Banana Bus Squad: One Shots

Promises (H2OVanoss)

Evan's POV:

Mortar shells sounded in the distance, rattling the med station ever so slightly. The med station was nothing more then a dimly lit tent that stood in front of a tall line of trees behind the battle grounds.  It was dark and cramped but it served its purpose well. Inside the tent, there were two rows of beds, already filled with injured soldiers. The less fortunate got put on cots, inches from the cold, hard ground. I got more familiar with another type of  bed, a death bed. I, of course, worked as the medic; performing surgeries and amputations was my job from sun up to sun down. "Hey Doc! Pull back the flap! We're coming through!" A voice shouted from outside the tent. I rushed over to the flap and opened it, peering out into the night to see two familiar men carrying a stretcher. They ran in, setting the stretcher on the operating table. Laying on top of the stretcher was Jonathan, my dear friend who I've known since I was young. My heart nearly stopped when I saw his pale body lying bloodied and motionless.

"David, what happened?" I asked, examining Jonathan. I placed my ear to his chest which revealed a faint heartbeat. "Thank god..." I muttered to myself.

"We were working the machine gun when we ran out of ammo. He broke cover to retrieve more and was shot on the spot..." the tall, lanky man clad in army gear explained.

"David, we should really get back to check the others." Brian said, his voice nearly getting drowned out by the sound of an explosion. The two ran out of the med station, leaving me to stand over Jonthan. Rolling up my sleeves, I got work, searching for the bullet wound. It looked as though he had been shot in the abdomen and there was a sufficient amount of blood loss, indicating that the bullet had gone straight through rather than clogging up the wound. This made me more worried because most people who've lost this much blood didn't usually make it.

I pulled out a prodder and a pair of tweezers, beginning to search for any metal fragments before I stitched the wound. My tweezers collided with a hard object and I paused, pulling it out. It was intact a part of the bullet. I continued to search but found nothing else. "Time to clean you up." I said, well aware he wasn't going to respond.

Grabbing a rag, I dipped it in a bucket of freezing water. I pressed it to Jonathan's abdomen and there was a slight movement, shying away from the cold water. "Evan?..." He muttered so quietly that I barely heard him.

"Jonathan, I'm here, don't worry. Just save your energy." I said and he gave a grunt of pain as I continued to press the rag against his pale skin. He was still losing a considerable amount of blood and at this point I knew he'd bleed out if I didn't do something.

I quickly grabbed my needle and suture, digging into the small hole on his otherwise smooth body. As quickly as I could, I closed the wound, feeling more anxious by the minute as he continued bleed out on the operation table. "C'mon Jonathan, not now!" I said, pushing my hands down on the stitches in attempt to stop the blood flow. I felt his chest stop rising and falling and I froze, looking at his motionless body. "Shit!" I placed my hands over his heart and put my whole body weight against him. "Jonathan..." Push "don't," Push "Give up!" Push "Not now dammit!" I gave him one last pump and he sprung to life, breathing heavily, wheezing as he tried to get air back into his lungs.

I felt tears start to form in my eyes as he looked up at me, panting heavily. My knees hit the floor and I placed my forehead against the table as I cried. "I thought," I paused, sniffling slightly, "I thought you were going to die..." I said.

There was a raspy laugh, followed by a slight hiss of regret and pain. "Can't get rid of me that easily." Jonathan muttered, his southern accent thicker than ever. I looked up at him and he looked back at me with his half lidded light blue eyes. "Evan," he coughed slightly, "Don't cry. I'm fine, see?" The injured soldier gave me a weak smile.

"Dammit Jon," I groaned, hugging around his neck where he lied. "Promise me that I won't see you here on this bed ever again." I sniffled.

Jonathan wrapped his arms loosely around my back, "I promise."