Heal These Battle Scars | MxM

Chapter Three - Commander Wang Yi

The Red Army came into the night, blind-siding every breathing thing in their wake with smoke grenades. They came unexpectedly, too. Catching the Nationalist soldiers in an ambush.

Smoke covered the empty field where Xiao Fang's army band had set up tents for the night, so thick, it was nearly impossible to see where the communist soldiers were coming from. But the rattling sounds of their machine guns — more impressive than what the Nationalist soldiers owned, came from the east side.

It wasn't pleasant to witness soldiers scattering around the field, searching for cover behind tree barks, but then again when in human history has war ever been pleasant?

As the screams of men echoed inside Xiao Fang's ears, his fingers tightened around the rifle as he swallowed the growing lump in his throat and charged forward — off from the chaos, wanting to gain better ground.

The Red Army has been known to create destruction, and Xiao Fang feared that death might be seconds from happening. The thought alone sent cold shivers through his body, and he wondered, is death what they deserved? They were monsters, too.

Shots were fired at him, and somehow all missed as Xiao Fang sprinted through the open field. He could feel his heart racing, hammering through his chest at a maddening pace. "Jie Yu!" he shouted, looking over his shoulder and barely spotting his friend a small distance away. "What are we —" Another loud explosion occurred, sending Xiao Fang tumbling onto the ground.

The Red Army attacked before, but never with this much maddening force. This time, soldiers from the Red Army came in dozens, moving swiftly. And as soldiers from both sides of the war scattered across the field littered with hordes of bullets and smoke grenades, it was the Nationalist soldiers who dropped to the ground like stunted flies.

"Follow me!" Jie Yu yelled through the noise, hoisting Xiao Fang off the ground.

He ran behind Jie Yu, tripping and stumbling to seek cover from stray bullets.

Amidst the turmoil, both men retreated, seeking shelter inside a nearby forest where there were countless overgrown red pine trees. As more Nationalist soldiers followed, all retreating, Xiao Fang found a red pine tree big enough to shield them both.

"We're going to die," he heaved, back pressed against the tree trunk as bullets riddled it.

In seconds, Xiao Fang and Jie Yu fired back, however, their weapons were mere children's playthings, doing little to no damage. And soon enough, the communist soldiers started approaching the red pine trees, like hunters seeking out their prey.

"No," Xiao Fang whispered to himself while he scanned the surrounding area and saw the damage the communist soldiers had done. And then, his breath hitched when he saw Tang San: a quiet young man whom he had taught to read during the six months, stumbling forward and falling face down in the dirt, dead.

The sight formed a lump in his throat, making Xiao Fang cry, "Tang San!" A desperate attempt at waking the motionless body. The pain in his voice would have been earsplitting if it wasn't for the bullets being fired, drowning out all the screams that he made. "We need to help him," he voiced. "Jie Yu, he'll die if we don't."

"We can't help, he's already dead," Jie Yu said, firing in the enemy's direction. "Let it go Xiao Fang, and concentrate. I can't hold these bastards off much longer and I'm almost out of bullets."

Concentrating, Xiao Fang exhaled.

When he closed his eyes, he knew all hope was failing. The cries of soldiers were countless, too deafening. Whereas he preferred silence and peace. The world had gone utterly mad with too much fighting and killing. The smell of blood spilling flowed with the breeze and burned his nose, revolting. Xiao Fang preferred the smell of sunflowers, the same sunflowers he had grown back home. Home. He longed for a chance to go back home.