Chapter1
It's been a long journey, but it's finally over. I spoke aloud and breathed a sigh of relief.
****
My heart pounded frantically as I ran behind a tree after launching a grenade at the opposing forces. Empty shells of ammunition are scattered across the ground. Continuous shots from assault rifles fire one after the other. My comrades scream in pain as they're hit, and some take their final breaths.
I grab what equipment I can, and drop to the ground to crawl over to Rashonda, the Chemical Engineer Analyst, who is securely shielded and disguised to blend in with the turf. Rashonda is a petite hispanic hatian with a slim build, muscular legs and a strong mind. She's quick on her feet and a master at science. She can create chemical poisons, bombs, guns and ammunition that are fast acting within minutes.
She launches several chemical bombs that release 100 meters in the air over our enemies. Then she instructs all allied soldiers to employ our chemical resistant helmets that were designed and distributed to the Artalian military by her family. I pushed a button on my uniform to deploy the helmet.
Neither side showed any sign of retreating or a cease fire. "We're running low on ammunition, I screamed over the gun fire." “We need to head back to a base, it's getting dark, and if we want to survive”… A spray of bullets headed in our direction. Rashonda is hit in the chest and neck, then her body buckles beneath her, but she doesn't scream out.
My eyes widened in confusion as she appeared to be smiling. "Take cover Vince," she whispered, “you need to run as far as you can and then”... Rashonda hands me a medium bag packed with chemical explosives, and a remote controller with some kind of infrared screen with red dots on them. “Use this, it's so simple even a child could use it.” She coldly joked.
I didn't laugh though. I also didn't think to remind her of my name. Internally, I was angry. These people we are fighting have no respect for human life. The enemy fired from afar but sent children in pretty dresses, barretes and pigtails to run across the lines in order to draw sympathy from our soldiers.
They wore specialized shields to protect themselves from allied shots fired from within their own forces. The children also wore head-phone-like covering to protect their ears, as well as high-tech goggles that didn’t allow them to look anywhere but straight ahead. They couldn't see when the child next to them fell.
And apparently, the children behind them were trained to jump over the fallen and injured bodies as if they were playing leap frog or doing a cheer routine or something. They were sent in waves. The youngest had to be no older than 6. Groups of girls with assault rifles ranging from 6 and up run towards our Artalian explosive combat unit.
Who would allow their child to do something like this? I thought to myself. If it were me, my children wouldn't be anywhere near this battlefield. I just had twin girls last year. If I make it out of here alive, how can I ever look at them the same after killing so many little girls? But they weren't innocent.
I fought with myself. They were armed and trained. It was kill or be killed; still is. This is a battlefield, not a place where empathy or hesitation is allowed. I bring myself back to the present, take the bag, nod my head and crawl away.
No need to correct a dying woman, I figured. I crawled until I got to a tree, stood up, input the coordinates and launched my final grenade with a smoke bomb, then I took off running in the direction of the thickest tree coverage.
West, I believe, the enemy hadn't fired yet. Once I put some distance between myself and the battlefield, I pressed the button on one of the remotes to detonate the chemical weapon given to me by Rashonda.
The ground shook behind me as I ran, but I knew better than to look back. One after another, for what seemed like an endless amount of time, I heard a string of explosions.
The assault rifles and screams were all drowned out as everything seemed to be consumed by the noise of the grenades and landmines. Body parts seemed to be flying everywhere, including in the direction I was now running in, possibly a result of the chemical reaction.
Who knew bodies could fly so high and so far? I did my best to avoid fallen soldiers and dismembered body parts out of respect for the dead. No time to bury my fallen brethren, I thought.
Will there be anyone to bury me? I questioned aloud. I kept running until I came to a forest entrance. Once in a thicket of heavy tree covering, I climbed up a tall sturdy looking tree till I reached about 60 ft, and grabbed my binoculars. This tree had to be higher than 200 feet tall, I thought in amazement.
In the distance, I could still see fire and smoke popping up randomly. But everything seemed so muffled and muggy with all the smoke. I surveyed my surroundings, ensuring this tree wasn't home to any dangerous creatures. After my assessment, I climbed even higher where the branches and leaves were thicker.
The cover of night was slowly approaching. One after another, louder and louder, the explosions went off in an almost synchronized order. This tree would be a great place to rest for the night, I thought aloud. What a bad habit this is, I whispered to myself. Speaking aloud in such a dangerous area could very well get me killed.
I pulled out a flashlight and pointed it upward to check for movement.
My thoughts were jumbled, hectically switching from one to another. My brain used what energy it could to help me find the best path to survival. "I should go deeper into the forest and get higher up."
"That way there’s more time to escape if necessary." "Everyone knows that the best time to move during a war is at night." I say to myself, "Plus if I stay here and rest, there's no telling when enemy fire will reach this place or how far the chemical weapon Rashonda built will travel."
"Someone else could have the very same idea as me, and decide to climb this tree too." "On the one hand, it could be a fellow soldier, but then again it could be an enemy scout."
Not many people on my squadron were adept at tree climbing, and who knows what skills the enemy has. "After all they train children to be killing machines," I said grimly.
I've never seen anything so sickening. I shook my head to clear it. Get a grip, Javon, I scold myself while I pull out a navigation device to check my location.
I then try to catch a secure radio frequency using Artalian coding format to check for any breeches before speaking. I get a response from the command tower, and I'm ordered to stay hidden for now.
"Do not engage in deadly combat if it can be avoided." A static stern voice repeats. There's a potential chance for peace. The Artalian government is currently in counsel with the Slavloreenia empire.
We've all been fighting for about 6 or 7 months now. I think, honestly, I've lost count. I don't even remember why this war started. Could this really all be over soon, I dare to hope. I smiled outwardly and immediately reigned in joy as I heard gunshots in the distance. ****
