Infected Poppy Fields

by Alathia Paris Morgan

  We all knew that the AEF commanders were planning something big. It was in the air and was all that anyone could talk about lately. I didn’t care about the different offensives because that meant more dead soldiers.

  I had one job to do, well two really: stay alive and keep others alive. It didn’t sound that hard, but under these circumstances it wasn’t as easy as everyone made it out to be.

  When I closed my eyes, I could still see the soldiers I’d lost over the past few months. No matter how many lives I knew we’d saved, there were more that hadn’t made it.

  On one of my weekends to Paris, I’d found a shop that sold journals similar to the one Nora had written about the Titanic’s infection.

  My idea was to write down the names of those that I’d lost, but I didn’t want to look back on my time in the war and only see the terrors. I enclosed those I’d managed to save as well. Some I didn’t know by name, but I list each one by the type of their injury and the country they were fighting for.

  It was a small way to keep a tally of those who would go on to live and make a difference in the world. At least that’s what I told myself, but I knew that I would never have been able to deal with all of the lives lost out in the trenches.

  I’d only been back from my leave for one day before they sent me out to the field hospital.

  This was going to be the big push that we’d all been waiting for. They’d been having the doctors, nurses and Hello Girls all take leave for the past few weeks so that we were as refreshed as possible when it came time for the offensive to happen.

  Since I’d shown initiative during the Aisne-Marne battle earlier in the spring, I’d been given a higher rank and sent ahead to make sure that we had enough field hospitals all staffed for the battle to come.

  Soldiers that would have been volunteering to come to the sick bay and be checked out for small things were suddenly asking to be sent into battle.

  The air of expectation was contagious and we could all feel a hint of victory in the camps. The AEF had been sending more soldiers as fast as they could be trained and shipped over so that we had fresh men to send into the German lines.

  Tents with supplies were ready as were the nurses who had filled a much needed place in our makeshift hospitals. If we could keep the men alive long enough to make it to the hospital base, then they had a good chance for survival.

  An extra hospital had been set up on the other end of the line with a smaller one in the middle, but dozens of smaller field tents were being mobilized to make sure that doctors and surgeons were as close to the doughboys as possible. Minutes mattered when their lives were at stake.

  It seemed like such a large amount of doctors standing around while the beds were empty, but I knew that could change in a fraction of a second. Better for use to have too many instead of too few.

  I took advantage of the quiet to stick my head into the telephone operator’s tent to see if Emma might want to eat lunch with me while we waited for the sky to fall.

  --------

  Emma

  When Joseph stuck his head into the tent, I wasn’t all that shocked. He was a frequent enough visitor that even the guards on duty knew he was allowed inside the tent.

  “Oh, Emma, someone’s here for you.” May sing-songed to me ending in a fit of giggles.

  “Thanks, May.” I stood and stretched as I walked over to him.

  “What’s up?”

  “I was just bored and thought I’d get lunch. Would you like to join me?” He asked almost embarrassed that he’d followed through on his idea.

  “Yes, it would be a good idea to get everyone rotated through before it gets really busy.” I turned back to tell the girls, I was leaving.

  They all hurried to turn back to the switchboard as if they hadn’t been listening in on every word we’d said.

  It had been a long few months, but General Pershing had continued to ask for more help. We’d finally gotten all the girls that would be coming over before the big battle took place. There were now two hundred and twenty-three of us here in France taking calls.

  We’d even managed to break a couple of records in getting the calls connected from what had been sixty seconds to just under ten seconds. I was so proud of our group and the wonderful effort they were making to help the war.

  Units had been placed all up and down the front lines with farther back in case something went wrong and those area became the front lines. The mansion where’d we all stayed when on leave or rotation for lighter duty had been expanded to include all of the phone lines through France. So far, it hadn’t required a full staff of women yet, but if this battle ever got under way, it would be one of the busiest moments of our army career.

  The anticipation was making all of us antsy and we worked at our best when we were busy. We’d gotten so good at answering the line while under pressure that it seemed way to quiet when nothing was happening on the front lines.

  Today had been different though, there was an uptick of chatter as platoons and battalions began to gather along the front lines.

  It might be a few days or the battle might start in the next hour, but it was coming and we were ready for it.

  I took the offered arm that Joseph held out for me. We’d tried to keep things formal so that there weren’t any assumptions or issues with the army. They didn’t have any rules against friendships and I’d made sure that all of girls in my unit stayed to of trouble.

  The middle of a war was the last place that any of us needed to be finding a man or starting a relationship. The only exception had been the romance that had quickly sprouted between Private Emerson and Holli. Anyone with a lick of sense could tell that they were in love and we’d have just been cruel to keep them apart. Although, the army had tried their best by having each of them transferred to new areas. In the end it hadn’t really matter because they’d gotten permission to get married.

  Now, it was worse because they were in opposite places with a large battle looming over us. The units of Hello Girls where he’d been stationed had promised to let us know the minute things were over and that he was safe.

  We couldn’t keep the lines tied up with things like this which is exactly why that army had frowned upon relationships of this nature between its soldiers and the women of the Signal Corps.

  All of this passed through my mind as I took his arm and realized that I’d just been kidding myself by going through all the rules. If he offered to go out on a date, I would say yes.

  “Can’t you feel it?” He asked moving briskly toward the mess tent.

  “Hmm,” I answered distracted, “Oh, yes. The tension is growing and if they don’t use all of this energy then it’s going to go to waste when it could be killing Germans.”

  I could feel his gaze as he tried to figure out what was going on with me.

  “Sorry,” I looked up at him, “I’m just a little worried and distracted. At any moment we could have bombs falling around us again. I’d just begun to enjoy being able to hear out of my ears again.”

  He let out a laugh, “I completely agree. It’s been nice.”

  “Is everything ready on your end?” I asked trying to find something to discuss.

  “As ready as we can be.” He sighed, “There’s no way we can be prepared for how many wounded, but if they’re going to go over the top with this offensive then it’s going to be a lot.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of, but at the same time, I’m kind of hoping that this does it. You know?”

  “You mean ends the war?”

  “If only that was the case. General Ludendorff almost signed that set of treaty negotiations, but he didn’t because the terms were very restrictive. He figured they might as well continue fighting on their own terms. Now, the word is that he’s stepped back and that General Hindenburg is in charge of the German forces.”

  “Oh,” I felt a little deflated. “Then it may never end. Germany isn’t going to like any of the terms that AEF is going to present to th
em. It means more deaths and years of fighting until they’re driven back into a small section of Germany.”

  “Maybe it won’t come to that,” He comforted, “but enough about gloom and doom. How is your sister fairing?”

  “Inez is doing just fine somewhere over on the western front. I finally had to let her go. At least for those first few months, she learned a lot about taking care of herself. I wrote mom that I’d seen her for a few moments and that she seemed fine.”

  “Are your parents mad?” He took the tray of food and carried it over to the only empty seats in the room.

  “They were, but there’s nothing they can do about it now. She’s not even using our last name so it’s not like they can make inquires and hope that she’s sent home either. If she makes it home to the states, I’m not sure that she’ll go back home until she’s considered an adult.”

  “Well, none of that is on you though. It’s not like you forced her to run away.”

  “No, but my parents won’t see it that way, unfortunately. In fact they pretty much hated the fact that I joined the Signal Corps and since she left to follow my footsteps, then I must be the reason that she left.” I could feel a headache beginning to creep in as I discussed my sister.

  “Do you have family? Were they happy that you were going to be sent overseas or were they upset?” I changed the subject slightly as I tried to eat my food slowly since there wasn’t the normal rush to get back to the switch board.

  “I do have a family. My parents were thrilled that I was following my Uncle Michael’s footsteps in becoming a doctor. What they didn’t know and I only found out as I was on my here, is that my uncle was a drunk. He worked on the Titanic, but other than being one of the few to make it off the ship, he never talked about it.”

  “How did you find out he was a drunk?” I added salt to the potatoes to make them easier to eat.

  “I found a journal among his things and it was written by the nurse that was there working with him. From the sounds of it, it wasn’t just an accidental mistake that the ship ran into an ice burg. They deliberately sank it to get rid of an infection that was spreading over the entire ship.”

  “No, really?” I let out small gasp, “How on earth did they keep that kind of thing quiet when the sinking of the ship was in every newspaper in the world?”

  “Apparently only a few people knew the real reason that the ship was sinking. Most of those rescued were off the ship before the infection began to run rampant over the ship. If they did see something, I’m sure that their consciousness put it out of their minds so that they didn’t have to worry about it.”

  “Are you going to keep it a secret?”

  He tilted his head in bewilderment, “What do you mean?”

  “Shouldn’t people be warned about an infection of that magnitude? What if it happened again and they could come up with some sort of vaccine?”

  “Um, I hadn’t really thought about it more than the fact that my uncle didn’t help keep it contained in the first place. This nurse, Nora Ryan kept a record of it and I’m sure that she had some tests done once she was back on land.”

  “What if she was one of those that died on the ship? Maybe her journal is the only thing left that could tell others about the real events.” I suggested feeling a strange sort of connection with Nora. It was like she was telling me to check into it further.

  “When I make it home from the war, I’ll look into finding her and getting the account straight from her. You’re right there could be a lot of ways for us to improve medicines so that it doesn’t happen again.” He looked a little sheepish, “Honestly, I haven’t really thought about home. It’s something that I’ve been pushing away because I’m not sure this war had an end. Even if it does, what does that mean for me?”

  “Wouldn’t you go home and become a surgeon?” I asked the question because it made the most sense to me.

  “Maybe. I feel like I’ve done enough surgeries to last my entire life. I might have to branch out into another area of medicine and see what that holds for me.”

  “Whatever you come up with, I’m sure that it will be something that helps to save lives.” I grinned hoping that he hadn’t thought I was fishing for a commitment.

  “True, but before we can think about what our futures might hold, we’ve got to get through this battle.”

  A soldier ran into the room and whistled for everyone’s attention.

  “It’s starting, everyone to their places.” He yelled in excitement.

  “I guess that’s you’re answer for the moment.” I couldn’t help the feeling of excitement that ran through me.

  He collected our trays and held out his arm. “Now, or never, huh?”

  “Let’s do this.” I took his arm and joined the rows of others hurrying out to get back to their units.

  Chapter 12

  Joseph

  The soldiers and generals were naming this the 100 day offensive for the Meuse-Argonne forest and it had begun only a few short days ago.

  At first the wounded trickled in slowly, but within hours of the first offensive it was obvious that it had begun.

  While we were doing well it meant that there were less of our soldiers that were injured, but the forest was full of sniper pits and built in holes for the Germans to hide inside.

  Those in the trenches were to make a push forward as well so that the Germans were busy on all sides.

  Due to the fact that the fighting wasn’t as close to us it meant that when the wounded did arrive we had a short amount of time to fix the problem to keep them alive.

  In minutes, the few surgeons and doctors that could help were up to their elbows in the blood of soldiers hoping for a last chance to survive.

  The days began to run together and I barely had a moment to clean off from one surgery before there was another patient carried into the room in front of me.

  My body had been training for this and couldn’t stop to focus on any weakness that might pop up. I had to keep going.

  Nights were the only chance we had to catch up and send out those that could make it to the base hospital. Hours naps keep the doctors and nurses from collapsing, but it wasn’t enough and we began to have to rotate people to their bunks for rest and food.

  Having become one of the highest ranking doctors due to my surgery skills, I spent more time than I would have liked worrying about keeping everyone on their feet.

  Finally, there was a lull after five days of intense fighting as if both sides were trying to take a calming breath before things began again. Our side had made several huge strides in taking out some of the machine gun nests that kept us from leaving our trenches and advancing toward their positions.

  In the moments of quiet, I’d found my feet hurrying to make sure that Emma and her girls were all right.

  Lieutenant Roman was stationed at the door.

  “Couldn’t find a private to take your place? Or were you demoted in the past few days?” I teased while he growled at my words.

  “This is going to sound crazy, but the hair on the back of my neck is standing up. Something is brewing and I want to make sure that they’re all right.”

  I shook my head, “No, you’re not crazy and I’m glad that someone else is trying to make sure that they’re okay. I couldn’t say if something weird is going on, but right now I’m doing to be standing up straight.”

  He gave me a look filled with pity. “You’ve been working too hard and need to get some rest. Go on, I promised the General that I’d make sure they stayed safe and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  With a quickly declining strength, I turned to go.

  “Wasn’t sure if you were interested, but I’m positive now.”

  “What?” I faced him understanding not quite getting the picture.

  “You like her. She’s the first thing you thought about when you got a moment, to check on her safety and make sure she was okay.” He commented keeping his arms holding his weapon.

  I
blinked unsure of what he meant. Did I like Emma in that way? Had I fallen in love without meaning to?

  His expression softened, “its okay man. She’s safe. You need some rest. If you can come back after that, she’ll be here.”

  “Thanks,” I gave him a salute and walked away wondering if he was right and I had feelings for her. There was one thing he had gotten right, I needed sleep and fainting at her doorstep wasn’t going to solve my desperate urge to rest.

  My feet carried me to a tent with an empty cot. I didn’t even pause to take my boots off, but pulled the rough army blanket over my body.

  Sleep consumed me and I didn’t have time to worry about the impending doom that Lieutenant Roman had warned me of.

  ------

  Rudi

  On the German side of the battle, I watched as the trucks carried our surprise weapon away moving toward our portion of the no man’s land.

  With an eagerness that was hard to contain, I followed behind waiting to see if this could be the turning point of the war.

  Each troop lorry was filled with prisoners who had been outfitted in French, British and American uniforms. None of them were allowed guns and they had been told they were earning their freedom by going on a secret mission for their country. If they survived then, their records would be cleared and they could return to normal society.

  Karl was riding with the first truck of recruits while, I followed along in my own personal vehicle.

  When the general had given me permission to proceed I’d thought that we’d be setting out immediately, but months of political maneuverings and almost signing a treaty had put a halt to my award winning idea. Finally, when General Hindenburg had taken complete control, I’d been given the go ahead. It was time for us to turn the tide of this war.

  We’d all known that an offensive was about to begin because the Allied nations had started to gather more troops and strengthen their lines. Almost having negotiated peace they were willing to make us surrender one way or another.