It read 'deum clementissimum, qui es in caelis, te oro in ultimis meis temporibus. Mea culpa est, omnia feci. Grande dedecus pro omnibus feci et veniam scelerum peto. Peto, ut me a meis iniquitatibus liberas, ut te in regno gravium coniungam et in aeterna beatitudine tecum et omnibus Sanctis vivam. Miserere mei, quoniam feci in inferno tempus meum. Amen.' He raised an eye confused, but given what he just saw, he figured it wouldn't hurt to try.
The morning came quickly, and the time for going over the top was fast approaching. Helmut had gone back to the unit of Hessians he'd come from. "I won't lie, I'm glad he went back, he was a wet blanket." said the second in command, August rolled his eyes.
"Trust me, I'm grateful too, insubordinate prick." came the plain and blunt reply of the sergeant. He was still thinking about the night before. He had no clue what he actually saw, he only recollected seeing the bottom of the man's legs the the top of his hat. He wore black boots with black gaiters, and the top of his hat was fire engine red. These were trademarks of the French soldiers in the opposite trench. He just sighed and poked his eyes above the parapet, looking out over no man's land. There was a house out there, a small French house. He decided he'd try and duck inside it during the charge and try to take out the French machine gunner if he could. "What time is it Whilhelm?"
"8:50am sir, when are we going over?" the young soldier asked after giving the response.
"9:00 even, say your final prayers gentlemen" August said, pulling up his rosary again and thinking about his wife and children. His mind went back to his youngest, Friedrich.
3 years prior
"Come on Friedrich, come to papa!" the excited father said to his baby, looking into the identical amethyst eyes his son had. The baby, who was about to take his first steps, cooed happily at him. The mother was right behind him, and his older siblings were watching with indifference in their eyes. Slowly and cautiously, the baby raised his foot, and moved forward.
"He's going to do it, he's going to do it Auggie!" his wife said excitedly, her hazel eyes shone bright with excitement that only a mother watching her child take their first steps can have. The baby took one step, then another, then a third, and slowly but surely he got to his father. The father, who was tearing up from his excitement, hugged the young baby close to him.
"Dad, are you crying?" asked Thomas, the oldest son.
"Yes Thomas, I'm just, proud" August responded to his son, before they went and got a special treat of ice cream.
Back to the present
The memory brought tears to his eyes. He sniffled a little, wiping the tears away from his eyes and pulling up his rifle and making sure there was a round in the chamber. His second in command raised an eyebrow and patted the non commissioned officer on the shoulder. "Are you alright sir? You look like you're crying."
"Dieter!" the NCO shouted, grabbing the lower ranked soldier by his collar and shaking him a little bit. "I am not crying! I just have something in my eye! And even if I were there'd be nothing wrong with it!" He then turned on his heel and marched right up to the ladder leading to no man's land they had built for themselves, y'know, just to make it easier to charge into hell and die. He started praying silently again, just wanting to get at least one prayer in before he went. Soon, they heard the dreaded sound that would send them over, the officer's trench whistle. "Onward! Up and over!" the sergeant yelled at his men as they ran into no man's land.
August ducked immediately upon leaving the trench, jumping into a shell hole left by French artillery. His boots landed in shin deep muddy water, he gagged a little bit but just poked his head above the edge of the hole's edge. The spike of his helmet promptly got shot off and he had to duck down. He decided he'd have to make a grand show of trying to escape them, he knew that he'd have to get to that house with unhinged doors and busted out windows. He readied himself to run out as his men jumped in with him. "Dieter! You actually managed to find me, that's a surprise."
The only one
Start from the beginning
