Aubrie Newcomb
Sedation
Crouched beside the tank and as close to the ground as possible. Not right behind Dave, but just
close enough. His gun was close to his body and at the ready. Everything that basic and physical training
had prepared him for. Whatever training couldn’t possibly prepare him for he had managed to pick up
within days.
Be on your guard at all times.
Never give out personal information unless absolutely necessary.
Listen to the guys who have been on multiple tours. To be honest, they had more life or death
advice than training could give out.
If you have to go out, never travel alone unless you want to die.
Be wary of everything. He didn’t believe his instructors when they said the enemy had started
using women and children as way to bait US military personnel into stepping on a road side bomb . . .
until his squadron came across two such scenarios. However, the roadside bomb never went off because
they didn’t go near it.
He had learned a lot from the little scraps of combat he had been involved in. So, by now, he
knew the drill. And when gunfire had started to break out, he threw his body to the ground without a
second’s hesitation. He and Dave were in just the right placement: beside the tank and the wall of a
building. The only people behind them were other members of the squad and nobody could sneak up on
them from the front. From what he could hear, the enemy gun fire was mainly coming from their right
and what seemed to be scattered around their left.
“Dammit, I think I found `em, Jack. I think I see him.”
“Dee, don’t do anything stupid. We don’t know how many are left out there; it ain’t safe to move
yet,” he said as softly as he could while still being heard. He knew it was one of Dave’s biggest dreams to
be a hero, to somehow save the day, but now was not the time. This was a reality in which dying was a
very real possibility.
But Dave didn’t seem to understand that. “But . . . he’s there. I see his crazy-ass face,” he argued.
Jack could see the gears working in Dave’s head and he didn’t like what they were starting to produce.
“Dee, don’t you even . . .”
But before he could finish, Dave had already started moving forward; away from the safety of
the building and tank. He had just started to situate himself to aim, when Jack launched himself toward
his comrade.
He broke rule number one: In a standoff with enemies, never stand up. Don’t even bother getting
off of your stomach.
Was it a surprise when he felt a red, hot pinch in the middle of his lower back? Not really, though
it was a bit of a shock to feel his legs go lax.
His body managed to cover Dave’s before he could have sworn he felt another pinch to a spot
right above the previous one.
A vague thought about how odd the world looked sideways crossed his mind before the entire
situation went dark.
His body seemed to reawaken before his mind did. Groggy blue-green eyes blinked themselves
awake against the filtered light of the window next to his head. The more he stared, the more he
became aware of his surroundings. He was lying on his stomach with his head facing the left. Beside him
lay what seemed to be at least twenty other guys, all covered in bandages and several with IV’s hanging
from their arms. He vaguely assumed he had one hanging from one of his limbs as well, but was entirely
too lazy to check at this given second.
That thought automatically sent up a red flag. He could think of at least thirty different
adjectives to use when describing himself. ‘Lazy’ was not one of them. Come to think of it, he thought,
why does my body seem so heavy? He felt so unnaturally sluggish.
What had exactly happened to him?
Now, he wasn’t an idiot; he had known just by looking at his surroundings that he was in a
medical ward somewhere. But for what exactly, he wasn’t quite sure. Truth be told, he didn’t remember
much except being out with his squadron, getting caught in crossfire and pushing Dave down. After that
just seemed to be a blur.
He tried to push himself up, to at least stretch, but his arms weren’t having any of that. At all.
He could barely manage a decent push, let alone his upper body off of the mattress. They did something
to me, his thoughts relayed, Possibly sedated. Huh. He had always wondered what being sedated felt
like, especially after seeing how goofy the cat was after a visit to the vet. However, after feeling how
useless his body was, he didn’t much care for sedation. He could barely get his arms to function and had
yet to get his legs to even budge. I can’t even feel my legs, he frowned. He managed to lift his head up so
he could at least look around from where he was lying.
There wasn’t much to see. Just a few nurses and doctors running around. The other guys in the
beds were sleeping, trying to sleep or “chatting” with each other. Just as he lay his head back down, a
tall man in a camo pair of scrubs made his way over to Jack’s bedside. “Officer Lee-McGarver?” he
asked. Jack could only nod his head. He was suddenly very nervous about what this man was here for.
He knew he had some sort of answers, but whether those were things Jack wanted to hear was a
different matter. “Officer Lee. . .”
“Please, Jack is fine,” he interrupted. That was the only thing he didn’t like about his rank: too
many words. The man smiled gently and nodded in understanding, “Jack. My name is Dr. Shultz. I’m one
of the many doctors here. Do you feel awake enough to fully understand your medical report?” Jack
shrugged, “Sure.” He seemed awake; it was just the rest of his body that didn’t seem to get the memo.
His arms were still really weak and he still had yet to at least start regaining feeling in his legs. Was
sedation always this powerful?
“Ok. Jack, when they brought you into see us, you were really banged up. Before I say anything, I
just want to let you know how lucky you are.”
Crap, his mind squeaked. That wasn’t good news at all.
But Doctor Shultz continued, seemingly unaware of the suspicious patient beside him, “Jack,
while you were in combat, you took two enemy shots to your back: one in the lower lumbar region and
the other a little higher up. Now, the higher one was easily removed and didn’t do much damage. The
lower one, however, is a little trickier.”
Jack had basically turned into stone. He had been holding his breath ever since Shultz
mentioned he had been shot twice. The military doctor paused, gauging Jack’s reaction. He must have
guessed that there really wasn’t one because he kept talking. “The bullet that hit your lower lumbar
actually hit your spinal column, meaning it hit sections of your vertebrae as well as your spinal cord,” he
explained, “As you can guess, it’s a pretty serious injury that will require surgery. But unfortunately
there’s not a lot we can do over here, so in order to get the treatment you need, you’re being sent back
home to the States.”
Jack’s head was spinning. Was this all really happening? Or was he still just unconscious on the
ground? That had to be it. It was the only thing that made sense. Dr. Shultz continued to look at him, but
he could tell that there was something he wasn’t being told.
“Doc, what aren’t you telling me?” he asked, silently dreading the answer. Shultz carefully
inhaled before exhaling what sounded like a pitying sigh. “Jack . . . this type of injury is something not a
lot of people . . . walk away from,” he tried. But Jack still didn’t quite understand what he was getting at.
Or rather he didn’t want to understand what Shultz was explaining. “Jack, at this time, you are paralyzed
from your hips down. At this present moment, you will not be able to feel or move anything from your
hips down without possible medical attention or assistance.” Shultz didn’t even take a minute in
between statements. Jack knew the shock was blatantly apparent on his face now and the doctor rushed
to keep his attention from slipping, “Now, will you ever gain your legs back? We don’t know. It’s
possible. But I do want to remind you that there is a good chance this is permanent.”
Whatever Shultz said afterward was completely missed. Jack’s entire being seemed to shut
down with only one thing ringing in his head. His head buzzed, revolving around that word: paralyzed.
Paralysis. Permanent paralysis. Unable. Handicapped. Can’t. Every syllable and association that seemed
to pop up.
He didn’t know when Dr. Shultz left, nor did he particularly care. So that’s it? he asked silently,
Years of harsh training and studying lost in an instant? No, he shook his head; This can’t be the end of it.
He had put too much of his life into this.
“Oi.”
He glanced up to see the guy in the bed next to him. He couldn’t have been older than thirty
four, but seemed to be in worse condition than Jack. “Be thankful you at least get to keep your limbs,”
he almost growled. He, apparently, would know. Jack had, in his shock, been inadvertently staring at the
stumps that used to be the man’s legs. Yeah, well, at least you can move what’s left of yours, he thought
bitterly. It didn’t matter anyway. He wouldn’t know the full extent of his injuries until he went home.
He laid his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes, hoping and praying for sleep to come
quickly.