My eyes fluttered open, revealing the white padded ceiling above. The exhaustion and pain were gone once again, but the stench and taste of blood never left my nose and mouth. Then I heard a sound beside me—the sound of snoring—so I shifted my face in that direction and saw Jake lying beside me, sleeping peacefully.
"This kid…" I muttered while sitting up.
Only after I sat up did I realize my clothes were blood-soaked and sticky, but what could I do about it?
With a heavy sigh, I pushed myself up, rising to my feet before shifting my attention back to Jake. I nudged him a bit with my foot, and he made some unintelligible sounds before his eyes opened. Watching him rub his eyes like a child just waking up was quite amusing.
The moment his eyes landed on me, they widened with surprise, and he quickly jumped to his feet with childish enthusiasm that didn't fit a soldier.
"Big brother, you're alive!" he exclaimed, his eyes scanning my blood-soaked clothes.
