The Ouroboros Project: Trench Rat

2

Dinner, a quiet, relaxed meal. Or, it would have been, if she weren't in a crowded, quickly set up tent with dozens of other men packed together. Salted salmon, hardtack, and coffee. Not particularly a bad menu for her. She nearly chipped a tooth on the hardtack, sure, but the salmon was alright, albeit chewy and slightly dry.

The men around her joked, and spread rumors. Some spoke of unrest in Russia, and rumors that the days of the Tsar were coming to an end. Some spoke in hushed tones of the syndicalist movements in Europe and the US, bubbling under the surface. But Gracie, Gracie asked the men around her of the demons attacking their defenses. She could gather very little, and comprehend even less. Some men claimed that the beasts sprinted like leopards, and jumped like frogs. Some claimed seeing their fangs as long as a bayonet, with a roar louder than the bang of artillery fire.

It was better than the eastern front. Gracie was even sure that if she were to lose an arm or leg, she'd still be luckier than those on the defense in Russia. The Germans had begun testing something there. A new form of Chemical Weapon, the Blood Mist. It was heard about worldwide. The first demonic event of the war. What happened at Osowiec fortress was nothing short of a bloodbath. The Russian defenders' flesh melted into something not too dissimilar to wax. Yet they fought on. They called it "The Attack of the Melted Men" which was indeed a rather apt title.

But there were rumors of something else entirely.

A new weapon, which would arrive at the base tonight. They described it as if it were an automobile, but.. larger. It was allegedly the last option for the British army, as the amount of demons and monsters the Germans had fielded were ever increasing. Quietly, she looked down at her meal, prodding a slice of Salmon with a fork, and cramming it into her mouth, closing her eyes. She was always a fan of seafood, but this tasted like something else entirely. Through the clatter, the man from earlier walked toward Gracie with a tray of food in his arms. He watched as she ate for a moment, before sitting beside her, and speaking.

"There you are, Jack! I was looking all over for you, my friend!" He sat down beside his friend, ruffling her hair a bit with one hand, and reaching into his pocket with another, for a small pocket watch. "We're supposed to be getting the shipment at 9, so it's dark enough that the Germans can't bomb the convoys. I've heard rumors from a lot of the guys from other places who've got them. They say you have to see them to believe them!"

She laughed slightly. "We are fighting Demons, are we not? Unless this thing is excalibur itself, I'm sure I'll not be too shocked to see them. By the way, what's your name?" She took another forkful of dry, chewy salmon. Her face scrunched up upon tasting the fish again. It tasted similar to cardboard, with a lot of salt on it. As if it were dipped in the Thames River. "You're the only person from our squad to actually talk to me. The others seem.. Out of it."

His shoulders shifted up, and then down, as he shrugged. "It's because we're new. The other guys only talk to each other, because they've been on the front before. They've.. Seen things. Especially as an exorcist squad. I've heard their whispers. They speak of.. Dämonenfabrik. The Germans are sacrificing people to make these demons. Prisoners of War, citizens of Belgium, and political prisoners. These guys shut one of those places down. Perhaps after seeing something like that.. You'd be pretty closed off too. And.. Thomas. It's Thomas."

She stopped eating, pondering his words. After a few seconds, she continued eating, seemingly undeterred by what he had just said. "Nice to meet you properly, Thomas. When we raise the Union Jack over Berlin, I hope you'll be by my side. Tell me, Tom. You speak Hun? I can't understand a damn thing they say. Same deal with the Russians. Their lips move, but it sounds like they're drunk. Then again, if it's the Russians specifically, they probably are, and those Finns, yeah?"