My men are far away. Only Aryeh is near me, and one thing is clear, shockingly clear. In this place, in full view of the enemy, it would be deadly for anyone to come anywhere near us. There is no cover at all.
I have no idea how serious the wound is. Am I going to die? It is strange that this thought does not shock me. But the certainty that I cannot be rescued before darkness falls makes me desperate.
I shout. With pain. Somehow that makes me feel better. I have a childish feeling that somehow my cries will affect someone and they will find a way to get me out of here.
"Where is the jeep?" I ask. I believe that the jeep could somehow rescue me.
"Come on," Aryeh consoles me. "I have phoned HQ." He tries to get me on his back and to crawl. The pain is unbearable. He lays me back on the ground.
"Don’t stand up!" I tell him. "They will kill you." But Aryeh is one of the old school. He has been wounded twice. A quiet man who has often displayed admirable courage.
He gets up and runs. The machine gun rattles.
I keep on screaming. The time is endless. I am surprised that I have not died yet. But somewhere deep inside me a thought is lurking: I will survive!
Aryeh is back again with my four men who had waited behind in the wadi. They are recruits and have never been so near to the enemy. They look at me. In their faces I can see their concern. I can feel that they like me. They are endangering their lives to get me out of here.
They take me by my arms and legs, and run with me to the rear-ward slope. The pain is awful. I groan. I don’t want them to hear me scream. Somehow we reach the slope. There the Bren carrier is wait-ing. They put me on it. One of the men gets on and puts my head in his lap. I hold the bandage on my stomach to stop it shifting.
We drive off. The vehicle rolls and shakes crazily. The pain gets worse. I start screaming again.
At the command post some men are waiting. Half conscious I rec-ognize their worried faces, as they transfer me to the jeep of the med-ical unit. The drive to the collection point is hell. The sand road is full of potholes and boulders, the jeep jumps like mad. I feel as if my body is breaking apart.