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　　UNIT 6

　　The Pasture

　　Night settled, thick with the acrid odors of gunpowder and blood. No moon meant firing at muzzle flashes, an inexact method by which to combat ones foe, but the enemy had no advantage either. With artillery fire blanketing the field of battle, Jack had no opportunity to go to Mikes aid. He poked his head over the rim of the trench to see if he could spot Mikes corpse. He knew he was dead. He had heard his scream of pain when he was hit. His agonized moans had grown weaker and less frequent and finally ceased about ten minutes ago.

　　The regiment had been under heavy bombardment for two days, without respite. He had been too late to stop Mike as he propelled himself out of the foxhole and staggered as he hit the muddy terrain. In hindsight, he should have seen it coming. Mike had started to break yesterday. He was becoming bizarre, talking about his patriotic duty to expel the enemy from these shores. Paradoxically, just before he hopped over the edge of the trench he scorned the day he had heeded the call to enlist.

　　It pained him to realize that his one friend in this ungodly war had betrayed him by dying. Soldiers dont often make friends with one another, knowing they might die. He and Mike were different. They had known each other since they were children. Mike was the best man when Jack and Lily walked down the aisle just a week before they left the dock and crossed the channel to engage the enemy.

　　Clouds tumbled and overlapped one another as the wind began to freshen. It was getting colder now. The prospect of another night of rain, or perhaps even snow, made Jack quiver with dread. Blood tinged water was beginning to crust over with ice. He could feel his toes and fingers stiffen as the temperature dropped. Maybe Mike was better off than he. At least the cold wouldnt bother him any more.

　　Suddenly, comets of light began to streak across the night sky. They were using flares! The increased tempo of cannon fire coming from the left flank, shattering the earth around them, could only mean the enemy had sensed their weakness, and was coming in for the kill. They were heading straight for the underbelly!

　　Jacks rifle misfired. The whole corps had been issued new guns a few days before this campaign had started. It wasnt long before they discovered that the alloy used in the barrels couldnt endure prolonged firing, causing the shell casings to adhere in the bore. How could he repel the enemy without a weapon?

　　Jack felt a stab of pain in his right thigh. The ground around him ruptured. Jerking from side to side, he tried to dodge falling rocks and the clods of dirt raining down upon him. He slumped into a prone posture as he felt himself shoved from behind by an unknown force that felt as if it might have been a racing locomotive. The last thing he heard, before his world was overturned, was a chorus of screams.

　　Am I dead? Where am I? Where is everybody? Cognitively, Jack realized he was still functioning physiologically so that meant he was still alive, but for how long? He couldnt move. Maybe the impact had fractured his spine and he was paralyzed. He tried，analytically，to assess the damage incurred by moving his limbs, one by one, in a clockwise direction, starting with his right arm. Everything appeared able to be mobilized but for some reason he couldnt get up off the ground. Everything went black again.

　　Jack led his horse by the reins as they stepped onto the overpass bridging the gap between the plateaus. In the distance, he could see a twelve point buck grazing in the pasture, silhouetted against the waning sunset. Out of nowhere, a bull came charging across the meadow toward him. He tried to run but his feet were pegged to the bridge.

　　Drifting in and out of consciousness, Jack tried to make sense of what had happened to him. He seemed to be in a cavity under the ground. The earth was compacted on his legs but he thought he might be able to rotate his body enough to make himself a little more comfortable. Was that a shaft of light he could see through the groove between the fingers of his left hand covering his eyes? He groped to clear a tiny bit more space for himself. The shutters of his consciousness closed again.

　　The galaxy was being probed by lunar modules shuttling between Earth and the other planets. As a member of a federation of geologists, Jack and his team had to follow the seam of ore to its source, a pasture on a distant asteroid.

　　Once again, Jack regained lucidity. Wow, he thought, that was like a bad paperback novel about astronomy! He sniffed the air. It was foul with the smell of death but qualitatively able to sustain life. Why was it so quiet? Was he deaf? Was the battle over? Was everyone dead? The weight on his legs was becoming oppressive.

　　Lily lay back in the soft, green grass of the pasture. White daisies, golden brown-eyed Susans, prickly blue vipers bugloss, and frilly Queen Annes lace surrounded her. She beckoned to him from what seemed like miles away. He hiked through the grass calling her name. She began to stroll away from him into the distance. He had to reach her! He loved her so! If they couldnt marry, he would make her his mistress! Nothing could extinguish the flame of his love! He would cling to that until his dying day.

　　Lying stationary was taking its toll on Jacks circulation. His feet and hands were numb. Something was tickling his nose. He managed to tilt away from the irritant, whatever it was. He was so thirsty! He tried to lubricate his lips with saliva but had none. His bladder felt like a separate entity that would overflow. He could stall the urge to void no longer and allowed the urine to flow out of him. What did it matter now? He was as good as dead anyway.

　　The fort stood in the center of the pasture. A moat filled with sharks protected its walls from any possible intruders. Jack pedaled his bicycle as fast as he could. The sharks whipped back and forth so quickly they created foam on the surface of the water. He had to cross the drawbridge before it was raised, segregating him from his regiment and his pregnant wife, Lily. She saw him approaching and skipped onto the bridge to greet him. The bridge was rising. The sharks were in frenzy! He rode as if the hounds of hell were after him. He had to reach her!

　　His right arm was wedged against a rock. No matter how hard he tried, he couldnt wrench it free. This was getting tiresome. He felt a stitch in his right side. Thats all he needed now to die from a ruptured appendix! He had wriggled enough to increase the size of the slot in which he was trapped. Were those voices he was hearing? He wasnt deaf!

　　When he fought his way to the surface of consciousness once again, he was being carried on a litter over the inverted battlefield. Bodies were strewn everywhere. The stretcher-bearers stumbled over the rough ground but maintained control of their human cargo as they made their way to the field hospital.

　　The fuse leading to the dynamite in the stern of the oil tanker burned so rapidly that Jack knew the ship would explode before he could reach the hatch to extinguish the flame. The olive green ship was almost within his reach when it blew up. He felt as if he were on a grill. His face was aflame. His body felt as if the skin had been ripped from it. He wanted to die before the pain grew worse.

　　His forehead felt cool. He opened his eyes slowly, painfully. A white-clad nurse sponged his face gently. As she became aware of his gaze, she stopped her ministrations and offered him a sip of water. Take it easy, she whispered. You mustnt drink too quickly. Too much, too fast will give you nasty cramps.

　　Jack was aware of bandages on his muscular arms and casts on both legs. Intravenous tubing carried a clear fluid into his veins. Consciousness was still transient. Dreams of a strange pasture mingled with reality and continued to haunt his sleep. He understood he was on a hospital ward, but where? And how did he get here?

　　The pretty young nurse was back. We cabled your wife. She knows you were injured but are on the mend.

　　How did they find me? Jack asked.

　　A patrol looking for survivors found you buried in the foxhole. You were calling Lily!They started digging and there you were. You were stabilized at the field hospital before they could bring you here. We scrubbed you up and started to you with I. V. therapy. You were very dehydrated and suffering from urinary retention and renal failure. Your kidneys may never function normally again. The good news is that you survived, she explained.

　　A stray strand of hair fell across Jacks cheek hiding the tears that crept from his eyes. He was grateful to have his life back. He silently saluted his friend. Mike hadnt been so lucky.

　　The cable from Lily arrived the next day. We have a son stop Born 05 Dec. stop Healthy stop Named him Michael stop I love you. Lily stop P.S. Dad bought the pasture and deeded it to Michael.