章 1: 1915 The Rough Draft

 I wake up, my lungs heavy like the air around me. The soft wet ground I lay upon makes me feel safe. Confused and dazed my hearing is muffled, but quickly returns as a pop sound goes off in the distance which soon becomes a whistle passing my ear. Something hits the ground next to me making my heart skip a beat without understanding why. I realize I'm in a place I do not know, but it makes me feel dread and sorrow like I have lost a good childhood friend. I'm in a uniform I have never seen before. I ease myself to get up but then I'm pushed down by a man in the same uniform as me making my already heavy lungs feel unbearable like a balloon about to burst under pressure. I want to ask him to get off but I am unable to say anything because of how heavy this man is so I try my hardest to lift him a little then push myself out from under him. I drag myself a few more inches away from him. It looks like he fell asleep with his eyes open. As I feel my heart slow my grip loosens with the blood flow going back to my fingertips, I take a second, I realize a pain in my hand. I lift  my hand closer to my face. I open my hand to see a dirty scratched tag with a  hole in the upper middle only showing a last name and a few numbers. It takes me awhile to read the name Autan. A small flash of kids playing in the meadows sprung up in my mind. I put the dog tag close to my heart as tears began to build up in my eyes. The only memory I could think of is of me as a child. I don't know the other kids in my flashback but I can feel that they are close to me. As I look to my right a man runs but then he is swallowed by a dark cloud of black smoke followed by a loud bang as he disappeared in an instant. I contemplate whether to stand or stay. I decide that I should stand up to see more of my surroundings. I began to stand up, my legs sore. I look hastily in all directions and see men fall from all angles. I quickly realize that being out in the open isn't a good idea. I scan all over for a place to hide. I see a trench. My anxiety starts to pick up as I stand for too long. I lay back onto the floor to move myself to the trench not so far from me. When I get close to the edge I fall in, heading head first onto the floor making me a little dazed. I stand up greeted by a man in a different uniform, his eyes widen from the sight of me. He picks up a pipe close to him. I quickly climb the wall over to see multiple trenches in front of me, but the man doesn't follow me out of the look of fear in his eyes. I began to walk forward as a small green ball rolls not far from my feet. I'm blown back. I struggled to sit myself up. I looked forward and in less than a split second a small black bug or pebble hit me in the middle of my head and my chest, slamming me back onto the floor. A pain agonizes my head and lungs, but I slowly become numb. I close my eyes to take a breath. I wake up, my lungs heavy like the air around me. The soft wet ground I lay upon makes me feel safe....