All In

part 19

ac·tion
ˈakSH(ə)n/
noun

a thing done; an act.

•••

the men were lined, flat to the walls, rifle in arms and mud splattered their bodies, as rain fell on them again, only one on the ladders as they went the whole way down the trench; the trench that the germans died.

there were hundreds of them, all ready to do what they had to do, but one, who stepped back off his ladder, only to be grabbed by an officer and gripped by his collar, terror filling his face.

another bomb went off, and one of the higher ranks yelled at the unattentive men.

the sergent looked the boy in the face, who was around the same age as niall, before he turned back to men lining the walls.

the roar of the war and rain made him yell very loud, but he was clear to everyone who was there what he wanted. "if anyone turns back, if anyone of our boys goes running towards ya, you take this rifle, and you shoot them dead! do you understand?"

the sergent pushed the boy up against the wall, speaking to him in rushed breaths that no one but the two could hear, and niall looked down to harry, who was two people behind him, on the ground. "i want you to tell me mam what's happened if i die. i want you to avoid the war and just tell her what happened. just me. don't scare her, haz."

the younger boy stared at the man on the ladder, who suddenly looked much younger, and let a tear escape his left eye, the salty water stumbling down his mud covered cheek. he nodded lightly.

"okay." another shell fell close to them, some men ducking, a friend of the boy who was gripped yelling at him, and a flash hit harry.

everything started moving in slow motion, harry glancing at all the men dedicated to their work, memorizing their faces for possibly the last time. he wanted a picture of that moment, so he could look at it and remember that until the moment he died, then he wanted to send it to his home, and to the everyone affected by the war.

he wanted more for everyone there.

and then the bagpipes played.

and niall was gone.