War

The blackness of the night was strangely engulfing, penetrating their very core, it sucked out their souls like a vortex of misery. Only there was no room left for misery in their beings, just as there was no room for happiness, desperation or any other emotion. They were empty shells. Trudging on through mud and rain, with barely any conscience; they were corpses in the night. Somewhere an explosion went off, and for a second the deep blackness was penetrated by a flash of bright light, revealing their sunken faces. Francis was bent over double, the sack of supplies on his back pushing him yet deeper into the mud. Another bomb illuminated the night. Death and destruction for miles, then darkness once again. Suddenly a gap opened up in the clouds, sending a beam of moonlight down to earth as though sent from the angles themselves. There was a group of them, twenty at least, trudging on carelessly, one foot after the other. Francis could hear the whistle of the bomb as it flew through the air landing not far away. Shrapnel and clods of earth flew over the group. Most of them didn’t even notice. Francis turned to the man next to him.
“Can’t be far now Jimmy” He said. But his face suggested otherwise. Jimmy turned to look back at him. His eyes where pail and sorrowful. A fire had once burned in those eyes. Over the past few years it had dulled. Now the smouldering embers had almost disappeared. Jimmy Smiled, a crooked, morphed smile.
“We’ve pulled through together so far Francis. Boy, will we have some stories to tell when we get out of this hole” Francis nodded in agreement, but they were both thinking the same thing. They would never be leaving this place. Francis looked up suddenly. Sensing danger he stopped in his tracks. Through the moonlight appeared an unmistakable green fog. Swirling through the night in a cloud of death, it meandered through the air until the group was surrounded by a sea of green.
“Jimmy!” Francis’ voice had a sharp edge of urgency to it “Get your gas mask on. Quick” Then came the unmistakable call.
“Gas!, Gaaas!”
Francis dropped to the ground. Pulling his gasmask from his pack he crammed it onto his head.
“Jimmy!” he called in sudden desperation “Jimmy!”
Only the silhouettes of the men could be seen, wandering around aimlessly in the fog, their gas masks giving them the appearance of some kind of demented alien species. After what seemed like an eternity, the cloud began to lift. The figures of the men became clearer and clearer until finally the order was given for gas masks to be removed. There on the ground, crumpled in a heap, lay Jimmy. In his hand he held his gasmask. Francis bent over him, his heart flooding itself with despair. “Why Jimmy. Why?” He almost whimpered as the words left his mouth “Not now Jimmy, not after everything we’ve been through…

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