The Calm After the Battle

Stephens was the only man that was hurt in the battle. He was shot just above the knee, and it was bad enough to earn him a ride home.

I was the one who had to call in the chopper. It took fifteen minutes to get here, and when it arrived, it landed in the open field next to the trees. Cooper and Paulson helped Stephens off of his feet and towards his ticket out.

He cocked his head over his shoulder and looked me in the eye. He started to say, “Hey, Cammon, you tell Clarke that—” but he was cut off; Paulson sucked in a breath, I heard, before Cooper stepped on the half buried land mine.

Paulson was the only one to go home that day.