The life of Eve De La Cruz

Chapter Thirteen

It had only been a few weeks since Eve, now promoted to Principal Matron, had returned to the field hospital and was already under siege by a wave of patients. After hours of surgeries, treating the less wounded, and getting every patient set up, the chaos soon passed.

Eve was doing rounds late in the evening when she heard a familiar voice that caught her attention. Emilio

"Buonasera, Principessa."

She turned around and saw Emilio smiling at her while lying in a hospital bed with his leg cast and elevated.

"Buonasera," Eve returned with a smile before walking over to him, "How are you doing, Capitán?"

"Better than most," He answered, "Doc said I was lucky, if I was hit a little bit higher I would have lost my leg."

"I could only imagine how horrible of a dancing partner you would have made," Eve joked, earning a small laugh from the Captain.

"You are very funny. Maybe you should leave medicine and join Charlie Chaplin as a comic," Emilio told her.

"I'll think about it after the war," She said.

Eve noticed that Emilio was now looking at her with a gaze and she could tell that something was wrong.

"You seem upset. What is wrong?"

"I'm getting shipped home tomorrow and I'm afraid I'll never see you again," Emilio answered.

"Never say never. Perhaps one day we will be reunited," Eve said before unclasping her cross necklace and placing it in Emilio's hand, "And here is something you can return to me when we are reunited."

Eve bends down and lightly kisses him on the cheek before continuing her rounds. The morning came and Emilio was placed into an ambulance with other soldiers to be taken home. Eve slightly prayed that God will soon let them be reunited.

If one thing in the war was certain, it was chaos. Eve and a few other medical personnel from her field hospital were helping another field hospital, which was dangerously close to the front due to the war moving toward the hospital, evacuate.

Eve was helping patients into the ambulances and gathering as many medical supplies as she could before putting them into the ambulances when she spotted a child wandering away from the hospital. Without thinking, Eve ran with everything she had toward the little girl.

"Come here, sweetie," Eve said when she reached the girl. Eve points to the medical emblem on her chest, "It's alright. I'm a nurse. Let's get you back with everyone else."

Eve picks the girl up in her arms and carries her back as she ran toward the ambulance. But something was wrong, above her, Eve hears a whistling noise. Eve looks behind her and sees a bomb in the sky coming right at them. She ran faster than she ever had before in her life, but with each step, she could hear the bomb getting closer. Then suddenly, the bomb hit the ground causing Eve to be sent down by the blast. Eve used her body to protect the girl, but Eve managed to hit her head creating a small cut.

Eve awoke with her head pounding. She looked around as she slowly sat up and saw she was in a field hospital. One of the nurses notices and walks over to her.

"Eve, we're so glad that you are awake. You gave all of us quite a scare," The Nurse told her, "Colonel Blake had sent a letter to your family about your condition and said that it was stable and that you would need a few days rest."

"That sounds great, but who are you? And who is my family?" Eve asked.

The nurse looked at Eve with great concern, "What is the last thing you remember?"