1945

Ludwig’s footsteps echoed the broken walls of a collapsed building, as Soviet artillery continued its bombardment towards us. His shadow cast onto the broken walls with the light of my cigarette, letting out a mouth full of smoke. The news had reached.

With the Russians already at the doorsteps of our capital Berlin, while the Western powers, Americans, British, Canadians, and French liberated Paris. All hope is lost as our high command desperately trying to fend off the Russians by recruiting civilians to our armies. Nearing the end of the hall, he entered the trench.

Throwing the cigarette on the dirt, it immediately extinguished the light in front. Gunshots can be heard afar while the heat of the flame warms us through the night. Beside Ludwig are what’s left of a company, with only their sergeant surviving. To his right is his only surviving and only friend, and Ludwig at the center of them.

Their moral is in the depth of the abyss while some had already deserted in the night. They knew full well what awaits us if we surrender to those Slavs. As Ludwig let his head lie onto the wall of dirt, his heart grew ever more worried for his family. “Thinking about your family?” Wulf asked. “Yea..” Ludwig replied. Wulf chuckles for a bit before saying,

“From what I heard, those Slavs plundered Konigsburg, slaughtering the old and wounded while raping the women there. My family died from an American bombing raid. We should have made peace with them while we still had a chance, for now, don’t expect them to have mercy upon us. We are better off died instead of facing the Slavs.” He said.

A long silence soon came over our trench, as men prayed for their family safety and their own survival. The silence is broken by an incoming Soviets, shooting bullets towards us. “Damn Slavs!” our sergeant cursed. We fight them from our trench as the Russians tried to overrun it.

I stayed behind, trying to stop the blood pouring out of my friend’s chest. The Sergeant accompanied me as I apply pressure towards Wulf’s chest. He coughs up blood, grinding his teeth hard from the pain from his chest. The bandage turned red as his blood-soaked through the bandages.

A sharp cling from the right caused Ludwig to shrink in fear, ducking his head from exposing to enemy fire. Turning right, his sergeant lies lifeless with his eyes still open. He had a bullet went straight through his head. “Scheisse!” Ludwig cursed under his breath as he started packing up his medical appliances. He felt a hand grabbing onto his wrist, it was Wulf. He mustered all of his final strength and said. “Go...wit...hout....me..” before letting go Ludwig’s hand, letting his hand fall onto the ground with his head tilted downwards.

“No, no, No! Don’t leave me! Wulf! Wulf Please!” Ludwig yelled at his dead friend. Shacking his body trying to wake him up but to no avail. Tears started to blur Ludwig’s vision, soon they raced towards his cheeks before falling off his face. Looking around, seeing his brothers one by one getting shot, screaming in pain while trying to stop the bleeding.

Ludwig’s mind is completely blank, his ears turned deaf as he could only hear the sound of his heartbeat. Beating louder and louder while his body grew numb, his eyes fall onto his pouch. Dripping droplets of tears onto the pouch, he grabs his pistol. As his heart is beating faster and faster, he could feel his hand holding the gun while slowly pointing the gun towards the side of his head.

He losses his rhythm to breathe, adrenalin from his brain causes him to gasp for air using his mouth. He could only hear the sound of his breathing as his heartbeat could be felt all over his body, pumping blood surging throughout his body making his body’s temperature surge up. His finger is at the trigger as he slowly applies pressure to the trigger.

His breathing becomes shallow, and soon his ears started ringing. Looking around him again, he sees corpses all around his, eyes wide open, lying on pools of blood. The blood started to rise, flooding the trenches as sweat races across Ludwig’s back. His hand soaked with layers of blood, he feels he had lost his sanity.

“Nein...nein....NEIN!” he shouted, Shacking his head fiercely before pushing down the trigger. The last thing he heard is a loud bang before everything went dark. His ears continue to ring, as the ringing slowly amplifies. It suddenly stopped, and everything went silent. His eye flashes images before him, he reached out to it. Trying to grab it back, wanting to have it again.

Then it happened. As a bright light shines brightly onto the darkness of the abyss. He felt something, something he thought it was impossible to feel it again...