We Happy Few | Band of Brothers

Chapter 45: Reckless

"He's gonna fucking die!" Vest began blurting out over and over again. "He's gonna fucking die!"

"Will you shut up?!" Annie snapped at the panicked man to her right, her hands moving to push Jackson down onto the table. "You're not helping!"

Jackson looked up at Annie, blood sputtering from his mouth as he coughed. Just like Margot, only one side of his face had been hit—but it was worse, much worse. His skin had turned sheet-white and it looked like it might fall off at the simplest touch. Annie had nothing in her bag to treat this type of wound and no knowledge of how extensive the injuries were. Had his throat been sliced open by shrapnel? Was he bleeding out internally?

Like always, Annie was met with more questions than answers and was left feeling her way around in the metaphorical—and due to the poor lighting, slightly literal—darkness.

"Look at me, Jackson." Annie pulled out a cloth from among her supplies and started gently dabbing away the blood. "I need you to calm down, alright? I need you to take some deep breaths so I can help you."

Suddenly, there was a loud growl, and Annie caught a glimpse of Lieutenant Jones bolting from one side of the room to the other. There was a commotion going on with the German POWs, and of course, Vest was in the middle of it. Margot had been right when she said she didn't trust the ill-experienced mailman with a gun. Margot was usually right about things like that, that was what made her a good leader.

When Eugene came barreling down the staircase, Annie felt a weight lift from her shoulders. "Eugene, thank God!" she cried out, her head turning to check on Margot once more. She was comforted by the sight of the woman still seemingly doing fine. 

Babe was sitting atop the counter, his partner in his arms, his hand stroking her head in a calming rhythm while he looked down at her. His mouth was moving ever so slightly, indicating that he was speaking to her in a hushed voice.

"Eugene, help me here." Annie made the split-second decision that Jackson needed the extra help more than Margot. 

When the Cajun medic appeared beside Annie, the situation suddenly got a lot easier to deal with. Eugene's large hands grabbed Jackson's head as he examined the wounds, and for the first time, Jackson seemed to calm down a little.

The young man laid semi-still, his breathing laboured and followed by faint gurgling sounds. Placing two fingers inside Jackson's mouth, Eugene tilted the boy's head back and opened his jaw as wide as it could go. Like clockwork, Annie reached into her pocket for her flashlight and shone it down Jackson's throat. 

As the room fell silent, everyone waiting to hear what the medics had to say, Jackson's rugged breathing turned to fearful sobs. After a few seconds, Eugene looked up at Annie, his facial expression providing her with all the information she needed. It wasn't good.

"Alright, let's get him out of here." Eugene turned and motioned for the men to bring over the stretcher.

Sliding their hands underneath Jackson's body, Annie and Eugene slowly began to transfer him. "I don't wanna die!" Jackson spoke for the first time, his dark irises shifting from medic to medic. "I don't wanna die!"

"You're not going to die," the white lie slipped past Annie's lips far easier than she was comfortable with. In all honesty, she had no idea if Jackson would die or not, but she was well aware that she was in no position to promise life to anyone.

As Annie and Eugene slowly carried the stretcher towards the stairs, an explosion hit nearby, shaking the foundation of the building and sprinkling dust and other small debris down on them. Crouching down, the medics put Jackson on the floor to wait for the attack to pass.