Eliot Strange and the Prince of the People

8) Back at Camp Again

Grief suffocates our already sad camp after the soldiers return from their last battle. The soldiers were supposed to be our promise of victory and our hope that change was coming. I wasn't here when they left, but I can imagine that those left behind waved them on towards battle with a parade and shouts full of encouragement and bravado.

The crowd who greet us as we arrive look as broken as the soldiers we carry. The soldiers are quickly unloaded. Doc has set up a triage area, and soldiers are lined up on the ground waiting their turn and their fate. We all try to help, and it is past nightfall before things seem to settle down. We have lost six soldiers, and two might not make it until morning.

The mood in camp is despair and disbelief.

I saw Torin briefly in all the chaos, in glimpses of him carrying supplies with his one hand, or talking to the still standing soldiers. He is nowhere around, and when I ask Doc if she has seen him, she says, "I sent him back to rest about an hour ago. He looked as bad as some of these guys. He needs to rest."

"What else can I do?" I ask.

Doc shakes her head, "Nothing. Go get some rest. We've gone through the worst. The ones still alive in the morning will be all right, I think."

I go to the latrine area set up with wash stations, use the "bathroom", and clean up. I am covered in different soldiers' blood, so I strip down to my underwear, even the undies will have to go when I get back to the room. I clean up as best I can and head to my room with Torin. Outside the door, I slip past a drowsy Hellman.

I open the door and hear Torin's sweet snore. I step inside and strip off my underwear and leave it at the door. I look around for something to wear, but it is too dark to see in here without cutting on my flashlight. I don't want to wake Torin, so I wrap a blanket around me and crawl into bed. I place my hand on Torin's chest and fall asleep to the rhythm of his breath, in and out, and in and out.