Healing Wounds (Bradley Coleman)

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

The lights shone in the corridor as Joe Claude walked along, his footsteps echoed on the tiled floor as he walked towards a door at the end. This was hopefully going to be a successful meeting; it had to be for Joe wanted his scars to go away, to leave him for good, for ever, so he could never be reminded of the horrible ordeal he had to go through a few months ago ever again.

He was going to a meeting with Bradley Coleman, a man who would get rid of the ghastly scars on his face. The lights shone down on the American Corporal as he approached the door, a nurse came out of a door just to the side, stopped and looked at him, he gave her a soft smile.

”Who are you waiting for?” she asked in a stiff, British tone.

”Corpsman Bradley Coleman.” Joe said, watching her as she nodded and disappeared the way she had come. Joe waited for a few seconds and then she came back out, ”Knock and he should be in there.” she strode off down the corridor, her heels clicking on the floor in rhythmic timing; she was off to a ward no doubt.

Joe was left alone, he stared at the door, ran a hand through his light brown hair that had become rather untidy due to not going to a hairdressers for a few months. Stepping forward, he rapped his knuckles on the door and waited, hoping beyond hope that the man would be in there.

A white hand went up to his head and he felt the dents on his forehead and cheek, feeling rather self-conscious all of a sudden, like he was some sort of animal in a cage, that he would be laughed at. For the look on the nurse’s face had been normal in the sense that she was very shocked by what she had seen…that was what Joe hated about his scars, that people didn’t know when to stop staring and whispering questions behind their backs.

[coleman]

The single shaft of moonlight coming through the open window and the sharp breeze that accompanied it were the only things keeing Corpsman Coleman awake as he worked through a small journal, keeping up to date with notes on medical treatment and trauma management. His head was slipping lower and lower, and just as he considered packing it in for the night, he heard the sharp rapping on the door.

He lifted himself from the plush seat and walked around the desk. He paused by the lightswitch to bring some proper illumination to the room and opened the oak portal. A single American soldier stood outside, and the medic was intrigued. "Good evening, Corporal," he said, taking a sneeky peeky at the two golden chevrons, "what can I do for you?" He stepped backwards from the door and held it open further, allowing the other man to enter as he walked back over to his desk, folding the book shut and placing it to the side. As the junior NCO stepped in to the light, he let out a small "Oh" at the severe and deliberate scarring on the man's face. He just nodded and added a ""I can probably guess."

He settled himself in to his seat, and steepled his fingers, indicating that the other man should sit and began running through a mental list of contacts he had required.

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

Joe hoped it wasn’t too late for the man, the door opened; a light had been just turned on so Joe could see the older man’s face. ”Evening sir.” Joe said to the man, smiling softly as he stepped forward into the room.

The man ran a hand through his brown hair, he glanced at the medic as he heard a small sound from the man’s lips, and he was shocked at the scarring. ”Yeah, it is guessable.” he said, slightly sarcastically but not meaning it to be rude, this man was going to help him after all…or, he hoped he’d help him.

The man had settled himself into a chair that looked to have been used for some time. Joe took the hint and sat down also. ”Well, sir, I was wondering if it would be possible to remove these scars.” he said it bluntly, pointing to his forehead and cheek.

[coleman]

As the Corporal settled in to the chair, Coleman began speaking again, getting back to his polite self again. "Sorry, that was rude. Right then, Corporal....?" he let is hang, making it obvious he wanted the man to fill the gap. "Do you mind if I take a closer look?"

He leant forward, running a forefinger over the runes carved in to the soldiers face. The marks hadn't created dead skin jumping forward too far, and the main factor of the noticibility was just the colour. He let out a "hmm" as he leant backwards. There was hope, certainly, but first he had to ask. "I take it they aren't chance wounds, are they? Who did them, if you don't mind me asking?"

He reached in to a drawer, and pulled out a leather bound book and began flicking through it, listening carefully as he tried to find the right page. "The bad news is, I can't do anything about this. I'm no plastic surgeon, I deal with keeping people alive. However, I knw a few people in the city that may be able to help. You'd need to be sent there and I don't know how long, but I think there is a chance you could be fixed. OK?"

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

”Claude, Corporal Joe Claude.” he said quickly, during the pause that came before the medic then asked to take a closer look. ”Yes.” he nodded, staying exactly where he was, his hands gripping the chair rather stiffly and tightly.

The medic touched the runes in Joe’s face and he flinched slightly, no one had touched them since they had been sown up back in Germany. ”No, they’re not.” Joe shook his head and clasped both his hands together. ”Erhard Strumfelder, I got captured in France a few weeks back…this was his form of torture…amongst other things.” his eyes strayed down to the floor and stayed down there.

His eyes went up to the medic’s face and the Corporal’s face fell as he heard the bad news. ”You know a few people that can get rid of them? How much would that cost to go up to London?” he asked, his words coming out quickly and sharply.

[coleman]

"Torture...."

He let the word hang, shaking his head with obvious disgust. "How can they do that to a man?" He didn't expect an answer and got on with his prognosis. "First of all, you need to understand this. It is still a fairly new type of surgery. They remove a section of skin from somewhere, your behind or your thigh maybe, and then place it over the scarring. After a few months, you can barely tell the difference. It isn't perfect, and it may not be successful, but it's your best chance."

He swallowed before carrying on. "It should be free if we can get this on to the GI medical insurance, but for that this would be neccesary surgery for your quality of life," he began nodding vigorously here, "do you feel it's neccesary for your quality of life?" He couldn't say it was and hoped Claude would get the subtle hint.

"If you're willing to go ahead with this, I'll try phoning the surgery now if you want, but I may have to wait until morning. I can almost guarantee you a place, as this is an experimental medicine and they want to firm this up and make sure it is done well."

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

The word torture hung in the air after he had said it and Joe looked down at his hands, yes, how could someone do something like that to a man? Well, Strumfelder was that sort of man…Strumfelder was mad, crazy and mad and horrible…a bastard of a man.

A fairly new type of surgery…that meant that something could happen that would be wrong. He looked up at the medic, watching his face and seeing the hint he gave him after he had finished speaking.

”My quality of life?” Joe spoke the question out loud. ”Well, no…no not really to be honest…I mean, I’m not dying from these scars am I? Its just embarrassing, a reminder of the worst time of my life, a reminder of the pain I had been in…” he trailed off.

”Don’t worry sir.” he said after a few seconds as he stood up slowly, ”I knew this was a bad idea…I shouldn’t have come.” he said honestly as he stared into the medic’s eyes.

[coleman]

"Its just embarrassing, a reminder of the worst time of my life, a reminder of the pain I had been in…”

Coleman nodded before interrupting. "But Corporal, do you want that reminder? Do you want those dark memories floating over your for maybe even the rest of your life?" The Corporal stood, and Coleman reached over, grabbing the man's arm gently.

"I'm giving you a chance, Corporal, a chance to return your life to normality. If you want to go, then by all means leave. But if you want to at least try to have your life turned back around, then you will sit down and ask me to make the phone call." He just stared in to the eyes of Claude. "Joe, do you see what I'm offering you here? This isn't an oppurtunity that will come up every day. I think this could be what you want, but you're scared. But fear is the only thing in this life to hold us back. Do you want that bastard that did this to you to win?"

He sat back and placed the card for the clinic on the table, placing it forward slightly, and raising his arms. "Do you want to try it, Corporal? Do you?"