Project 43

What happened?

Elias woke up with immense pain all over his body and no recollection of what had happened. He winced as everything started slowly coming back to him and tried to get up only for the pain to worsen and push him back down. Elias could hear the sound of people walking around him. Footsteps echoed against the hard floor and small whispers filled the air. Elias couldn't make out what they were saying nor could he piece together where he was.

He remembered falling to his death after the insanely strong Herr Becker shot him. Like a shockwave, the burning pain from his foot reached his brain as the image of the German man's face flashed in Elias' mind.

Elias' eyes shot open wild in an attempt to escape the memory only to be met with a bright light. His eyes slowly got used to the brightness and frantically flashed around. He was in a brick building surrounded by hospital beds filled with soldiers. Allied soldiers. 

Desperation was the only thing in Elias' mind as he realized the prisoners hadn't been able to escape. They were all still in the facility. They must have been. 

Soon enough the desperation got pushed over by confusion. There weren't brick rooms in the facility and the few soldiers walking around har allied uniforms. The whispers weren't in German and Elias wasn't in a prison but in an infirmary.

The confusion turned into panic as Elias tried to piece together what had happened. His breathing picked up once again and the walls seemed to start falling in.

"Captain Smith!" someone called snapping Elias out of his thought. It was Alex, one of the men who had been captured. He was running towards Elias' bed seemingly unharmed. He had bruises and small cuts here and there and it looked as if he was careful with his right arm but overall he looked to be fine.

Elias let out a deep breath and a smile fell onto his face as the man ran up to him.

"Where am I?" Elias asked as Alex reached his bed.

"We're in Avricourt! The 114, 324, and the French got the town after four days of battle," Alex exclaimed. To be honest with himself Elias had completely forgotten about Avricourt and the other soldiers.

"What happened to the 71st?" Elias asked and he could see sorrow flash in Alex's eyes.

"Most were buried in a war cemetery on the west side of town. Some were able to safely retreat and out of everyone who got imprisoned only two didn't make it out of the prison camp," Alex reported.

"We made it out thanks to you! We're alive because of you," Alex reminded with a bright smile as Elias tried to make sense of everything.

The doctor told Elias he was lucky to be able to keep his leg. The bullet had just missed all the important parts and gone out the other side leaving a clean, bloody hole in his lower thigh. Elias also had a broken rib and numerous cuts and bruises over his body from the fight and the days he spent in the vents but the doctor said that he would be fine soon enough.

After the doctor left, the most important thing hit Elias like a truck. The doctor would have had to examine his ribs. He had seen his tightly bandaged chest and he knew Elias' secret. The thought petrified him. He couldn't move, not even blink as he lay on his bed staring at the ceiling just screaming in his mind. Who did the doctor tell? What would happen? Why hadn't they already done something?

Elias felt his body shaking in fear as tears threatened to fall from his eyes. He'd be dishonorably discharged and sent home. His friends, brothers, would think of him as a liar and once again he'd have nothing. He couldn't talk to Marcus anymore since he was buried six feet underground on the west side of the town and Elias had no idea if Mikey was still alive.