The Boy of Company B

[2] Up The Down Trench

I woke up to the loud bellow of the ship horn.  It shook the inside of the vessel and startled everyone. Will turned over in his cot and gave the ship horn the bird.
"Why do they have to wake us up with that damn thing?" William demanded, rubbing his puffy eyes.
I shrugged, "They must hate us. I mean, did you see the food last night?"
"Shit came out of Hell's Kitchen," he joked.
A loud rumbling of footsteps came obnoxiously crashing down the stairs and into our sleeping quarters. Every man scrambled out of bed, falling over others, and getting tangled in their sheets. We stood firm and at attention as our drill sergeant appeared in the room.
"Today, boys, you'll get your gear and head to the Front." He paced back and forth, keeping a close watch on each and every one of us.
"You will get off the ship and march your way to the trenches. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good, now get yourselves dressed and get your gear, you will be given breakfast once you reach the trenches."
He promptly turned and stomped his way back up the stairs. I put on my trousers, tunic, and then my boots. I made sure my uniform was neat and clean, I took time to smooth out any wrinkles and wipe off the buttons. Finn half asleep and tying his boots. Lewis tapped him on the shoulder and Thomas quickly tied his boots together. I tried not to laugh when Finn face planted after taking a single step forward.
"Who the fuck did this?" He grumbled.
"You must've done it." William laughed.
"No way in hell!"
"You're half asleep, aren't you?" Lewis asked him, grinning from ear to ear.
"Ah, shit, yeah. Forgot about that part." Finn knelt down and retied his boots.
I placed my helmet on my head and swung my stuff over my shoulder. Finn, Lewis, William, Thomas, and I headed to the first deck and stared at the landscape beyond the docks. There was a small town that sat in the distance. Trucks and soldiers were scattered all around the area. They were loaded into the back of the trucks and driven into a straight line that was followed by more military operative vehicles. I took a deep breath and smiled.
Finn went rushing off the ship like a bull let loose in a china shop. The rest of us eagerly followed after him. We hopped into the back of a nearby truck and waited for it to take off. A young sergeant hopped up into the truck as well and sat down.
"You boys new?" He asked.
"We sure are!" Will said.
The man nodded in approval and introduced himself.
"I'm Charles Gilmore, call me Charlie."
He shook each of our hands and we introduced ourselves as well.
"Where are you from?" Finn asked.
Charlie thought about it for a moment.
"London," he said at last, "you?"
"He's from the land of the leprechauns," Lewis said while pointing to Finn.
"Watch it, Scot!"
Charlie laughed and turned his attention to Lewis.
"Scotland?" He asked.
"Yes sir."
William spoke up, "I'm from wales, so is Thomas, and then Lawrence is from Yorkshire."
Charlie nodded and smiled.
"Nice to meet you boys."
"You too, sir."
The truck started to move and my heart raced.
"It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go," Finn sang.
Lewis followed his lead, softly beating his gun on the floorboards of the truck as a beat.
"It's a long way to Tipperary, to the sweetest girl I know."
"Goodbye to Piccadilly, farewell Leicester Square! It's a long, long way to Tipperary, but my hearts right there!" We sang in unison.
As soon as the last song ended another began. Finn was the one in charge of starting us off.
"Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile! Don't let your joy and laughter hear the snag. Smile, boys, that's the style! What's the use of worrying? It never was worth while, so, pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile!"
The truck came to a stop and Charlie hopped out.
"Here we are, lads!" He exclaimed.
He reached out his hand and helped us climb out of the truck. I smiled and scanned the landscape around me. It was gray and muddy, dark and gloomy. There were craters full of muddy water and barbed wire full of deadmen. As soon as I spotted them my smile dropped. I grew pale and felt my skin crawl. I shuddered and looked away from the gruesome sight. Charlie marched  us to our trench and motioned for us to climb inside. I turned to my left and saw the face of a dead soldier staring at me. He looked like he was screaming. The man's mouth hung wide open and his eyes were sunken black voids. I was startled by the sudden sight and I tripped over my own feet, falling over onto Thomas.
"Oi, watch it!" He said.
"Sorry, that dead man startled me."
He looked up at the screaming face and his eyes widened.
"Jesus Christ...." he mumbled.
Charlie motioned for us to sit down on a parapet beside him. He reached for a box of cigarettes and lit one.
"Oi, can I have one?" Finn requested.
"You old enough?" Teased Charlie, pulling one out of the box.
"I'm 19! I think I'm old enough," Finn protested.
"Are all you boys 19?" Charlie scooted Finn the cigarette and lit it for him.
"I think so?" I replied.
"Are you?" Lewis asked.
"I'm an old man," Charlie laughed, "I'm 23."
"Wow, ancient..." Will teased.
"I grew up with  Caesar," he chuckled, taking a drag of his cigarette.
Finn started a violent coughing fit before extinguishing the cigarette.
"Fuck that!" He gagged.
I laughed.
"Can't be that bad. You're Irish, be a man!"
"Oi, you have one then!" He ordered.
I leaned back and put my hands behind my head, "I think I'm good."
Finn shook his head and smiled.
Charlie gave a laugh and smiled.
"You five seem like a hand full," he stated, blowing smoke from his cigarette.
"We might be sometimes," Lewis said.
Charlie smirked and shook his head, "suppose I'll have to keep an eye on you then, yea?"
"Most likely," Will smiled.
The day turned into afternoon and the afternoon to evening. The sky turned purple and the clouds blotted out the sky. There was no moon, no stars, just the gentle breeze of the night and the dark lingering sky.
***
Thomas and I were on watch duty that night from 21:00-23:00. Everything was quiet until around 22:15.
"Hey, Lawrence. Are you seeing this too?"
I turned my head and peered into the dark, squinting my eyes to make out what he was seeing.
"No, what is it?" I questioned.
"I could be seeing things, but aren't those people?" He pointed to two large blotches of darkness that slowly made their way through No Mans Land.
"Holy shit, I think those are Germans. Go get Charlie, quick!" He whisper-yelled. I dashed through the trench and ran right into Charlie.
"Germans, they're out there!" I told him.
"How many??" He asked.
"Two!"
"Two?"
"Yeah! Come here," I took him to where Thomas was. He was staring very intently at the two figures who lingered about the shadows.
"Look, see em'?"
Charlie lifted his head just enough to see the two soldiers.
"I think they're just getting their dead and wounded and taking them back to the trenches." He suggested.
"Can I shoot them?" Asked Thomas, gripping his rifle.
"No, no you may not." Charlie said rather aggressively.
"But why not. They're the enemy, they're right there!" He argued.
Charlie paused and thought of what to say next.
"You're right, but you..." his voice trailed off, "you could alert the ones already in the trenches to start firing at you!" He said.
Thomas reluctantly lowered his gun and frowned.
"Alright.."
Charlie mumbled something to himself before turning around and walking away.
"That was strange," I said.
"You'd think that we'd be able to shoot them.." Thomas muttered.
"Yea, he seemed... off.."