Chapter 3 - 3. Watch your Step

Dusk settles over the land painting the sky with an orange and purple hue. We are soon out of the forest of death. Then I hear a soft click and Boom! The earth shakes violently, my ears ring. Training kicks in and we all hit the ground prone. Screaming fills the air. "Whos hit! Whos hit! Nobody move dammit!" shouts Sarge.

We stay put terrified to move inch.

I see ahead of me a figure writhing in pain, screaming in horrible agony. "Its Coleman!" shouts Townson. My eyes focus and I see Coleman lying on his back writhing, bloodied stumps are what remains of his legs. Blood pours from his wounds, the red meat gushing a never ending stream of blood.

"Mines! Mines! We are in a mine field!" shouts Guzzo. "Doc! Doc! Help me please!" pleads Coleman straining. Johnson looks to Doc, He rises to his feet. "Don't you do it Avery! Don't you fucking dare!" shouts Johnson. Avery takes off in a sprint dashing almost to where his feet don't touch the ground. He lands by coleman and digs in to his medic's bag, pulling out an array of medical gadgets. "Tourniquet! I need another tourniquet." shouts Doc. I quickly reach for my medical pouch and retrieve the cloth belt. With my all might I throw the belt as far close as I can. It lands near Avery, He reaches for it and begins to apply the device to Coleman's still profusely bleeding legs. He wraps the tourniquet around his leg and pulls as much pressure as he can. He then tightens the device and the bleeding begins to stop. He applies the second device and the bleeding soon stops too. He begins to pull out his cloth bandages and wrap Coleman's mutilated legs. "He needs an field hospital! We need to get him out of here!"

"Townson throw me your rifle and bayonet!" shouts Johnson. The reply is a far flung M1 Garand and a bayonet that almost hits the sargent. Quickly he fastens the bayonet to the rifle and begins to probe the ground through the dense leaves with the blade . "Avery stay put I'm coming to you!" Johnson shouts. I find my knife and begin to follow suit, So do Townson, Guzzo and Tanner. I poke the ground in multiple places, crawling slowly through the leaves in an attempt to make a path. I still see Doc tending to the still crying out Coleman.

The Sargent picks up his pace furiously stabing a path to Avery and Coleman. As I prod I feel something hard. I uncover the leaves to reveal the three upright prongs of a German S-mine. I shout, "I found one Sarge! What do I do?"

"Unscrew the top!" He shouts back. My heart racing, I gingerly attempt to unscrew the metal cap, careful to avoid the three metal prongs sticking out of the ground. I take my hand and I go below the prongs and gently begin to unscrew the cap. The sounds of loosing metal quietly sounds. My heart pounding in my chest for any mistake could be fatal! The cap softly clicks, I brace for my demise. But I find the cap falls off harmlessly. "I disarmed one!" I proclaim proudly. "Good for you Ryan!" replies Guzzo.

"Now hurry up!" The sargent bends and quickly unscrews the mine he newly discovered. Quickly he closes near to them and soon he joins Coleman and Avery.

Now darkness encompasses the land, we turn on our flash lights which dimly illuminates the landscape. Sarge is also tending to Coleman. "Guzzo! Tanner! Find us a way out of here! Townson stay where you are!" shouts Sarge. "But I can help!" replies Townson. "Stay where you are dammit thats an order!" barks Sarge almost hoarse.

Tanner probes towards Coleman and Guzzo begins to probe the ground in the opposite direction.

"Ryan! Get your ass up here!" Sarge shouts to me. I tread carefully for I am only a few yards away. Almost tiptoeing, I carefully watch the ground for any of the triple pronged mines with my flashlight, I make it to Sarge in time to watch Avery stick the morphine syringe in to Coleman's arm. His crys stops as the pain seems to subside. Avery reaches in to his pack and retrieves a large cloth canvas. He begins to roll Coleman onto his side and tuck it underneath him. Avery then rolls him to the opposite side and retrieves the cloth canvas. An improvised stretcher I think to myself. Doc cuts away Coleman's sleeve and taps vigorously on his arm, finding a suitable vein, he sticks Coleman with a small needle. "Ryan! Help me with this." orders Sargent Johnson. Sarge grabs at the head of the canvas, I at the feet or where there should have been feet. Avery holds a glass bottle of plasma high above and off to the side of Coleman. One can see the clear liquid trickle down to Coleman's arm.