Life, Freedom, Dignity

"Gentlemen, take aim!" Our lieutenant ordered us. We obeyed his command, by raising our muskets and aiming them in front of us, at the red sea of enemies marching in our direction. My breath was steady, slow and organized. Just like I was taught. Me and my comrades in line were awaiting our lieutenant's signal. Each passing second felt longer and longer. Then, suddenly - "FIRE!" - the order came. I pulled the trigger and fired at the enemy, like ordered. So did my comrades. But the enemy, they stopped. Barely 10 seconds passed and we heard a thunder, one that sounded like as if it happened a thousand times in the same second. I could hear faint moans of death and muskets drop from both left and right. "Reload!" said our lieutenant, and with that my line took a step back and the next line stepped forward, to where we stood just now. I quickly, but without rush, reloaded my musket and was ready to fire again. Meanwhile, the soldiers in the front got the same set of orders. After "Reload!" was commanded again, I was back in the front line. "TAKE AIM!" And I did. "FIRE!" And I did. I could see a dozen red coats drop dead. A devilish grin spread out on my face, as I was certain victory would be ours. Then, an army of thunder roared through the heavens once more. I felt a vibration in my shoulder. My head quickly turned to check on the source of the strange feeling and my eyes could see blood tainting my blue jacket. My blood. Those bloody redcoats hit me! - I thought. When the lieutenant ordered for reload, I stepped back with my line and let the one behind us take our place. I was worried someone would notice, as I could not allow myself to quit now. Not here. Not in this battle. Not in this life. The adrenaline in my veins was running short and I could feel the pain now. I could barely lift my arm, but I had to. After reloading my rifle, I stepped back to my former place, when the line in front of us was done. "TAKE AIM!" I was gritting my teeth, trying to endure the pain that came with forcing my arm in front of me, lifting the heavy musket. "FI-" The lieutenant's tongue suddenly froze. I glanced over at him, confused. His face was pale, his old, battle-worn eyes gazing into the forest to our right. I looked at the direction he was looking at, to see red spots dancing around among the trees. "THE RED DEVILS ARE TRYING TO FLANK US! TAKE AIM AT THE FOREST AND FIRE AT WI-...!" His tongue froze, as the heavens roared again. I glanced over at him once more. Blood was ejaculating out of his throat and after a whole two seconds, he fell. Our lieutenant was dead. With that, our battle was over. At least for our battalion. I looked around at the soldiers, many had frightened and hopeless expressions, but something surprised me. Those were the minority. The vast majority of soldiers' eyes were sparking with courage. Their hearts beating strong, for they were not about to run away like cowards, ready to give up. A private from the front line stepped up, he raised his musket and shouted: "THEY MAY TAKE OUR LIVES AND FREEDOM, BUT NOT OUR DIGNITY!" I could see the frightened expressions of the minority change into the same as the majority's, now they made their choice. "FIX BAYONETS, GENTLEMEN!" I shouted. I attached a bayonet on the tip of my musket and so did my comrades. Then, I took a deep breath and screamed: "CHAAAARGE!!!" And so we charged. The roar of the heavens and the war cries coming from the forest didn't scare any of us now, as we were much louder.

January 14, 1775