There was a question, it tumbled from the trembling lips of the boy who Chris had seen before. He had paled, until his skin was alabaster white.
And now he sat, trembling, hugging his knees and trying desperately to hang onto his vomit.
"Why did I come? I'm a kid, I'm 18"
Just like a dog that had just heard the food rattling into a bowl, or a shark with the scent of fresh blood bright and sweet in its nose the general snapped upright, pupils dilated. Conversations died and breathing became as scarce as was physically possible.
"Because it is your duty." He began in a whisper as he rose to his feet dramatically unfurling, somehow this made the boy cringe as much as a yell would have done,It didn't last for long. "Because MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of people have thrown away their lives to shit like this. Ever 'eard of World War Two sunshine? If it weren't for MILLIONS OF MEN YOUR AGE, AND SOME YOUNGER, SOME 16 FECKING YEAR OLDS BEING BRAVE ENOUGH, HAVING ENOUGH BALLS TO COME AND MASSAECRE AND BE MASSACRED THEN YOU WOULD NOT BE HERE. YOU WOULD BE LIVING IN THE THIRD RUDDY REICH SLURPING SAUSAGES AND HAILING HOLY HITLER! SO I THINK ITS ONLY RIGHT THAT YOU SHOW A LITTLE RESPECT AND THANKS TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO SAVED OUR LIVES!"
the boy didn't want to say anything, his cheeks felt too hot, and the room had a prodigious silence which promised to breed extortionate amounts of attention and so he hung his head. A slow tear ran painfully down his cheek, until he hastily wiped it away.
"And let that be the lesson for the rest of you an'all. Honestly, where's your patriotism? Your pride in our country."
"At 'olm" remarked one of the two other men, who was ginger, and sported some rather impressive facial hair and a prominent, proud, Yorkshire twang.
The room went silent again, but not with unpleasant tension, it was suppressed laughter.
The general's mouth twitched erratically, he wasnt just fighting the itch to laugh which bubbled up, he was shooting it in the face and desecrating its corpse. His eyes were windows to the furious firefight happening inside his head.
"Thank you for that" he said finally "yes we all like a laugh." Then he stopped, and forced the next three sillibles very deliberately out of his mouth "ha...... Ha...... Ha"
"You won't have time to be laughing with a bullet in your brain. Now, you take this seriously or you will be flown straight back.... 'Olm into the comp'ny of her majesty the queen."
"You can't do that" Will suddenly verbalised his thoughts.
"No. That's illegal! We have a right to a fair trial by jury"
"As of now, we are working with the laws which were in force in wartime, for soldiers... Or as close as was possible. Just be happy that the public have saved you from Court Marshalling"
Silence...
"That's getting shot for deserting if you didn't know. But. Fortunately the bullets in use in combat are 100% genuine."
