The next morning, a bell rang in each of the rooms where the soldiers slept. The time just ticked past 5.
Upon hearing the alarm, Claire took a sudden rush of air before sitting up. It took her a moment to realise where so was and what day it was.
And when she did, her eyes widened. 'We are going into the battlefield today...' she thought to herself.
Getting dressed up, she exited her room before following the crowd, their journey ending in the canteen.
There, she found Gabriel to her right side, talking to a few of their colleagues.
"Good morning!" she heard from behind her. Danielle.
"Danielle!" Claire exclaimed, a big smile forming on her lips. "Good morning to you too.". After a second of silence, Claire decided to add, "What do we do now? Do we get some food, or?...".
"I'd say so..." Danielle replied before looking around her. "Looks like everyone else is doing just that.".
Looking back at one another, they nodded at each other. With that, they went to get some food.
After their brief breakfast, everyone in the canteen stood up before they all headed outdoors, following the instructions that Gabriel gave them as they all ate.
Everyone got their belongings before splitting back into two groups, each group boarded a bus.
Unlike many times in the past, this time, Claire managed to find a seat with Danielle sitting beside her. Gabriel noticed this, he glanced at them both before a small smile evolved on his lips. From there, he found himself a seat.
---
The journey lasted no more than 2 hours, but almost all of the voyage was spent with everyone sleeping, resting as much as they could before the action-packed day began.
Upon getting closer to their place of arrival, Claire was woken up by the dropping of a bomb nearby. She jumped up ever so slightly before lifting her head from her hand that acted like her pillow.
Sitting back up, Claire looked out the window. Immediately, two planes caught her attention as they flew high in the sky. Two more come into view, diving and turning, one following the other. Then, shots.
The plane that followed the other began shooting it. A dog fight.
That's when things sunk that bit more within Claire.
She is actually going into a war. A battlefield
She was no longer being told how she'll have to fend for herself. Nor was there a need for it.
Those days have passed and she knew it.
---
Not too long passed before the bus parked.
"Alright, we cannot be on the bus for long, I need you all to quickly get out, come on! Come on! Let's go!" Gabriel shouted and immediately, his words went into effect.
Exiting the bus, both Claire and Danielle found themselves in front of a row of fern green tents. The gunshots in the background penetrated the quietness in the air. From time to time, a plane or two would contribute to the noise.
Both Claire and Danielle found a place to put their belongings. A big plot of land, allocated for them to rest, well camouflaged, but still well secured so that worried of a night attack shouldn't be a concern. But not that it was written off as its occurrence being impossible.
Looking for and finding Gabriel, Claire observed him as he walked through the crowd. And as if he felt her gaze, he replied by looking back at her.
Even though they were at a distance, his eyes didn't fail to lock with hers. With a small smile, his orbs came off of hers and he turned around. From there, he walked a step or two more before he stopped once more, turning back around and facing the group.
"Alright. Everyone! Split up into your three groups. So that's anyone in the medical group, or those who are out with me, or those who take care of the food. After that, I'll brief my group and we'll be off.". Suddenly, as if Gabriel's face couldn't get any more serious. "Let me cross over this point once more. There is no room for any sort of mistakes. And if any are made, you'll very highly pay with your life. Everyone must take care of themselves, and their teammates, of course. Because that's the only way we'll succeed. That's the only way we'll win!". A pause followed. "Is all that I said clear?".
"Yes, Captain!".
---
Both Claire and Danielle went to their sector, the Medical sector where all of their group was greeted and briefed by their coordinator.
She told them where everything was, where more stuff could be found. How more stuff could be requested. But, as always, if there were any more inquiries, that they shouldn't hesitate to ask her.
A table was assigned per two or more people with Claire and Danielle assigned an available table.
The tents themselves were made of basic material. Weak metal to support the - somewhat - waterproof, green nylon. Each connected to the other, with an archway making it easy to walk from one tent to the other.
But for what it was, in such circumstances, it was sufficient.
The gunshots continued and they seemed like they had no intention of stopping. At times, the gunshots grew louder, indicating some activity close by. But very soon, they sounded distant once again.
"Some place this is..." Danielle whispered to Claire.
"Ah, well look at it. We are in a war, and for what it is, considering the enemy might wreak this place at any minute, I think it'll do.". Even for Claire, her words left a horrid aftertaste in her mouth. But she knew all too well that was the naked truth of their situation.
Then, a huge explosion was heard nearby. A bomb.
Shrieks echoed throughout the camps, as the light flickered above them all. A number of planes flew close to the camp.
Claire swallowed whatever was in her mouth before steering her gaze towards Danielle. Her facial features were tense as fear was more than noticeable across her face.
The sound of the planes grew more and more distant, but the sound of the gunshot still remained.
"They are gone..." Claire voiced, in the hope that it made Danielle less tense. And it did, but just by a little bit.
Then, shouts from the other side of the nylon became audible as the sound of a truck approaching grew louder.
"Everyone, Get ready! Here come the injured ones!" their coordinator shouted aloud.
Minutes passed, and just as she said, a flood of injured men and women rushed into the tents. Just like before, like when Claire was back in Arittoria, some injuries were life-threatening, some were just horrid whole the rest were minor casualties.
Taking in a deep breath, Claire and the rest of her group knew what to do.
Claire and Danielle rushed to a soldier closest to them. He was distressed, barely able to walk. "T-the bullet! The bullet is in my leg!" he shouted.
What was once a silent bunch of tents, filled with sounds of the guns and planes on the other side of the green barrier, now was like a long hall that echoed screams and shouts of agony.
---
Days passed and the rush of injured soldiers only seemed to increase in intensity.
The weather was of no help to them. The cold winds that came from the nearby mountains gave way for moderate to heavy curtains of snow to fall to the ground.
If luck was on their side, the weather would clear up by the time afternoon came around. But, commonly, that wasn't the case.
More than often the snow would continue on into the day. Though not falling as heavily, it still posed a threat to the collapse of the tents if the snow continued to accumulate.
But that wasn't the only worry on Claire's mind. Claire didn't see Gabriel all that often around the camps.
It was only obvious that he was out, further on the battlefield and it was this fact that he was out, out where the shots were, that caused Claire's worry to rise.
---
Nighttime came around, and another batch from her group came around to switch the ones who worked during the daytime.
Claire found herself, snuggled in her sleeping bag as she kept her gaze up at the material that covered the sky from her line of sight. But not that she would have been able to see much anyway.
It was snowing again tonight.
Then, turning around, her eyes were met by the back of Danielle's head. She was already sound asleep.
A small smile appeared on her lips before her gaze lowered down to her sleeping back. Pulling her hands from beside her stomach, she began to draw shapes on her pillow.
'If feel like if I got the chance to see him more, I'd be that bit more settled,' she told herself. But upon rehearsing the thought, her cheeks changed their colour ever so slightly. 'Why do I feel this way about him?' she asked herself.
But she ended up laughing to herself at the irony of her question. She asked herself why, when she knew, well, the answer.
'I have feelings for him. I feel for Gabriel. But of what sorts?'. She paused at this question, a frown developing on her face. 'That's something I don't want to go too deep into...'.
With a sigh, she returned to laying on her back, her gaze looking back up at the nylon material above her.
'I thought about my parents and where they are, about where Garrett is right now. I even thought about Trina... and now, now I am thinking about you, Gabriel. Though only a could of hundred meters separate both you and me... it still leaves me wondering...'. A brief pause followed her train of thought. 'I wonder... I wonder how different it is there than it is here right now? Are you off to bed for the night? Is there another group further down the battlefield, fighting right now?... But more importantly, I wonder if all is well there. I hope you are okay... I hope you are not injured, Gabriel...'.
Silently, she blew another rush of air through her mouth.
'I hope I'll get a chance to see you tomorrow...'.