It
was a battlefield in pre-gunpowder times. From every direction,
soldiers came, fighting. There were dead bodies on the ground, here
and there.
Eventually,
a lull. Sounds of battles continuing elsewhere, near, and far.
Two
soldiers, battle weary, were helping each other walk. One had a
broken sword, and was seriously wounded; the other had no sword, and
was bruised all over, but was not seriously wounded. The one was too
weak to prevent the other from slowly sinking to the ground. Both sat
on the ground, next to each other.
The
one asked, hoarsely and with extra effort, "The
others?"
"All
dead."
After
a long pause, he asked again, "Ishui?"
The
other replied, wearily and stonily and slowly, Everybody died
in that battle. Including our three brothers. Only you and I are
left.
There
were seconds of silence. The wounded one spoke with closed eyes, "Me,
too, in a few minutes. Go on without me."
"And
tell Dad I left you behind? I will be with you until you die in my
arms, or until we make it back."
Let's
keep going, then. Help me up. We are in no condition to fight, even
if we meet only one warrior.
"We
will not be meeting any enemy warriors here. We can rest here for as
long as we want. Or we can move on as slowly as we care to."
The
other stared at him, not understanding.
You
dont remember we accidentally fell down here from that ledge
up there? We are lucky we had a soft landing here. I do not know
which direction will take us back to our lines."
"Let's
move along slowly. We dare not spend a night here, not knowing where
here is."
"Okay.
Let's go. Slowly."
They
left. After a few seconds, two young women, civilians, cautiously
emerged from the bushes.
"How
about that? They had the same accident we had."
"Could
you tell which side they are on?
No.
And it does not matter to us. We are foreigners traveling through
when the war erupted. I do not trust both sides.
Those
two are in no shape to hurt us. Let's follow them.
Good
idea. One of them is seriously hurt. We might get a chance to make
friends by helping him.
Okay,
but if they are attacked, we run.
Of
course. Absolutely.
Another
thing.
Okay.
Food-wise,
I have only one last chocolate bar. I am eating all of it now, so
that I won't have anything to share if they should ask.
"I
have something in one of my pockets. I will eat it right now, too."
They
moved along, eating purposefully.
On
another part of the battlefield, two soldiers were searching the
area. They had shields, and were armed with swords and spears.
"Are
you certain they came this way?"
"Yes.
Any other direction would have brought them back to us."
They
walked about, searching; occasionally stabbing their spears into
bushes.
"Careful.
I found a sudden steep drop there, hidden by the high grass."
They
are just another two wounded enemy soldiers. They are of no immediate
danger to us. Why is the Captain so determined we capture them?
I
think I know, but I am not certain. So, do not quote me on this.
Okay.
What?
They
might be foreign secret agents serving neither us nor the enemy.
You
said the Captain said they are armed. Doesnt that mean they
are fighting for the enemy?
"Captain
did not care to explain."
There
was a silence for seconds while each thought about the information,
as they slowly looked about, stabbing here and there.
"If
we catch them, that will definitely mean a promotion for our
Captain."
What
happens if we do not find them?
I
do not want to think about that. We have to find them. That should
not be impossible since one of them is seriously injured.
If
they escape us, we will be hanged.
That's
about it.
Let's
split up. Each searches along the edge of that steep drop.
All
right. But if we cannot capture them, whoever they are, remember our
discussion last night?
About
why we are fighting this war?
Why
are we fighting this war?
We
common soldiers do not know.
"Precisely.
That is why if these foreign agents escape us, I am deserting.
He
stared grimly at the other. A second or two of silence passed. The
other stared back.
"Me,
too. At your side."
Good.
Within the hour, we meet at our favourite tree, with those
foreigners, captive.
"If
both of us are empty-handed, we run.
They
saluted each other, and were about to go in different directions when
one stopped.
"Could
they have gone down that steep slope?"
Not
with one of them as wounded as the Captain said he was.
"Not
deliberately."
They
looked at each other, considering the possibility.
"If
we really think they fell down that steep slope by accident, our
search stops right here. We head for the border, now."
"I
am with you. For the border. Now. They left together, in the
same direction.
Somewhere
else, the two brothers had stopped to rest. They sat on the ground
near each other. The one whispered, We are being followed."
You
heard something?
Yes.
Me,
too, but I did not want to say anything. I have been listening.
Whatever it is, I do not think we are in danger.
Even
if it is a large wild animal predator?
There
hasn't been a large wild animal predator in this country from since
before we were born.
What,
then?
Definitely
not enemy soldiers.
Why
not?
By
now enemy soldiers would have known we are no threat. They would have
attacked.
Then,
who?
Civilians.
Waiting for us to die. Then rob our corpses.
How
about we just call out to them?
"Why
not? Our situation is already at its worst."
The
one called out, "Whoever you are, we know you are there. Come
out. Let us talk."
The
two young women walked into view, slowly; cautiously; fearfully. One
of them spoke, with difficulty.
"We
are foreigners. We are not armed." The other, too, We are
travelers passing through the country when the war broke out.
One
of the soldiers replied the women, We are soldiers. We think
our side lost. We do not know where we are. We are just trying to get
as far away from the war as possible. You have food?"
"Nothing.
Sorry." "Nothing. No food. We have a first aid kit that
might help your wounds."
"That
is better than food. My brother here is seriously wounded. Please
help him."
Contact
Ezra (Unless
you
type
the
author's name in
the subject
line
of the message we
won't know where to send it.)
