The General Store

Chapter 8: Horrors

With my knees drawn to my chest and my head tucked down, I huddled under the undefined bush, praying with everything I had that I wouldn't get shot. The Vietnamese had stormed into our hospital by the hundreds, marching and chanting. Gun shots echoed into the jungle, sending birds and humans running for cover. My laboured breathes made my head spin and my pounding chest didn't help the cause. If I was given a dollar for every time I said 'please' under my breath in absolute terror, I'd be a millionaire.
'ĐI RA!' the angry Vietnamese voice repeated that over and over again, as if he were searching for his lost dog. I didn't know what it meant, so I stayed exactly where I was, shaking in the shrubs. Unseen, unheard. I wondered in those lonesome minutes, where my brothers were. If they were safe, if they were here pushing the Vietnamese away from our hospital. I wondered about my family, if they'd ever hear about today and the horrors we were facing. They were predicting the war in Vietnam would last another 10 years, I couldn't even think about tomorrow let alone the next decade. My breathing became shallow and just as the guns stopped, my world went black.

I woke to the desperate call of my name; my head was still spinning and when they pulled back the shrubs I screamed.
'Brooklyn!' Penny's voice boomed in my ears. She threw her arms around me, dampening my shirt with her tears.
'C'mon Penny lets go, c'mon.' I helped her back to her feet and the two of us shakily made our way through the camp of chaos.
'Get inside, both of you!' Matron panicked, her flustered face dripping with sweat. We nodded and walked into a room of groaning men, some who hadn't been injured before and some who were worse than the last time we saw them.
'Excuse me Sister, my name's Leo, I don't want to be any trouble but could you maybe you could have a look at something for me?' Leo's frightened eyes were hidden by the innocence that riddled his face. I picked up a towel and dried my damp hands before smiling.
'My names Brooklyn, tell me where it hurts, and I'll have a look.' I said, walking to the side of his bed.
'Well I've got a tingly feeling in my belly, I dunno it's probably nerves but I'm too scared to look.' He laughed. I chuckled with him but when I pulled back the sheet and lifted his shirt, the world around me stopped. Time stood still as I gasped, my mind not processing the sight before me. I'd never seen the insides of a human being before. I'd studied the human anatomy relentlessly but never had I seen a heart beating while still inside the chest.
'It's bad isn't it?' his face drained of its colour. I nodded slowly, why would they do this to someone so young?
'Are you in any pain?' I stuttered, clasping Leo's shaking hands.
'No, that's the scary thing.' Tears ran down his face. 'I can't die, not now.' I watched as his body began to quiver, it wasn't a subtle quiver but an aggressive convulsion. Trying to calm someone in such a state isn't easy, but it's vital.
'Leo, you need to breathe!' I told him. 'Viv!' I called, and she came running. Viv took one look at Leo, she turned to me and she said, 'This is it, his final fight'. I felt my face screw up as she walked away, Leo's body slowly returned to normal, he spluttered something inaudible as I sunk into the chair beside him.
'Would you help me sit up please?' he asked. I shook my head.
'Why not?' his face fell.
'Because, your insides will um fall out.' I stuttered, the words left a foul taste in my mouth. Leo scowled and began to hoist himself up.
'No stop!' I screamed as the contents of his abdomen spilled onto the tops of his legs. Leo clenched his fists and began to groan, falling back against the steel bed head. He gently gathered up his spilt organs, so gently in fact it almost seemed as if he wasn't touching anything. The boy in the bed next to us called for a bowl as the contents of his stomach emerged into his mouth, I closed my eyes as Leo tilted his head back, moaning sounds so heartbreaking I could barely look at him. The whole ward had stopped, everyone's eyes were fixed on the dying man.
'So, don't forget who's taking you home,' Leo's voice was harsh, and his throat was dry. 'Or in who's arms you're gonna be.' His distant eyes focused on me. I opened to sing; 'so darling save the last dance for me.' His final sentence bought a tear to the eyes of every person in the room. His body went limp, and I rose to my feet.
'Give the man some privacy!' I ordered the silent room as I pulled the curtain.
'Let him have some dignity.' I whispered. I placed two padded dressings over his open wound, then I wrapped it in eight rolls worth of bandage. I dressed him in his uniform and called in an orderly.
'Rest in peace Leo, may wherever you're rid you of the nightmares you gained here.' I placed a soft kiss on his pale forehead before whisked him away.

A few hours later, I was greeted by an orderly. He told me they'd buried Leo in sacred turf, just as he wanted. I visited him that same afternoon, placing a tropical flower beside the wooden cross.
'A lot happened today mate,' I began. 'I'm sorry you had to go out like that, you didn't deserve it.' I rose to my feet, inflating my lungs.
'Keep singing.' I told him and walked away. I never forgot Leo, but it was last time I ever went back to his grave.