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    Aftermath
    Aftermath
    Aftermath
    Ebook49 pages1 hour

    Aftermath

    By Steven Patrick Wilson

    ()

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    About this ebook

    This is a collection of short stories that focus not on war but its aftermath. Each story is set on Australian soil but with powerful and enduring links to distant lands.
    What sort of Australia did the first limbless diggers return to? The First ANZAC Day deals with the first broken soldier to return to his hometown in 1916.
    The brotherhood-like culture of returned diggers underpins the legend of ANZAC. Us and Them is about what happens when this legend is just a thin veneer papering over long held simmering hatreds.
    Long before PTSD was recognised and treated, how did those broken souls fare in a society that glorified the war? Bayonet is the story of a returned serviceman who brings his deadly skills home from the Western Front and embarks on a killing spree.
    Veterans often refuse to let go of the past. Finding Elliot tells of a flight crew’s return to a crash site to locate one of their own.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSteven Patrick Wilson
    Release dateSep 16, 2014
    ISBN9781311631206
    Aftermath
    Author

    Steven Patrick Wilson

    Steve is a Townsville based writer of fiction in the field of action/adventure. This is his first novel. He is currently a HR Adviser and has previously served in the Australian Army for 21 years. He took up fiction writing in 2011 and won a local short story competition followed by a winning entry in the National Year of Reading 2011 Short Story Competition for unpublished writers.

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      Book preview

      Aftermath - Steven Patrick Wilson

      Aftermath

      Copyright 2014 Steve Wilson

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      This is a collection of short stories that focus not on war but its aftermath. Each story is set on Australian soil but with powerful and enduring links to distant lands.

      What sort of Australia did the first limbless diggers return to? The First ANZAC Day deals with the first broken soldier to return to his hometown in 1916.

      The brotherhood-like culture of returned diggers underpins the legend of ANZAC. Us and Them is about what happens when this legend is just a thin veneer papering over long held simmering hatreds.

      Long before PTSD was recognised and treated, how did those broken souls fare in a society that glorified the war? Bayonet is the story of a returned serviceman who brings his deadly skills home from the Western Front and embarks on a killing spree.

      Veterans often refuse to let go of the past. Finding Elliot tells of a flight crew’s return to a crash site to locate one of their own.

      The First ANZAC Day

      All he could hear was the ringing in his ears, another bomb? The only other sound was his heartbeat thumping like some manic marching drum. He tried to raise himself off the sand but struggled to do so. He looked down to find his right hand missing, Oh God, it's been blown off! He looked at the sand surrounding him, searching for the missing appendage. Where's the blood? There should be blood! He had a distinct memory of what happens when sand is soaked in blood. It forms into reddish-brown clumps and emits a vile smell after a few hours in the sun. But there was no blood today. He looked up at the cliffs to his front and saw, silhouetted at the very top, diggers walking about, their .303 rifles slung over their shoulders. Why are they looking down here? The Turks are in the other direction! He tried to shout a warning to them but his voice failed him. Instead he could only croak weakly as he struggled to breath. He jolted in fright when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

      Are you alright mate?

      He looked up and saw not a stretcher bearer but an old man, too old to be in the army, dressed in civvies. His hat was not the venerable slouch hat but a battered old Fedora. Wha..?

      I said are you alright?

      He cleared his throat. Mate, get down or you'll cop a packet!

      The stranger looked at him quizzically and stepped away shaking his head, his mouth pursed shut, reluctantly holding back a rebuke.

      He stood up and looked around the beach. He saw others, men, women and kids, all dressed in civvies looking at him like some circus oddity. Where are the boats, the guns, the sandbags? The ringing in his ears gradually faded away to be replaced

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