Gallipoli

• Mitchell Matthews, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2017

Gallipoli

Our small boat crept through the waves engaging on an enemy’s beach. The sun slowly crept over the Turkish hills on the horizon. A whistling sound broke the silence. BOOOOOOOOM! A massive explosion blew apart the boat to our left! By now the shore was only about forty feet from our boat. “Out!” screamed our officer. Troops bounded over the side, swarming up the beach. Now shells were sounding all around us. As I moved to the top of the beach a shell exploded in the sand just in front of my face. Sand blasted in my mouth and up my nose. I was a little dazed but I kept running up the beach to where men had started digging in the dirt, making the trenches that we would stay in until the second wave of troops arrived. I joined in with the crazed digging. First I dug a small hole just large enough to fit me, then expanded it off to the side. Once our trench was complete Bolt, my new mate, and I gazed down the beach. The sun was setting over the ocean, illuminating the ships on the water line. Un-willingly I stared at the sands. Dead and wounded men lay in the sand, groaning and crying for help. A man followed by a donkey was walking down the beach helping the wounded back to the hospital tents that were set up while we were digging. I was hearing rumours that the enemy would engage on our lines soon.
***********************
“The story was right Sammy, it was right!” “What! Who, oh Bolt! Don’t do tha…” BOOOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOOM! I sat upright in a flash. “Sammy get your rifle we’re under attack!” I jumped up and dashed to our platoons’ machine-gun. BABABABABABAAAAAAAAAM! Exploded the bullet frenzied gun as it swivelled around, firing rounds like enraged bees. It knocked the engaging enemy down like bowling pins. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! They screamed as they twisted and fell in strange ways. The enemy just kept pouring over their trenches to fall to the relentless fire. “Either this is a mass suicide or their commander is just crazy!” yelled Bolt over the roar of the mounted gun. Then out of nowhere, a whistle, and BOOOOOM! The machine gun blew apart and I was buried in dirt and sand bags, then…nothing. I was awoken by a sharp pain in my leg, I dug at the blackness that engulfed my face. A shovel blade came down, inches from my face and flung dirt into a pile near the edge of the trench. “Watch where you’re putting that thing Bolt!!” I swear, Bolt nearly jumped three feet into the air. “Oh Sammy I thought we lost you!” “Nearly, Bolt, nearly.” “We had better get used to this,” Bolt said as I hobbled over to him, “Because I’ve heard that Johnny Turk has some reinforcement’s coming and we will have to fight hard” “Well, we better not give in!” I replied.