Battlefield

A Story by Gaard

A short story about a soldier named George.

"Watch out!", a voice echoed out over the war torn hills. The cannon fire was deafening, but George could here the voice of his commander as he curled up behind an oak tree. Bullets whizzed past his head sending bark flying off the oak tree that was now the only object between him and the chaos of the battle. He wondered to himself why he was still there as he packed the powder down his riffle. He imagined his childhood and how he would hide behind the oak trees in his fathers orchard when he played hide and seek with his brothers. He longed now for that simplicity more than ever. He snapped back to reality, got off his feet, took a deep breath, and stepped out from behind the tree. He aimed his gun at an enemy soldier and fired. As soon as he felt the kick back from the gun he turned back behind the tree and began to load his gun again. He was about to come out from behind the tree to fire another shot when he heard the sound of a bugle and voices shouting "Stand down! Stand Down!". The men on both sides of the battlefield slowly came out behind their defenses with their weapons lowered at their side. A man on a horse road in and stated, "The war is over. The king has surrendered.". George looked up at the sky and whispered, "Hallelujah.". He threw his weapons to the ground and began to help carry the injured of both sides to medic tents. With that the war that lasted for years was over in a matter of seconds.