There lay over 100 corpses of a son, a brother a father. the body parts were everywhere scattered, like seeds dispersed among the grass. Their bodies bore the weight of a battle that had silenced their voices forever. The once vibrant colors of their uniforms were muted by the relentless rain. The metallic scent of blood mixed with the damp earth. Raindrops fell on the fallen as if nature itself mourned the loss.
There I was standing before my friends yet I was the only one who made it. Barley conscious, I couldn't even fathom what had happened. Mud clung to my torn uniform, blending with the crimson stains. Raindrops hewed adding to the chilling discomfort that accompanied each labored breath. There has to be someone who made it, someone who can help me. I can't have been the only one who made it a weak low-ranking soldier like me. Survive vicious Elrdruian attack? I'm sure there's someone.
So I screamed and screamed, I'd been yelling for so long. The sun had gone down and my throat hurt by each sound leaving my mouth. "I'm done". I left the battlefield and decided to escape to the jungle separating Verandia and Eldrude.Dehydrated and starving, I still couldn't accept I was alone, "Is someone there please I don't know what to do" I cried. With each scream, a part of me died. There's no one coming. I knew that now.
Months later...Alone, it's been days months even I lost track of how many times the sun has set preparing me for the freezing night. I make use of anything that comes my way. In basic training, they taught us how to survive with very little. We learned to find food where you wouldn't think to look. Of course, Verdans were always a step ahead in nature. But, those easy lessons seem impossible now. A peony flower needs over an hour to prepare. But, it only produces a bit of sugar. You'd think a jungle would have better fruit.
The worst parts are the nights. They are a time when the shadows were petrifying. They blur the line between the safe and dangerous. They are a time when I step into unknown Verdan territory. I had no idea what creatures were waiting to eat me. Sleep, when it came, brought twisted dreams. They reminded me of the treason I committed to stay alive.I couldn't take it anymore how long to I have to be like this too proud to die to coward to fight when will this all end.
Days bled into nights. I struggled to tell real from my twisted thoughts. The faces of fallen comrades taunted me. The wind carried their voices, whispering accusations that echoed in my ears. I couldn't stop seeing the dismembered bodies of my friends. I was jealous that they died a warrior in my place.
I was surprised I was still alive, and my survival skills better. my hearing improved and I felt stronger. That was when it all happened. I heard rustlings in the leaves, sounds like Lunch I thought. In the last few months, I hadn't seen any dangerous animals. Small critters that went around eating flowers. But, in the night is when the true danger comes out. I went to get my combat knife, but the rustling got louder and louder, I anxiously stepped back. Trembling I paced away. As IT was getting closer, I heard that there were many 2-legged creatures.
They were heading right towards me. Were they Verdan human-eating creatures? I wanted to run but my body froze. "Move damn it!" I slapped myself. The rustling got louder and louder until I couldn't believe my ears. I must be hearing things. I heard my mother tongue, Elrudian.
