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“It's good to see you're still with us,” Chris said.
“When is the attack going to start do you think? Is everything in place?” I asked.
“The battle's over Sam. The enemy is in full retreat and we are working on getting all our wounded cared for so we can head home. Adam was wounded. He'll survive, but it's doubtful he'll ever be able to command again. For now you're in command of Alpha company,” Chris said.
“This isn't what I wanted Chris. I'm getting tired of assuming command simply because my commanding officer is either wounded or killed. I don't know how much longer I can go on like this. Why can't they just give me a promotion and command since it seems whatever company I'm attached to loses its commander leaving me in command anyway,” I asked not expecting an answer.
“I know that's a rhetorical question, but I do agree that it's foolish not to give you command grade and a company of your own. You're the best I've ever seen at battle tactics and planning a strategy that works,” Chris said.
It took three days before we were ready to start the march back to base, a march that would take the better part of a week because of all the wounded. The enemy would harass us on our rear flank from time to time, but the harassment was usually just one or two small four man units that didn't understand the futility of what they were doing.
The Hidden Rose Page 38