Bastian
Chapter 198 - A Name Without an Answer

✧A Name Without an Answer ✧

 

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News of victory was announced, with the sinking news of Admiral Bastian Klauswitz’s ship, the Rayvael.  

“Only half of the 1,264 souls aboard were able to escape. The Admiral Demel fleet rescued the survivors and brought them to the nearest port. But many suffered severe injuries – we must prepare more hospital beds immediately!” When the medic delivered the news, all eyes turned to Odette who was busy cleaning the deceased patient’s bed. 

Bastian. Rayvael. Sunk. She repeated the words in disbelief. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself but the news was still hard to digest. She pushed aside her dark thoughts and back to focus on her duties; the report wasn’t all bad this time – half of the passengers were reported safe, so there was still a chance Bastian could return alive. 

As the Berg fleet sailed back to the harbor, the hope in Odette’s heart burned brighter. Bastian’s presence in the distance and their soon-will-be reunion kept her going, like a racehorse sprinting towards the finish line. She refused to let doubts or fears cloud her mind and believed that he would be fine, pushing aside any negative thoughts.

So please…

She continued her work, holding back the tears that threatened to overflow at any moment. With a heavy heart, she gathered the blood-stained bandages scattered around the hospital room and delivered medicines from one place to another. Her hands trembled with every task, but she refused to let any tears fall. It wasn’t until a fellow nurse gently touched her shoulder, 

“You can let go now,” she said. “It’s time to rest. You can go to the military harbour if you need to.”

Odette looked at the head nurse sadly. It suddenly hit her how much she had been holding back. “No…,” Her voice, barely a whisper, escaped her lips “first, I must finish my work…”

“You’ve worked tirelessly since morning. You’ve done enough for today, my dear. It’s alright; go ahead…” The head nurse smiled and gently pushed her back towards the door.

Her hands trembled uncontrollably as she clutched a tin can filled with bandages and a bottle of medicine “I am sorry for the inconvenience.” she murmured and took the head nurse’s advice. At this moment, she was unable to provide the best care for the soldiers fighting to stay alive.

Without hesitation, Odette rushed out of the hospital towards the military harbour. The biting North Sea winds lashed against her skin, but she powered through, numb to the biting cold. Even when her feet gave way and she fell, she felt no pain. Only one thought drove her on….

Bastian.

She whispered his name along the shoreline  like a sacred prayer as she raced towards the lights of the approaching fleet emerging from the depths of the dark sea.

A heavy cloud of sorrow seemed to hang in the air as she stepped onto the military camp at the dock. Dozens of men stood with slumped shoulders and downcast eyes, their faces painted with grief over the loss of half of their fellow comrades-in-arms only a mournful silence that weighed heavily on the hearts of all who witnessed it.

She bulldozed through the sea of injured soldiers. Panic and desperation fueled her search for survivors from the decimated Rayvael ship. But every step brought her closer to despair, until a soldier sensing her distress, reached out and guided her towards a distant dock at the edge of the harbor.

 “Admiral Demel fleet is about to arrive here. All survivors from the Rayvael ship are on board.” he said. 

Grateful but without a chance to thank him, Odette watched as the soldier disappeared back into the chaos. 

Standing behind the gathering soldiers, she anxiously awaited Bastian’s arrival. Bathed in the cold moonlight, the chill in the air made her shiver, but she refused the military doctor’s offer of a blanket to warm her up. 

As the wind howled like a hungry beast and the waves crashed against the shore, a massive warship slowly sailed into the harbour.  At the peak of the ship illuminated by blazing torches on deck, proudly waving in the wind, was the admiral’s flag of the Demel fleet. With practised ease, Odette straightened her dishevelled clothes and hat until it sat perfectly atop her head. She needed to appear flawless when greeting Bastian even though her insides were a chaotic mess.

The warship screeched to a halt at the dock, its engines still roaring as medical officers rushed onto the ship. The dock was a gruesome sight, littered with bodies and resembling a bloody battlefield, “Prepare the stretchers, we need to evacuate the most severely injured immediately!”

They rushed to transport critically wounded soldiers and Odette stepped back to make room for the busy medical staff. She couldn’t help but think about Bastian, with so many urgent patients requiring first aid, she thought that he would likely disembark from the ship later on.

As the victims were being evacuated, a military doctor noticed Odette and approached her. “I’m sorry, but you should leave this place immediately.”

Odette, who had been praying, looked up at the doctor with worried eyes.

“Admiral Klauswitz will be transported from the ship soon. He is in a critical state and needs immediate surgery.”

Odette’s mind was thrown into chaos the moment she heard Bastian’s name. It felt like a hammer pounding on the fragile pieces of her world, threatening to shatter it completely. She stumbled across the bridge, her legs feeling like they were made of lead to the warship loomed ahead. The sight that greeted her was grim – Admiral Demel standing next to a soldier covered in blood, being carried down from the ship on a stretcher.

No…it can’t be. She shook her head, trying to deny the horrifying truth in front of her. Her world shattered as she stumbled backwards, but before she could turn away, Admiral Demel called her name in shock, “Odette?” He quickly changed his shocked expression and stepped forward to block her view. “You shouldn’t see this, Odette.”

The medical officer rushed past, quickly carrying the stretcher. Odette’s eyes fell on the injured patient, catching a glimpse of platinum hair.

“Ba…Bastian…” Her throat tightened.  She called out his name, but no response came from the bloody figure lying before her. 

“BASTIAN!” Odette screamed, pushing away Admiral Demel who tried to comfort her. BASTIAN!”

“STEP BACK!” The military doctor shooed Odette away from the ambulance.

“PLEASE, I AM HIS FAMILY!” Odette raised her voice, shouting. “I AM ADMIRAL KLAUSWITZ FAMILY! PLEASE LET ME ON BOARD!!”

“She’s his family, let her board.”

Odette and Admiral Demel burst into the ambulance, after the doctors let them in. Bastian covered in blood took her breath away. The siren’s wail began to blare as they sped off towards the hospital, racing against time to save Bastian’s life.

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Bastian was rushed to the military hospital’s operating room, bypassing other waiting patients. Outside, Odette stood guard, her face was deathly pale, looking as if she could faint at any moment.

Demel couldn’t bear to ask her to take a moment’s rest. He had just received word from his superiors that she had volunteered as a medical staff on the treacherous Trosa Islands, risking her life to find her ex-husband. And without any explanation necessary, he understood her reasons. 

Demel sat on a bench at the end of the hallway, his eyes squeezed shut to block out the haunting memories of that night. His wrinkled hand wiped his weathered face.

The sea god had saved the hero when all seemed lost. 

Bastian’s rescue was nothing short of a divine miracle. He, unable to reach the rescue ship in time, jumped into the sea. A lifeboat raced to where he had fallen, only to find him gone, swallowed by the darkness below. Just when all hope seemed lost an unexpected miracle occurred: Bastian resurfaced, battered and broken but miraculously alive.  

With all his remaining strength, he tried to climb the remains of the sinking ship floating in the sea. A passing lifeboat spotted his desperate plight and changed course to save him. When they pulled him to the lifeboat, a deafening blast rocks the waters, the Rayvael ammunition warehouse exploded, engulfing Admiral Sher’s warship in violent flames that lick hungrily at the sky.

Admiral Klauswitz, the North Sea Hero, had finally vanquished the notorious Sea Fox – a feat celebrated by all. But for Admiral Demel, it was a hollow victory. In his mind, Bastian still had one final mission left to fulfill: returning home alive. No amount of praise or accolades would matter if this final task was left undone, the entire operation would be deemed a failure in his eyes. Admiral Demel raised both of his hands and prayed.

‘God, please protect your son once more’

That night, shortly after boarding the lifeboat, Bastian lost consciousness again. The doctor marvelled at his survival thus far – swimming in the frigid sea with countless wounds was nothing short of a miracle. Demel watched how Bastian fought for every last breath, barely hanging on to life. The medical team on the warship did everything they could – first aid, an emergency operation, even a blood transfusion – but Bastian’s condition remained dire. Even the military doctors in the hospital couldn’t offer much hope for his recovery. His very life hung by a thread, and everyone could only pray for a miracle.

“We will do our best.”

When asked about Bastian’s condition, Admiral Demel understood the meaning behind that answer. But he refused to acknowledge it, and Odette knew too, Bastian’s chances of survival were slim.

“Is the operation over?” Odette’s voice snapped Demel out of his thoughts as she spoke with a nurse outside the operating room.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, but it seems that the operation needs more time. We are running out of blood and need to find donors.”

“Alright. I will inform the whole unit. What’s that?” asked Admiral Demel.

“These are Admiral Klauswitz’s belongings,” said the nurse, handing a box that she was holding to Odette. “We’ll do our best to save him,” she added, before heading back to the operating room.

After Admiral Demel left, Odette was left in stunned silence. She stood in front of the operating room door with a box in her hands containing Bastian’s blood-soaked military uniform and other small packets containing items that could easily get lost.

Odette’s legs trembled as she stumbled towards the window, her hands shaking as she placed the box on the windowsill. Bastian surely would survive. That’s what she believed to steel her heart as she opened the first bag and found a jumbled mess of dog tags belonging to the dead soldiers.

Carefully, Odette tidied them up and put them back in the bag. She unzipped the next bag. There was a letter already soaked by seawater and blood addressed to her. The emotions inside her grew as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. And as she unzipped the last bag, she saw another dog tag with a ring slipped into its strap.

Tears blurred her vision, but she knew it was belong to him without a doubt. 

The ring was familiar to her, the same wedding ring they had exchanged on their wedding day.

She took the dog tag and held it tightly in her shaking hands,  while tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.

Bastian….

The pain tore through her chest, tearing her heart until it was shattered into a million pieces.

It hurt, almost too much to bear.

Bastian….

Her cry broke out, a scream that she had kept locked inside for so long finally burst forth, echoing along the hospital corridor.

In the dimly lit darkness, she cried without end, calling him with every breath

Bastian…

But her cries went unanswered, met only with a cruel silence. Regret consumed her whole, tearing at her until the break of dawn when the doors to the operating room opened once again and reality came crashing back in.

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