‘Okay men, you have twenty minutes. Fill your canteens and have something to eat, we’ve still got another three hour march to the next river and you know what happens when we get to the river.’ Skipper shouted as he stood at the top of the wall which surrounded half of the spring ‘If you’re asleep when we leave you’ll be left behind I don’t care if you’re a private or a captain.’
As the last of the men filled their canteens and began to get back into formation we heard enemy fire and before we knew it our men started dropping around us. It was a hunting ground for the enemy. We tried to fight back but to everyone one of us there was three of them.
‘Head for the forest!’ Screamed Skipper.
As the surviving men scurried for the forest we heard the screams and cries of the injured left at the spring, there was nothing that could have been done if we wanted to win back our country we couldn’t risk our lives in the process. We ran as fast as we good weaving in and out of trees, jumping over fallen logs and dodging enemy fire coming from behind. Explosions surrounded us as we sprinted through timberland, spreading blood and carnage throughout.
As we continued to run we began to fire back, at every safe bit of cover we found we stopped and tried to take out as many enemies as we could, firing randomly into the bushes. We lobbed grenades and flash bangs into the woods in the hope that it would aid in our escape.
As we continued into the forest we found a trench, dug by the enemy for us, we had been running into a trap. The only way out was to climb down into the trench and find our way through the dirt maze. The enemy being some distance behind us we decided to make a game plan.
‘Alright boys, it’s do or die. The odds are not in our favour but that’s war for you. Here’s the plan we stick as a group and we keep on the lookout, we’ll go north through the trenches. Stay on your toes men.’ Drilled Skipper.
We followed Skipper’s orders and headed north through the trenches no enemy in sight yet but we knew they were on their way. As we got further down the trenches the dirt turned to thick knee deep mud and it was almost impossible to continue but we knew what we had to do to survive.
As we got to the end of the trench we noticed that there was no way out, the mud was surrounded by massive walls of dirt and mud. And just to make it better we heard the footsteps of the enemies approaching from the beginning of the trench. As we tried to climb out of the trench another platoon of enemies arose from the forest forcing us back into the pit.
‘This it men we’re all going to die. Fight valiantly until death.’ Cried Skipper.
We fought as hard as we could firing at the enemies running towards us from within the trench and lobbing grenades at the enemies who rained bullets down on us from above it. Both allied and enemy men began falling, dead and injured drowning in mud.
We took out the last of the enemies above the wall but as our hope was restored a waft of poisonous gas began leaking out of a canister thrown into the mud by one of the enemy soldiers. All of a sudden an ecstasy of fumbling overcame us we had to get our gas masks on.
As I reached for my belt and felt for my mask I realised I had forgotten it at the spring. I had put it down in order to fill my canteen. I stood there star struck a blank look on my face with no expression, a single tear running down my face when out of nowhere I was tackled into the mud with a mask forced around my face but when I looked up to see my saviour all I could see was a pale faced, brown haired, white eyed body which muttered with its last breath:
‘Survive private.’
I dragged the corpse to the trench wall and hid under it until the chaos had stopped. Once the enemies had passed on I got out from under the body and scouted for survivors there was only one other, it was Frankie. He asked me how I survived, and with a blank look on my face I pointed at the withered body of our beloved captain, Skipper.
