Chapter 7

It started as any regular day. I was doing my regular hospital walk arounds, checking on patients with more critical conditions. We had a few soldiers being discharged today and it was a good thing because we needed the beds urgently. There was only one of them that I was still worried about, George. His injuries healed but lately he was presenting with erratic behaviour and at times he seemed to lose touch with reality and had anger outbursts. I discussed him with Doc, and he recommended to the captain that he should be sent back to the US and undergo psychiatric assessment. I stopped in my track to write down something on my clipboard when I felt like someone was standing behind me. I turned around and at that moment, I was shoved against the wall with strong hands quizzing my neck tight. It was him, George, and from the looks of it he was trying to strangle me. I looked into his eyes, and I could tell he was completely gone. He kept shouting that the rebels are here. I grabbed his arms and tried to loosen his grip which was not successful. In fact, he started smashing me against the wall and I hit my head a few times. It was then, that staff arrived and managed to remove his hands from around my neck. In that moment I also realized that the emergency alarm was going off and people were running from all directions to help. I was trying to catch my breath, but the attack was not over. As they were trying to restrain his arms, he managed to grab a fistful of my hair and dragged me onto the floor. I put my hand on his hand to try to stop him from pulling my hair. At the same time, he managed to kick me in my shin and on my left cheek.

- Hold his legs – I heard Doc shout.

I was trying to peel off his fingers from my hair and I felt someone else's hand helping me. When I was finally free, someone, who turned out to be Eve, quickly pulled me as far away from him as possible. When I looked up, I saw at least 8 people restraining George. Doc and Lena were there, 2 of our nurses and another 4 soldiers. Eve took me to one of the clinic rooms. She shut the door, but I could still hear the screaming.

- Oh my god, are you okay? – she quickly scanned me to assess my injuries.

- What the fuck just happened – was all I could say. I was breathing very quickly because I felt like there was not enough air in my lungs and I was shaking. This was not the first time I was attacked by a patient. During one of my rotations as a student nurse, I was at a psychiatric ward. I got used the daily verbal abuse and I was also shoved, grabbed, and kicked. In A&E we also had aggressive patients whom on more than one occasion spat at me, threatened me and one of them slapped me in the face and another one punched me in the chest. However, this was definitely the most vicious attack I have ever been a victim of. The door of the clinic room opened with force and Lena and Doc rushed in.

- Let me see you – Lena said, and she began to assess me quickly with Doc. My blood pressure, oxygen levels and pulse were checked. They were a bit off but were getting better. I was also given one icepack for my leg, one for my cheek and two for my neck. It was also determined that I did not have broken bones or a concussion from having my head banged against the wall. Eve was holding one of the icepacks on my neck and Lena the other. One of the nurses was holding a pack on my shin and I was pressing one on my cheek. My scalp hurt and my hair was a mess. I also felt pain when moving my neck.

The door opened again and LT, Red, Zee and Lake came in.

- Fucking hell – was LT's response when he saw me.

- Jesus Christ – said Red as he walked up to me. He stood behind me and took over holding the icepacks against my neck from Lena and Eve. The other men and Lena were discussing something outside.

- I will go and get you some painkillers – Eve said. I tried to nod my head but hissed in pain.

- Don't move your neck, try to relax it – I heard Red from behind me and I felt him move a bit closer – Lean your head against me.

I did as he said and closed my eyes. It felt good, and I could feel my neck muscles relaxing a bit. I could also feel his breathing and by trying to match his rhythm, mine started to go back to normal again. Eve came back with painkillers, and she gave me a neck brace. I had to stay in the hospital for the night to make sure that I definitely didn't have a concussion. Red helped me to lay down and get comfortable. He was still there when LT, Captain Rhodes, Doc and Lena came to my bed.

- Miss Marquez – Captain Rhodes started – I am extremely sorry for what happened to you. I would like to apologize in the name of the navy. I would also like to assure you that Mr Walker has been safely detained and will be flying back to the States tomorrow where he will be admitted to a psychiatric ward.

- This whole thing never would have happened if you sent him back home when we raised concerns about his mental health – Lena looked harsh at Captain Rhodes.

- Dr Kendricks….

- It was known that he was unstable and prone to anger outbursts since he came back from his last mission. He almost killed one of my nurses – she raised her voice.

- And again, ma'am we sincerely apologise and would like to reassure you that this will not happen again – Lena tried to say something, but I interrupted. Lena was right and I appreciated her standing up for me but there was no point to this argument. What happened, happened. Plus, I was getting a headache.

- It's okay Lena. Thank you, Captain Rhodes.

- If you need anything Miss Marquez please don't hesitate to ask – and with that he left.

- Red – LT looked at him, signalling that they also needed to go. Before leaving he turned to me.

- Do you need anything?

- No thank you.

- Okay, just try to rest. I will check on you later – He gently caressed my injured cheek with his thumb.