Like a Damaged Nerve

We had been getting closer and closer to a military base by each passing day. We had discovered that the Canadian Army had a base closer to us than the Americans; it was our best bet at this point. We had been missing for god knew how long; nobody could keep track of time. All of the days seemed to melt together and blur into one. We had no known villages ahead of us after we left the last one and it was at least another day to the Canadian base.

We took as much food as we could and filled our canteens and camel backs with as much water as we could, allowing them time to filter with the many caplets we threw in. Nobody could risk getting sick now, especially with having to travel during daylight now. It was incredibly risky but we had to do it. I was nervous, having left my helmet back at the outpost, miles and miles away. I stayed especially low and had been placed in line between others.

The sun was extra bright that day and the heat was worse than ever. Someone commented that it
must be August with how disgustingly hot it was, another guessed September, followed by a very detailed explanation of different seasons in the Middle East. We were all losing our minds, seeing nothing but mountains and dirt for ages now. I was focusing on not passing out from how exhausted I felt. We all ate under the shade of an overhanging cliff, leaving just enough food for if we had to travel the next day.

At one point, I saw something flash before my eyes and then flicker. I nudged the person in front of me and behind me with the butt of my rifle. They had noticed it too. It seemed like everyone had, as we all started pointing our rifles at the cliffs, stepping low and carefully. Then the pops started, whizzing too closely to my head and making me dive to the ground. It was so sudden and quick, the popping was consistent. We all fired back, hoping to hit whoever it was. We figured out where this hail of bullets was coming down from and aimed in that direction.

Suddenly, my arm went numb and my rifle wobbled in my grip. I fell to my knees and the spots in my vision made me start to fall to my face when someone grabbed my vest, hauling me up and dragging me as everyone started running while some held up the back of the group, still firing. I could hear my own breathing, so loud in my ears and the humming of a man’s voice. The sun was so bright; I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Someone was hitting my face now and I could just barely make out their face. They were pressing their hands somewhere as hard as they could, shouting and looking frantic. I couldn’t keep my eyes open, it was just too hard. My body felt kind of numb and my eyes rolled back, my last glimpse of day at a vast, cloudless blue sky. I thought of my sister and Jon, my niece, my parents…Patrick.