A large black-toned jeep crawled slowly along the road. The wide wheels rustled soothingly over the fine gravel. When, once again, a large cobblestone got under the wheel, the heavy jeep softly bounced on it, shuddering with its polished sides shiny in the sun. Its driver frowned painfully as if he had become one with this black monster, and just like it, he felt the slightest irregularities in the road with his body.
In reality, everything was so: a bullet in the side sharpened the sensitivity of the body – even a small stone that this black monster went over was reflected in dull pain. It darkened in his eyes, the pain was disgustingly spreading, throbbing, but then subsided until the next push from the stone under the wheel.
“How stupid I got this bullet!”, – once again the thought flashed in Kai’s head. Although this was a war, everything is silly and illogical here. No one is immune to anything. So this happened to him.
Everything went well at first. That night, leaving his jeep in one of the many caves in the mountain, he walked along a narrow path leading up the mountainside. It had a beautiful view of the valley. There, in the valley, there was a movement of enemy equipment. Kai assumed that there would be such a movement and was not mistaken in this. Night vision devices showed the full scale of what was happening. After observing this for half the night and recording everything that was needed to transmit data to the headquarters in the video, he went back.
It was already daylight, fog descended in the mountains. It was thick, milky white as if space was filled with weightless liquid milk. All at once became different. The picture of the world was sharply distorted – the fog created its reality. Now he walked, focusing only on the sensor, which showed the direction of movement and a red dot at the end of the route – this was his jeep.
At some point, he felt that he was not alone. A chill ran down his spine.
“Who are they and how many are there?”
Everything was hidden in fog – just a sense of the presence of strangers and a sticky fear paralyzing the body.
A pebble slipped out from under his boot and, rustling softly, rolled down. That was enough for them to start shooting. Flashes of light shot through the fog. They were shooting from machine guns.
“There are probably eight of them, judging by the sounds of the shots. It’s stupid to fight,” Kai thought.
He jumped abruptly to the side and rolled down the slope. Now the fog was his ally. They did not see him and did not know who their opponent was either. Therefore, they did not pursue it. They just shot.
One of the bullets, ricocheting against the rock, softly entered his side. He felt it but continued to move. The main thing was not to stop! It was not far from the car. The shots died down. They lost him, lost interest in the pursuit, apparently, their task was different.
Having slammed the door of the rescue jeep, he found a bag of gauze under the seat, opened it, and, having unfastened the buttons of his tunic, carefully applied all the gauze to the wound. He did not have any other medical first aid equipment with him. Now he scolded himself for it! He wanted to throw an army medical package into the jeep, which contained everything for such cases. But all the time there was no way to get to the hospital and pick up this package. And now there was just this piece of gauze. However, the driver’s usual first-aid kit was still lying in the trunk, but it had long been opened and half empty. He still couldn’t buy a new one. Although this was his style, he never found time for such little things.
Kai took the little keffiyeh from his neck and, wincing in pain, wrapped it around him, pulling the gauze to the wound with this kerchief. That was all he could do now.
“I must go. Otherwise, I can see other guests to visit.”
Having connected the satellite, he sent the captured information to the computer of the central headquarters.
Well, now he was calm – at least he spent the night, not in vain. It was a joke. It would be nice to get to his people without incident!
He drove quickly at first. The adrenaline in the blood acted like pain relievers. But then – then he began to feel every unevenness in the road. The bullet, stuck in him like a guide, transmitted pain throughout his body even from the slightest push of the car.
The bullet had entered quite shallowly, he felt it.
“Now, if to pull it out, it would be easier and the blood would gradually stop flowing.”
But is it possible to pull the bullet out for himself? No! He was not that masochistic. Of course, he heard about the guys who picked out bullets for themselves with a knife, but he clearly did not belong to such heroes. It was better this way – to endure and to move. The main thing was not to disconnect!
Kai rummaged in the glove compartment, driving the car with one hand, and found what he needed now – ammonia! He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and, pulling out the cork with his teeth, splashed ammonia on the handkerchief. His eyes stung. The sharp stench cleared the mind. He brought the handkerchief to his nose and inhaled several times. Tears flowed from his eyes. But what an effect – sharpness, and clarity! He added gas. Now he can drove faster while the road picture was so clear.
Ahead a section of the bad road began again, he slowed down, feeling every stone on it, gritting his teeth from pain, slowly crawling, warming himself with the thought that then the asphalt would begin and his torture would end.
A jeep appeared to meet him, which was also not going fast – apparently, the owner was saving his car. He slowly drove around hummocks and potholes.
Kai pulled the machine gun closer to him – you never know what. Although in this place there should not be anyone hostile. This was neutral territory. Here everyone went about their business. And the oncoming jeep was too expensive for the militants.
The cars drew level, Kai glanced at the jeep driver and cursed. It was Toyami!
Toyami also recognized him, waved his hand, clearly trying to say something, then honked his horn, asking him to stop.
Kai hit the gas.
“Let the car jolt by the rocks. Never mind.”
His day was not going well. First, this stray bullet, and then the man he least wanted to meet right now!
In the rearview mirror, Kai saw Toyami’s jeep turn around and start chasing him.
“Crazy! This guy is completely crazy! Well, what else does he want from me?! Kisses again?! Now is the time! Toyami, leave me alone!” Kai pressed the gas pedal to the floor.
Enough time had passed since the last moment of their meeting, Kai practically forgot this strange episode in his life.
Finally, the bad road ended. Asphalt began ahead. His jeep picked up speed sharply. Toyami’s car was no longer visible.
“He has decided to chase me. It won’t work!”
The speed on the speedometer crept up. Suddenly the car began to shimmy on the road. Only a quick reaction to what was happening and the skill of a first-class driver saved him, and he did not fly into a ditch. Having stopped the car at the side of the road, Kai, carefully so as not to disturb the wound, got out of the car. His worst expectations were met – he punctured the wheel.
“Today is definitely not my day!”
***
Toyami and Kodji were returning from the city to their headquarters, after a wonderful night in the company of two youths. Yesterday they had a day off, they decided to go to the city to have fun. A closed private club with a specific focus was always glad to its regular visitors. Here they could satisfy any tastes and whims of those who paid money for it. They had no problems with money, so they got everything they wanted from life.
Kodji was dozing in the passenger seat, being tired that night. The boy was good. He was pleased with him. He was happy with everything and now, closing his eyes, through his drowsiness, he recalled his night of pleasure.
Toyami also remembered his night. Everything was great, awesome. But for some reason, there was emptiness and longing in his soul. What happened to him? This was not the case before. Although no, there had always been emptiness. This emptiness could not be filled by one-time boys for pleasure. They only gave a brief relief from it, and then the emptiness crept up again and whispered to him about his loneliness. It was getting hard and disgusting.
And now he felt a vile feeling of dissatisfaction with his life, himself, everything that surrounded him.
“Maybe listen to my father and marry? Maybe then my life will make sense? The wife will give birth to my child. A child? Do I want it? Probably, but not now,” he smiled, remembering the “list” of brides that his father gave him every time in the hope that the son would dare to take this step.
He knew that someday it would have to be done – to continue their ancient samurai family. He understood how important it was to leave behind an heir, the successor of the family and their clan. He didn’t care whom to marry. He even decided that when the time came to make this choice, he would write the names of the brides chosen by his father on a piece of paper and let the “hand of fate” would make this choice.
“I wonder if my life will make sense then? When I have a wife and a child, will I stop feeling this emptiness inside myself? ” he looked around the dull landscape: “I shouldn’t deceive myself: no woman can give my soul what I want. My soul is looking for a soul mate in order to find that integrity, without which everything in this world loses its meaning.”
A large black jeep loomed ahead. He had already seen something like this – flashed in his mind. Toyami took out a pistol and put it down next to him. Although this was neutral territory, everything could be expected, he should not relax. He pushed Kodji in the shoulder, who realized – it was better to be ready.
Their car drew level with a jeep crawling towards them.
Through the tinted windows of the jeep crawling past them, Toyami immediately recognized Kai.
“This is luck!”
And he will not miss it! He wants to talk to him! Now no one will bother them. Then there were too many unnecessary people on the stairs, and the place was not quite suitable for such a conversation. And now he once again wants to try to explain it to Kai, who obviously misjudged Toyami’s act for himself.
Kai’s car began to pick up speed abruptly. It was clear that Kai recognized him.
“Stubborn boy! But I will not leave you alone!”
Toyami swung his jeep around and hit the gas pedal.
“Do you want to talk to him?” Kodji asked quite calmly, holding on to the side handle not to jump so hard on the rocks.
“Yes!”
“He drives fast, very fast,” Kodji said just calmly, seeing Kai’s car turned into the point.
“Let’s try to catch up with him!”
Kodji realized that it was foolish to talk to Toyami about the rationality of such actions now. Therefore, taking out cigarettes and lighting a cigarette, he resigned himself to his fate, although it was even interesting. He also wanted to see this young man again.
***
Kai was standing in bewilderment at the car, realizing that changing the wheel now in his condition would be a heroic act that would take away his last strength. Well, and he did not particularly know how to change wheels, although if he had to – he did it, but he usually fiddled for a long time, this was not his calling.
Should he call his people them to come? He doesn’t want to do it. The wound is on the whole minor. The main thing is to remove the bullet. He wanted to do all this in the garrison without unnecessary noise and drawing attention to himself. He would stay at home for a couple of days – and it’s normal. He does not want his colonel to keep him in the hospital for a month.
A column of dust rose in the distance. Someone was driving along the road and very fast.
“Is this Toyami?”
Kai returned to the car. He threw over himself an elongated khaki army jacket, now his left hand, pressing the gauze soaked with blood, was not visible. He took a submachine gun in his right hand and, in order not to stagger from weakness, leaned against the closed door of the jeep.
Toyami’s car stopped before it reached him. Two came out of it.
Kai raised the muzzle of his machine gun a little higher, showing his intentions.
Toyami and his companion carefully took a few steps in his direction.
“Hello, Kai, I want to talk to you,” Toyami said. “By the way, this is my best friend, Kodji. I didn’t have time to introduce him to you there, at the negotiations,” Toyami, without taking his eyes off Kai, gestured at Kodji, who was standing next to him.
Kai greeted Kodji with a nod of his head and turned his gaze to Toyami.
“Let’s talk another time, I’m a little busy now.”
“I’ll help you change the wheel.” Now Toyami understood why they caught up with Kai. They were lucky: he punctured the wheel.
“Thanks. You are smartly dressed – you’ll get dirty; I can change wheels myself. I don’t need your help.”
“Kai, I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s very nice to meet you,” Kodji understood that Toyami had no chances even to bring him to a conversation and entered into a conversation hoping to help a friend, “maybe we can still help you with the wheel?”
“Sorry Kodji, I don’t mean to sound rude, but you’d better just leave for now!”
Kai raised his machine gun, his eyes flashing green sparks. They had a firm resolve.
“Let’s go,” Kodji touched Toyami’s hand, “not now, listen to me, just let’s go.”
Toyami understood that too. Approaching Kai when he is holding a submachine gun is clearly stupid. Toyami turned and walked towards the car.
Kai, seeing that they were leaving, exhaled sharply and realized that he began to get down, sliding down the car door. He rested the muzzle of his machine gun on the asphalt so as not to slide completely to the ground. Everything floated before his eyes, throbbing pain spread throughout my body, a bad feeling of weakness rolled over him in a soft wave.
“I should take a handkerchief with ammonia with me from the car! How wrong it all is. I just have to hold out just a couple of minutes until they leave!”
Kodji caught movement out of the corner of his eye, turned sharply, Toyami followed suit. They saw Kai trying not to fall, resting the muzzle of his machine gun on the ground.
Kodji took a step towards him. Kai lifted his machine gun, lost his foothold, and slid down the car door. Now he was sitting on the ground with one leg tucked in at the knee, leaning against it, and holding a machine gun aimed at them.
“Let me come to you,” Kodji said softly, beginning to suspect something bad.
“No. Leave!”
“Will you shoot me?” Kodji continued to approach.
Kai understood that he was trapped, now his threats looked stupid, unconvincingly. He was not going to shoot anyone at all. He lowered his submachine gun and leaned his head against the car door, continuing to watch steadily as they slowly approached him.
Kodji carefully took the submachine gun from his hand and placed it next to him, then, kneeling, threw back his protective coat and pushed back the flap of his jacket with a high collar. There was blood, everything was in the blood.
“He’s hurt,” Kouji said, looking at Toyami.
Toyami turned pale and also knelt next to Kai.
“I studied to be a medic and even worked a little in my specialty,” Kodji spoke in a calm, even voice, looking into Kai’s eyes, “let me look at the wound.”
Seeing that Kai had stopped resisting, Kodji unbuttoned his jacket to the end and carefully removed the blood-stained hand that Kai was pressing to the wound. Then he loosened the knot of the handkerchief and looked under the gauze.
“The bullet is visible, it must be pulled out and the wound must be sewn up, otherwise you will bleed out.”
Kai was silent, he knew it himself.
“I can do it, but there is no pain reliever, but everything else we definitely have. Do you have pain relievers in your car?”
Kai shook his head.
“Do it, I can take it,” he said quietly.
“Without pain reliever? It will hurt you.”
“I was tortured – and more than once, I know what pain is,” now Kai understood that it was stupid to refuse their help, his strength left him. To wallow here on the road and wait for someone to stumble upon him – no, he didn’t want to play such a roulette of fate. Let it be Toyami than a gang of mujahideen.
Toyami, shocked by what he heard and the general condition of Kai, reached out and removed the tar-dark curl that fell over his eyes.
“Take your hands off,” Kai said through clenched teeth, glancing in his direction.
“We’ll bring everything right now, wait for a little,” Kodji, just as gently taking Kai’s hand, pressed it to the wound again, “We’ll look in your car, maybe we’ll find some medicine? May we?”
Kai just nodded his head in agreement.
Kodji and Toyami looked into Kai’s car and realized that order was not his strong point! Here everything was evidently what he needed most.
In the back seat, there were two battle swords mixed with a couple of pistols, a knife, books, notebooks, and empty chocolate wrappers, and some other rubbish. Pens, pencils, and markers were scattered everywhere. Music disks that had fallen to the floor were lying there with plastic water bottles and packs of disposable tissues. Local newspapers, mixed with maps and sheets of notes, crawled chaotically over the seat and partially slid to the floor.
There were night vision goggles and a lot of equipment in the passenger seat, it was clear what Kai was doing that night.
In all this mess, the most useful thing that was found was an unfinished bottle of cognac from three empty ones and a bottle of ammonia with his handkerchief. From it, they understood that he was holding on all the way thanks to ammonia.
There was the same mess in the trunk, there were scattered tools, a tire pump, a jack, a couple of machine guns, and a box of scattered cartridges. In this mess, they miraculously managed to find the driver’s opened first-aid kit, the contents of which were practically useless, except for alcohol wipes and a bottle of disinfectant.
Then they went to their car and brought an army first aid kit and a box of suture material with tweezers and disposable needles.
Toyami grabbed his army jacket from the car.
To make a minimum of movements, Kai was put right here, by the car, Toyami put his jacket carefully folded under his head.
Then Kodji, lifting the man’s head, brought him a bottle of brandy, Kai took a few sips.
“That’s for later.” Kodji removed the bottle from the lips. And he brought a stick to his face so that he would take it in the teeth.
“No need,” Kai shook his head.
“Are you ready?” Kodji looked at him carefully, Kai closed his eyes, thus making it clear that it was possible to start, “I’ll try to be careful with you and do everything quickly,” said Kodji carefully.
Toyami sat on the asphalt next to Kai and held him by the shoulders, although this was practically not necessary. Kai held on really well, only the beads of sweat on his forehead spoke of how much he was in pain.
Toyami washed this sweat with napkins, now Kai no longer resisted his touch.
At some point, Kai grabbed his hand and squeezed him tightly, Toyami gently stroked his face with his other hand.
“Be patient a little longer, my boy, everything will be fine,” he whispered, bending over him.
When Kai began to squeeze his hand harder in pain, Toyami whispered tender words to him, trying at least to ease his pain.
Towards the end of the operation, Kai began to turn off, Toyami raised a handkerchief with ammonia to his nose and whispered softly:
“Breathe, my dear, breathe.”
Kai held on. He was used to pain, used to endure it. There was too much of it in his life, too much …
Eastern spiritual practice also helped him to endure pain, when he abstracted himself from pain, took his consciousness away from it. The feeling of pain, of course, remained, but the pain itself dulled. However, this wasted too much energy and effort.
Kodji finished. The bullet was not difficult to pull out, it was visible in the entrance hole. He put several stitches on the wound to tighten the edges, treating all this with an antiseptic, and covering it with gauze napkins. Toyami then lifted Kai and Kodji wrapped a bandage around him, which pressed everything tightly to the wound.
Toyami carried Kai into their car in his arms and gently lowered him into the back seat. Thinking about how light he was.
With Kodji, they gathered all the unnecessary things from the road, closed Kai’s jeep, and returned to theirs. Kodji got behind the wheel, and Toyami, sitting in the back, hugged Kai, who after all was in a semi-conscious state.
“How is he?” Koji asked worriedly while driving.
“The temperature has crept up; he has a raging fever.”
“It’s nothing, that’s good. The body is fighting. Not much left, we will arrive soon.”
Toyami gently rubbed Kai’s forehead with a napkin, now Kai’s head was resting on his shoulder. Toyami gently hugged him by the shoulders and constantly brought a bottle of water to his dry lips.
***
Having entered the territory of their headquarters, they immediately headed towards the hospital building. Kodji arranged everything over the phone in advance. They had already been waited. Toyami gave up the stretcher and carried Kai to the ward in his arms. There – the man put him on the bed.
Kodji, taking Toyami’s arm, practically forcibly pushed him out of the room.
After a while, the doctor came out. It was clear from his story that Kodji had performed the operation perfectly. Now no intervention was needed. He only treated the wound once more, changed the dressing gave Kai injections of pain relievers, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, and vitamins to maintain the body, and also put on an IV with saline. The doctor said that everything was fine with the patient, there was nothing to worry about – in general, the wound was not serious and help was provided in time. The temperature began to drop, he was now sleeping under the influence of drugs and would only come to his senses the next day.
Toyami insisted that they let him into the ward now, even for a minute. They fulfilled his request and let him look at Kai.
Kodji again had to literally forcibly drag Toyami, who wanted to stay at the ward. Gradually, the voice of reason prevailed over emotions, and Toyami, after listening to Kodji, went to work at the headquarters.
In the evening, he learned about the patient’s condition from the nurse on duty, after receiving positive information on Kai’s health, he went to dinner with Kodji. At dinner, they discussed for a long time what had happened and talked a lot about Kai.
Kai struck Toyami again – his firmness, courage, desperate and unbending will. He would not ask them for help, never asked. He would crawl with a bullet in his side and change the wheel on the car. It is not surprising that there are so many legends about his heroism and recklessness.
And how he endured the pain! He didn’t even moan. Toyami looked at his wrist – there were small bruises that were invisible at first glance – these were Kai’s fingers when he squeezed his hand. It was only by the strength of his fingers on his wrist that he realized how much Kai was in pain.
And it hurts to endure when a bullet is removed from a fresh wound, and then, piercing the skin, they pull it together with threads.
Kai, he never ceases to amaze him. Every time, at every meeting it happens. This is incredible! After dinner and all the events of the day, Toyami went to his room. Now he wanted to be alone.
But more than anything, he wanted to see Kai.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Now you are completely in my power. You can’t run away. We’ll talk,” Toyami smiled, realizing that luck was on his side.
