ADEN AND THE ARABS
Part 2 - Back to Reality
When I regained consciousness I looked around and thought I must be dreaming. I was in a bed with pure white sheets covering me. A soft pillow with white pillowcase was under my head, the place smelt of disinfectant and I was not in pain. I looked around and realised I was on a drip and that the colour of walls and ceilings was grey. I had to be on a naval ship but that was impossible. Further scanning of the room made me realise I had a companion. Looking at him made me almost wet the bed, it was the young lieutenant whose brother I had killed on my strafing run and who had made me give him a blowjob to finish our first session. He looked to be in a bad way.
The door opened and my ships doctor walked in beaming all over his face.
"Hello Peter, good to see you awake, how do you feel?"
"Crikey Toby, I don't know, I have only just this minute woken up."
"Ok, let me have a look at you."
He pulled the sheet down below my feet and I looked at the same thing as him, my naked body. He looked at me head to toe as did I. It all looked perfectly normal. Genitals were a little red still from my first day's beating but that was all.
"Can you turn over Peter?"
No problem I rolled over, no discomfort, no pain. "Spread your legs for me will you old boy?"
I did and felt a finger penetrate me. I cried in despair,
"Please don't fuck me anymore?"
A gentle caress of my shoulder and Toby's voice.
"It's alright Peter, I just wanted to check everything was getting better. Roll back over for me."
I did, still crying like a baby.
"It was awful Toby, I'll never be clean again in my life."
"Yes you will Peter, I promise."
He sat me up and gave me a drink, sat down and told me the answers to a lot of questions I hadn't even asked.
"The rebels taking you to the centre of their compound to defile you played right into our hands. A commando chopper returning to Kormaksar for maintenance saw them, radioed the position and before dark ground forces mounted a raid. They tell me it was a bit of a massacre with only a hand full of survivors. You were back in the tent where your clothes were when the attack took place, still secured to the pallet. It was only because your shirt and aircrew watch were next to you that we knew who you were."
I was amazed. All this action while I had overloaded into unconsciousness. I suppose my brain had just shut down to stop me going mad.
A sick berth attendant brought me in some food which I devoured, I was so hungry. Toby came back with questions on his lips.
"Do you remember the colonel in the first camp you were at Peter?"
"Yes, he was very kind to me, the man in the next bed is his lieutenant, I killed his brother but the colonel wouldn't let him harm me in interrogation."
"Good, that answers another question. You slept with the colonel that first night Peter, can you tell us what happened?"
I cried so hard I almost convulsed, "He took me to paradise five or six times Toby, he was amazing."
Toby smiled, "Darling Peter, I could take you to paradise every day."
The kiss was the most incredible thing that I had ever experienced. I opened my eyes when Toby pulled back from me and looked in wonder at this man that had been my friend almost from the beginning of my time on board.
"The colonel made you realise you were gay didn't he Peter?"
I nodded.
"Well, so am I and I have loved you since the moment I first saw you."
Toby moved in and kissed me again.
"Don't worry, everything is going to be ok."
This was all too much and I slipped off to another world. Another eight hours of sleep and I woke feeling much better. I remembered Toby and what he had done and said. I wondered what it would be like to be made love to by him and then I sniggered. `I bet he won't have a monster like the colonel,' I thought. I looked across at the Arab lieutenant who was now conscious and looking at me.
"Hello lieutenant, how do you feel?"
"I hurt, am I going to be alright?"
I pressed the button to summon the nurse as I replied.
"I'm afraid I don't know. I'm pleased to see that our guys picked you up. Did they pick up many wounded?"
The lieutenant shook his head, "I don't know, quite a few I think, they are all in the hospital on land, I was brought here, I don't know why."
The nurse came in but wouldn't answer the lieutenant's question. Toby was summoned and did.
"I'm sorry lieutenant. You are here because you have sustained a spinal injury, we are hoping to restore mobility to your lower half but I have to tell you that is looking less and less likely. You caught a bullet in your spine and it has damaged your nerves."
When Toby left I looked at my former enemy and in a very soft voice said, "I am most awfully sorry."
The lieutenant had tears in his eyes realising he was now going to spend the remainder of his life in a wheelchair. I recognised the hopeless expression.
"I don't know what is going to happen to you but I promise that whatever I can do to help I will."
"Why would you do that Peter after what I put you through?"
"Because I was a Prisoner of War and you had a duty to extract information from me."
"But I put you through so much abuse and degradation."
"Doing what you were ordered to do."
"I'm not sure I could think like you do Peter but thank you."
We were released from our commitment a few days later and sailed for Mombasa for R&R, (Rest and Recreation for the uninitiated).
The lieutenant, who I now knew was Abdul Bakari, remained with us. The surgeon commander was a neurosurgeon and was interested in this case so Abdul had remained on board.
The day before we sailed I had to go ashore to the hospital in Aden to identify the colonel. I shook his hand and thanked him for a wonderful night at his camp. He looked at me with a very bemused expression on his face.
"You helped me identify my true self Sir, for that I am grateful. I am sorry I have had to identify you. I presume you will not enjoy your interrogation now, but at least you will keep your balls."
He laughed, "Under different circumstances Peter I think you and I may have been able to make sweet music for a long time."
"I think we might have done as well Sir, goodbye."
Abdul remained on the carrier under the surgeon commander for nearly a year. I worked with him whenever I could trying to get him to walk. By the time peace was declared they were able to send him back to Aden on his own two feet.
I had tears in my eyes when I bade farewell to my onetime enemy.
"I am sorry I took your brother from you Abdul but I am so pleased I have helped give you back your mobility."
"Thank you Peter, the fortunes of war I guess. I owe you my life because I would never have lived as a cripple. Farewell my friend, go with God, and prosper." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Aden becomes an interesting place for Peter in the next chapter.