“What happened?” Hale asked.
“There was a huge hole in the road. Maybe from a Russian bomb? I’m not sure. It wasn’t there when we came through earlier today. The driver swerved to miss it, but he still caught the edge of it with the back tire on your side.” The orderly responded.
“Russians here? Where are we? I thought we were going to Perkjarvi!” Hale’s mind raced as he blurted out the words.
“Peace friend, we are. The hole didn’t come from Soviet artillery. It likely came from an airplane. Bastards probably tried to bomb an ambulance or a supply truck yesterday afternoon.” The man responded.
Hale calming asked, “I see, how far are we from Perkjarvi?”
“A mile? Five miles? It’s hard to say. One stretch of frozen trees looks much like the next.” The man responded.
Before Hale could ask another question, the other patient in the ambulance groaned and whispered in a cracked voice, “Water.”
Hale pulled his canteen out. He kept metal flask underneath his coat, so it wouldn’t freeze solid. As he sat up, he was hit by a wave of nausea and lightheadedness for a moment before his head cleared. He rolled out of the stretcher and placed his knees on the floor of the ambulance. Next, he leaned over the other patient and twisted the cap off his canteen. Finally, he gently put his left hand underneath the man’s neck and put the edge of the canteen to his lips.
The man drank greedily for a moment and then coughed, “More.” He rasped, his voice a little stronger this time.
Hale obliged him. This time he was able to take in a lot more of the liquid without coughing it back up. When the man had drank his fill, he pushed the canteen away with his left hand, “Thank you.”
“What’s your name?” Hale asked.
“Jani.”
“Nice to meet you Jani. How did you end up here?”
“I got shot.” Jani replied with an edge to his voice.
“Outside of Kivennapa?” Hale asked.
“That’s right. Who are you? You’re not a member of the battalion.” Jani replied.
Hale gently placed a hand on Jani’s right arm to reassure him, “No I’m not. I was a sniper with Maki’s group.”
“Never heard of it.” Jani said.
“No, I don’t suppose you would have. I’ve been fighting the Russians with my hunting rifle since the first day they crossed into Finland. We were ordered north to do what we could to aide in the defense of Kivennpa.” Hale replied.
As the truck started to slowly rumble forward Hale asked, “Are you good on water?”
“Yes, I’ve had enough, thank you.” Jani replied.
“How did you get hit?” Hale asked.
“I was in the line with the rest of my brothers. We were trying to hold against a Russian charge. They had at least a dozen tanks, and over a thousand of the fuckers charging right at us. I sat up to shoot from behind our barricade and felt a searing pain.” Jani said.
“I saw that charge. I thought your unit was going to be overrun. Then the mines went off.” Hale said.
“The mines?” Jani inquired.
“Yeah, the first wave of the invaders hit the mine field simultaneously. There was a string of explosions and then a hundred of the bastards were down on the ground screaming.” Hale replied.
“The very last thing I remember before being hit was a bright flash.” Jani said.
“What was the next thing you remember after that?” Hale asked.
“Waking up on a table. The room was blindingly bright. I couldn’t see anything. My gut.” Jani paused to take a breath, “My gut was on fire. I could feel something poking around inside my body!” Jani said.
“That was Doctor Gar. What did you do?” Hale asked.
“I tried to sit up but my body wouldn’t move! Then I screamed.” Jani said.
“That doesn’t sound like a pleasant way to wake. It’s good you weren’t able to move though. If you had, you would have injured yourself further.” Hale said.
“No, it wasn’t a pleasant way to wake. Not at all. There was one bright spot, I heard a voice. The voice of an angel told me that I needed to lay still. That everything was going to be alright.” Jani said.
Hale chuckled, “That was probably the nurse.”
“Oh.” Jani said, disappointed.
“Do you remember anything after that? When I walked into the tent you were unconscious and didn’t wake up.” Hale said.
“After I heard the nurse.” Jani’s features became downcast as he said, “I liked her being an angel better. I felt a prick on my right arm. Then I felt numb for a moment. The next thing I remember is waking up here.” Jani said.
The sound of breaks filled the chamber once again as the ambulance came to a stop. The noise and vibrations created by the engine stopped as the engine was cut off. A moment later Hale heard the two doors of the cab opening nearly simultaneously. A few seconds later, the double doors were pulled open and two orderlies stared at the pair of injured men.
Looking at Hale the driver said, “We’ll get Jani first and then we’ll come back for you.”
“No worries. I can walk.” Hale said.
“Suit yourself. Just follow us into the hospital. A nurse will get you processed.” The driver said.
Hale, noticing the two stripes on the driver’s epaulets indicating the rank of Corporal said, “Yes sir.”
“No need for that sir business. I’m enlisted same as you, the name is Langston.”
“Well met Langston, my name is Hale.”
Langston flashed Hale a smile as the other orderly climbed into the back of the ambulance. Working together the two men lifted Jani’s stretcher off the frame built to hold it and gently removed him from the vehicle. They walked slowly toward a set of double wooden doors set into the wall of a large two-story building made of concrete.
As the two orderlies carrying Jani neared, the double doors, swung open. Two ladies, both in the form fitting white dresses that nurses wore smiled at the two men as they approached. The one holding the right door open, in her mid-twenties with raven black hair asked, “What have you got for us?”
“Gut wound. Gar pulled the metal out of him and sewed him up.” Langston replied.
“Take him to room 210. We’ve got three in there already, but I think we can squeeze in one more.” The raven-haired nurse replied.
“Yes ma’am.” Langston replied.
As the two orderlies carried Jani into the building the nurse noticed Hale for the first time, “What do we have here?” The raven-haired nurse asked as her hazel eyes looked him up and down.
“The name is Hale ma’am. I was stabbed in the shoulder.”
“You don’t look that bad off. I’ll get you seen by the Doctor, perhaps we can board you with one of the town’s folk. There isn’t much room here, and we must save what space we have for the seriously injured.”
“Getting stabbed is pretty serious business.” Hale retorted gruffly.
The nurse gave Hale a reassuring, if somewhat tired looking smile, “I wasn’t trying to imply that your injury was less import Private. Just that you require less care to recover. Since you can walk, we can board you with one of the locals.”
“My family owns a farm about five kilometers from here. Do you think I could stay with them?” Hale asked.
The nurse pursed her lips as she thought it over, “Perhaps. If the Doctor thinks you can make that walk every day. He’s going to want to examine you regularly to make sure your wound is healing well.” The nurse put a hand on Hale’s uninjured shoulder, “Getting you better as quickly as possible is important. If we are to survive as a people through this crisis, we will need all of our fighting men.”
Hale squared his shoulders and stood a little taller at the woman’s words, “Thank you. When can I see the Doctor?”
“Come with me, he’s asleep right now. Poor thing has been up basically since the war started.” The nurse replied.