Vanilla Dusk ✓

Dusk Part 3

Elli is running on the field, his rucksack swinging heavily on his back. The ground shakes fiercely under his black boots as dozens of grenades explode into clouds of smoke. They are retreating towards the woods, soldiers leaping and sprinting at full speed, cringing and ducking from the falling rubbles. Some get shot in their legs and trip, rolling over the writhing bodies on the ground. Some get shot in their backs and stagger, dragging their bleeding bodies forward before more bullets pierce the limbs hanging out of their bulletproof vests. Some get shot in their heads and collapse instantly. Elli stumbles a few times over the maimed corpses. He hides behind the tank, shielding himself from the incoming bullets. He runs and runs, before bumping right into one of the enemies. The dark-haired boy is wearing a khaki-coloured uniform with camouflage patterns, with a red-and-yellow flag patch adhering to his arm. He looks even younger than Elli, hands trembling as he holds the rifle. They both shoot at each other. Elli recoils as the bullet strikes his vest. He tumbles to the ground as the other boy, shot directly in the forehead, widens his eyes and falls with blood bursting out of his hole.

Another boy, originally squirming not far away, growls after his brother collapses. He drags himself up, half-crawling, and with a grunt, charges at Elli. Elli gives him a forceful kick and knocks the rifle out of his grasp almost in a flash. The boy bounces onto Elli and pins him down. Elli raises his rifle but the boy clasps it and they start rolling on the ground. The boy's eyes are glistening, his teeth clenched as he attempts to snatch Elli's rifle away and crush his chest with the bayonet. He's muttering a mixture of Chinese and Korean – languages Elli doesn't know but he is certain that the boy is cursing at him for murdering his brother. They struggle some more before the ground quakes again. Several bombs explode near them and the shells teem down, cutting through whoever is roaming the field. Elli is beneath the boy and he seizes the chance to grab him, steadying his body above his as the debris and rubbles crash down, stabbing the boy. Soil splashes onto Elli's face and soon their bodies are engulfed in soot. Elli shuts his eyes and feels a torrent of liquid splattering onto his head. The boy's eyes are still wide open, just like his brother's. Blood is cascading down his chin and his knees buckle, arms quivering as Elli's blade delves deeper into his waist.

Elli will never forget those dark brown orbs that glitter back at him. He sees a grey brick house set in a remote village with red roofs and inside, there is a garden planted with bamboo, olive and peonies. Two boys and a girl are frolicking there, each holding a candied hawthorn stick as they run on a crimson bridge under which a small stream full of goldfish and turtles flows across the garden. A man is trimming the shrubs, smiling as his children run past him with vigour and laughter, and a lady is in the kitchen stirring a pot full of pork ribs and noodles, ready to gather her husband and children for lunch. A fluffy Pekingese barks as it gets chased down by a tri-coloured kitten.

The image soon dissipates and the boy's eyes turn void, his corpse falling off Elli's body and landing flat on the bumpy ground.

Elli has been taught to slice open someone's torso and tear out their intestines; to shoot someone full of holes and then blow them up. He has been taught to comply with whatever they taught him to do during the training. But this –

Nobody has told him that he has to see through these boys' dreams and kill them one by one.

More aircrafts swish by and more bombs fall. More boys get blasted, flung in the air and ripped into pieces. More dreams are shattered.

'Elli!' cries a familiar voice. Ren races towards Elli and yanks him up. Elli, still recovering from the shock, is dragged across the field. The two boys run towards the woods, narrowly dodging the surrounding explosions. Just as they reach the woods, a sudden jolt sends them flying forward. They fall hard on the ground as the entire field explodes into a storm of dark smoke, flames and dust. Elli covers his ears and shudder, endless moans and cries never stop echoing around him. When the smoke dissolves, all that's left is a sea of fire, still burning what remains of those thrashing mutilated bodies. Some have their heads completely detached from their torso; some missing an arm or a leg or both; some just a palm or an ear.