The battlefield lay behind me. I rested against the high rock wall and watched the melee of rage and fear that boiled across the meadows.
I heard a sweet sound… and through a small gap in the wall, I saw a beautiful orchard. The trees were fruited and songbirds warbled through the wood.
A rifleball ricocheted off the wall and struck my armor. It had lost it’s energy and merely cause the steel to clang and vibrate. An explosion nearby toppled me and shrapnel struck hard enough to dent my visor and gauntlets. Again, my armor had protected me.
The gap in the wall was inviting… and I scrambled frantically toward it. My armor stuck in the crack and I was unable to move forward. I wiggled backward enough to doff my helmet and drink in the smell of life on the far side of the wall. I shuddered to recall the smell on the battlefield.
I rolled back and leaned against the rocks. The hole was too small for a warrior in full armor. The battle had dissolved into small groups that would fight until nothing lived within the walls of the field. There would be no victory for either side today.
There was a rhythm to the war that bode certain death… and life was through the hole too small for my armor.
Could I be brave enough to remove my armor in the midst of the battle… or would I hide inside it until the end ?
By Grey Spirit
