I shut my eyes as I swiped a blob of blood off of my forehead. The maddening roar of the German machine-guns was robbing me of my sanity as I sat there in the blood-soaked mud behind the truck, watching Viktor as he glanced about the battlefield. I could almost hear the voices of those dead men calling out to me, tempting me to gawk at their mangled remains and take it all in. To understand that this is fate, destiny, tha...

I ducked my head to my knees as four bullets pinged on the truck. More men screamed and wept as the machine-guns ruthlessly tore into their bodies. "God dammit!" Viktor shouted. "We need weapons!" "We can't get any weapons without getting shot!" I shouted back. "I know that!" More men kept screaming, the guns kept firing, and I vaguely remembered the Commissar's words. 'They have not enough ammunition for their soldiers,'...

I trembled as the barge set off, all of us soldiers were packed onto it, but not one of us had a rifle. Over on the other side of the Volga River - which we were coming so perilously close to - the Germans were pushing hard to reach the riverbank, and over the gunfire and explosions, we could hear, and see, that men were dying. Other soldiers who had made it across the river, were dying. I swallowed nervously, my stomach...

One never knows. Belonging to a writing site is interesting. You get to write interesting stories and poems. They get posted and you receive a certain cachet from the acceptance and praise sometimes engendered. You gain new friends and acquaintances that add interest and a new feeling of worth to your life. Especially if you are older and retired. You are learning that life has not passed you by. You still have something...

They sat around the table pondering the the future. Marshal Hagen finished his food, quickly drained his glass and stood. “I'd like to say that this was great meeting you all, but under the circumstances I think I'll postpone that. I better get back to my partner.” Tom said, “Wait a bit, Art, if you're not in a rush. We have a prisoner out in one of the outbuildings but he hasn't been very talkative. If he sees a U.S. Mar...

Just after dawn the stranger trudged into Harper's Gully leading his horse. They stopped at the watering trough where the horse plunged his muzzle and the man filled his hat which he poured over his head. The water only removed some of the dust from him. He pumped a stream of water from the pump, captured a double handful and slowly swallowed it. He pulled the horse from the trough and continued along the street to the li...

The setting sun created an eerie twilight in the woods, where only moments before, sounds of war raged. As the golden orange and red clouds stimulated Privet Barney Jackson’s soul, he thought it was strange that even on the battle field, the sunset was something to behold in awe. As the twilight gave way to night, he said a small prayer that the war would soon be over and he could go home and watch sunsets from his front...

Warning: While supposedly humorous, this is a story about racists and includes two racial slurs. However, the “N” word does not appear in print, but it is unavoidably, in my opinion, there in spirit. -RdW- To Lamar Hardaway’s way of thinking, the three young men standing just inside the door to his cluttered work shed didn’t look good for much, most of all a Klan job. At first, they’d tried to act cocky, like this wasn’t...

How I Lost My Way - Part 2Fall of 1971At the time not knowing I was starting 11 months of hell on earth.At first you are looked on as the reason for the next trooper death. This was where I was to meet both my Dark Angel and mentor SSGT Wilson from Chicago. A thick black man with dark pools for eyes, chain smoking hard ass of a man. Student meet your Master. This was where I heard for the first time "you are either the hu...

I woke up, yawned, blinked and stretched out my arms. I was pleasantly surprised to feel the warmth of the sun streaming in through the window onto my face and body."Well, this is a good start," I smiled to myself. "The weather's been so grey around these parts lately. I could use a little sunshine in my life."As I stretched out once more, my smile disappeared as I felt the empty space beside me in my big bed. I remembere...

It was an anomaly of nature that housed nature’s anomalies. Jutting hundreds of feet out of the cold North Atlantic was an island pillar of jagged rock forming a platform above the frigid waves. Sitting on top was a true hell on Earth. A relic of the Cold War, once a fort used by the Americans to watch for Russian ships that would dare attempt sailing the glacier filled waters, has since been turned into a prison they cal...

Brian and I were due for a vacation. After the embarassment of Endor, our team leader suggested we take some time off. We booked a two week holiday to the land of the giant grass. Brian and I were due for a vacation. After the embarassment of Endor, our team leader suggested we take some time off. We booked a two week holiday to the land of the giant grass. Brian and I were due for a vacation. After the embarassment of En...

When I was a child, I lived with my mum, dad and baby sister. It was quite hard going, as dad had a stressful job in the police force and mum was mostly busy with the baby. So, I used to look forward to going to stay with my great grandparents. When we moved house (the first of many times as it turned out) and I changed schools, I was delighted because although it wasn't all that far from our last home, we were closer to...

It all began with my person reading an article about cats being only semi-domestic, most would readily become feral if the occasion arose. “Ha, a lot they know about cats!” Thus was interrupted my peaceful after-breakfast sunbathing on the window seat in the living-room. “What do you mean?” I inquired. “I mean you are totally dependent on us, you could never make it on your own.” Now that really annoyed me. “You are my pe...

Summer holidays aren't what they used to be. Everyone's into my baby brother now, which is fine, but it means I've got to look after my little sister. "Take Louise for a swim son." She can't swim. She's only six. She just paddles and cries if too much water splashes her face. There are some kids about my age climbing round the bottom of the big rock nearby, exploring its rock pools. They'd let me explore with them if I we...