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such a position.
They promised each other to reprimand Clement once the shift was over.

The dinner meal continued, with far less soldiers present. Word spread that the mortar had landed in a drain running along the northern side of the Dfac, the realization that a mortar could reach them spread amongst the boys. A very quiet atmosphere existed during the change of shift.

Jose, Gilbert and William headed straight back to their room to confront Clement. Strangely though, the room was empty, they had expected Clement to be lying on or under his bed with information on how he handled the explosion. When Suhail and Felix arrived, Clements' early departure from work was explained and it was decided the boys should search for him immediately.

They checked the ablution block, the rooms of other boys Clement may visit, and then retraced the route back to the Dfac without sighting Clement. They decided to widen their search. The boy's anxiety increased when a cry from Suhail, who had walked along the drain, brought their suspicions to the surface. Jose and the others raced as fast as their legs could carry them, over sand and through a patch of gravel toward Suhail's urgent screams.

One by one they were brought to a sudden halt, their worst fears realized. Suhail stood over the blood spattered body of Clement lying amongst the sand and weeds, his head bent back at an awkward angle, big brown eyes wide open and gazing up at the full moon. The same moon shone on a gaping wound just above Clements' heart and another that had torn his stomach open. One of his arms extended skyward as if to be signaling to somebody that he was making a point. His boots had been blown off and his puffy swollen feet were nestled peacefully in the sand, ironically, the only part of his body not covered in blood. The ground surrounding the body was stained red; blood seeped down the concrete embankment into the drain and accompanied the trickle of water flowing slowly toward the Tigris River.
The boys stood in disbelief; a look of helpless frustration was stamped on each face, Clement had wandered off at the wrong time and found himself adjacent to the explosion. Numbness overtook the boys, their own pains vanished and a cloak of guilt and responsibility began to descend on them.

Learn more about this author, Peter Robertson.
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