RAIN

Monday, April 8th, We sit in our barracks on this late morning. The sky is cloudy gray and a light rain patters on our tin roof. Obrenski is in the kitchen cooking eggs, that Lieutenant Sprieg bought from the Farmer, on our gas stove. I sit on my cot and read a book and occasionally look at the small picture of Irina that I have managed to hide from Obrenski. God knows what he would do with it if he found it. Kurtz lies on his cot unmoving, usually he is more active than this. Now to think of it he has been acting strange the last two days. He also has been eating less and less recently. My thoughts are interrupted by Obrenski walking out of the kitchen doorway with three plates of freshly cooked eggs balancing on his arms and in his hands. He hands me a plate of scrambled yellow eggs and says," For you you Franz, I may have ate a little just to be sure they were not…you know, poisoned." I glare at him. "Welp they weren't poisoned otherwise I wouldn't be here. Not that you would be crying." "Har Har." I mock. He sets his plate on his cot and then heads over to Kurtz, who still lies unmoving in his cot. 

He kneels down with his plate in hand and says like a father would, "Come on little buddy, you gotta eat." He places hand to Kurtz's forehead before quickly retracting it. "Franz." Obrenski says "Go get the Lieutenant." I'm startled for I have never heard him call Lieutenant Spreig just the Lieutenant before. I rush out into the rain, getting lightly sprinkled on and beat on the shack door. The Lieutenant opens the door and I see the surprise on his face. I see he has moved the radio and table into his shack. He asks puzzled," What's wrong Franz?" "It's Kurtz." I reply. He dons his trenchcoat and follows me into the barracks. There we see Obrenski kneeling over Kurtz and rubbing his hands through Kurtz's hair. He looks at the Lieutenant with a worried expression. "He's hot." Obrenski states. The Lieutenant sits on the edge of Kurtz's cot and reaches over and feels Kurtz's head, his eyes closed and his head wet from perspiration. I place my hand on Kurtz's cot and quickly draw it back feeling the mattress is soaked with sweat. I hear Kurtz's raspy breathing for the first time. The Lieutenant retracts his hand and calmly states, "He is running a fever. He needs penicillin. We need to take him to the hospital." Me and Obrenski look at each other nervously for we now realize how serious the situation is. The Lieutenant stands up and says, "Obreski, Franz, pick him up. We need to get him in the car." Obrenski takes Kurtz by the shoulders and I pick him up at his feet And we lift Kurtz's limp body into the air. "Gently now." the Lieutenant says opening the barracks door. 

We carry Kurtz outside into the light rain and I am startled by how he doesn't stir even as the rain rolls off his pale cheeks. He looks lifeless and it has me worried. We carry him up the ramp to the kubelwagen, which has its canvas top placed on to keep out the rain. The Lieutenant opens the back door, rain dripping down his face and trenchcoat. I slide into the backseat bumping Kurtz's leg on the doorframe. "Dammit Franz, watch it!" Obrenski shouts. I carefully try to slide Kurtz the rest of the way. The Lieutenant  gets in the back seat with Kurtz and gingerly tries to seat himself without sitting on him. "Obrenski get us to the hospital." the Lieutenant says. Obrenski frantically gets into the driver's seat and starts up the vehicle. I jump into the passenger's seat and before I can close the door, Obrenski steps on the throttle and I slam into the seat. We race down the dirt road, Obrenski driving faster than he ever has before. "Obrenski slow down." the Lieutenant says calmly, "He is going to be ok."  Obrenski relaxes a little and his driving starts to slow.  After a while of fighting light traffic in the rain. The four story Y shaped hospital comes into view. 

We arrive at the hospital emergency room entrance and we file out of the vehicle. Obrenski pulls the limp Kurtz out and cradles him in his arm carrying him to the double wooden doors. I grab the door and hold it open. We file inside and Obrenski rushes to the screened in glass counter with the limp Kurtz in his arms and pleads desperately to the nurse,"Please,we need a doctor!" The nurse is startled and rushes to the back. Soon the door to the emergency department opens and out comes another doctor that I haven't seen before. The Doctor looks at Kurtz, his head sweaty and the rest of his skin pale and clammy. After a while the Doctor says, "Alright bring him in."

 We follow the white coated doctor through the door and into the main emergency department. There are several curtained off bays that each contain a bed and medical equipment. The Doctor brings us to an empty bed and Obrenski lays down the still limp Kurtz. I notice how the blue tile walls have a red tinge in some places. And that there is a drain in the floor. The Doctor begins to ask Lieutenant Sprieg and Obrenski questions," Did the boy eat anything? Is he allergic to anything? What was the last thing he was doing?" 

Suddenly I hear a soft woman's voice from behind me "Franz?" I turn and look and I hardly recognize her. It's Irina! She wears a nurse uniform of: a blue long-sleeved dress, a white apron, a white red cross armband and a white red cross headdress. I'm stunned to see her like this and even more surprised to see her here. "Franz, what are you doing here?" she whispers trying to not interfere with the Doctor's interrogation. "Somethings wrong with Kurtz. He's sick, we don't know what's wrong." She look past me at Kurtz and with her eyes wide she asks still in whisper. "When he drowned, how much fluid did cough up?" I don't know, a lot." I reply in a whisper. "He has aspiration pneumonia." she whispers back. "Aspiration what?" I ask again in whisper. She replies the same," Its when you get water in your lungs and they get infected, he probably got an infection from the lake water being how much bacteria is in it." "Bacteri what?" I ask confused. "I'll tell you later." She whispers as she brushes past me. 

"Doctor Sprager." she interrupts him," I know this boy. We were at the lake and there was an attempted drowning…." "AND?'' She is interrupted rudely by the Doctor. "And I believe this boy to have aspiration pneumonia." she continues. The Doctor stops and says aggressively "I will examine my patient thank you, I don't need advice from a volunteer nurse. You may leave us." "B..But." Irina stammers. "You are dismissed!" He says almost shouting. Irina huffs and storms off. I fill anger welling within me for how dare he talk to her like that. I am about to say something when suddenly the Lieutenant gets my attention," Franz, what happened?"  "He almost drowned at the lake." "Ah I see." The doctor takes the stethoscope from around his neck and listens to Kurtz's chest. The Doctor says retracting his stethoscope and re-doning it, "Definitely  rales. The boy has pneumonia and a high fever."  I looked at him astonished, Irina just said that. "He needs fluids and to cool." The Doctor says walking to the curtains. He yells,"Nurse! Bring me plasma and some ice packs." The doctor removes Kurtz's uniform, leaving him in his briefs. I never realized how incredibly skinny he was because he is always wearing his baggy rolled up uniform. A nurse arrives bringing a glass bottle of clear liquid, a needle with tubing and several ice packs. Now I am beginning to become frightened as they begin their procedures. The Doctor takes the needle and begins to tap on Kurtz's forearm in an effort to find a suitable vein. Meanwhile the nurse begins placing the ice packs under Kurtz's armpits and groin. Kurtz remains still motionless, the only indication that reminds us that he is still alive is his raspy shallow breathing. His body is so incredibly pale, sweat drips from his forehead, my worry increases. What if they can't save him? The doctor gently sticks him with the needle and hangs the glass bottle from a small hook suspended from the ceiling. I watch as the clear liquid trickles down the tubing and into Kurtz's arm. He looks so lifeless! Come on Kurtz you got to wake up!

I just now noticed that Obrenski is holding Kurtz's pale hand like a concerned father would. "Gentleman." The Doctor says,'' Leave us. We will inform you when he improves." "But we need to stay, he needs us." pleads Obrenski. Lieutenant Sprieg places his hand on Obrenski's shoulder and with a gentle tug, pulls him away. The nurse escorts us out and pulls the curtains and shows us to the waiting room. 

We sit in wooden chairs and waited for nearly an hour. Obrenski taps his foot nervously, his hobnail boots clack against the floor, his face looks as though he is trying to hide his concern. The Lieutenant sits next to him and I am surprised by how incredibly calm he is. The Lieutenant seems to have solid nerves. I, on the other hand, try to keep myself calm though I am ultimately worried. 

Suddenly the tall doctor with salt and pepper hair that we saw weeks before, emerges from the back rooms. Lieutenant Sprieg rises and meets him. As the speak to one another, I attempt to eavesdrop by turning my head and listening close though they are not that far away. They speak to each other quietly as if to conceal their topic. The Lieutenant starts," How is he?" "Better, this was a close one Sprieg, had the boy been in this shape for too much longer, we'd be making funeral arrangements." the Doctor says. The Lieutenant then asks, " When would he be able to come back?"  The Doctor replies," Hard to tell, He is awake now, we have him on observation on the second floor now. I would say a couple of days but you know I don't specialize in pediatrics." The Lieutenant then says something that I couldn't quite make out. After a short pause, the Doctor asks,"Do you need anymore sleeping pills?" "No I have enough." replies the Lieutenant. "I know you haven't been taking them Sprieg." the Doctor says. Lieutenant Sprieg responds, "I don't want to talk about it….Anyway, can we see him?" "Certainly." The Doctor says. 

Lieutenant Sprieg motions for us to join him and me and Obrenski jump up from our seats. The Doctor leads us up a stairwell to the second floor. On top of the stairs we take a right and enter a door. On the other side of the door is a long rectangular ward with rows of dozens of white sheeted beds. A few of the beds are occupied by sick or injured individuals. The only means of privacy is foldable metal curtains that can be picked up and placed. There are several rows of windows that let light in and reveal the gray rainy cloudy outdoors. The floors are a hard gray concrete and the walls have the same blue tile pattern as downstairs. Nurses go back and forth tending to the patients. A few beds down we see a nurse talking to a patient on one of the beds but his identity is obstructed by the nurse's body. We follow the Doctor to the nurse and I discover it to be Irina speaking softly to Kurtz. Kurtz lies on his side and weakly smiles, his normal color has returned. His eyes widen when he sees us. "Hi Franz." he says weakly and then coughs. Obrenski storms over to him and scolds him like a father would. " Now Kurtz don't you go around doing that and getting sick again you hear me!" Kurtz stares blankly at him before nodding his head. We stare at Obrenski. He, just now realizing he created a scene, exclaims loudly," What? I wasn't worried." as he crosses his arms. Lieutenant Sprieg smiles and says to Kurtz." You had us worried, I'm glad you are alright." The Doctor suddenly speaks up and says," We need to inform his family." The Lieutenant replies," Right, I"ll write to his father." The doctor then says, "The boy has a grandmother who lives in town, am I correct?" "He does. I will send a messenger, Franz." the Lieutenant turns, speaking to me. "Go to his grandmother's house and tell her what has happened, I'm sure she will want to see him. Do you know the way?" "Yes sir" I reply. "And…" he turns back to the Doctor and whispers something inaudible. The Doctor nods and says, "Irina, go with him, you will be my representative on behalf of the hospital." Irina smiles with excitement before turning stern and saying,"Yes Doctor Zolltoller." Obrenski chimes in," Well, what the hell are you two waiting for? Get going." Me and Irina nod our heads and quickly shuffle back to the stairwell.