Short stories about Fox (Strawberries in May) - WW1

I started to write this over 30 years ago and I still have yet to finish it.

Here is a glimpse - it is just the first 2 chapters.

Note - I have dotted out any swear words that would be used in the story.

Fox

(Strawberries in May)

by

Singleaple

Chapter 1

The night was silent now. Distant explosions had died down about an hour ago. A small red light glowed from the lit end of a cigarette - smoke blew out over the end of the cigarette, causing a ghostly haze to shimmer in the cold night air. A man coughed in one corner. It seemed to David to be a tired cough - everything around him gave the appearance of tiredness. Grey misted beards besmirched with mud; faces brown and eyes that glistened no more, with the life that once they held.

There must have been about ten men in this trench; at least eight of them, David figured were alive; for two of them lay in a a strange almost love like position; arms entwined and their bodies curled, but their faces staring at obscure places. Still, men seemed to stare at life now, as though it were in a brown cardboard box - there, but not quite unimportant, to be emptied the next day to make room for something else.

David shuffled himself ; his right arm was aching from lying on it for too long. He grunted. The wet mud around him oozed coldness into his blood. He shivered, he felt he would never be warm again. Again he shuffled.

A sixth sense that came with fighting in this war for more than one week, approached him. He stared around. He knew that the other men could sense it too. One man raised himself; pretended to exercise his muscles, and peered over the trench wall with apparent idle curiosity.

“Gor sh.t” he exclaimed. “Raise your fu..in ars.. you c..ts” he roared, “there’s something movin out there !” It didn’t need anyoneto hear him twice. Tirednessleft their bones as quickly as it would come when peaceful times brought it on.

David could feel his fingers trembling in the cold night air. “Where ?”, “You bast..d!” shouted David. “Where d’you see the fu..ers?”.

No sooner had the words left him than he saw it . A coldness chilled his heart.

“Oh God”, he prayed.

In the distance, men who had been stalking their prey knew. A shout went up. A cry from every man followed . Men were running towards them. Other men in the trenches around also began to shout. Shooting began.

The first man to reach the trench paid instantly for his strength and bravery ; as did most of the strong men. David thought it strange that in a war fought by men the weak always seemed to survive the longest. Now was no time to be weak.

A bayonet was thrust at his side. He parried, and kicked at the man’s balls, at the same time swinging upward with his rifle butt. The man ducked the butt easily , half smiling as his arms swung backwards to thrust again.

He still carried the smile on his face as a bullet struck him from the right side. His eyes became vacant. Blood welled from his nose. He fell forward onto David; the momentum causing David to land heavily backwards against the trench wall. Another bayonet was thrust at him as he struggled to reach his knees. He knew he couldn’t avoid this one. Strangely he was calm in that instant. The unavoidable second that he had feared the past few weeks was almost upon him and it would pass as did time itself, sure in its uncertainty as time moved forward.

Blackness fell around him. Voices faded in the dark. Voices that were once voices, now became noises, noises now became low hums, low hums became silent.

Chapter 2

A strange white hue moved. It passed his vision and was gone again.