till' we meet again, william schofield

ten

Will clenched his jaw as he tried to steady himself. He can't stop now. He kept pushing until he was met with another part of the trench.

Men are dying left and right, but Will kept pushing.

He kept pushing until he was met with a wall of men, making it impossible for him to get through. A strong Sargent with a sense of authority was yelling commands at them, desperately trying to reorganize his men. But his yelling was drowned out by the noise from the shells.

Will got past the Sargent, feeling bad for the poor man. He kept going until he came across another Lieutenant with a revolver in his hand.

"Platoon Seven! One minute!"

Will ran up to the man and grabbed him by the shoulders, "Sir! I have orders to stop this attack!"

Relief floods his face immediately. "What?"

"I have to find Colonel Mackenzie!"

"He's further up the line!"

"How far?"

"About three hundred yards! He's in a cut and cover."

Will looked around at all the men preparing to go into No Man's Land in a matter of seconds. He realized grimly that he won't be able to get past them.

"You'll have to wait until the first wave goes over."

Will shook his head, "no I can't."

William then did the unthinkable. He climbed up onto the firing step and peered over the side. He glanced at the three hundred yards between him and Colonel Mackenzie, but what he really was looking at was the three hundred yards between him and his promise to Blake.

"You can't possibly make it. Are you insane?"

William hopped over the ledge and stumbled forwards.  Once the shock went away, he began running in No Man's Land. He ignored the disapproval from the Lieutenant and sprinted as hard as his legs would take him.

A whistle went off and suddenly, hundreds of men poured into No Man's Land, hitting and bumping Will as he ran parallel to where they were coming from. German guns began to fire again, and British soldiers began to fall.

He kept running, pushing his body to its absolute limit. He got knocked over by an oncoming soldier, but didn't stop. He got right back up and continued forwards until he came across a spot to jump into that was close to the cut and cover.

"Where's Colonel Mackenzie?" He hollered like a madman to the first person he saw. The man pointed to a small den only ten feet away. Will sprinted towards it, but before he could enter two men held him back tightly.

"Let me through!" He growled as he thrashed in their grip. He continued to push them away until he broke free. He didn't waste anytime and dashed towards the dugout.

He stumbled into the dim room. A huddle of officers with their backs facing him were all talking. Will cleared his aching throat, gaining the attention from everyone. They all stand straight, facing Will.

"Who the hell are you?"

Just by the air of authority surrounding him, William could tell he was being spoken to by Colonel Mackenzie. He was facing his promise to Blake.

"Lance Corporal Schofield, Sir. 8th. I have orders from General Erinmore to call off this attack!"

William stuck out his hand with the letter in it. All the officers looked at Colonel Mackenzie as he didn't reach for it.