Darkness, just darkness. No images or dreams, no encounters with lost loved ones, no visions of God, just darkness. That is all that Seven Andrews saw and experienced throughout the two weeks he was kept in a medically induced coma. He was in the intensive care unit at the Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. His eyes were closed and secured with medical tape. The ventilator that was inserted into his nose kept his body supplied with oxygen. A feeding tube was protruding from his mouth. Intravenous lines had been applied to both of his arms to keep him fully medicated. Attached all about his body were monitor pads that maintained the records of his current medical status. His left foot was exposed at the end of the bed; the rest of his torso was covered with a thin white hospital blanket. At the base of his right knee, where his leg used to be, was a tightly wrapped bloodstained bandage that was scheduled to be changed every four hours.
The ship’s crew discovered Seven’s body, minus his right leg, draped over the nose of the helicopter that he crashed at the stern of the ship. The assault team and their human cargo were discovered in the cargo hold of the aircraft. There were multiple injuries that required attention but nothing life threatening. Davis had emerged unharmed from the wreckage and directed the rescue efforts of his team. Seven was flown to Germany for emergency care under an American flag. The team and their human package dissolved into a nondescript air transport destined for whereabouts unknown. The body of Jimmy Shields was retrieved from the copilot’s seat he occupied at the time of his death. The Awkward Little Fucker’s body joined Seven in Germany.
“Gilbert, can you hear me?” the nurse said on this day as she had for the past three days.
The medication that maintained his coma was being gradually reduced in an attempt to bring Seven to a state of consciousness. The tape had been removed from his eyes, but they had remained closed. The nursing crew at the hospital worked in shifts to adjust Seven’s medication, keep him fed and