The Mouth of Hell
3.
Beaten and crushed, the men marched as smartly as they could up the valley hill. As they spotted the new recruits approaching the scene they tried their best to look victorious; instead they looked defeated, pitiable and pathetic.
The new soldiers watched in disbelief and disgust as one of the soldiers dropped to the ground like a fly- only to be violently thrown over his friend's shoulder like a limp ragdoll.
"He'll live, he's just a little tired." The captain said, patting the wilted soldier on the back.
Soldiers falling seemed like a regular occurance as none of them even flinched. They were the lucky ones, the ones who hadn't been killed. John shuddered as he saw the utter dismay on the passing men's faces. Their eyes were hollow and dark, their frames gaunt and skeletal.
Compared to the muscular, full-bodied men that passed them, the other men looked plain emaciated.
Words could not describe the pure dread, panic and fright that abruptly overwhelmed John and his colleagues.
"G'luck." One of the once-spirited and lively men whispered into John's ear as he passed by.
There were fifteen men in John's platoon, that meant that at least ten of this platoon had been killed. At that moment the soldiers understood perfectly well what was waiting down in that valley. They bowed their heads as the men passed. God only knows what they'd seen.
The new soldiers watched in disbelief and disgust as one of the soldiers dropped to the ground like a fly- only to be violently thrown over his friend's shoulder like a limp ragdoll.
"He'll live, he's just a little tired." The captain said, patting the wilted soldier on the back.
Soldiers falling seemed like a regular occurance as none of them even flinched. They were the lucky ones, the ones who hadn't been killed. John shuddered as he saw the utter dismay on the passing men's faces. Their eyes were hollow and dark, their frames gaunt and skeletal.
Compared to the muscular, full-bodied men that passed them, the other men looked plain emaciated.
Words could not describe the pure dread, panic and fright that abruptly overwhelmed John and his colleagues.
"G'luck." One of the once-spirited and lively men whispered into John's ear as he passed by.
There were fifteen men in John's platoon, that meant that at least ten of this platoon had been killed. At that moment the soldiers understood perfectly well what was waiting down in that valley. They bowed their heads as the men passed. God only knows what they'd seen.