The last apologies

The short

He sat, leaning uncomfortably on a tangled mess of a barbed wire fence. The wire was ripping through the back of his camo shirt, exposing his blood stained back. He shifts a little, the metal spikes sliding roughly across his skin. Grunting a little in response, his neck flares in pain. The hoarseness showing from the past few horrible minutes of calling for help while the gun fire eventually faded. Thick and warm, the dust cloud had surrounded him blocking out the view of the fading sun.

A ragged cough echoes through the small cavern battlefield from another man in camo. His silhouette appears from within the dust as he stumbles towards what he assumes is help. A sigh escapes his mouth as he limps close enough to see the soldier on the fence. Thump, he collapses back and drags himself to sit beside the fence. Studying the other soldier, he realises the worse. Glancing at the other soldiers eyes, he could tell that the other soldier had evaluated him as well. Both came to the conclusion that they weren't going to see tomorrow's sunrise without even saying a word to each other.

Eventually, the man leaning on the fence coughs and wipes his mouth with his sleeve leaving a glistening trail of dark red. A few hoarse words escape his lips.

"Did we win?"

At this question, the other soldier nods and sits closer to the other.

"Yes we did. With large losses on both sides,"

"Will we win?"

"The war?"

"Yes"

The second soldier is silent, an expression of deep thought on his bruised face.

"No one can tell....the countries continue to argue while men like us continue to die. I hope it comes to an end soon with the Allies victorious. Then I know Jack will be safe."

"Jack?"

"My son. He is too young to fight.....despite his eagerness. He's back home."

"I'm sorry,"

"For what?"

"He will miss you...I'm scared,"

A sigh escapes both soldiers' lips as the red puddle slowly spreads, feeding off the trickles off the men.

"That's okay. We may die but we will be remembered by generations to come. For our bravery and honor,"

"I have to get off the fence!" The soldier started thrashing, causing a larger flow of blood to begin dripping off his back. The other soldier weakly lifts his arm and holds the others shoulder. The teary eyed manlooks down at him, the wire holding him immobile.

"Everything is going to be okay. Let's just rest, everything will be alright"

"My names Johnathan,"

"Nice to meet you Johnathan, I'm Charlie,"

"It hurts Charlie,"

"Close your eyes, slip into sleep and it won't hurt ever again"

The soldier on the fence does so, his breathing growing into a ragged panting. The other soldier watches sadly while lying on the ground, no longer able to hold himself up. With a couple of pained spasms, the fence grows still.

"Goodnight Johnathan"

The other man grunts, clutching his stomach as he takes his own advice. His eyes close as

He pictures his wife and son. A tear rolls down his cheek as he shuffles against the dirt, doing his best to find whatever comfort he had left. With darkness at the edges of his mind, he focuses not on the pain in his legs but the love for the son he won't see grow up. Hiis body shudders as he allows himself to fall into the darkness. His body grows limp and his hands slip off his body and onto the ground, revealing a small black and white picture in his coat pocket. A young boy, a beautiful woman and a happy version of the soldier stare lifelessly at the stars, the picture gently shaking in the breeze.