The Soldiers Key

Chapter 11: Trench

'It's been a few months, and everything has been... nice. Tari and I have gotten to know each other a lot more, and we have grown... close. Sol and Luna have taken a liking to the town, though we haven't found a time or way to leave. I've kept up with my duties as a soldier, while Tari, Sol and Luna stay in the room. It's been quiet, but... there has been new Intel that Solfree is planning a major offensive against Lastandell. So a lot of new soldiers have arrived and there has also been a lot of defensive measure taken. Trenches have been made along the outside of the walls as a first line of defense... and I've been positioned on patrols there for a while now since my gunshot wound has healed.

Journal entry # 68

Arian'

I stuffed my journal into my bag as I finished writing in it and slung it round my shoulders before grabbing my rifle from the ground.

I stood up from my sitting position in the trench.

I still have a while to go for my patrol route...

Some soldiers sat around the trenches playing some form of cards ahead of me. Others passed back and forth from one end to the other.

I looked at the wall next to the trenches, a large number of spotlights on the top of the wall making the trenches lit up. We're the first line of defense, in case of an attack...

I started to walk again and made my way along the trench. The dirt shifted underneath my feet as I walked over it. Regalio, the soldier who carried me away from the wall, sat next to a machine gun nest. Regalio and I had become good friends as well

He waved at me as I walked by.

"Arian! How it look today?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Quiet as always..."

Regalio looked at the machine gun.

"Well, maybe they won't come..."
Perhaps...

"Who knows..."
The sirens on top of the walls started to scream out in all directions.

I looked ahead of me to see the faint outline of some sort of vehicle headed towards us.

Regalio held on tightly onto the handles of the machine gun.

I jumped in the trench next to him and knelt behind the wall of dirt.

More soldiers followed in suit, lining up against the wall of the trench.

The commander in charge, Arpegio held his pistol up high as he looked over the trench.

"All right boys! We've gotten word from command. Looks like the Solfree soldiers are coming at us with all they've got. We can't falter here! If they get too close fall back into the walls! Our artillery emplacements inside will provide cover!"

The commander blew his whistle as we all looked over the trench wall to see tanks driving towards us, soldiers in white uniforms running alongside them. The tanks are a tannish color, only one main gun.

I aimed my rifle and fired before I knelt back down again.

Regalio fired the machine gun, the bullet casing flying through the air.

The sound is almost defining.

I looked back over the trench to watch as one of the incoming tanks fired, a loud boom echoing throughout the air.

A little ways from me the ground exploded, sending men flying through the air.

I aimed my rifle again as I fired, downing an enemy soldier.

As the rest of the soldiers next to me fired, more enemy soldiers fell.

Loud bangs filled the air, large artillery shells slamming into the enemy lines.

One shell hit a tank directly, engulfing it in a ball of flames.

We continued to fire on and off, but the enemy slowly grew closer to our positon, a tank making its way towards us. The artillery from inside the walls destroyed many of the enemy tanks and killed many soldiers, but the enemy continued to come. There seemed to be no end to them.

Regalio held fast onto the machine gun in front of him as he fired.

I ran out of bullets in my rifle...

I pulled my pistol from its place at my side and sat next to Regalio.

Eventually the machine gun jammed, only a clicking sound coming from the rifle.

Regalio let go of the gun and sat next to me.

"So... looks like they aren't stopping anytime soon..."

I shook my head.

"There's... a lot of them..."

Arpegio yelled at everyone.

"Fall back! Fall back to secondary positions!"
I looked at Regalio.

"Let's go."

He nodded as we stood up and ran as fast as we could towards the small doors leading inside of the walls, next to the main gate.

Shells exploded around us from tank fire, bullets hit the ground at our feet.

We made it to the door when Regalio suddenly fell against the wall.

"Arian... go on... just promise to tell my wife and kids back home that I-"

I shook my head.

"Come on, were going to make it through!"
Regalio shook his head.

"My legs..."

I looked at Regalios legs to see blood spurting from them.

I ran to him and picked him up, slinging on my shoulders.

"If you can do it for me, I can do it for you!"

I ran with him back to the door, as another soldier pulled us inside, slamming the metal door behind us.

Arpegio looked at us.

"Looks like the siege of Lastandall has just begun..."