“Pike! Owls should be the least of your problems, if they’re so much of a burden why don’t you just shoot them?”
“They eat the Rats sir.” Alex said in his droll voice.
Alex is a young rascal who helped us out a lot with his accurate shooting, when he could he would steal the enemy snipers rifles and use them against them. He’s also very witty and can make a joke out of almost anything.
“Well then you should decide who’s staying and who’s leaving and the train will leave in about three hours, and it’ll take thirty minutes to get to the station…so you have two and a half hours to decide. Choose wisely and do it quick Corporal Lockhart”
“Yes sir”
At that moment I felt content but dissatisfied, at least about five of us could go home, but unhappy that it was not going to be me. And felt even more upset that I had to choose who did go back. Choose who lives and who may die. I felt guilty.
But they all supported me and said things like “Don’t said me back, he should go” etc.
I decided to send the weakest five home, so I was left Pike, Alex and the others. We kept six men, which should be enough to fill the trenches.
25th We were in the trenches one night and most of us couldn’t get to sleep, we hadn’t had a good night sleep in a while. So we all got very irritable but Alex tried to cheer us up by saying, “When I can’t sleep I just sleep further to the edge of the bed, then I usually drop off.” I took us a while to get the joke though.
We decided to go out to have a cigarette and see if we can chase of those blasted owls.
So we went outside, but we couldn’t see the owls so Herald went off to look for them. The air was extremely cold that night, he shouldn’t have gone off by himself like that but we were pretty sure there was no one there. He insisted also that if he didn’t get rid of them soon, he would go delirious. So we let him go, I was up there with Pike, Alex, Toby and Scotty.
I lit the first one, then sat down. A while later Alex lit another, then we heard the footsteps coming towards the trench. Toby carefully peered over to see who was there, but he saw no one lit his. Then BANG!!!! As soon as the cigarette glimmer a red sickly light, he was shot. We all screamed, Pike foolishly ran over to the other trench, unprotected. We all heard the same shooting sound. We then knew he was dead…
26th The Major had soon got the message and came over as soon as he could, so this was more important than it seems.
I still haven’t told you every thing, in the morning we all went over with Alex’s rifles. In the other trench we found, Herald. He was badly wounded. He was next to the body of Pike. We now know that Pike must have seen Herald, he stopped him though before he was shot.
Scotty looked at me and I looked at him and nodded. Scotty knew I couldn’t do it now. Scotty and I knew Pike from school age. Scotty then shot Herald though the head.
That day Major came to talk to us. Apparently, there is more to this than what just happen to us.
“Major. What has happened?” I asked.
“Corporal Lockhart I must plead to you to be on your guard. I can’t describe how bad things have got. Not just for you, the whole area here spreading for miles, men are being shot. But peculiarly this seems to happen in the same fashion. Tell me what happened just before he died?” he questioned.
“Well Major, we just heard some foot steps behind us, Toby peered over to see who it was, but he said he couldn’t see anyone. He then lit a cigarette, then just a he lit it he was shot.” said Alex.
“Any ideas who or what did it”
“Well we thought it was Herald.” said Scotty
“But he couldn’t of done it that would be impossible”
“What do you mean by “what” major?” I asked.
“ None of the attacks that I know of were done in the day. All at night.”
“Well if any of you think of anything.” Then he left.
I wasn’t feeling to good about myself. Herald didn’t shoot anyone but why did he look so fearful? I then realised.
The third light…the third person to light a cigarette dies! We don’t have any rats because they sense what ever it is doing it. They’re not owls. I have to tell Major immediately. So I told Scotty and Alex and left Cador and Bran (two French men) and us three left.
“Be quick, it’ll get dark soon.” said Cador
“I don’t know how long we will be so, don’t smoke”
“I never smoked. Well I did try it once…” said Alex
We all looked at him.
“But that was because my pants were alight!”
Then we left.
(A while later at camp with Major)
“I see, so you think that’s what happened? Well it fits… What should we do now, how can we stop it?”
“It’s getting darker, Cador and Bran quick think.”
“We could try overpowering it. It’s attracted to the fire.
We then ran back to the front line as fast as we could. When we arrived Alex and Cador brought all the oil they could carry into no mans land. While Bran and Scotty brought anything else flammable they could get. Major and I started to build a small fire.
“Right then it’s lit, everyone in the trench now it’s dark. Quick!” I bellowed.
We all ran into the trench just as we reached the same gun started shooting.
“Alex! Fire at will!” Major hollered.
Alex skilfully shot the top of the barrel of oil. Causing it to knock over and explode! BANG!!! Everywhere was lit up with a grand, stunning blue light that even lit up the sky for miles around.
Everyone was speechless except Alex. “Which one was Will?”
So in the end we got awarded a Victoria Cross for our bravery.
Then we were give permission to go back Home.