The Private slept soundly in his recliner chair he was cuffed to. In the short amount of time he had made a miracle recovery. From deaths door to tip top shape. He tried to scratch his face with his left arm but was stopped by the short chain. He awoke trying to scratch his face as he tugged at the chain. Realizing what was happening, he scratched his face with his right hand. The low rumble of war was constant reminder of the hell just a mile or so away. The Private rubbing his eyes and Inspecting his left arm chained up . He smiles and thinks at least they fix me up before they gonna kill me. He looks around to see if he is being watched. Yes he was, two century's were stationed at the tents doors. Armed and sleeping, but there. He had no real felling of desperation to flee. Grappling with this situation he figured to see it to the end , no matter what the outcome was. Being blow to bits or gassed to death or wounded or burned by a flamethrower , then being hung by the neck till dead didnt sound so bad to him. He sipped a glass of water Judy had left for him . Today was a big day, he was graduating away from the bed pan. He could use the facilities by himself. But he will miss the gentle touch of Dawn cleaning his ass after he has done doing his business. He had no shame and didnt feel embarrassed by her touching his body. Sex wasn't a topic he ponder about. Some soldiers did, talking about how much they missed their wives, girlfriends and so on . He was still a virgin. A faint memory of longing still could be dug up in his mind , but lust was something alien to him. Now at the hour of his death surly approaching him , he had thoughts of ice cream not tits and ass. This being said he did feel the staining eyes of Dawn from time to time, but didn't act on it more then asking for extra, rolls with lunch. Judy had found him lacking after the failed gas attack and he made a spectacle of himself. It didnt bother him one ioda.
The Private shifted his thoughts to a different subject. Taking a moment to reflect and take inventory of the situation. He noticed his bag of special items were missing so was his Enfield. His canteen and compass was with him. The revolver was missing as was the holster it sat in. For a moment he was gonna ask about it but decided to let it go for now. He could smell and see and hear better now then in a long time. His body was recovering quickly. His feet still remains a problem. He had abused his feet almost to the point of them being amputated. The tingling hasnt stopped, its constant, more annoying then anything else. Watching the armed century's newly signed to the tent was something to raise an eyebrow. He already know the answer, he just let it slide. Cross the bridge when it comes up. Something for future him to deal with. For now , food and relaxation was priority number one. Starting with jelly filled pastries. Judy and Dawn helped the Private to walk to the levy. It was a slow agonizing endeavor. His ears were still bandaged up , this caused some disorienting body movement. He did his best , alass Dawn still had to wipe his behind, which caused some comedy and some blushing. He was escorted by the two century's who locked his left wrist up when he returned to the chair.
He didn't really care or show any discomfort because of it . This made everyone unsure of his understanding of the situation he was in. They were building a case against him , they had the revolver as evidence, still he showed any concern of the consequences of this. He was more interested in the pudding at lunch then his own safety. Judy always the motherly person she was tried to talk to him about it , but he just patted her head and asked for more pudding. They whispered about his frame of mind, if he was a mental case or just faking it. This did not go unnoticed by him , he just filed it away in his mind as , future business. He was snug as a bug right where he was and had to milk it for as long as he could. The gallows didnt scare him , breaching over the top and charging across no man's land gave him shivers, swing from a rope didnt even register as danger in his mind at the moment. He slept the days away without a care in his heart. He would say things in his sleep, twitch and cover his head , or try to his left arm chained didn't allow it. He mostly mumbled , about donuts and pastries. His lack of fear of death or the acceptance of it was far more worrisome to Judy and Dawn.They new he would be facing a court martial soon that would most likely not end good for him. Yet he had no care for it and just ate his daily rations without complaining or a concern for his future. He wasn't healthy enough yet for him to be hanged by his neck till dead . The death of a captain , not just any captain one of British Nobility had to be resolved correctly. Eyes from many places were looking at him. He could feel them more and more now. He lay half asleep dreaming of walking proudly up to the gallows , grinning as they put the noose and bag over his head. This was more preferable then what the Germans had in store for him. That made him shiver and grind his teeth in his sleep. Dawn looking over him could only imagine what he was dreaming, it was far different then what she was imagining he was dreaming. Time was running out for him . He had to face the music one way or another. Facing enemy hellfire or swing from the gallows were just two options. He had other options he had yet to set in motion. To him it was kinda easy maneuvering these obstacles in his path . Far easier then what he had to do to survive up until now. What was two sleeping century's, compared to Artillery, flamethrower and them troublesome damn snipers. Claim the prize , take the red horse , become War . Rang in his ears as he was given a clean new uniform , boots and all. Judy and Dawn helped him get dressed. Looking in a hand mirror Dawn had he , sized himself up . Looking sharp One of the century's said. For a hanging! As they both snickered. Be quite Judy snapped back. As Dawn's eyes burned holes through them. The Private didn't even notice their conversation. He had other plans in motion. He had to see a man about a horse. Clicking his heels together and snapping a salute, chin high and eyes clear , fill of pride. This shocked everyone , Dawn began to weep. Can I have my Enfield back he asked, with a inquisitive look on his face. No snaped one of the century's. No you cannot. The other one added. He just made a frown on his face . Then said all right then . Ill be going soon . I want to thank all of you for everything . From the bottom of my heart. Then he bowed deeply from his waist. Then sat back in his chair , straightened his uniform , then said whats for dinner?