Post by captainmontgomery on Jul 10, 2006 11:42:12 GMT -5
--Part One--
Autumn; Somewhere along the coast of Spain
The explosion had shattered the small cobblestone building into a pile of rubble. A period of silence had blanketed over the area. Smoke spiraled skyward from the crumbled stones and the silence was broken by the signs of life underneath the dilapidated building. Rubble and wooden planks were pushed aside and a young soldier crawled out from underneath the chaos. He waved his hand in front of his face and coughed as he called out, "Can anyone hear me? You blokes okay?" Movement from a few feet away caught his eye; he had rushed over to help one of his comrades from under the rubble.
"Damn, that was unexpected," The other soldier had said. Both turned to look at the shattered remains of the building the battalion had taken refuge in for the past two days. "Where's the captain at?"
The first man, Private Seymour, had shrugged his shoulders and pointed towards the west wall. "Last I saw, he was standing over there."
"C'mon, man. Let's take a look," Corporal Hornsby ordered and pulled the young soldier with him to locate their captain; and if possible, the other dozen soldiers that had been housed in the building. Boards and rocks were lifted and then tossed to the side; the pair spotted the body of Captain Montgomery underneath. They grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him free.
Private Seymour kneeled down and placed two fingers against the Captain's neck. "Can't find a pulse," he frowned when he looked at up the Corporal.
"Aw, bloody hell!" Hornsby exclaimed and shoved his hand through his soot-covered curls. "Find out if he's breathing?" He asked and leaned down to take a closer inspection of the Captain.
Seymour checked and then shook his head. "No, sir. Not a bleedin' thing. Poor chap," he said.
Corporal Hornsby sighed, and then looked around and noticed piles of debris were pushed aside at different spots along the crumbled walls. "We best notify the proper authorities. C'mon, let's see how the rest of the guys are fairing." With a gentle slap to Thompson, he moved away to help the others. Low groans of pain were heard as they begun to free themselves from the temporary prison.
Private Seymour nodded and then reached inside Captain Montgomery's coat to retrieve his identification and a small bundle of letters. "A d**n shame it is, sending these letters off to do their work. You were the best Captain this army's seen." He rose from the side of Captain Montgomery's body, shoved the items into his own coat pocket, saluted to the Captain's body and then headed over to assist Corporal Hornsby with the wounded.
An hour later, they had loaded three bodies onto the back of a wooden cart and sent if off; one of them was of the late Captain.
Casualty tent; British Army
Two carts had pulled up and the remains of the deceased were pulled off. Their bodies were washed and prepared for shipment home to the families of the fallen soldiers. As two soldiers dragged the corpses from the back of a wagon, a medic had stopped them and checked the pulse of a tall, blonde haired soldier.
"Hold up, you guys." He had opened the man's eyelids and examined the pupils. Immediately, he ordered the soldiers to take the body into the first aid tent. "This guy ain't dead! Take him immediately over to the other tent and have a doctor check him! Now, you two!"
Meanwhile, the three letters were handed over to a Colonel Hathaway who had dispatched the letters along with an official notice and handed the mail over to a courier; the letters would announce the departure of Captain Montgomery. They were sent off to the names addressed on each letter.
--The Marquis of Ashbury & family in Ashbury, England.
--Elliot Dalton of London, England.
--Diana Cambridge of Dover, England.
His family, best friend and someone he admired.
The official notice would mention his heroic actions in the line of duty for his motherland. The personal letters each bid a fond farewell and a brief remembrance of good times. They were signed:
Captain Brenton Montgomery,
Soldier. Brother. Friend.
---to be continued.