Joseph waited, curled tight into a ball, eyes shut waiting for the inevitable. The rain now soaked his khaki clothes making him shiver immensely.

He laid in that position for what seemed like an eternity but nothing came. The only sound was the rain hitting the leaves on the ground. The coast seemed clear, but you can never be too sure. Every slight sound would make Joseph jump and scrunch tighter in his ball position.

He moved. Slowly, making sure that he made as little sound as humanly possible. The thought of wolves still bounced around in his head. With the darkness still looming, Joseph made a very slow and careful trek to the base of a big tree.

He had a decision to make. Stay until dawn where light could possible guide his way back to the barracks or, try again to find the right direction in the pitch dark. If unsuccessful the result could end badly for either plan of action. Hypothermia could be a big issue as the rain is showing no sign of slowing down if he were to stay until dawn. The possibility of running into wolves or other dangerous creatures while walking blindly in the dark was another issue.

Two decisions, freeze or be mauled, freeze or be mauled. The words repeating in Joseph’s head as he weighs the pros and cons.

The trees though baron and naked could at least provide a little bit of cover from the raging storm above. To him, it was the best option he had, not wanting to venture into any more creatures of the night.

The dense clouds in the night sky covered all light from the moon and stars making Joseph’s next task of finding any lightly damp or dry sticks to lay on the trunk of the tree he was at. That way the mud that was beginning to build would at least have a little less of an impact on his body temperature.

Though shivering and worried to the core, Joseph somehow managed to fall asleep dreaming of the warm bunk he will have when he returns.

The sound of voices stirred Joseph from his slumber.

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“Jo…” as the voices got louder he could make out his name. “Joseph!”

He snapped back into reality sopping wet and as pale as a ghost.

He looked down at his hands to find them so wrinkled that they began to bleed under the nail. As his eyes adjusted to the daylight, Joseph made out a figure. He let out a cry as he felt the pain in his hands when he wiped his eyes.

The figure in the horizon must have heard as the sound of footsteps thundered on the slush of mud and soaking branches as it headed toward joseph.

Not knowing whether this was a man or a dangerous animal, Joseph instinctively turned the other way and started to run.

The faster he ran the more unstable he got and as he made his way away from the figure he was bumping into tree trunks with every step.

The exhaustion from the lack of sleep to a sudden chase made him collapse in a heap of mud. The last memory was his name being called by an unknown voice before all consciousness drained away.

***

The warmth from the bed was comforting. Joseph, eyes still closed started to feel around his surroundings with his hands. Was he dead?

“A bed.” He concluded as his hands felt the sheet under him.

It was quiet. Very quiet, too quiet for an army barrack.

His eyes opened slightly. And then a little more to find a figure staring at him.

Alarm filled his body as the blurriness of his vision cleared to find that it was a nurse.

“It’s all right. Quite an adventure you came back from.” She said.

Her voice was soothing to Joseph and his body re-entered its relaxed stage.

“A few visitors came to see you but you were still completely out of it.”

Joseph couldn’t remember anything taking place from the moment he passed out to now. His body ached from all possible places and moving was done with great pain.

“Try not to move. You have quite a few nice bruises.” The nurse reminded Joseph of Mary. It felt so long since he last saw her even though it was just yesterday.

“Mary.” Joseph muttered barely audible.

“No I’m not Mary, my name is Kathy.” The nurse replied.

“I need to write to Mary. Tell her I’m alright.” Joseph was a bit louder this time around.

“She doesn’t know about any of this yet. The army is hardly known for its delivery of messages. But if you still want to I could help you write one.” The nurse responded.

Joseph gave a small nod. He closed his eyes again as he heard the nurses footsteps echo away on the concrete floor to find a pencil and paper. Not long after, she returned.

Joseph whispered the things that he wanted to say since his voice was still very weak. The nurse wrote it down not a peep coming from her.

“Okay that’s all.” He said

“Let me read it to you Joseph.”

Dear Mary

You probably have not heard about my antics here at the barracks but I am still alright. Decided to have a bush walk and it didn’t turn out well. Nothing to worry over though, just a few nice bruises. Life here is only going to get harder as time goes on. We did not much extra information about what is happening but you can rest assured that I will keep as safe as I can. I hope that Nic is doing alright. Give him a few extra hugs and kisses from me.

I will keep you posted with everything that continues to happen.

Love Joseph