I was one of five women chosen to serve our country, fighting side by side with the men, and only some of us had come home. Being surrounded by friends and enemies, having to choose who you can save, who you can love, and how to survive is something...
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After being away from the front line long enough to grab some much-appreciated food, the Company returned to our positions. The lead scouts suggested taking a shortcut through the forest so we could get back to our foxholes before it got dark and several men vocally voiced their agreement, calling it a good plan but the enemy saw us. Mortar shells rained down on our position causing every one of us to break ranks to scramble for cover. Several men crammed into the same foxhole so tightly, they barely had room to lower into it.
One of the blasts landed close behind me and three other men as we raced for cover and the sheer power of the explosion sent us flying in all directions like ragdolls. I slid on my stomach across the snowy ground and once I stopped, I glanced over my shoulder. Through the haze of the smoke, I saw one of the three men still moving, screaming, and clutching his wounds but the other two were motionless.
I coughed as the smoke-filled air filled my lungs, burning and scratching my throat with each breath. I crawled over to the remaining wounded man. Nearing him, I saw just how severe his wounds were. As the barrage continued all around us, I wrapped my hand around his wrist and pulled him across the frozen ground towards the nearest foxhole. Like many of the foxholes in this particular area of the line, it was partially finished but I pulled the man into it anyway - happy for some semblance of cover.
The barrage continued to shake the world around us violently. I could barely make out the muffled voices shouting orders to find some cover. I peered out of the half-finished foxhole and could see a few silhouettes above ground, frantically waving their arms, calling out to their friends to join them, while others sprinted for cover as they shouted.
I turned my focus on the wounded man beside me as best as I could with the barrage continuing around me. With each blast that occurred, I found myself lowering closer to the ground. It was obvious that I'd be unable to help the man while the barrage continued; I had no choice but to wait until it was over.
Staring across the woods, I watched with wide eyes as several men were in a similar position as I was - huddled as low as they could in a foxhole that barely covered their bodies. Scanning the area around me, I spotted a person running through the forest towards cover when an explosion happened directly above him. When the blast and smoke cleared, I lost sight of him.
Just as it had started, it was over. Coughing from the heavy smoke lingering all around us and scattered screams for a medic echoed down the line. I shifted off to the side of the unfinished foxhole as best as I could to tend to the wounded man I dragged in with me. Blood seeped out from the corners of his mouth and his limbs were severely hacked up from the shrapnel caused by the mortar blast. As I knelt beside him, working on his wounds, my eyes caught movement in the foxhole beneath us. A steady river of blood pooled in the lowest part of our cover and it wasn't until I lifted him slightly to check his back that I saw the cause of the blood pooling beneath us - a large chunk of a mortar shell remained lodged in his back, close to his spine.
