I was about to open one eye when somebody did it for me. Two fingers pulled my eyelids apart and a pair of eyes stared down at me. The sun made a halo behind the figure standing over me and I turned away. I heard the voices again and tried as hard as I could to understand, but there was a ringing sound coming from somewhere. Was somebody talking to me? To Kaz?
I opened both eyes and looked around. Everything was blurry. I tried to get up, used my hands to push myself up an inch. What was that? It wasn't the ground. Cold metal. I heard a door slam and an engine roar to life. Someone was moaning and the ringing sound kept on as I felt the vehicle lurch forward. What the hell was going on? I managed to raise myself onto my elbows, my head pounding. Slats of wood were in my way. Canvas. I was on a stretcher. That made sense, and I lay my head back, wondering about Kaz.
Green and white figures moved around me as I heard the engine stop. They took the stretcher and moved me outside. A big red cross floating on pure white appeared and yells pierced the air. More ambulances. My head throbbed and everything rotated around me in a blur. I wanted nothing more than to lie there, but I had to find Kaz. Rolling onto my side, I tried to lever myself onto one knee. It didn't work out well and I found myself face down on the dry, gritty ground. Where was that ringing coming from?
"Whoa, fella, where do you think you're going?" The voice was close to my ear, but tinny and distant. Who was ringing those damn bells?
I turned my head, squinted, tried to get the face in focus.
"What?" I said, even though I had heard him. I hadn't understood the question.
"Stay right there, you're going to be fine, Mac." I felt hands under my shoulders lifting me back onto the stretcher. Then they were gone. Okay, I was going to be fine, I had to stay here, but somebody needed to stop ringing that goddamn bell. And I had to find Kaz.
"Where am I?" Nobody answered. They probably couldn't hear me with all that ringing going on. I put my hands over my ears but it got louder as I shut out the other noises. My right hand felt sticky. I pulled it away. Blood. Jesus Christ on that fucking mountain. Bells in my head and I'm bleeding. What happened? Where was Kaz?
"Get this one inside, X-Ray."
I knew that voice. Hands lifted the stretcher and I went from the hot sun to a cool hallway. X-Ray. Who was that guy? Was he talking about me? I got it.
"Doctor Perrini. Doc!" I tried to yell but it came out a croak. The hospital. This had to be the hospital. I grabbed at the first green leg that walked by me.
"Leggo, Mac! Wait your turn!"
"Is this the 21st? General Hospital?"
"Yeah," green leg said, impatience battling with pity in his voice. He knelt down. "You don't look too bad, Lieutenant, but you have to have an X-Ray to see if you cracked your skull. You probably have a concussion at least."
"Where's the guy I came in with? British uniform." I tried to keep my eyes focused and to understand what he was telling me. I looked at his sleeve. PFC. Must be an orderly.
"No fucking idea, sir. We got casualties from Medjez el Bab coming in. They ran into beaucoup Germans up there. Plus the air raid. Krauts hit some ships in the harbor and a convoy of GIs on the road. They really plastered us. We got casualties coming in from everywhere. I never expected it to be like this!"
My vision cleared for a second. He was just a skinny kid, nineteen tops. His face was white, and his thin bony fingers gripped his pants leg in a desperate attempt to hang onto something solid. He didn't appear to want to keep going. He looked up and down the hallway, stretcher cases running the full length of it. He had probably not seen this much suffering in his entire life.
"What's your name?" I asked him. He looked startled.
"Uh, Johnston, Lieutenant."
"No, I mean your first name."
"John, sir, but everybody calls me Jay because John Johnston sorta sounds silly."
"Okay, Jay. Now listen, I gotta find the guy I came in with. Help me up."
"You're in line for an X-Ray, Lieutenant, I can't-"
"Sure you can. Just help me up and we'll look around. Then bring me back here for the X-Ray." It sounded like a good plan to me. But I needed a little help, and for those bells to stop.
"You got hit on the head too hard, Lieutenant. You have to stay there!"
Jay scurried off. At least he looked more scared of me than of the other casualties now. My head was beginning to clear a little, and the ringing racket going on between my ears was down a few notches. With no help available, it was time to either lay back and forget about Kaz, or get up by myself. I wondered what an X Ray would find. I touched the side of my head again and felt a crusty patch of matted hair and dried blood. I realized my shirt was gone. I found the blood-soaked pieces on the stretcher beside me. They must have cut it off, looking for other wounds. I did a quick check and couldn't find any other sharp pains anywhere. I knew I could move my legs and arms, even if not real well. Screw the X Ray. I just needed a shirt so I could walk around without being put back on a stretcher.
I looked up and down the hall. No Jay, no doctors. I took a deep breath and rolled off the stretcher, onto my knees and elbows. Oh boy. The bells started ringing louder, my skull was pounding, but I stayed steady on all fours. Good so far. I got up on one knee. Still no one in the hallway. I had to stand upright now, while I had the time. Push, I ordered myself.
I was up. My legs were shaking. I rested my hands on my knees while my stomach decided if it was coming with me or not. The hallway started to spin but it slowed to a stop, like a top on its last few turns. My stomach stayed put and I managed to stand up straight. That lasted two seconds, but long enough for me to get one hand to the wall and that was enough to keep me vertical. I took a couple of deep breaths and let my hand fall to my side. Not bad. Who needs an X-Ray anyway?
I took slow steps until I was sure my legs remembered how to work together. They did and I kept going, aiming for the open door on my right. I passed one guy on his stretcher who had his leg in a splint. He smiled and gave me the V for victory sign. I nodded like I was out for a walk in the park. The next guy was unconscious. His chest was taped up and he had a gauze bandage on his head. His breathing was ragged, bubbles of blood popping out of his mouth when he exhaled. If this was the area for guys who weren't hurt too badly and could wait, I didn't want to see the others.
I made it to a door. I went in. No one was inside. Just what I wanted. A supply closet with a sink, soap, and shelves full of bandages, towels, all sorts of medical supplies. I ran the water and stuck my head underneath the spigot. It felt like an ice pick. I gasped but made myself stay under. I had to look presentable, and that meant no dried blood. I washed my face and toweled off, carefully dabbing around the wound above my ear. I had a big goose egg, and a long cut still oozing blood after I cleaned it out. I went through the bandages, found a gauze pad, and wrapped a bandage around it, ripped the ends and tied them off. There wasn't a mirror and I hoped I looked like a discharged walking wounded, not an escaped madman.
Clothes. I needed a shirt. The shelves were stacked with operating gowns but I didn't think I could pass for a doctor. I looked around and saw khaki shirts and pants hanging on the back of the door. Perfect. I checked the shirts. There was one with lieutenant's bars and one with captain's. I decided against adding impersonating a senior office to whatever regulations I was breaking already and took the second louie's shirt.
My hands rested on the sink for a minute. The cold water had cleared my head some. I was still dizzy and things were a bit blurry, but I was ready. I was even getting used to the ringing in my ears. Time to find Kaz.