A man ran and dived inside the trench, as an artillery shell struck a few meters from where he just was. Catching his breath, he noticed the man next to him.
Someone he know.
That someone is calmly smiling at a picture of his family. His wife. His son. It's like he can't hear the dying scream of his fellow soldiers as they drown in the mud, out there, outside the trench on the battlefield.
Annoyed, but a little amazed by his friend's calmness, the man with the mixed feelings banged the head of his too relaxed buddy with his rifle.
"Focus, you! An artillery shell can drop down on us this very moment!" then, he stopped. He saw his friend's eyes.
Dead eyes.
The man is tired, of everything.
He shook his friend around to wake him up from whatever daydream he is in, as bullets flew above their heads.
"Hey, just a little longer yeah? I know you. Something like this is nothing-." He ducked lower to avoid artillery barrages and shrapnel.
Soon, when the barrage ends, they will charge.
Both them, and the enemy.
"Hey!"
He seems to be ignored, as his friend stared at the picture of his family in his hands. The picture was burned in one corner, and there are signs of tearing in the other.
"....For little Tom, yeah?" saying that, he finally get his friend to respond.
Responded by shooting above his right shoulder that is.
"!" He looked behind him, and see an enemy collapsing.
He was saved.
"Yeah." His friend, finally out of his daydreaming replied. "For little Tom." he grabbed the hand of his friends to pull himself up.
"Finally awake, Carsten?"
"Hahah, come on! Let us show them what 2 Huns can do, Adolf!" he lifted his rifle above the trenches, as enemy sniper wasted their bullets firing at it.
"That's the spirit." And with that, both of the man jumped out of the trenches, guns ablaze leading the soldiers behind them.
"CHARGE!"
One of them even go on to achieve the rank of an officer.
For better or worse.
🔸
"Ugh...." The little prince woke up, and saw rubble. Lots of rubble. All crushing him to death, if not for the person that is lifting the rocks off him one by one.
"Nya....you ok?" The catgirl hoisted him out by his armpits and jumped towards a clearing.
"Ho, so this is the little shit?" Tom's barrel points straight to his face. The catgirl, knowing what the long thing do, released the boy and jumped out of the way to avoid danger.
"Hoi, dafak you doing? Take him and follow me." Tom yelled at the girl, as he turns back to the residential and shopping district, since most of the people that's not in a bucket yet is gathered there.
"It's coming back!"
"That's the prince!"
"Let go of him you monsters!"
"You killed them! You killed them all!"
People start hurling insults at the catgirl. They probably thought she's a beast tamer, and that Tom is some kind of unseen abomination controlled by her.
After all, she's walking so casually alongside him with the prince confined in her arms.
"Ehhh....." The catgirl, confused, decided to let go of the prince like what everyone is saying, an annoyed Tom a little.
