• The way the barrel felt in my hand was a little unnerving, the way it felt cold to the touch, the way it made me feel, the power it imbued in my soul. I knew this was the end, the second I leapt to my duty I would be no more.

    I jumped out of the hole to a rain of fire, the screams and shots around me seemed to get louder, flack and dirt flew up around me as I charged towards my fate, to my demise. I raised the gun only to be stopped by a quick and sharp pain in my leg followed by one in my right arm, I tried to raise it again but failed, the pain was overwhelming as I dropped to my knees and then fell face first into the dirt. I could hear screams and the sounds of bullets whizzing past me then everything went black.

    As I woke I thought about the possibility that there was an after life and this was it, then after my logic kicked in I realised that I could still feel the pain so I couldn’t be dead or rather didn’t want to be dead if I was to live the rest of eternity with this pain, the next logical explanation was that I was in a hospital somewhere but the fact that I was cold and could still see mud quickly killed that hope until I came to the conclusion that I was still on the field or in a prisoner of war camp, I begged to what ever god I could think of that it was the first.

    My answer came quick and sharp as I turned my head to see another fallen soldier bite the dirt, I was still here, still on my death bed in the middle of butt ******** no where fighting for a bit of land that helps no one, there was no oil, there was no strategic stronghold, the reason we were here was that they were here and the higher-ups didn’t like this so they sent us here, to die.

    What’s a war without fallen heroes after all, who could they dedicate plaques to and look all noble if no one died unnecessarily? We all knew it was true, we were propaganda, we always have been and always will be, if we loose and all die, we would be fallen heroes fighting for the cause if we won we would have taken victory for the mother country.

    I looked forward only to see an enemy, a bad guy I guess, he too had fallen to a bullet, who knows if it was theirs or ours, hell I don’t even know if I was shot by them, I could be a case of friendly fire for all I know but that’s besides the point. I looked at him, no more than 50 feet away, he had a look in his eyes, the same look I must have had, we didn’t want to be here, we shouldn’t be here, what is so different about him over me, why am I the good guy, we were after all invading there land.

    I reached a hand out to him it was a pointless exercise but I did it anyway, we were the same, we both shared this experience. As I did I felt the ground rumble a little and then a lot, tanks most likely, I hope they were ours, maybe I might get out of this after all. I doubt it but hey, one can wish cant they?

    It wasn’t tanks, I wish they were tanks, what was shaking the ground was worse, it was bombs, I could see them coming in the distance as I looked to my side once again, it didn’t matter whose they were, ours or theirs, they were dropping large bombs, they wouldn’t judge who was on what team, they would kill whoever was unlucky to be in there way. Sadly though, I was one such person. I knew how these things worked, anyone above ground was about to die, I could see the enemy diving for there trenches and I guess that was what our guys were doing too, well everyone who could.

    The fire storm was getting closer, I could feel the heat and as I looked over at my fallen counterpart on the other side I noticed one of his team mates dragging him by the legs to get him to safety, what I nice gesture, I wanted to scream for help I wanted to be dragged back in but I knew it was pointless, the bombs were deafening now and that was the last sound I would hear before my final moment.

    That was when I saw something, something that would go with me for the rest of my minute long life, before the other guy was dragged down into oblivion; he looked at me and mouthed the word sorry