The Centauran Wars.

Over the top.

"BATTLE POSITIONS!"

The last wave of artillery flies over my head. I pick up my rifle and line up, there's soldiers lined up all over the wall. Two on every ladder.

"FIX BAYONET! Our colonel yells as he walks back and forth through the trenches. It's my first time seeing him.

I fix my bayonet. Cock my rifle. The artillery has stopped.

The colonel checks his watch. And then yells.

"TWENTY SECONDS!"

And then he yells once more.

"The victory of this war is centered here! If we fail here the lives who have fallen here have been in vain! Hold your rifle close to you. And if you find any of ours cowering in the face of the enemy. You take your rifle. And you shoot him!"

There's a brief silence. And then.

"TEN SECONDS!" Our colonel yells.

I take a deep breath. My heart is pounding. It's my first time going on the offensive.

The colonel holds up his watch.

Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.

A loud whistle blows through the trenches.

"FOWARD FOWARD!" Our colonel yells.

The first wave begins to climb up. Gunfire pours down onto no man's land. Corvun artillery rains down on us. A constant reminder of this hell.

The mud under our boots makes running difficult. The air is thick. The smell of blood and flesh and the feeling of death all creep on us.

The whistles scream shrilly into my ears. I watch as the first wave runs into no man's land disappearing into the mist of war.

"SECOND WAVE LETS MOVE!" Our officer yells as he climbs onto the ladders.

The second whistle screams once more into my ears. I start climbing the ladders watching the horrors of no man's land unfold right in front of me.

Leaving the comfort of my trench, the smell is no longer of flesh and blood but of gunpowder and ash. I run into no man's land, adrenaline pumping in my veins, I jump into a crater, another soldier next to me as I catch my breath and grab my rifle.

The steel of my rifle was familiar, comforting, and reassuring. The sound of my heart pounding and bullets passing is deafening.

The sound of steel hitting steel rings in my ears. And a loud grunt is heard. And then the sound of something dripping. I looked back and saw the soldier I was with on the floor. Half of his head destroyed his brain and blood leaking slowly.

I crawl away from him and try to look into no man's land, the view horrifying and grim as hundreds perhaps even thousands of bodies lay in front of me. The view of my comrades running to their deaths as they drop one by one.

The air was thick with smoke. The sound of gunfire was horrifying yet familiar. Corvun soldiers engaging our boys in hand-to-hand combat.

As I look up, I suddenly hear a whizzing sound growing louder and louder.

I know what's coming in a panic. I grab the fallen soldier's corpse and hide behind him as I wait for the worst.

The sound gets louder and louder. And with a deafening boom, the shell almost hits me.

The shockwave of the explosion rocks my body, and the sound of shrapnel almost breaks me as tears begin to form in my eyes.

The smoke clears. I'm full of blood and dirt. I throw the corpse away and crawl up as I once again dash no man's land. My heart pounding more than ever.