1: Eastern War (1) : Battle

Seven days had passed since the Estra forces had taken the upper hand in the eastern war. The battlefield stretched for hundreds of miles, lying muddy and wet, dreary and ruined, the last remains of civilisation being the ruins of towns and villages, now posted as military bases and tactical advantage points. On the west, towards the edge, lay the sixth-hundred and fifty eighth trench line used by the Estra Army, however it had been captured and re-installed as a trench for the New Tyro allied forces. Here, lay the remains of the forces on the western frontline, surrounded by Estra soldiers and turrets. They were stuck.

Graus held his rifle to his chest as he peeked over the edge of the trench line, his face dirty and muddy but still wide awake.

'Yer see much up there, Graus?'

It was Flocki, the second in command of the current operations team, carrying a tray of several tin mugs filled with steaming water and some sort of nettle plant to produce a tea.

He lifted it up to the ladder to Graus who took one gratefully, taking a sip. It was bland, but warm. That's all that mattered in the cold, dead night. It was mostly silent except for the occasional explosion claps in the distance, which would illuminate the sky in a streak of fiery orange, and the sound of a rapid load of a gunshots that filled the air with its fury. Nothing too close. Nothing to worry about. It had rained several times throughout the day but it remained mostly calm. This, however, wasn't a good sign, due to the fact that the current operations team had been littered with bombs and gunfire for several days without end. But today, it had been deathly still.

'It's so dark, I can't see anything,' Graus pulled the binoculars up to his eyes once again and peered around the area, 'nothing is happening, should we be worried?'

'As worried as I am about you up that ladder, for sure,' Flocki implied as he handed out more nettle tea to his comrades who sat, waiting, for anything to happen, in complete silence.

'I'm fine, really.'

No noise. Then, noise filled the air as Adali lifted the tent flap over her head and began to complain about the current situation.

'We lost fourteen men in the last hour god damn it! I don't see why we are hanging around for nothing, it's obvious our scouting team is NOT coming back!'

Graus turned to see her face completely red, nose in the air, acting as if she owned the place.

A large, greasy man in separate uniform followed her out of the operations tent, pointing at her with fury,

'You disgraceful little brat! Just you wait, I'll send YOU out to scout, and the enemy will tear you limb by limb you hear?!'

Adali turned back, her face now lit red in intense annoyance,

'ME?! But I am your only option at defending this god damn place you maniac! I may be young but I am agile, pretty and confident in everything I do! Watch what you use me for because you'll regret it when I'm gone!'

'Did you just admit that you would be defeated so easily as a part of the scouting team young lady?!'

Adali stamped her foot and groaned,

'UGH! Of course not! But I am a valuable source of knowledge and defence action for this team so know your place you fat bastard!'

The general, a tall, bulky build with a green uniform stepped outside the tent. Graus turned back around to act as if he had no part of this mess.

'What is this ruckus about? Adali, remain posted at the second ladder and use your binoculars! Actually… where are your binoculars?!' The general looked around.

'She through them over the trench sir, and now she's without them,' the other man replied, now calming down.

The general walked over to Adali and grabbed her wrist, squeezing all life and circulation out of it. She yelped softly.

'You do as you are told, brat!'

He slapped her across the cheek, leaving a red mark the size of a fresh slab of meat. However, she did not cower, but instead looked him dead in the eye with pure confidence and arrogance.

He let her wrist go and walked back into the tent, returning several seconds later with a new pair of binoculars. He chucked them to her, and she caught them, wrapping them around her neck.

'Ladder two. Go. And you,' he looked down at the other man and ushered him inside, 'you get too pissed off with the brat yourself that you'll make the enemy know our whereabouts, idiot'.

He left through the operations tent flap, leaving Graus, Adali and Flocki outside in the cold air.

Adali gazed into the horizon at the night sky, watching for the occasion orange glow that would light up the sky in a blaze as explosives were detonated far away.

'We have lost so many men, you think that too don't you, Graus?'

Graus paused. Yes, he thought so. But he was in no mind allowed to give an opinion on the matter, and so he even felt compelled by her ability to complain, knowing the risks it had towards her life. But, Adali was skilled. Very skilled, in both hand to hand combat but also precision too. It would take a few punches to the gut for the commander to even think about removing her from this team. That was her one strength. She wasn't replaceable.

'I suppose so, but you know we can't have opinions on the military's choices, Adali,' he tried to stir her away from any hateful thoughts she may of been having. She needed to stay safe. A battle could commence at any time, and for this to continue, they would need her.

'Why, why not?! I don't get it. They can keep sacrificing the lives of many, for all I care. Won't change my mind though. And you know what… they might as well send me on the scouting team! Im the only one who'll come back alive god damn it! Because I'm strong, and they aren't,' she stuck her nose up again and sat on the ledge of the trench.

'D-don't stand up there!' Graus tried to stop her by reaching out, 'you'll be shot! Get down!'

'Who cares, it'd be a slap in the face to the commander. I presume that he is the one who would want to kill me at some point… the amount of trouble I cause him. Nevertheless, I'd rather be shot here and now than give in to his stupid rules!'

She stuck out her tongue.

Flocki stood up and climbed his ladder, next to Adali, and placed his hand on hers.

'It is under New Tyro laws and regulations that we can't do that, Adali. That would be treason. The commander gets pissed off easily, but he'd never hurt you. In fact, despite his position, I beg to disagree that he doesn't admire you and your persistence,' he reassured her. And he believed it to be true.

'Whatever.'

Flocki backed down from the ladder to retrieve his tea, which was now half full, and gave it to her. She took it gratefully.

'It's so fucking cold,' she shivered and sipped the tea slowly. Gunfire rang the silence in a frenzy, far to the west.

'Have you seen Axel, either of you?' Graus asked around him.

They both shook their heads.

'Last time I saw him he was incredibly injured, his right arm-' Flocki began.

'-was fractured, yeah. And his head was a bloody mess. But he's tough, y'know, he can make it out of that mess,' Graus said.

'Yeah, you're right.'

All three of them looked into the night sky, amidst the silence.

'Beautiful, so clear…' Adali began, but was interrupted by a groan behind her. At the floor of the trench lay a soldier, wounded on his right eye and missing a leg, who had spilt his tea on himself and burnt his wounds. Flocki backed down from the ladder and tended to him. The soldier groaned and groaned until it began to sound like a wail. Flocki stepped back.

'Get a nurse or one of the medics out here now, Graus, Adali, one of you!' He ordered. The man had collapsed and his deep wounds were beginning to make a sizzling noise as the boiling hot tea dripped into them. He had passed out. Graus nodded and dropped down from the ladder and ran into the tent. Inside, it was illuminated by the warm glow of several lanterns. Many beds lay to the back, soldiers healing or living their final breaths while they rested, and the commander by the front, at a desk with hundreds of files and papers sprawled out across the floor and the desktop.

'Graus, what are you doing in here?' The commander stood up and marched over.

'We need a medic, one of our men has collapsed. I … thiiiink he's on the second unit team for tomorrows scouting expedition, so this is urgent sir.'

The commander nodded, 'good lad, I'll send one out right away.'

Graus nodded and waited eagerly by the tent opening. He stood almost awkwardly, twiddled his fingers, and just waited. Several minutes later a pale, frail woman in a uniform and mask hurried out the tent opening, knocking Graus to the floor as she rushed past.

'Move, vermin,' she exclaimed in a monotone voice. He stood, and brushed himself off.

'Rude'.

As she retreated outside, Graus followed closely behind. Over the next few minutes he tried to tent to the dying man, but little would work.

'He has a fever, some sort of disease but I really can't tell with the condition of his body. Im afraid we will have to put him out of his suffering. Do you understand Flocki, sir?' The nurse said, slightly lifting down her mask.

Flocki nodded, and watched as the nurse placed the dying man on a bed and hoisted him into the tent. A gunshot followed. As Graus approached his ladder station once again, clasping the bars, he couldn't help but stop to listen into the tent as the nurse's voice had began again, now in distress. The commanders voice followed too. His was a menacing, oppressive tone. Graus could only make out a little of what was said. Whatever he heard, it had made him stand ever still and bring his heart to his mouth. He almost vomited. Another gunshot sounded, and the nurses faint wails faded out.

'This is what happens when you send suck men to the scouting team. The nurses suffer too. She's been blamed because she couldn't heal him. Now she's dead. There's so many of them, she was disposable,' Adali muttered as she twisted the dirt between her fingers, 'I'm glad I'm not one of them. A pointless nurse. She deserved it, she called me vermin!'

Graus turned to her.

'She called me vermin too.'

'Because that's all we are to disgusting ordinary people like her. She was ranked as a nurse, how weak and pitiful. Hope she can find some peace in hell.'

Graus didn't know what to think, but just agreed. He had been told this all his life. Never respect the doctors, nurses or common folk. They are all just vermin, weak, never to have any purpose in this life or the wars. In return, they thought the same of the warriors like himself. It was a two sided battle between helpless people who hated each other. The nurses would only help because they had to. But, they were disposable. Easily killed. So many lives were weak, and only a small handful were strong warriors like Graus and the rest. But Graus didn't really see them as vermin. They helped people… doesn't that make the nurses good? Even if they could never be ranked high enough to be warriors? These thoughts were troubling. But so was the world he was born into. An endless pit of war and hatred.

To be continued in chapter 2.