When Given a Lemon

Part 5

"You should have just drowned." He spat before retreating into the crowd. I'm left without knowing what to say to that. Now I'm really confused. But then it dawns on me and my whole body shudders. This. This was done because of me. Or at least what happened to me had something to do with it somehow. My eyes reattach themselves to the motionless forms on the ground and at that moment I finally realized that they're dead.

The truth of what I had just witnessed hitting me like an avalanche.

They were most likely responsible for the death of the other soldier and my nearly being drowned in the freezing water. A wash of guilt and anger simultaneously flows through me and I suddenly need to sit down but there's nothing around here, other than the captains tent. Since the whipping has ended, the captain had gone back inside, daring anyone to follow him with any comments about what had happened. Trying to keep myself from dropping from my shaking knees I try to wobble away to find somewhere to sit.

Those people had died because of me.

But they had tried to kill me. Even if that wasn't their intent, it was what almost happened. I could have lost a limb or appendage at the very least. I'm still not sure how I had come out of it without that happening.

Someone shouldered by me, almost sending me into the ground but I somehow kept to my feet. My breathing now was as shaky as my knees. I suddenly want to be away from everyone and back inside the relative safety of the medic tent but it feels like it's miles away from here and I can't seem to catch my breath.

Then a hand grasps my elbow and begins guiding me forward. Glancing up I see it's that weird fellow from before. The one with too much energy and an odd name. They smile brightly at me in greeting which I don't return. I'm too overwhelmed with what just happened, the why it just happened, to offer an adequate response. Whatever that would be in this case.

Settling back onto my cot in the medic tent, I all but collapsed into myself. They sat down beside me.

"Don't worry about it." They said out of the blue. I glanced over to them then away because I didn't like how they were staring so intently. "They deserved what they got." They handed me a towel that I had earlier been used for me to wrap up with for warmth.

"Thanks," I croaked, my voice still not steady. I was ready to curl up and pretend I could disappear but a moment or so later, the captain and lieutenant stepped through the flap. The lieutenant no longer carried the whip but a few spatters of red dotted his uniform. As they approached, I glanced around, hoping for someone else to follow them in here, wanting a familiar face during such an unsettling time, either of my marching companions would do, anyone other than this odd fellow here next to me. I had yet to see either of them since my injury though. Stopping just short of my bed, I tried to act like this was a normal thing but was unsure what they had come in here for. Was I in trouble too?

I salute both the officers and waited to hear what they had to say to me, though I had a feeling I wouldn't like it. I didn't want them to confirm anything to me even if I already knew it.

My odd companion, for what it's worth, stuck around. Sitting on the edge of the cot I was laying in, they watched everyone closely without saying a thing.

The captain spoke first.

"I saw you're up and about today. That's good. Glad your recovery is going well." He tapped thigh as he spoke. "You also made it out to see your assailants being punished, I see. They've caused problems for a few others as well but I draw the line at drowning your fellow soldiers. It's too bad they couldn't wait until the battlefield where we could have put that energy of their to some good use."

The lieutenant nodded in agreement. "It's a pity, sir."

"Now listen, soldier." The captain's face grew serious. "Whether it was you or someone else, those troublemakers would have made trouble and it was my job to nip that in the bud before it grew to something worse." I think he finally noticed my quiet companion because he grimaced in their direction before turning back to me, "now I expect you to make a full recovery and get your ass back out there. We have no use for soldiers in a long recovery so I expect you back out their first thing tomorrow."

He turned and left without another word. The lieutenant stayed back long enough to say,

"You now have that whole tent to yourself, and a fresh bedroll since he won't be needing it anymore and yours had grown mold." Without waiting for any reply from me he disappeared after the captain. I didn't know what I would have said had I been given the chance. Surely not thank you. I didn't want to sleep alone in a dead man's bed, nor inside of our old tent all by myself out here in this frozen wilderness. With my luck I'd probably get dragged off by wild animals next!

"Well that was fascinating." I flipped my eyes back to them, still sitting on the edge of my bed with aeg crossed over their knee. "I can move into your tent from now on," they offered. I shrugged, not preferring to have them as my tentmate per se, but recognizing it was better than being alone out here.

The next morning I was back out with everyone and Lemon had moved their rucksack and bedroll in with mine in our now shared tent. They even offered to sleep in my old companions' bedding, allowing me to use their instead, which was nice. Though it didn't keep me from dreaming about the slashes and cries in the night. I am glad I never saw the face of the other one, otherwise it would probably haunt me the way my old tent mate's did. We had only shared this space for one night, and now his image is etched into my mind for eternity.

Lemon actually proved to be a great distraction. Often goofing off which many times led to us both getting yelled at while we were assigned to groups to help further establish our base camp. Like right now. We are out with a group of twelve, sent to search the whole area for some specific types of materials like wild herbs, fat wood, and a certain type of rock to replace the cracked anvil back at camp. Lemon was holding back a devilish grin while our temporary squad leader reprimanded us for something I didn't even have a part in!

Now I've gone from being bullied to guilty by association!

It wasn't long before our base camp was established enough that smaller groups of us started being sent out. Apparently it was just a little further out on the other side of the pass that the enemy forces had been causing problems for troops that previously passed through here and terrorizing the locals that lived in a small mountain village that also was situated beyond the pass.

It was our job to track them down and hopefully expell them from these parts all together. There wasn't yet a description of them as they had only attacked at night so far. Undoubtedly, night patrols were likely our next plan of action.