chapter xxxvi.
❝ What are you trying saying? ❞
baghdad, iraq
july 10 - july 12, 2008
UNABLE TO tear his eyes away from his unconscious friend in front of him, Liam Henderson kept a tight grip on Josiah's arm. He had been sitting right next to his friend for half an hour now, refusing to leave his side in case he woke up. The sound of footsteps approaching the room caused him to look away from Josiah's face, giving the two generals a small glance before turning his attention back to his friend.
"Corporal Henderson," General Evans stepped closer to the bed and the soldier seated next to it, "We really need to discuss some things with you. If you could please follow us."
As much as he wished to ignore them and continue to look after his friend, another part of him really wanted to know what they would like to discuss with him. Did it have to deal with Josiah?
Nodding to the general, Liam stood up from his seat and with one last glance towards his sleeping friend, the soldier followed the generals to another secluded part of the hospital. Stepping inside the room, Liam's eyes immediately focused on the doctor seated at the end of the table in the center of the room, looking through some paperwork.
The sound of the door opening and footsteps entering tore the doctor's eyes from the piles of paper in front of him. He stood up and approached the man, extending his hand for Liam to shake, "I'm Doctor Dunn. I am in charge of Corporal Josiah Lahote."
At the mere mention of his friend, Liam's eyes brightened and he shook the blonde haired doctor's hand. "He is my friend. How is he? When will he wake up?"
"Corporal Henderson please," General Evans stepped up, "Let the doctor speak."
The soldier stepped back, giving the doctor some space and apologized. "Please sit down," the doctor pointed at the many chairs surrounding the table, "I need to discuss a very important matter with you."
Following the doctor's lead, Liam sat across from the doctor. Taking a deep breath, Doctor Dunn interlocked his hands before looking straight at the soldier in front of him, the serious look in his eyes made Liam anxious. "I won't sugarcoat things soldier," the doctor started, "You're friend's condition is not good."
And just like that, all the hope that Liam felt in the beginning began to diminish. Not wasting any time, the doctor continued to run down on Josiah's condition, dampening Liam's mood even further.
"Josiah Lahote received numerous wounds that left him in a state of comatose. He has several broken ribs that punctured his lungs, left arm is shattered, lost his pinky and ring finger in his left hand, and we had to amputate the lower part of his right leg."
Liam's mind went blank for a second, trying to process everything that the doctor was telling him. His heart felt like it was about to stop from how fast it was beating.
"What I'm worried about most is the head injury he received," Doctor Dunn remained a neutral expression which irritated the soldier, "I'm afraid he might not wake up."
At the last sentence, Liam choked on his own saliva making him cough profusely. The doctor was quick to hand him a water bottle. The same neutral expression on his face; as if nothing bothered him. Did he have no feelings?
"At this point I don't think he's going to make it."
Liam's coughing fit stopped at the words that left the doctor's mouth. "What are you trying to say?" He didn't even try to hide the anger in his voice or the glaring look he gave the nonchalant doctor.
"I'm saying that it would be best to pull the plug now. The soldier has been through enough and his condition is not getting any better. It would be best to let him rest in peace."
"How can you say that! You're a doctor!" Liam found himself standing up and slamming his hands against the table in anger, "You're supposed to do everything in your power to save his life!"
The doctor did not seem bothered by the soldier's abrupt behavior. He understood his emotions: they were valuable. But he had to make him see the harsh reality.
"Josiah Lahote has been coding non stop for the past couple of days. It takes every resource and time to bring him back. If he continues like this, then we won't be able to do anything else for him."
Clenching his shaking hands, Liam looked down at the table. Tears were welling up at the corner of his eyes, blurring his vision. "But he's still fighting," Liam whispered, voice filled with emotion, "He still comes back which means he's still fighting."
Sighing, the doctor glanced at the quiet generals who had yet to say anything. "His body is slowly losing that fight." Grabbing the form of consent to proceed with the best form of action, the doctor slid it underneath the soldier's vision. "Please think this over Corporal. Choose the best outcome for your friend and put him to rest."
The doctor stood up from his seat, taking the piles of paperwork, and excused himself from the room― leaving the anguish soldier in a trembling state. Slouching back on the chair, Liam wiped his tears, trying to regain some composure. From across the room, the generals standing by the door gave each other a brief look before stepping up and taking a seat across from the soldier.
Major General Strand cleared his throat, "Liam, I know this is a hard time for you but... we need you to make the right decision."
This made the male lift his head up to face the Generals in front of him, "What decision is that?"
General Evans spoke up next, "Like the doctor said... we believe that pulling the plug would be the best option right now."
Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, Liam managed to hold himself back from saying anything back to the Generals which would get him in trouble. A second went by without either side saying anything. Finally, Liam spoke up, his voice monotone, "Why wasn't his family informed? Why was I the only one given the chance to see Josiah aive? His family needs to know."
"We can't allow that," Major General Strand took charge of the conversation, "Even if we were to inform his family. They would be unable to fly to Iraq in these conditions and Josiah is in no condition to get transferred back to America. We need you to make the call and put an end to this nightmare. Don't let his family suffer through this again."
Liam felt sick to his stomach upon hearing the general's words. How could they think so clearly through this situation? Did they not care about Josiah one bit?
That's when the realization hit Liam like a slap in the face.
"You're trying to cover the situation up aren't you?" Liam's glaring eyes startled the men in front of him but managed to hide it. "By making me pull the plug on Josiah, it would be easier for everyone to cover up the mission that went wrong and killed almost everyone that was sent on that private mission!"
"You're stepping way out of line," Major General Strand eyes narrowed.
Biting back his tongue, Liam released his clenched fists, "I won't let you cover this up. The call for them to take the mission was a wrong one: own up to your mistakes."
Not wanting to deal anymore with the situation at hand, Liam exited the room and headed back to his friend's side.
In the past two days, Liam had been approached by Doctor Dunn to discuss Josiah's health condition. It was not getting any better. Josiah was hurting and he couldn't do anything about it. While staying by his friend's side, Liam had the unpleasant chance to witness Josiah's heart stopping once a day. And every time the soldier felt his heart stop, as well, at the sight of nurses and the doctor fighting to bring him back to life once more.
Liam Henderson also found himself picking up his phone and almost dialing Mary's or Leah's phone number to let them know about Josiah's condition. But every time, he could never bring himself to press the call button.
After witnessing yet another blue code for Josiah, Liam decided it would be best to pull himself out of the room to go talk to his other friend: Samuel. He was surprised when he first saw him but hadn't had the chance to ask about his own health― being too preoccupied with Josiah.
"Hey Sammy," Liam greeted, a forced smile on his lips, "How are you holding up?"
Samuel let a small smile lift the corner of his lips, "Just hanging in there."
Nodding, Liam took a seat beside his bedside and played with hands. "Josiah might not make it."
"Yeah... I figured..." Samuel whispered, voice cracking, "He fought like hell."
Tears began streaming down both of their faces. "I don't know what to do Sammy," Liam's voice broke, choking back sobs, "Should I put Josiah to rest or continue to fight with the doctors and Generals to keep him alive longer?"
Laying on the bed, Samuel turned his head to fully face his weeping friend, since he couldn't see from one eye anymore, "I think... Josiah has been fighting for far too long and... he should finally have the chance to rest. If his family were here, they would want what's best for him and well... Josiah is in pain. They wouldn't want him in pain any longer."
Hearing Samuel's opinion and thinking back to Mary, Paul, and Leah's distraught states when they first heard about Josiah opened his eyes. He knew what he had to do. Lifting his face, wiping his tears, Liam gave Samuel one last look which the bedridden soldier understood. Taking a deep breath, Liam left Samuel's room and went to look for Doctor Dunn. Seeing him talking to a nurse while looking at a chart, the soldier approached them, determination written all over his face.
"I'll do it," Liam said. "I'll sign the papers and put Josiah to rest. For good this time."