Dust was in his eyes. He didn't try to wipe it out. He savoured this quick moment of senselessness. He didn't see the bullets hit the ground around him. He didn't see in comrades fall about him. He saw nothing, yet he kept on charging. He wiped his eyes and suddenly, everything hit him. The danger, the fear. The enemy. Oh, wait, he thought, pain is there too. He looked down at his leg. Flesh had been ripped clean. He kept on charging. Then he fell into the dirt.
"The Ditch" Medical Campus "Mr. Cooper." Daniel rolled in his sleep. "Mr. Cooper." He felt a slight nudge this time but he still didn't get up. "On your feet Sargent!" Daniel fell out of his bed onto the cold, linoleum floor. As his grogginess faded, he saw the smiling face of Shaun Flinch, a surgeon like himself. Shaun's hand was reaching out to him. "Get up," he said, "I've a kid on the block who took a bullet to the leg. Shrapnel everywhere. Technical, so naturally I need your help," he laughed, then his face turned into a solemn grimace, "Its actually nothing to joke about." Daniel groaned and then followed Shaun outside. The grounds were silent, and it must have been three in the morning, but the sky was ablaze with distant explosions. Daniel smoothed his hair, "Good God. I really hate this job" And then he took no more notice.