As we packed up ready to move out, it became apparent everyone except Hassan had taken a turn carrying the metal door, now comfortably the heaviest load left. So I took the front, and he carried the back. The pace was noticeable slower than Adrian and I had been achieving, and I turned to check Hassan was OK. He repeated he was fine, his arms were aching but he could handle it. As we cut across the landscape towards Blackpool, there was a large wooded area in our path. A barbed wire fence that surrounded it had collapse after being hit by falling trees, we carefully climbed over it and headed through. It was a cemetery, surrounded by dying trees. We continued along the gravel path, passing headstones covered in dark ash. As we reached the entrance, the metal door we were carrying suddenly dropped to the floor behind me, causing me to lose my grip on it, as it smashed to the ground. I turned round and looked at Hassan, as the ammo boxes and jerry cans, tumbled off the sides. He had fallen to his knees, with his arm across his chest. Quickly it dawned on me what was happening, I shouted ‘Medic’, as his body collapsed to the ground, hitting with some force and no attempt to soften the fall. I ran over to him and rolled him onto his back, as I was joined by the other recruits. His eyes and mouth were still open, fixed in an expression of anguish, his skin turning blue in front of us. ‘Move’ shouted Lieutenant Higginson, kneeling down by his side. ‘Give me some space.’ He opened his army jacked, placed his hands together on his chest, and started to pump. One, two, three. Hassan’s body shook with the impact as Lieutenant Higginson’s compressions became more and more violent and desperate. He stopped pumping his chest, and moved over to mouth to mouth resuscitation, we knew these moments were critical, if he was to survive. But unfortunately, Hassan died on the ground of Carleton Cemetery, at twelve forty seven am. We just didn’t have the equipment to save him, Lieutenant Higginson tried for ten minutes, but it was futile, he had gone. We sat on the cemetery floor, shocked by what had just happened. Lieutenant Higginson and Second Lieutenant Jackson were just as quiet as the rest of us, all dumb struck, unable to speak. I closed Hassan’s eyes, his body had started to go cold and stiffen, so I fastened his jacket back up, I’m not sure why. The men were exhausted, but not one recruit considered leaving Hassan’s body, we all wanted to bring him back with us. His wife and children needed a body to grieve for, this was going to be an almighty shock for them. After a period of silence, Adrian stood up and started making room on the metal door for Hassan’s body. I joined him and we placed him on the door, surrounding him with the ammo boxes and jerry cans. We moved out, with Adrian and myself carrying the door, and left the cemetery. The remaining couple of hours walk was completed, for the most part in silence, nobody was complaining of aching limbs or lack of food, even thought we all felt it. Lieutenant Higginson admitted there had been cases of young fit recruits dying during intensive training sessions, but it had to be this hard, very few people have the physical and mental strength to fight in a war, and what we had gone through was nothing in comparison to what new army recruits would have had to deal with. By the time the Delta Security Base came into view, through the thick fog covering the camp, my arms felt like they were a couple of inches longer. The camp was eerie in the small hours, the hustle and bustle had disappeared, replaced with an ghostly silence. The security guards let us through, and locked the gates behind us, as we continued towards the camp. We past the stadium and hotel, continuing to where our tents had been erected. ‘Put Hassan in the medical tent’ said Lieutenant Higginson, ‘And we’ll deal with him tomorrow. You all get some sleep’
Chapter Three
01/12/2027 - Time 10:20
When I climbed out of my tent this morning, there was a lot of movement around the medical tent. Two soldiers were stood by the entrance, and other more senior officers were busily working inside. A couple of the recruits were already up, and were chatting outside Wilson’s tent, so I walked over. ‘What’s happening?’ I asked, stretching my aching limbs.
‘They’ve been around the tent for the last half an hour,’ replied Wilson. ‘They’re not letting anyone inside though, I don’t think they’d considered this eventuality.’
‘It was pretty much the worst end to the day possible’ stated Proctor. I couldn’t argue with him, it had been a very affecting day. I had seen plenty of death in the past few months, but none quite so pointless, death from natural causes. It didn’t get us anywhere, he didn’t die for a cause, he just died in vain. Captain Jones walked purposefully out of the tent towards our small group. ‘Driver’ he shouted, in an authoritative voice.
‘Wake the remaining recruits up, I want you all on the parade ground in five minutes.’
‘Yes sir’ I replied, moving into action. I ran from tent to tent, shouting and shaking the canopies, not entirely sure which were occupied. Only seven of us remained after yesterday’s torturous day, with two recruits leaving last night as we slept. Myself, Cox, Harper, Wilson, Proctor, Jackett and Beck. The final two had quietly got on with the process, and were as strong a candidate as any of us. ‘Today is your final day in the process recruits’ said Captain Jones, as we all listened intently. ‘I know you had a terrible shock last night, after a demanding day both physically and mentally. But in war, people will die, your friends and comrades will die. Some in far more brutal and violent ways than what you witnessed yesterday. Hassan will be given a military funeral, and his wife and children will be taken care of. But the job for you is not complete, today you find out if you are to be put forward for selection, but for that, you must complete the days activities in a satisfactory manner.’
We were dismissed, and ordered to wait for further instructions. We all sat by the camp fire, that Wilson had re-lit. As we talked, Hassan’s body was removed from the medical tent, on a stretcher. He had been placed in a body bag, and was carried by two soldiers towards the football stadium.
‘Adrian Harper’ shouted Lieutenant Higginson, as he approached our group. ‘Captain Jones wants to interview you in the medical tent.’ He waited until Adrian was on his feet, and then walked him back to the tent, as the rest of us waited our turn. Adrian was in the tent for around twenty minutes, before Lieutenant Higginson brought him back. ‘Your turn Wilson’ Lieutenant Higginson said, as Adrian sat down. Wilson stood up and was marched into the tent, as Adrian explained what happened. ‘It’s an interview’ he said, making himself comfortable by the fire. ‘Not sure how I did, the questions were a bit ambiguous.’
Wilson walked out of the tent after only a couple of minutes, he made a bee line for us, followed by Lieutenant Higginson. ‘They’ve fucking kicked me out’ he snapped, aggrieved by the decision. ‘I don’t fucking believe it, after all I have been put through, to be thrown out at the final hurdle.’
‘You left your weapon unguarded on the battle ground Wilson. The worst thing a soldier can do, completely unacceptable.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘Collect your stuff Wilson, and remove yourself from the parade ground.’
Wilson left, but argued the whole way. Proctor, Jackett and Beck took their turns with Captain Jones, before I took the final interview spot. I made my way to the tent, followed by Lieutenant Higginson, who sat down beside Captain Jones once inside. I moved the chair out, and sat down facing them. ‘Driver, how do you fit into a team?’ Asked Captain Jones, not wasting any time on formalities.
‘I’m a team player sir, always work hard for my comrades, always building their confidence and pushing them. I think I have proven over the past week, I’m forward thinking, a problem solver and mentally strong enough for this.’
‘When did you cry last?’
‘Probably before I found my daughter, through worry, or the thought of what I might find. Yeah, that was a hard time, not knowing.’
‘Do you think that makes you weak?’
‘Not at all.’
‘What is the most important thing in your life?’
‘
My daughter, without question. The boys too, keeping them safe.’
‘Why are you here then?’
‘Because they are safe now, I have-’
‘Nowhere is safe.’
‘Well, as safe as they can be. I got them to the safest place I could, now I want to help make the country safe again.’
‘What’s the hardest thing you have ever had to deal with?’
‘The aftermath of my wife’s death, in a car crash, having to deal with that, telling Emma her mum wouldn’t be coming home.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘It’s fine, I’m fine now.’
‘In battle, how can I trust you?’
‘Over the past week I have proven I can handle it physically and mentally, making important decisions and using sound judgement.’
‘But could you kill, without hesitation, should you need to?’
‘I have killed, when someone needed to die, when there was no other way.’
‘Did you enjoy killing them?’
‘Not at all, I found no enjoyment in taking a life, but it had to be done.’
‘OK Driver, you are dismissed. Join the rest of your comrades.’
‘Thank you sir.’
We sat around the fire and waited for any news, none of us sure if we had done enough. At around eleven am, Sergeant Davis arrived with news about Hassan’s family.
‘General Morris is talking to them at the moment, I think Shazia must have suspected something, she was very red eyed. How are you all dealing with it?’
‘We’re OK I suppose, not a lot we can do about it. Just waiting around now to see what’s gonna happen next.’
After half an hour, around lunch time, we were called to the medical tent again, where we were all told we had passed. From a batch of thirty plus recruits on day one, we had been whittled down to six. Cox, Harper, Proctor, Jackett, Beck and myself. We were all put forward for different areas of the army; Proctor was moved into engineering (metalsmith), a position he had held at Rolls Royce, working on fighter jet engines. He would now be working on the camps vehicles, and any future military vehicles. Jackett and Cox both came from a professional driving background, Jackett a bus driver, Cox had a airport taxi business. They were both added to the driving roster for all military vehicles, including training in tank warfare. The camp has around ten tanks, two of which had been museum pieces pre war, sat outside the barracks in Fleetwood. Engineers had been working on the vehicles, and had now got them to a usable condition. The tanks were both Comet Cruiser Mark IX, Jackett and Cox would both start training for them tomorrow. There were also three companies out on missions to bring back tanks from other barracks, which were expected back next week. Beck had been a doctor at Preston General Hospital before the war, and was added to the field medics, a position I feel he will excel in. He is not a flashy soldier, he just gets on with the job in hand, quietly and efficiently. Adrian (Harper) and myself were recruited into the offensive army, with a request for my services already in by Sergeant Davis. ‘Blue and White Company want you to join them on a mission due to leave first thing the day after tomorrow’ said Captain Jones, standing up from his chair. ‘Are you ready for a real operation?’
‘Yes sir, I believe I am.’
‘Right recruits, you are all dismissed. Go and enjoy the rest of your day with your families.’ There will be light weapons training tomorrow morning Driver, then you’ll be formally introduced to your company in the afternoon.’ We all left the Medic tent, and headed into the hotel for lunch. There was much banter in the canteen, particularly with the chiefs who implied we were the ropiest set of recruits they’d ever seen. The mood and confidence was high, we ate up and headed our separate ways. Adrian and I decided to try and speak to Shazia, and see how she was doing. We climbed the stairs to the floor she had been working on, but the chiefs in the canteen said she’d been signed off for the foreseeable future. We tried her room on the first floor, where we found her, very red eyed. She’d clearly been crying recently, and didn’t really want to talk. We told her we were sorry for her loss, and if she needed anything she only had to ask. Hassan’s funeral was to take place tomorrow afternoon, a military funeral with just family, friends and a few officers. Shazia asked us if we would attend, to which we agreed. I am worried about her, she has lost Amid her eldest son, and now her husband. She still has three children who are going to need a lot of care and attention. I think I’ll ask Lauren to keep an eye on her and the children, if I see her before I go. Adrian and I went back to the parade ground, and packed our belongings back into our rucksacks, and took our tents down. By the time we had finished, it was getting on for five o’clock, so we headed into the hotel for some dinner. There was a small queue forming outside the entrance, with a new set of newcomers anxious to get inside. As we walked past them, I could hear a multitude of accents, from brummie to geordy. They looked tired and dirty, much as we had the day we arrived. We headed to the entrance for the first floor, but Sergeant Davis spotted us and left his post to congratulate us. ‘Well done Nathan’ he said, shaking my hand and turning to face Adrian. ‘And you too Adrian, well done. I knew you were both army material.’
‘Thanks’ we responded.
‘I’ll leave you to it, I just wanted to say congratulations. Will you come for a celebratory drink tonight?’
‘I’ll probably give it a miss. I haven’t seen Emma and the boys for a few days. Probably just gonna spend the night with them.’
‘Sounds like a good idea, you do that, I’ll see you tomorrow.’
We left Sergeant Davis on his post, and continued into the dining hall, where Mrs Brownhill was already waiting with the children. ‘Dad, you’re back’ Emma shouted when she saw me, as she ran around the tables to give me a hug, followed by the boys.
‘Have you missed me?’
‘Well-you haven’t been away that long’ said Emma, as the boys nodded their heads in response to my question.
‘I have been fine, and looked after the boys all by myself. You’re a bit skinny’ she remarked, standing back and letting go of me. ‘Why are you so thin?’
‘I just need a good meal in me, come on, let’s get some dinner.’ Bernard arrived, and took the children off my hands, allowing me to have a quick word with Lauren.
‘You OK?’ She asked, as I made my way around the tables to where she was waiting, with the children yet to be picked up.
‘I’m fine thanks.’
Aftermath: The complete collection Page 33