Barbed Wire

Long after all of my accomplices had shed blood for me, rotting under the soils. Long after dusk ran over the world in waves, there I was, lying on the corpses of fellow comrades. The war was over, our enemies defeated, yet there was no victory, no salutes, no welcoming cheers. There were hardly any of us alive, just a few worms gasping here and there. That silence, never ending silence that I heard, it was as if the world had muted, death on my ears besides the low buzzing of white noise. There was a vacuum where life once was, and all I did as I lied on the ground was wait. I felt as though any moment a shot would fire, a loud "bang" as a bomb would come hurtling down on me, but there was nothing. 

After what felt like hours, a rumble echoed deep in my chest before it increased and spilled from my mouth, causing my shoulders to shake. "Hahahaha!" I could hardly stop myself, as my eyes teared up, no longer did laughter force my body to quiver but ravaging sobs. My arms curled around my torso as I attempted to calm myself. 

My ears barely caught the other dying worms, the beating of their hearts cutting off one by one. It was probably the poison's effects. We did not have masks for it, there was no preventing death. Dear god, we were simply so unprepared.

I had been excited for the war, as any young individual would be. Anything to contribute to my country and give pride to my family. Anything that would shed new light on me, grab the attention of my friends that threatened to leave me behind. How naive had I been, there was no glory in war, no honorable death. 

I sat up from what had become my death bed, my fingers curling in the damp mud that smelled heavily of iron and rust. I no longer knew the true reason for this sacrifice. What was the reason for this war? What were we all fighting for? What were we dying for?

My lungs began to burn, rattling as they struggled to function. "Agh!" Blood dripped from my chin, splattering in small tiny drops as I hack and coughed violently. My vision was fading, and I was terrified.

This was nothing of what I imagined. I had believed I would make it home, I would see my family again and they would be waiting for me by the front door praising me. My dad would pat me in the back and finally tell me what I wanted to hear so much, "I'm proud of you." I wanted my little brother to see me in my uniform and say how much he wanted to be like me when he grew up. I wanted to see my mother's gentle smile one last time. But instead I was here. I shivered, it felt as though the temperature had dropped a few degrees. How I longed to sit by that fireplace where I once read by, the flames flickering in the corner of my eye as my mother warned me that one day I was going to be burned.

 How ironic it all felt. I let out a chortle. No one was here besides me. No one would know how I had died. The only memory anyone would have of me would be my coffin. Or maybe they won't even find my body before then. Maybe by the time they come to document the deaths I would be simply a pile of decaying bones, maggots crawling in between my limbs. Would they use my teeth to identify me? Contact a doctor? It all seemed foolish to me now. Doctor of Death? I wouldn't be saved either way. The memory of me wouldn't be saved.

There was ice now, or that was what I believed. I felt numb all over, a slice of serenity had overcome me. My lungs were full of blood now, my breaths low, gasping. I probably sounded like any other worm left out in the open under the gaze of starving hawk. Was He looking down on me?  Was He secretly laughing at my predicament as though it were all just a visual novel, a t.v show in which I was the star for one episode before it continued on to the next person's misery? 

I exhaled. I suppose it didn't matter now, the damage was done. I wasn't going to be fixed. There wasn't going to be a miracle. There wouldn't suddenly be C.I.A or a S.W.A.T or anyone falling from the sky from a plane or helicopter to help me. I was done.

Reviews

[K.Butler]

Wow, this is really strong. It has great description and I could feel what the main character was feeling.
Way to go!!!

[wolfie]

Thank you!