To the Last Man - Jeff Shaara [167]
The pain had eased, and he nodded slowly, testing, turned slightly to the side. There were beds in a long row, most of them occupied, other nurses moving about. She was leaning low across him, one hand gently probing the bandage on the side of his head, and he could smell her now, the scent of lilacs. She stood up straight, said, “Would you like to see?”
“See what?”
She giggled again, and it was not annoying after all. “Your bandage. They did a wonderful job.”
“Yes, thank you.”
She moved away quickly, and he watched the flow of her dress, soft and graceful. He closed his eyes, eased his head back into the softness of the pillows, but she returned quickly, said, “Here you are.”
He looked into a mirror, was shocked to see a thick white dome on his head, his face etched with small red cuts. He stared for a long moment, and the image fell away, the mirror down by her side.
“So, what do you think? The doctor did a fine job, I believe.”
The sight of his bandage had turned his hunger to sickness, his stomach cold and twisting. “What happened to me?”
“You were shot in the head, Captain!” It was a man’s voice, startling him, and he saw the dark suit now, moving close to him, the nurse standing back. “Dr. Kraske, at your service, Captain. It was my honor to have assisted with your repair.” The man sat heavily on the edge of the bed, and Richthofen was engulfed by a new smell, stale cigars.
“Thank you, Doctor. What happened to me?”
“A bullet impacted along your scalp. Made quite a nice incision actually, nearly ten centimeters long. You were extremely fortunate, Captain. The bullet parted your scalp as cleanly as any wound I’ve seen, but did not enter your skull. The bone itself was exposed perfectly. You still have some bone splinters embedded. But we shall tend to that later. Congratulations to the enemy on this one. Nice and clean.” The man laughed at his own joke. “You will have one substantial headache for a few days. Considering the possibilities, it’s a small price to pay, wouldn’t you say?”
“My face . . .”
“A few bruises, and a good many small cuts. The soldiers who accompanied you here said you jumped out of your plane, and landed in a rather nasty thicket of briars. I pulled quite a few thorns out of you.”
More memories flooded through him, the plane landing in a tangle of wire, still upright, struggling to climb out, falling . . . yes, thorns. He put a hand up to his head, felt the thick cotton cloth, said, “How long . . . must I wear this bandage? Will I be allowed to fly?”
“I can answer the first question, Captain. A few weeks at least, until the wound has closed completely. As to the second, that is not my area of authority. But I see no reason to recommend that you be kept from your duty. In any event, I would not want to be the one to make that decision.”
Kraske stood, motioned to the nurse, “Miss Otersdorf, I insist he eat something. Change his dressing afterward.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kraske leaned close to him again, said, “I’ll look in on you later, Captain. Anything you require, anything at all, just ask Miss Otersdorf. I assure you, sir, you are in quite capable hands. You are an honored guest here. Please take advantage.”
The man moved away, and Richthofen put a hand on the thick bandage again, the nurse moving closer.
“No you don’t, Mr. Richthofen. That’s for me to do. An honored guest. Dr. Kraske isn’t often so generous. I should like to hear more about our honored guest. Forgive my ignorance, Mr. Richthofen. Perhaps it is your, um, father who is the general?”
The hunger had returned, and he said, “Is there food? You said—”
“Right away, Mr. Richthofen. The orderly is bringing your tray now.”
He saw another woman, older, a silver tray covered with a white cloth. The nurse removed the linen covering, the smells rolling up to him.
“Well now, Mr. Richthofen, we have quite the feast here. Not every patient here receives fresh vegetables.”
He was ravenously hungry now, and she sat on the edge of the bed, picked up the fork, stabbed at something green on the plate, put it into his mouth. He swallowed