The fight to get back to you. (Book 3)

Chapter 1

War is a filthy, reeking, horrendous and fearful profession. All combat soldiers have walked into Death’s reign of terror and dared him to have the last word. More often than not he got his way and the few of us that remain have to watch as day by day more of our brother’s fall.

I am based in Camp Barber situated in base two of Camp Bastion working alongside the English because I have dual nationality. Camp Bastion holds around twenty eight thousand soldiers and it is situated on top of a cliff which afforded us a perfect view of the surrounding areas.

There are defined seasons here like when I was a boy living in England, in America the lines are a little more blurred. The summers here are extremely hot and the winters are bitterly cold, it is humid and sometimes that makes it hard to breathe properly. Sometimes there are even whirlwinds or sandstorms that are so strong they could make your skin bleed if you stayed out in them

I work in the hospital where British, US and other ISAF forces in the Helmand Province are evacuated from the battlefield for treatment, we fix them up or if they’re injuries are too severe they are sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England.

I can’t even begin to describe the things that I have seen, I can feel a shiver run from the top of my neck down to the base of my spine just thinking about it. Let’s just say that it keeps me up at night, we get close to each over here and losing someone that you are familiar with is like losing a real family member.

I was currently lying on my bunk it’s quite late and everyone who isn’t on duty is sleeping, I am lying attempting to get to sleep but my mind is elsewhere. Seven and a half thousand miles away to be precise, back in Albuquerque with my family, Mum and Dad, my brother Charlie and his boyfriend Domingo, cousin Theo and him.

The person I forbid myself to think about and yet he seems to worm his way into my thoughts every night around this time. Sometimes I don’t care because he is a welcome distraction from worse thoughts, but most of the time he just makes me crave home life.

Lucas… it was never meant to be, although he will tell you differently. Every time I go home he asks me out and every time I give him the same answer…no. It isn’t that I don’t find him attractive I do but I have too much going on to contemplate it right now, plus he is my kid brother’s best friend.

Reaching under my pillow I pulled out a picture of my family, I daren’t have a separate one of him. Since 2011 gay people are allowed in the army but I don’t want to bring any unwanted attention to myself. However, if anyone was to look closely at the picture they would notice that where Lucas is standing, the picture is slightly faded from years of rubbing my finger across his face.

I pulled the photo to my lips and kissed my family goodnight then I put it back under my pillow and switched off my bedside lamp. In two days I was flying home and I couldn’t wait, I was allowed a week’s leave before I started my final tour.

I hadn’t reapplied and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do after my last six months were over but I couldn’t do this again I had served my time. I fell asleep that night with a certain Hispanic, chocolate brown eyed man filling my mind and soothing me through the nightmares that would inevitably come.

The next day I was woken to the sound of the blaring alarm going off in camp, people were racing about around me pulling on their clothes and boots. Others already fully dressed were putting on bullet proof vests and helmets before leaving the tent.

I jumped up and dressed super-fast, five minutes later I was running into the hospital as the first casualties were being brought in. I heard parts of what had happened from some of the soldiers who were bringing in the injured men.

Three rebels had been caught planting roadside bombs, when they were approached by allied forces they opened fire on our men. The rebels didn’t have time to set their bombs properly and when they attacked our men the bomb went off. The rebels were killed instantly, one of our soldiers had received a bullet wound luckily the rest of the bullets had missed but the soldiers were not so lucky with the shrapnel from the bomb.

There didn’t seem to be anything fatal but the injuries were still severe, one woman would lose her hand and another man would be lucky and get to keep his leg but with a sizable chunk missing. Overall and I hate saying they were lucky but they were, they managed to keep their lives where countless others had been unfortunate.

When the man and woman were air lifted to the airport to be transferred back to England and the soldiers with minor injuries had been doped and bandaged up. I took my break to get cleaned up, I went back to my camp and changed my clothes. Then I made my way to the canteen tent to get myself something to eat and drink as it was the first time I had, had the chance since I woke up.

It had been a long stressful day but I was glad we hadn’t lost anyone, I went back to the hospital to check in and was dismissed for the rest of the day to pack. I was happy to get out because the smell off disinfectant was burning my nose and I needed some fresh air.

I walked around the camp for a while before reluctantly heading back to my bunk to pack up the few belongings that I owned. I made sure to tuck everything tightly into my backpack and then climbed into bed for an early night, I pulled out my photo part of my usual routine, then I kissed it and slid it into my bag so that I wouldn’t leave it behind.

The next day I rose early again, dressed, grabbed my things and ran out for the helicopter that would be the first part of my journey back home. The flight was long and boring, I couldn’t wait to be home and of course the more you want time to speed up the more it slows down.

Eventually we landed and I stepped down from the plane at Sunport airport, the heat was intense but it was a different kind of heat to that in Afghanistan. I preferred it here but I couldn’t get too attached because I can’t stay for long, I can’t escape my last tour no matter how much I want to stay here I would never be a deserter.

Before heading home I check in at the army base to turn in my weapon for the week as a civilian I didn’t have the license to carry it. Once it was checked in I was approached by an officer who was taking me home, I climbed into his jeep and smiled as I headed towards the city, towards the people I love.