When war erupted across Europe in 1939, sixteen year old Katherine Montague had known what she wanted to do - what she had to do. Now, five years later and a trained nurse in the British army, she finds herself thrust into the thick of that same war...
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Happy Tuesday!! I am so, so excited to finally have this chapter published for y'all!! Despite it being planned out in my head for WEEKS, it took me all day to write (lol)! Let me know what y'all think! ***TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter contains graphic depictions of physical trauma/injuries***
"Here's where we'll be," Annie said, pulling open the door to the triage bay. They stepped into the makeshift room, the canvas walls of the tent swaying gently against their stakes as the wind outside pushed them to and fro. "The 24th isn't fully operational yet," Annie continued on, pulling linens from one of the shelves beside the door. "It seems they hit a bit of snag during the move, so we'll be picking up the slack until they're up and running," She continued on, dumping the linens into Katherine's arms before going back for more.
"What kind of snag?" Katherine asked. Placing the stack of linens down on a nearby worktable, she grabbed a sheet and began making up one of the empty camp beds.
"Someone had the grand idea to start setting up before the area had been cleared," Annie replied, tucking in one of the corners of the bed she'd began making. "They'd set up half the damned hospital before they realized they were standing on a minefield," She shook her head in a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. Katherine looked up, her eyes widening at Annie's words.
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No," Annie shook her head, tossing another sheet to Katherine as they moved to the next set of beds. "By some miracle no one managed to blow themselves up." Unfolding the sheet, she flapped it into the air, the white cotton unfurling onto the mattress. "I don't know who gave the order," She added as she moved to the next bed. "But needless to say, whoever it was is in a heap of trouble ... I mean," She shook her head. "A bloody minefield for Christ's sake," She snorted. "Of all the fields they could've chosen ... what are the chances?" She broke into another laugh.
"Annie," Katherine chided. "That's not funny," She bit her lip to keep from cracking a smile. It wasn't funny, but really ... what were the chances? She chewed on her cheek to keep from laughing at the absurdity of it all. A minefield - out of all the miles of abandoned farmland, they set up shop in a field the Germans had bloody mined.
"It's not," Annie said, biting back another laugh. "But sometimes you have to laugh anyway," She added with a smile. Katherine met her eyes, a small smile of her own curving across her lips. Annie extended out the last sheet, and she took it, the pair of them unfolding it and lying it across the mattress together.
"Nurse Garrett," Captain Banks slipped inside through the perforation in the tent. "The ambulances are arriving," He said, wiping the rain that had began to mist outside from his brow. "They're about a mile out."
"Perfect timing," She said, tucking the last corner of the sheet in. Walking over to the opening, she grabbed one of the perforated edges, holding it aside as Captain Banks exited, and tied it back, creating a makeshift doorway.
