Page 50 of Carmine

“He’s burned his lungs by the sound of his breathing,” Bobby muttered.

“Yeah, they all have, and Graham’s lost that hand,” Savage replied.

I’d caught a quick glance, and the mangled mess of burnt flesh and bone had twisted my stomach. Luckily, Gunner had wrapped it and hidden it from sight, or I might have emptied my stomach.

“These two can’t walk; they’re gonna need carrying out. The chatterbox isn’t going far, either. He’s got a broken ankle,” Gunner announced.

Crap, four of us and three wounded who couldn’t walk. I shrugged off my rucksack.

“I’ll take Mike,” I offered.

“Well, I don’t like Graham’s colour, I’ll take him,” Gunner replied.

“In that case, I’ve got the chatterbox.” Savage sighed.

“His name’s Dan,” Gunner said, and Savage nodded.

“I got your shit. Let’s go because that is far too close for my liking, and even with the breathing apparatus, I’m struggling,” Bobby admitted.

The three of us picked up the men in a fireman’s carry and followed Bobby back to the dog handler. Once there, Bobby radioed in to say we’d found them, and they were badly injured. We moved at a steady pace, not too fast because of injuring ourselves, but not too slow either. Finally, we reached a clearing, and a chopper came in to pick up the wounded.

“Think they’ll make it?” I asked Gunner.

Gunner’s expression was serious.

“Graham will lose the hand if they do. There was nothing salvageable. That means an amputation. Mike hasn’t regained consciousness. Carmine, he’s probably got severe brain trauma. Dan was in the best condition, but that ankle was a mess. The bone had completely snapped, and I didn’t even remove his boot. However, all three will experience lung burns to some extent. It depends how burnt they are after breathing in that hot air for over twenty-four hours,” Gunner said bluntly.

“Harsh lesson to pay for ignoring the shutdown,” Bobby commented, shaking his head.

“Fuckin’ hard. But despite that, there’ll be idiots who’ll always ignore advice,” Savage agreed.

I felt sad for them. A foolish decision had cost them dearly. I just hoped it didn’t take their lives. They hadn’t seemed much older than me, and that was shit. Cocky confidence had led them up the wrong path. No doubt they’d regret this forever. That was such a shame.

The boldness of youth, egged on by their friends, but nature wasn’t to be trifled with. Dan would have a limp, Graham had lost a hand and as for Mike, who knew? It brought home how fragile our lives were. I was lucky. I had been since PhoenixMichaelson left out a plate of food for a starving boy and gained his trust. My life had been blessed.

But my past had tempered the usual brashness we had in our late teens and twenties. I knew firsthand that there were dangers you couldn’t always see coming at you. What these idiots had done was something I would never do because I’d already learned patience, temperance, and self-control.

On the field, players often baited me, trying to get a rise out of me. That was fine, let them. Their words couldn’t touch me. After the insults I’d experienced on the streets, players were amateurs. But I winced as I wondered what would be waiting for me at my next game. No doubt some rival teams were cooking up some shit to say.

“Carmine?” Gunner asked softly, and I blinked.

“Yeah?”

“Where’d you go, son?”

“Thinking how lucky I am,” I replied.

Gunner shook his head. “Maybe at first, but something bothered you. Your face twisted, prospect.”

“You going to pull rank?” I questioned with a laugh.

“Yup. Uncle rank and brother rank. Spit it out,” Gunner retorted.

“Gunner, they might have been me. In different circumstances, I might have been that stupid, but I was grateful that my past had taught me restraint. Then, after I congratulated myself on being an adult, I realised that rival teams certainly had some ammo to throw at me on my next game,” I admitted.

Gunner laughed at my honesty and then frowned. “That can easily be resolved.”

I didn’t ask for the meaning behind that because I understood what Gunner meant.

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