Overlord

Overlord

Half the troops never made it off the boat. I sat in the back and watched as they lowered the ramp. Duqouis and Lieman took bullets to the head. They were the only faces I could see. I lost track of who died where. Crawling over bodies, scrambling for the sand.

Some men charged, guns blazing. Others crawled on their bellies, yearning for survival. Shells exploded in a symphony of booms and screams. If I closed my eyes I could pretend it was thunder.

I was snagged by a Lieutenant who pulled me along before shoving us both to the ground behind whatever shelter we could find. Rat-a-tat-tat machine guns snuffed out soldiers one by one.

“After the next round we make for the fort!”

I barely had time to nod before a blast exploded the sand into a grainy hailstorm. Sounds faded away, replaced with a ringing and a click-pop-click in my ears. Were we supposed to run? I looked to the Lieutenant for a signal.

He’d never give a command again. Sprawled on his back, eyes wide and cold. He was missing his legs. I turned and wretched, if not for the sight than for the smell. I’d never smelt someone’s insides before. A smell of fish and piss and meat.

With bile still rising in my throat, I got up and ran. People were dying all around me. I dove for a trench near the fort and landed in a heap at the bottom, wanting to cry. I’d made it. I was alive. I was…

Copper somehow found its way into my mouth. I coughed and saw the crimson spread across my uniform. I wondered briefly how I could be so cold when I lay on a beach.

I closed my eyes.

I felt nothing after that.



Word Count: 300
Written for "Invalid Item"   by A Guest Visitor