4 A sea of tents

'She is just a little girl. She is so young' Glade thaught to himself as he looked at the blood still on his hands that has become sticky as it quickly dried in the heat of the mid day.

"Here, clean yourself up" a soft voice said handing him a wet piece of cloth. It was Hernandez, one of the new recruits like himself.

She is a young woman, slightly shorter than normal. She has a friendly face and a welcoming smile but when you look into her eyes you can see a fire burning deep inside her and clearly see that shee is a strong willed individual.

"Thank you" Glade replies as he cleans his hands."Do you think she will be alright" he asks her.

"She will be fine, she is in the best hands in the field. Those guys can bring a hamburger back to life and make it moo again." she said with a slight chuckle.

An awkward silence befalls the Humvee and the soldiers just look at each other when they suddenly burst out laughing. This made Glade feel so much better, knowing that the little girl is receiving the best care she can.

About two hours later the convoy turns slightly in the direction of the base and starts climbing a slight incline. When they go over the crest the first thing that catches their eyes are white tents, hundreds of them. The tets all surround a few central structures, one is quite large in size and painted an off green olive color. The other ones are of varying sizes most painted the same color except one that can clearly be identified as an infirmary, painted light brown with a red cross inside a white circle on all sides and on the roof. Scattered in between the tents smaller buildings can be seen, likely ablution facilities. Surrounding the compound is a large fence made of concrete, barbed wire and a watchtower every 100 meters or so. The entrance is guarded and a large gate closes the dirt road where vehicles clearly enter wuite often judging by the compacted characteristics of the road.

As the convoy comes to a stop at the gate the soldiers all get out to guard and assist the convoy as it is inspected. All the civilians and their belongings are searched for any dangerous items, a safety precaution to keep everyone safe. Once this procedute is complete the convoy enters the compound.

"This is one of our civilian safe zones, most likely the only one where you will be operating in from time to time" The comanding officer said over the coms adressing all the new soldiers. "We set up this area to assist the civilians directly affected by this war and also prevent as many civilian casualties as possible. Welcome to the Bowl" the officer continued. "So named because it is on top of this large flat hill, representing an upside down bowl." he added.

When they arrived at the centre of the Bowl near the large central structure everyone got busy helping the civilins get off the trucks and unload their belongings.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please proceed to the entrance of the large building behind me for registration and allocation to your tents. Your injured family and friends will be immediately taked to the medical building to receive medical care. Please do only as instructed" A firm voice said shortly followed by a translator giving the same message to the civilins in their own language.

A line started forming infromt of the entrance. Men, women, children and all the belongings they could carry, their faces show their broken spirits.

As Glade and King patrol up and down the line a child suddenly screams. As Glade and King turn around to see what was going on Glade sees that the little boy, no older than 3, had dropped his teddybear in the dirt. He. Approached and picked it up, handing it to the boy. "You must take care of him, he needs a friend right now" Glade says as the boy takes the teddybear from him and slowly losing his tears and gaining a smile. "Thank you, Sir" the boys father says to Glade in a slight broken English. Anthony nods reassuringly to the man and continues the patrol.

After quite some time Glade is approached by the same medic that was with him during the incident in the broken building. "Come with me please" he states. Glade looking surprised follows the medic after a pause.

The medic takes him into the medical building and into one of the designated areas. "Please sit down, lets check you out." he said.

While checking his blood pressure the medic continues talking. "She is fine" he says while lookong at Glade with a reassuring smile. "I can see the worry on your face, your eyes are searching for her in here" he continues. "I cannot take you to her but I can promise you thay she is fine. She is sleeping." the medic continues as Glades worried face turns into a slight smile. "Do you have any children?" the medic asks.

"Yes, I have a little girl" Glade replies. "She is three years old" he continues. "I just kept on thinking about her as i held that little girl in my arms, hoping i will never see my own like that. I could not give up on her. I could never live with myself if anything hapened to her." Glade said with a slight shiver in his voice.

"You did the right thing, Glade" the medic said, applying a cleaning solution to a small cut inder his left eye. "You saved that girls life, you held on to her and kept her safe. That is all that matters now" he continues as he sticks a small plaster over the cut. "she has her whole life ahead of her because of what you did." the medic says as he packs the equipment away.

"You were there too, and the others" Anthony added.

"Yes, and we all know what we did was right. Do you? Do you know what you did was right?" the medic asked with a firm voice.

"Yes, Yes i do" Glade responded.

"That is Sir to you, Glade" the medic says with a smirk on his face.

"Yes Sir. Thank you Sir." Glade says with a smile.

"You are free to go. Go back to the Humvee, we are leaving soon" the medic says.

"Sir." Glade said as he stood up and picked up his weapon.

"You gonna live" King asked as Glade returned.

"Looks like it, doc says I'll be fine" Glade said as he fist pumps King. "The little girl will be alright" Glade said with a more assured tone of voice and a smile on his face.

"Thats great news" King replies.

"Mout up! We're rolling out!" the commanding officer shouts as the sun started turning a darker shade of yellow. "We're done here for today. When we get back to base get yourself into a hot shower and in the mess hall within 15 minutes for chow." he continued

"Hoohaa!!" the soldiers chanted as the started getting in the vehicles.

During the drive back the Humvees are quiet inside, the soldiers not having much to say as they were to tired to speak and keep alert, it had been a long and tiresome day. Some reflecting on their own experiences and others simply going about as they were used to these kinds of operations by now.

'I never asked what her name was' Glade thaught to himself. 'I wonder of i will see her again' he continued. As they arive back at base his thoughts still with the little girl. Glade remembers something in his right side arm pocket, a picture of him, his wife and their little girl. As he looks at it his thoughts return to home. As he enters the barracks he cant help but think about his family even more.

After a hot shower and a hot meal the men and women are in their respective bunks and slip into sleep one by one. Glade with a smile in his face he prays, something he doesn't do that often. 'Please keep them safe, please keep me safe, please keep my brothers and sisters in arms safe, please help that little girl to gett better.' he prays as he slowly slips into a deep sleep.