I neatly folded the old and scrappy Vilheim soldier uniform and held it in my arms. I stared at the uniform, remembering the numerous battles that I had participated in and had survived due to luck. The numerous times that I had seen my comrades dying while dressed in the same uniform, the numerous times the young men in these uniforms had cried while screaming in pain while breathing their last breaths as they suffered a grave wound that they have no possibility of recovering from...it was all for the sole purpose of defending our nation, our family from the brutal and almost demon-like enemy. And yet...we now have to leave behind those that we want to protect...
With a sigh, I placed the uniform in the small hole that I had dug up in the ground and buried, burying with it my pride as well as hope in the war effort. It's all over now. Even though the remaining military forces have retreated further north, they will only suffer a similar fate and be pushed back until they are all eliminated. In times like these...it seems as if no place is safe. Every single nation is participating in the Great War in one way or the other, with civilians having to live with the fear of constantly being attacked.
Dressed in my civilian clothing, I rose from the ground and looked over in the direction of the battlefield. The sound of fighting had ceased, eliciting a frown from me. The battle had ended on the Front, and the Jorzan's must be rapidly approaching Palisia by now in their automobiles. Come to think about it, the retreating forces...how many soldiers could our few vehicles carry? And is there even enough fuel to last the entire trip? Many soldiers must be forced to make the journey to Fort Sarendale on foot, and how many of those will survive until then? The Jorzan's will most definitely catch up.
I started running through the woods, dashing through the trees, and towards the old city walls of Palisia. I made sure to tread lightly and leave no trail behind, and I made sure to stay cautious and constantly scan my surroundings for signs of Jorzan presence. Changing into civilian clothing and hiding my military uniform had took a bit of time, maybe just enough for the Jorzan's to storm the city. But...hopefully they have yet to reach my home. Lucky for me, my residence is on the far side of the city, the area of the city furthest from the gate that the Jorzan's will most likely enter from.
As I scaled the hill that overlooked the front entrance of the city gates, I gasped for air as I reached the top of the hill. I rested a hand on a nearby tree, feeling the coarse bark on my palms as I leaned against it for a temporary rest as I surveyed the front entrance. There, vehicles with Jorzan flags flying had reached the gates, driving in and unloading Jorzan soldiers into the Capital of Vilheim. My heart sank as the truth reached me. The Capital, the heart and soul of the Vilheim Empire...has fallen.
I must find another way into the city, I thought to myself as I turned around and slide down the hill. Once at the foot of the small hill, I immediately got on my feet and started running once again, breathing deeply with each step, but the adrenaline allowed my body to momentarily ignore the fatigue and discomfort. Growing up in Palisia, I know many places in the city wall that have holes that allowed one to enter from, and if I recalled correctly, there is one just nearby.
Thank God that they never got around to plugging up this hole, I thought as I approached the hole in the wall that was secluded by overgrown grass. I got down on my stomach and crawled through the tiny hole, squeezing myself through and entering the old city.
As I got up, I surveyed my surroundings, taking in the familiar view of the old, wooden church nearby as well as the numerous, tightly packed houses built from stone bricks. These houses were old, appeared to have been built more than fifty years ago. Only the more important areas of the city near the port have buildings built using western architecture and have stores catering to the foreigners who resided in the city like kings and queens of their own while us, the Vilheim natives, are made inferior to them. However, the route from here to my place of residence does not require crossing those areas.
I immediately got to my feet and began running through the old and tightly compacted neighborhood, taking the alleyways and taking shortcuts by crossing through other people's yards. As I ran through the maze-like neighborhoods, I heard numerous footsteps running about as well as sounds of people knocking feverishly on doors. Mixed within that noise were shouts of enjoyment and cries of fear and pleads for mercy.
The Jorzans...they're here, I thought to myself as I peered from the corner of a building and at the larger road. There, as expected, were numerous men dressed in Jorzan military uniforms, and in their hands they carried the ominous Jorzan rifle with their three-sided bayonet blades, specifically designed so that a stab wound that resulted from that bayonet blade can not be patched up.
"No, please no!" I heard a woman's voice shriek as a Jorzan soldier pinned her to the ground and started tearing apart her clothing.
The woman kicked and struggled to free herself, but her efforts only led to her receiving a slap across the face from the Jorzan soldier as he continued to beat her relentlessly with the stock of his rifle until the woman finally remained still, allowing the man to violate her as tears streamed down the side of her face.
Nearby to the woman being raped was a man, most likely the woman's husband, that was thrown onto the ground as a group of three Jorzan soldiers surrounded him. They each took out their knifes as they slowly walked up to the man, slicing off parts of his flesh as they began mincing him up.
"God damn it," I muttered to myself as I ran away and continued my journey to my house. I need to get there before the Jorzans do.
The alleyway that I took was a rather secluded one, a place that only those who grew up in this city and had roamed this place ever since they were a child would know of. Because of this, I am able to avoid the main road where the Jorzan soldiers did their brutal pillaging, raping, and burning. However, that does not mean I am blinded from their suffering. I saw a pregnant woman having her stomach carved open as the soldier forcefully removed the fetus inside, saw babies tossed in the air and landing on the sharp bayonet blades while the Jorzan soldiers laughed as if it was a game, and most important of all, people that are beaten to the brink of death being lined up and shot.
In my mind, there was a feeling of sorrow and helplessness. There is also guilt. I am the soldier that was supposed to protect these innocent people, but...I have failed them. Us, the Vilheim military, we have failed them. The Vilheim Empire...failed us all. We lost... That is why in this world, we are now the prey. It is the right of the Jorzans to violate us because they are stronger. If we don't like to be violated, then we must fight back. But...we're beaten to the point that fighting back is near impossible now...
The alleyway soon came to an end as I rapidly approached a wall that sectioned off a person's home from the public spaces. Without much thought, I reached my hand upward as I jumped towards the wall, kicking down with my right foot and pushing myself up a bit further, just enough so that I was able to grab onto the top of the wall. I pulled myself up and hopped over the wall, landing in the backyard of strangers.
"Who's there?" a young girl in her late teens stood trembling as she held up a kitchen knife in my direction. Strands of her long, brown hair clung onto her face as she stared at me with her terrified green brown eyes.
"I'm just passing through," I explained to her. "I need to get home."
I looked straight ahead of me, and instead of another wall that led to another alleyway, there was a cliff as a small hill in the middle of the city blocked my path.
"Damn it," I cursed. This meant that I will have to take the main road from now on.
"W-what's going on outside?" the girl asked me as she lowered the knife. "My father left the house to check what's going on, but he's not back yet."
"Jorzans," I said as I walked towards the back door of the house, entering as the girl followed close behind me.
The interior of the house was rather small. Nothing special was of note in this one story household where there was only one bedroom while the living room had another bed placed in it. The living room was rather bland, with just a simple storage closet up against the wall peeling paint as well as a small table in the center of the room with a candle set on its surface. Beyond this all was the closed front door that led out to the main street.
"Jorzans?" the girl dropped her knife and stood there with wide eyes. "They're in the city?"
"Yeah," I responded. "I suggest that you all run—"
Suddenly, there was the sound of someone knocking hard on the door with a force that is as if they are trying to break down the door. Upon hearing the ferocity of the force applied, I instinctively concealed myself underneath the bed in the living room, squeezing myself into the space beneath the mattress held up by the legs of the bed frame.
The door was soon knocked off of its hinges, falling onto the ground with a loud bang. Looking out from underneath the bed, I could see four pairs of legs entering the room, three of which was clad in Jorzan military uniforms.
"This is your place?" I heard a Jorzan soldier say in broken Vilhemian.
"Yes sir," I heard an older man's voice say in a submissive and frightened manner. "Please take what you would like."
"This your daughter?" the Jorzan soldier took a step towards the girl.
"Yes sir," the man responded.
"Pretty." Based on the shadows cast on the ground, the Jorzan soldier must have reached a hand over to the girl's face, stroking it. "You," the soldier then turned to face the old man. "Fuck her. Right now!"
"W-what?" the old man's voice trembled.
"You don't, I kill her," the soldier said as he grabbed his pistol from the strap. "You do, I kill you. Choose NOW!"
"Father, no," I heard the girl cry out with tears in her eyes. However...her plead wasn't enough to trump her father's to protect his daughter.
"I'm sorry," her father whispered in a weeping voice as he took a step towards her.
"Father," the girl continued to cry and plead with her trembling voice. "Please no..."
"Now!" the Jorzan soldier commanded once again.
The girl resisted, trying to shake away her father's grip, but it was no use. With great remorse and reluctance, her father pinned himself on top of her, reaching down to her skirt and lifting it up.
"Please..." the girl cried as tears flowed freely from her eyes as she begged in a defeated voice. "Please..."
"I'm sorry," her father whispered to her as he removed his pants and inserted himself into her.
The girl's body seemed to petrify as she laid there limp, allowing her father to continuously thrust himself into her, grunting as he sobbed, until it was all over. As the rape continued, she continued to cry. However, her eyes were focused on underneath the bed...where I was hiding. It was a look that was deprived of any emotion. The light seemed to have vacated her, leaving her to resemble a living corpse.
"I...I've finished," the man said as he slowly backed away from his daughter that still laid on the ground lifelessly with tears in her eyes. "You won't harm her ri—"
The sound of a pistol firing echoed in the small house, and not too long after that, the man's body toppled over and fell onto the floor. Blood and bits of brain started to slowly seep out of the deceased man's head, dyeing his grey hair red. Upon seeing this, tear's started to stream out of the girl's eyes without any more restraint as she sobbed quietly on the ground as she continued to look in my direction.
This gaze of her's...I am not sure if it was her blaming me for why I did not help...
The Jorzan soldiers laughed as the man died, and with the little Jorzan language that I know, learned that they were mocking the terrified look on the dead man's face just seconds prior to his death.
"Any of you boys want a go?" the lead soldier asked the two behind him. "If you don't mind a bitch who got fucked by her dad."
"I'll pass," a soldier denied.
"She didn't use her mouth," a soldier said as he knelt down next to the girl and started unbuckling his pants. He then forcefully turned the girl's head over to face him as he then shoved his penis into her mouth.
"She was looking in that direction," the other Jorzan soldier pointed out. "Is someone there?"
"No," the lead soldier raised up his hand to stop the other soldier. "It's a decoy. The real place is..." the soldier paused and then turned to face the closet. "Here!"
Following the sound of the closet doors being flung open came the sound of the man chuckling.
"Look," the soldier laughed. "They tried hiding this little boy in here."
The soldier raised up his hand towards his companion who tossed over his rifle to him. The soldier in front of the closet smiled as he held the rifle up like a spear as he pointed the bayonet in the closet. Then, he stabbed the bayonet into the closet before he pulled back on the rifle and closed the closet door.
"You finish up," the soldier barked to the soldier that was pleasing himself with the girl's mouth.
"I know, I know."
My eyes trembled in horror at the scene before me. The two Jorzan soldiers walked out of the house, but I could tell that they were waiting at the door for the one raping the girl. Next to them was the girl's dead father, whose head had been blown open with blood and bits of brain spilled onto the nearby floor. On the other side was the closet, where dark red blood seeped out from the bottom of the closet and started spreading on the floor.
Author's Notes:
The Jorzan's storming the city of Palisia is based on the Rape of Nanjing by the Japanese. The Jorzan treatment of civilians in the city is a mirror of what the Japanese did in real life. Even today, many Japanese deny the occurrence of this tragedy as well as numerous other atrocities committed by them during WWII throughout Asia.
Forgive those who admits the history, but never forget.