Gunshots echo across the battlefield, to your left you see several soldiers fall to the ground. Dead. Others run and you stand with your gun drawn firing bullets back at the enemy. Through every shot fired the gun jolts your shoulder, a repetitive action. A merciless action.
More people fallen; others badly injured. The mud has encased your shoes stilling your movements and the dense rain continues to blur your vision. The gun continues to fire.
You hear your name being called through the heavy rain and gunshots. Yet you remain firmly in place. Round after round of bullets shower the enemy. You are yet to be hit. The family you left behind are suddenly at the forefront of your thoughts, your wife, your children. How will they cope if you were to return badly injured or worse, through a piece of paper stating your decease?
Two marines carry the motionless body of the sergeant passed you, another hauls the body of the enemy who killed him through the mud. A wave of sadness dawns over you.
A sudden sharp pain erupts through your right arm, the bullets stop firing, and your gun now hangs loosely round your neck, supported only by the fraying strap. The mud makes moving to the command post difficult, it grasps your shoes restraining you as its prisoner.
Tear-stained faces and deceased bodies line the area of the command post. Blood continues to pulse out of your wounded arm, the warm blood staining your uniform. Guilt builds inside you as you walk past the grey bodies of the deceased. The bodies of those who you spoke to at dinner and those who fought along side you.
A sudden thought emerges, that could be you in their lifeless position. It could happen at any moment. And you think to yourself, is any of this worth it? You brush your hand over the casing of your gun, a cold caressing touch and briefly make eye contact with another soldier, a mirroring effect occurring. The familiar look in his eyes tells you that he's thinking the same thing. Is it worth the hundreds of dead bodies of those with families and loved ones waiting for them at home?
