Free Last Night Another Soldier by Andy McNab Page A

about two metres away, ‘I thought you could do with the help. Besides, I had to help my mates out, didn’t I? Happy d—’
    I heard a click underneath my foot. Nothing else.

Chapter Eighteen
    Two months later and I was back at home in my old bed. My room hadn’t changed since before I’d joined the army. It still had Chelsea posters stuck all over the walls, and my old skateboard propped up behind the door.
    The only thing different was that Mum had Blu-Tacked a couple of army photos next to my poster of Beyoncé. There was one of me and the lads on the assault course at the Infantry Training Centre, and a big group shot of the whole platoon, who were still back at the FOB with another month left to go of the tour. Si had sent me that one while I was still in hospital. His arse was in the middle of the picture doing a moonie, with all the others grinning behind him, giving me the thumbs up.
    Apparently, when I had trodden on the mine, there was just a small explosion and some dirt got thrown up into the air. You kind of expected a fire and a blast of epic proportions if it was going to change your life that much, but it hadn’t happened that way. The explosion hadn’t thrown my body high into the air. It had justsort of lifted me off the ground about six inches. Trouble was, when I landed, I was no longer in one piece, but two. I lost most of my right leg in the blast.
    It was Toki who hadn’t stood a chance. The force of the explosion had hurled lumps of rock straight towards him at supersonic speed. A shard of rock had flown up into his chin and sliced straight through his brain. He was killed outright.
    At least Flash was doing well. He had called me yesterday from his new married quarters. His missus loved it. He had a massive scar on his leg and was still in a lot of pain, but he would be fit enough to stay in the army. Good news.
    Si emailed me all the time. The lads back at our FOB were still getting shot at by the Talis most nights. Other than that, he was busy burning turd drums for his red leather sofa. He told me that after Toki was killed, MacKenzie had given him a really good send-off.
    It felt strange not being out in Afghanistan with the lads any more. Some days I felt guilty for surviving when Toki hadn’t. But on other days, when the pain in my leg was really bad, I reckoned maybe Toki had the better deal.
    I tried not to think too much about what life would be like in the future. Better just to crackon with it. Wait and see, know what I mean? The doctors said once my leg had healed well enough, they’d be able to fit a false one to the stump.
    Having to leave the army was the worst thing really, but I still planned to keep in touch with all my mates. And like MacKenzie said in all his speeches, I would make sure I never forgot Toki, or any of the lads killed in action wherever they fought.
    People like Toki lived and died as soldiers, doing a job they loved. For some reason, back in the UK, no one seems able to get their heads around that fact.
    Soldiers don’t fight for Queen or country, like they say on the telly. They fight for each other. It’s the job of a soldier to kill the enemy, and if that means getting killed or injured in the process, so what? Toki and all the rest of them who died knew the risks. Toki wouldn’t want any pity. And if he didn’t want any, then I didn’t either.
    One good thing that had come out of all this was that I was starting to get my dad back. The second half of that letter I’d posted to him from Afghanistan said he could write back to me if he wanted. I’d told him I’d post him some pictures of me in my uniform, and maybe hecould send some of him from when he was in the Army.
    Things moved on quite a bit after that. My dad went to see a doctor about PTSD and they started giving him some help. He even came to see me in hospital last week, and drove me and my mum back home just now. Maybe they’d get back together one day. Who knew?
    One thing I did