The Fire Within a Ninjago Soldier

Chapter 26 - More Wounds Need Healing

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

In the chapter below, the Garmadon Ranch ladies are the recipients of more news from the war...

Chapter 26 - More Wounds Need Healing

Late in the first week of August...

Before another week had passed, Mr. Wu had more bad news to report to the Garmadon Ranch ladies upon his return from his daily ride to Ninjago Town. There had been another major skirmish four days ago - it had been the second clash of the war and the second defeat for the Yellows. In this latest battle, near the town of Shanville, the Yellows were pushed back farther north toward Ouroborus.

This time, however, no one from Company C of the 5th Cavalry was on the list of the dead, and the ladies were very thankful for that. The memorial service for Robinson Murphy was scheduled for tomorrow, and they didn't think they could endure attending a second one.

Mr. Wu had some additional news as well. "Apparently the governor has replaced the top Yellow general, in light of the two defeats this month. Let's hope the new man can force those Purple scoundrels back south. If the Purples ever manage to reach Ouroborus, they could really make a mux of things."

The ranch owner sipped from the glass of lemonade served to him by Miss Gayle, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out some papers. "So...we have some mail today. Keep in mind that the boys wrote these letters before the battle at Shanville. Sam, here's a letter from Kai," he said, extending an envelope to a delighted Mrs. Smith.

He fished through the papers in his hand once again. "And Nya, here's a letter from Jay." Mrs. Walker practically grabbed it out of his hand.

Mr. Wu abruptly stood up from the table, taking his glass in his hand. "I need to take care of something in my office before I go back out on the range. Brooke, would you mind giving me some assistance with it?"

"Of course, Mr. Wu," she agreed, biting her lip to hide her disappointment. Didn't I get a letter, too? she wondered.

"And why don't you take a glass of lemonade with you?" he suggested.

"All right," she agreed, puzzled at the recommendation.

The ranch owner waited for Miss Gayle to pour and hand Brooke a glass before leading the young woman down the hallway. On the way, the brunette tried to convince herself that surely Cole had written a letter and it simply was delayed in transit. It'll certainly arrive tomorrow, she hoped.

At the office door, Mr. Wu gestured for her to enter first. He entered after her and closed the door behind him. "Please have a seat," he said, indicating the office guest chair on the other side of the desk.

After she sat and placed her glass on the desktop, Mr. Wu eased himself into the chair on the other side. He set down his papers, folded his hands on the desk, and looked at her.

Brooke was confused. "What did you need help with, Mr. Wu?"

"Actually, Brooke, I just wanted to speak to you privately." He pulled a yellow piece of paper out of his vest pocket and handed it to her. "This telegram came for you."

He saw the stricken look on her face as he handed it to her. "Don't worry. Cole's not dead," he assured her.

He waited as she read it, watching her as her eyes widened. She finally looked up at the ranch owner with a scared look on her face. "Captain Noonan says Cole's in Sasnak City."

"Yep." Mr. Wu reached across the desk to put his hand on hers. "Noonan sent me a telegram, too. He said he thought it was best to remove Cole from duty and have doctors observe him at the military hospital, since he kept waking everyone up every night with those nightmare hollers. The other men needed sleep, and hopefully the doctors can figure out how to get Cole to have a good night's sleep, too."

Brooke wiped a tear with the back of her hand. "Cole never mentioned any nightmares in his letters. In fact, the letters he sent after the first one were all positive."

"Likely he didn't want to worry you, especially now that you're carrying a child," Mr. Wu speculated. He reached into a vest pocket and fished out his handkerchief, offering it to her.

She gratefully accepted it. Using it to wipe another tear, she announced, "I want to go to Sasnak City to be with him."

"I thought you might," Mr. Wu said, leaning back in his chair. "Since I don't want to see you traveling by yourself, and since I want to visit him, too, what would you say if we planned to leave together for Sasnak City on the day after tomorrow? That would give me some time to take care of a few things first, like make sure the cattle are taken care of. I'm going to ask Sam if she's willing to herd cattle again. And of course, tomorrow is Robinson's memorial service."

The brunette looked at the floor and nodded. "The day after tomorrow would be fine. It would give me some time to pack my steamer trunk and put in a few things for Cole." She reached for her glass of lemonade and took a refreshing sip.

Setting her glass down again, she briefly looked down at the floor again before meeting the gaze of the ranch owner once again. "This situation is exactly like the one my daddy was in, when he had all those nightmares after the explosion at his factory. I wish Cole could see the same doctor that my daddy saw."

Mr. Wu stroked his beard. "Actually, maybe he can. Cole will become a civilian again at the end of the month, when his 90-day enlistment period ends. Assuming he'll still be in Sasnak City at that time - and I reckon he will be, if the Army folks thought his condition was bad enough to move him there in the first place - he could then legally check himself out of the military hospital as a civilian, and you two could continue on to Ogacich from there."

He continued. "In the meantime, while you're visiting with him in Sasnak City, you can make the necessary arrangements for your time in the United States. I'll pay for the travel and the medical things."

"Oh, Mr. Wu, I can't possi-" the former saloon girl began, before she was interrupted.

"I insist." Mr. Wu let go of his beard to hold his hand in the air to stop her from speaking further. "Cole's one of my honorary sons, and I want to see him get well! And I'll arrange to collect Rocky from the military camp, like I collected Shard," he declared.

Brooke grinned, knowing it was useless to argue. "Thank you, Mr. Wu, for everything. You're very kind!"

"I'll do anything for a smile," he winked, making her giggle. "Oh, here's another reason for you to smile." He pulled out an envelope from his pile of papers and handed it to her. "I wanted to wait to give this you until after we talked about the telegram."

Her breath hitched in excitement as she accepted the envelope. A letter from Cole!

"So I reckon we'd both best be getting a move on," he said, standing up from his chair. "There's a lot to do before we get on that stagecoach!"

"True," the willowy young woman agreed as she rose from her chair to leave.

"You know," Mr. Wu paused, "Zane wasn't exactly the luckiest dog in the world when he got sliced up, but at least this month he'll be getting a whole passel of visitors - Cole, me, and you! Oh, and you'll get to meet the pretty nurse Zane's had his eye on!"

Brooke had forgotten that Zane was in the same building that Cole was in, and she felt guilty about that, but she knew that it was because she was distraught over the news about her husband.

She thought of an idea. "Maybe I can strike up casual conversations with the nurse and find out how she feels about him!" she suggested with a chuckle.