War

• Elise Muller
• Short Story
• 2011

As I prepared for war I took a deep breath as hot tears streaked my pale cheeks. I grabbed a photograph placed on the dusty old table and put it into the pocket closest to my heart. That was the photo I would cherish forever; the photo of my family, the photo of my life,.
I looked back one last time before beginning my journey on the truck that idled softly in High Street. I noticed my mother crying unstoppably, clinging onto my strong father. Saying goodbye to them was heart wrenching and I wondered when I would see them again.
We were all in our army greens, young boys around fourteen and twenty.
After a long, tiring, bumpy trip the truck came to a sudden halt. We were then escorted to a ship and were ordered to grab a rifle, ready for the adventure I signed up for.
Two days later we boarded the ship which began its trek through the dark blue ocean. I looked at a boy beside me. He stood frozen with fear so I shook his hand. His name was Ben and after much discussion we found out that we went to the same primary school.
As the days passed and turned into weeks my heart was craving for my family. I sat on the deck gazing out at the ocean wondering what would happen to the crew without knowing the catastrophe we were about to experience.
During the night while we were sleeping there was a big rumble in the ship. Many of our fragile belongings rolled and broke. The crew became worried. Soon we got the dreaded message that scarred our lives forever. The ship had docked, and whatever our destination was, we were about to find out.
All the crew jumped off and there was a loud ‘BANG’. Everyone ducked and ran except for Ben. I saw my best mate look at me and fall helplessly to the ground. He’d been shot.
In a blink of an eye I grabbed my mate, and ran for our life. Seeing all those strong lads fall was devastating but we held our ground. We got our rifles and fought back as best as we bloody blokes could with the spirit of a true blue Aussie!
In the background was a loud noise of the rumbling of those tanks. I looked around and all I could see behind me was a beach of dead men. These were once strong men who raised a beer slowly being slaughted.
I gazed up on the hill at one of the Turkish men on the opposition side. He had his rifle pointed directly towards Ben and me. My eyes were paralysed with fear and my heart sank. For those few last seconds I looked back on my life and remembered my family I had left behind. I had a sense of pride because I had sacrificed my life for the freedom of our country - AUSTRALIA!