Doctor Lakeman's Monologue

“Hey, Sergeant… Sergeant, can you hear me?” The voice came from a bright light. It then took Seth more than a moment to realize the light came attached to a nurse holding a penlight, a nurse named Malerie. “Doctor Lakeman, our sergeant is waking up!” “W-What…” Seth mumbled, his voice was hoarse, his throat dry like the desert sands he was so used to. “What happened? My men?” “Just try to stay calm, sergeant,” Nurse Malerie said. “You’ve been unconscious ever since being picked up on the battlefield. You’re Humvee had a wreck and you’ve broken a few bones and sustained a darn good concussion.” “My men?” Seth weakly asked again. He didn’t get a response from the nurse. But, it wasn’t because she didn’t want to inform him further about his situation, it was that Doctor Lakeman had arrived by her side to take over. The doctor shined another blinding
Doctor Lakeman shared a look with Nurse Malerie. He took a breath and just came right out and told Seth. “Two of your men, Will Hudson and Terrence Sartell, didn’t make it back. They were both killed in combat. I’m sorry, Seth. The other, Darryl Reed, is with us. He’s in rough shape and is still touch-n-go.” Seth almost gasped a choked, harrow cry when he heard the news. He then reached a hand up covering his eyes, and in doing so noticed the IV drip tube that dangle from his wrist. We’re going to do all we can for Darryl, sergeant. And, when he’s stable enough to be moved, he’ll be taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. You’ll probably be flown there eventually as well.” Seth sniffed mucus and rheum back into his sinuses. “Thanks, doc,” he then struggled to say and looked away, towards the light coming from a nearby window. “Oh, there’s just one other thing, Seth?” Doctor Lakeman went on. “What’s that?” Seth responded, not willing to look his way, not wanting to hear