Never coming home

September 30th, Oxford Air Base, Oxford, England

Gerard's POV.

Sep.30th Oxford

My darling Margaret,
We arrived safe and sound at the air base. Although I should be relived and satisfied about finally doing what I was trained to do, my heart feals with sorrow with every passing day. Not only because I miss you terribly, but because there is still no news of Mikey and I'm starting to loose hope...
England is a turned up country. London is permanently beneath a cloud of smoke and ashes. Rubble covers the streets and the dead lay under it. The sound of heartbreaking cries of mothers, wifes, children, husbands, fathers and friends echo in the streets at the sight of their dead relatives burned, mutilated or dead. There aren't enough men to help rebuild this city, and the ones that try, are too tired and deseperate to do so. Lost hope is what's visible in these peoples eyes...
The Air Base is another sight of horror. The bodies of the dead are lined up in the airstirp awaiting identification, seeing that there is no more room in the hospital or the morgue. The surviving pilots and soldiers run around trying to do anything to help and to get the air base running again.
As I arrived at the Air Base, I was relived to see that Frank, Ray and Bob were informed of my arrival and were there to great me as soon as I got out of the truck.
Im pleased to tell you that they escaped deaths clutches with nothing more than a few scars and broken bones. Frank however, got it the worst. He now has a huge scar crossing his face, from the left eye down to the right side of his chin. An injury caused by an exploding propeller. How he survived such a blow, he himself doesn't know.
None of them had any news regarding my brother or what's going to happen next. They say that even after a little more than a week, they're still trying to identify all the dead and injured. The hospital is full of poor men who were badly burned or mutilated from the explosions. The doctors made the decision to induce comas in the worst ones.
I will try to get as close to the hospital as I can in order to try and find out what happend to my brother...

I wished that my first letter to you was a bit more pleasant, my love. But you asked me for the truth and I would not dare lie to you. Although, I beg of you not to worry about me and cry over my departure. I will do what I can to go back to your arms as quickly as possible.
Remember that I love you my darling, and that the thought of you is what keeps me going.
Forever yours,
Gerard


I finish the letter and put my pen down. I fold the paper and slip it inside an envelope. After I adress it properly, I leave the mess hall and walk over to the communications office to deliver the letter.
As I walking down the corridor, I hear running footsteps from behind me,
"Gee!!", I hear Frank screaming my name and I turn around to face him. His face is blushed and he's breathing heavily from running, "You have to come! Quick!"
"Frank what's the matter?" I ask confused
"It's Mikey! They found him! He's alive, but he's hurt! Badly! Come quick!"

A mixture of relieve and panic wash over me as I hear the words I've been so desperate to hear over the past few days. My brother is alive. But how bad are his injuries?

I sprint down the corridor to the hospital with Frank behind me. I push the doors open and ignore the annoyed protests of the nurses as they shout at me that that was no way to enter a hospital.
I turn to the closest nurse and grab her by the arm,
"Where's my brother? Where's Liutenant Michael James Way?"
"Sir let go of me!" The young nurse said with a strong Irish accent, "Liutenant Way is in surgery now. You'll have to wait until it's finished!"
"Surgery?!" I start to panic again, "Why surgery?! What's wrong with him?!"
"If you let go of me, then I can go and find his file!" The nurse said with a menacing look.
I let go of her arm and look over at Frank. He's as in panic as I am.
The nurse comes back with a small brown folder with Mikey's name written on the cover and she starts to read it out loud,
"Liutenant Way gave entrence at the hospital this morning with 3rd degree burns on his hands, arms, neck and face caused by an exploding gas tank. He also has several broken bones in his torso and legs, which the doctor is now trying to fix. Fortunately, he doesn't seem to suffer from any head trauma or internal bleeding." The nurse closes the file and looks up at us, "He is extremely lucky to be found alive. It's been over a week since the attacks and no one knew where he was. The pilots who found him, said that he had dragged himself to a supply closet to escape the fires. He tried to wrap his hands in cloth to prevent an infection from the burns. When the pilots found him, he was barely conscious and mumbling. Your brother is a very strong man Liutenant Way. Any other man would have died of pain and infections days ago... But somehow he managed to survive!"

I didn't notice I was crying until the nurse handed me a tissue. I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. My brother was alive and he was going to be alright.
Frank pulled me to a tight hug and I saw that he was crying too.
We cried for a while, not noticing that the nurse left to attend to her other pacients. Frank pulled away from the hug and smiled at me,
"You stay here and wait for more news. I'll go and find Ray and Bob to tell them. We'll be right back."
I nodded and he left.

Whatever was happening in the surgery room has been going on for the last four hours. I keep pacing around in front of the door, waiting to see a doctor come out and give some little scrap of news.
Frank, Ray and Bob are sitting in the waiting chairs, looking as nervous and impatient as I am.
Finally, an old man in scrubs walks in our direction removing his surgical mask in the process,
"Liutenant Way?" He askes
"That's me" I step foward, "How's Mikey?"
"Liutenant Way will be just fine. He will have scares though. Lots of them and mostly from the burns. As for his broken bones, he will make a painful recovery, and there's a chance that he might walk with a limp form now on, but other than that, he will heal." The doctor states.
I sigh in relief, "When can I see him?"
"He needs his rest now. You can stay next to his bed but he needs to sleep. He will be in a lot of pain when he wakes up because of the trauma. If, by any chance, the nurses or any doctor tell you to leave, you'll have to leave so we can do our jobs properly."
I want to protest and say that I'll not leave his side, but I refrain from doing so. This is about Mikey's recovery. If I need to leave him alone for him to rest, I will. So I nod to the doctor showing him that I'll behave.
"Very well then..." The doctor says, "He will be out in a few moments. My nurses were just finishing his bandages. You can wait in the infirmary."

After a while, the nurses bring Mikey's bed over to were I was waiting for him. He was coverd in white bandages which made him look like a mummy and his legs are wrapped in casts. I couldn't help but smile a bit, thinking about how much Mikey loves to read books about mummies.
He is completely knocked out from the drugs, and the nurses inform me that he won't be wake for at least another four to five hours. So I sit next to his bed, preparing myself for the long wait.
Frank, Bob and Ray leave after a while, telling me that they were going to get something to eat and that they would bring me some. I nod, not really paying attention to them.
Now I'll just have to wait for him to open his eyes.

Notes

Hey guys! Sorry I was away for so long. I'll try and write more regularly from now on :)

Anyway.... MIKEY'S ALIVE! HURRAY!!!!!!!

please, don't forget to let me know what you think, vote and subscribe :D

a lot of love to all of you!!