stop fighting me!"
"Let me go!" Fraser cried out in despair."I need to get back. They need me…" Fraser's voice weakened and he closed his eyes.
Before fading away completely he felt somebody helping him find his way back to bed.
"You could barely stand up. If I have let you get inside the river again you would have killed yourself. You were exhausted. You saved 50 soldiers all alone" Lennox replied sadly as he could see that this episode still tormented Fraser.
"Not enough" Fraser whispered almost inaudible.
"I couldn't do it" Lennox continued sadly. "I couldn't let you die. I wished I haven't injured myself when that bridge fell apart. Then you shouldn't have needed to save me and I could have swum as well to help the others. We could have saved them all if only I could have swun as well…" Lennox wished. But he shook his head, nothing could be done. "The ones that were still on the river soon stop calling for help. They were far from the river bank, you could have not arrived on time Declan. You saved us all. We would not be here without you"
The tent flap opened and the Heywood sisters exchanged a concerned look but none spoke a word pitying the Colonel and Captain and feeling sorry about the cruelty of the war.