Hey everyone!

Thanks so much for checking this story out, it means a lot to me.

This was an assignment I had received for school, but it inspired me to pick up the pen again and start working on my novel again. I hope you enjoy it.

PS. In no way is this supposed to be historically accurate, I know I must have gotten a ton of historical facts wrong. Keep in mind this is only for school and fun.

I tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep. Images of home flashed in my mind, so close yet so distant. I could picture my bedroom, my mother's pancakes, my younger sister playing. I could picture my life before the war. But every time I tried grasping a memory, it crumbled to ash before my very eyes. I sighed and closed my eyes tighter, ignoring the aching homesick feeling in my stomach and heart.

***

I was on the verge of sleep when I was shaken awake. A young boy lingered over me—about 19 years old—backpack flung over his shoulders. He wore a brownish uniform embroidered with a two arrowed-lined badge.

"Come on, Thomas," the boy said, his face stern. "The captain's rounding up everyone. Apparently, the general's here."

I slid out of bed, straightened my uniform, and glared at the young boy. 

"Corporal," I said, my face cold, "It's Lieutenant Caddigé to you. Being friends doesn't permit you to bend military rankings."

The young boy hung his head, embarrassed.

I did my best to keep a serious face, but a slight snicker escaped my lips. Then I chuckled and burst into a giggling fit, and I clapped the boy on his back as I continued laughing.

"At ease, Hudson!" I exclaimed,  barely containing my laughter. "I'm just messing with you."

The soldier looked somewhat relieved and chuckled with me for a bit. 

"Alright, let's go," Hudson finally said. I donned my helmet, slung my rifle over my shoulder, and together we walked out of my small dugout.

The outside was nearly just as dark. The first rays of sunshine were yet to appear, leaving a haunting atmosphere over the entirety of no man's land. Everything was a shadow, a silhouette, like a dark painting with no colour.

Hudson and I crouched behind the wet and muddy trench walls, careful not to expose our heads over the top. I've seen too many casualties from that mistake. We continued walking through the blistering cold. I could barely feel my toes as we moved, and my fingers had already gone numb for quite some time now. The trench must have stretched for at least half a kilometre, but no one knew exactly. No one had ever moved from one end to the other while remaining in one piece.

We soon came across a crowd of soldiers gathered in the fields slightly above the trench. A small slope led up onto the greens, an area far behind our artillery lines. There must have been at least 600 men amassed in the tall grass, and I could just barely see the captain and general in the front, yelling indistinct orders.

"What's happening, Hudson?" I asked.

Hudson shrugged. "I was told to fetch you as soon as General Schofield arrived."

I furrowed my brow and asked the closest soldier near me what was going on.

"It's a mess," he said. "The Germans on the other side received reinforcements overnight—at least 300 more soldiers and double the weapons. They're posing a major threat to us right now. The general's calling us back to Beauvais. We'll help the soldiers there for two weeks, and then we'll be sent back home in time for Christmas." 

"That's great!" I exclaimed. I was finally going to reunite with my family after two years. "What's going to happen here?"

The soldier shrugged. "Army command can't send reinforcements in time, so they're leaving this trench completely for the Germans."

I froze. Our trench was one of France's most significant defences against Germany. If we lost it, Germany would surely get the upper hand, and not just against France.

I had to do something. I couldn't just let the Germans easily scare us off like that. 

I left the soldier and pushed my way through the crowd, trying to reach the front. Hudson called out to me, but I kept going.

I finally got to the captain, who was shouting for everyone to begin packing their things.

"Captain!" I yelled, grabbing his attention.

"Caddigé?" the captain asked. "Where have you—"

"This is insane! You can't just abandon this trench!" I continued, cutting him off. "Are you sure we can't send reinforcements—"

"Lieutenant, you cannot talk to a superior officer in that tone!" The captain shouted back, his face red.

I was embarrassed at my outburst, but I couldn't back down.

"I'm sorry, captain, but there must be another option other than abandoning the line!"

"I'm just doing what army command is ordering," the captain replied, seemingly still upset.

The general must have heard our squabble as he was walking to us.

"Everything alright, gentlemen?" he asked.

Before the captain could say anything, I saluted and introduced myself, to which the general nodded.

"Not to defy army orders, sir, but abandoning this post would do us no better than surrendering," I stated.

"Get to the point," the general spat, annoyance already clear in his voice.

I stifled a cough. "Well, I just want to know if you really can't send reinforcements in time. Perhaps we could have some men from Beauvais come over here and help us out."

The general snickered. "I see right through you. You'd let those men die for you before you did for them. Would you choose to stay and die here?

The question hit hard. I did want to go home and be with my mom and my sister. Why should I stay? It wasn't even my own country. Yet, a strange feeling inside me wouldn't allow me to go back home without a fight. Perhaps this is what they call a sense of duty. Or maybe I was just stupid.

"I would," I replied, but I wasn't sure.

My answer only angered the general more. "You can't determine what can happen and what can't! The wheels are already set in motion, and it would be too late to send anyone down!" 

"Then let us fight! Your job is to protect the country and do what's best for us!" I shouted back.

"This is your last chance to back down, Caddigé! Defying army orders and arguing against a higher ranking officer could easily land you a death penalty."

A death penalty. That seemed a bit severe for arguing against instructions. Even if the general was bluffing, it still terrified me. I didn't want to die. I wanted to give up, but images of my friends flashed in my mind. Their sacrifices and deaths would be in vain if, in the end, we decided to give in to the Germans.

"I'd rather die fighting than live my life as a coward," I said to the captain, more determined than ever.

The general's face was impossible to read. Then, suddenly, the general smiled. Then he laughed. 

"I haven't seen that fighting spirit in a long time," he said. "You remind me of myself. I was brave and had a strong sense of duty as well. Although I had a little less…attitude."

The general stepped closer to me.

"I had a feeling about you."

Then the general turned to face the crowd of soldiers.

"Attention!" he called.

***

I sat on a wooden crate, watching the last rays of sunshine dip below the horizon. Hudson had joined the group leaving for Beauvais, and the remaining 400 or so of us chose to stay.

I looked to the fields, barely seeing Hudson's shadow in the distance.

I was about to call out when a shell exploded 3 feet from Hudson, showering everything in dust and killing 200 men before they could return to their families and homes.