War Nurse

• Jessica Wongprasartsuk, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

Stumbling through the barren field, eyes darting left to right, I suddenly heard the ear piercing shrill of an incoming mortar bomb. We all dived for cover hoping that we would be the lucky ones. As the deafening sound started to subside, we rushed back onto the field searching for bodies that had not been as lucky. A couple of metres away we found some badly wounded and dead soldiers. The mortar bomb had been a direct hit. The nurses and I got straight into action. Some helped the wounded stand and started the walk back to camp while I and a few others lifted the dead onto stretchers and carried them.
The walk back was dangerous. Every few minutes we had to run for cover. By the time we got back night was upon us and two nurses gone. They had left us on sacrifice; they were helping everyone into cover when a sniper spotted them. It was so fast and I hope it was painless. They were my best friends. I hated this war, it was entirely my fault they were gone, I convinced them to sign up. How I wish it had been me instead of them, but I had to go on.
After we had helped them settle down, we went off to bed. I had a sleepless night filled with images of my friends. Finally, I drifted off only to be woken by a nurse telling me “to get up.” I reluctantly pulled on my nurse scrubs and left. In the distance I could hear the unmistakeable sound of a shell exploding. It was heartbreaking to hear. Suddenly the air was filled with shouts of “we need nurses now!” About ten nurses and I rushed to help.
It was a short walk, but still dangerous. When we reached the site, I gasped. There was a huge hole in the ground with dozens of soldiers in it. They were all dead apart from one who miraculously only had a broken arm. I helped him up then started to help the others. As we were going back, I saw a well-camouflaged sniper. “Get under cover!” I yelled. Alerted by my call everyone hurried to safety. I had just pushed a soldier out of sight when… “Ahhh! I fell to the ground in agony, the pain was incredible. I hunched over unable to stand. The bullet got me in the chest. The nurses put me carefully onto a stretcher and carried me back to the hospital. Even though the walk wasn’t long it felt like five hours. The nurses settled me onto a bed and tried to stop the bleeding. Gradually it came to a halt and I was able to drift off.
In the morning I woke to hear a nurse informing me that I had punctured a lung. I would live if I survived the surgery. First, I had to go home, but after this I felt ready for anything.