The Deserter

~ Gottfried

I heard a loud bang. I jolted awake. I was in the trench and bullets were flying above my head. It was mayhem. Bodies were dropping all around me, cries of the wounded. Yes, your leg got blown up, but is that an excuse to scream like a little girl? I felt a tap on my shoulder, I looked up, it was Cap. He screamed at me to get out! So I jumped out of the trench and followed him. We were deserting. Thinking back, I have no idea why I decided to sign up for the army. I thought it was going to be all about dressing up and wooing the ladies. Nobody told me we would be going to war?

As we escape from the bushes, we get to a creek. There in a heap were the bodies of soldiers and civilians alike. Without hesitation, Cap ripped off his uniform and gestured at me to do the same. Never liked the gear anyway, trousers getting stuck between my butt cheeks.We were going to wear the clothes of dead men. Some were already decomposing. Eventually, I found one that fit, poor guy had shit himself after getting shot. But it was about survival and I wasn’t going to let something as little as the smell of feaces stop me from staying alive. We kept moving. Stopping meant death.

After hours and hours of trekking in the thick forest, I was fatigued. So I found shade and lay down. Cap took a look at me and asked if I was hungry. Such a stupid question. He knew damn well that I was hungry and tired. I said yes though. Andrenaline could only take me so far. So we went out in search of food. After hours of futile search, I was ready to eat anything. Even Cap started to look tasty. As I was still contemplating it, an unsuspecting lizard was casually strolling by. Without thinking, I reached out, caught it and took a bite. Biting was the easy part, swallowing took more bravery. In case you’re wondering yes, it tasted like chicken.

The forest is thick and scary. Evil lurking at every turn. Cap is walking ahead of me. Suddenly he stops and signals me to do the same. He turns to me and his eyes widen. He screams at me, “Look out!”. I turn around just in time to see a hyena charging at me. It lunges at me and takes a chunk out of my left arm. Cap charges at it, pushing it away from me and they face off. As they have a go at each other, rolling and hitting themselves. They land on a patch of grass and I hear a familiar sound. In seconds, they are both blown up into smithereens. Then it hit me, we were in a minefield. Could this day get any worse? I follow a trail to a cave and lie there, mourn Cap and wait for death.

The next morning I woke up bleeding, bruised, and staring down at the barrel of a gun. Had no idea a hyena could work a gun. Oh it’s just some neigbourhood bandits. I am led out with my hands behind my back as I joined a much larger group. The bandits weren’t on the uniform so I suspect they were a regular terrorist group. What they had in store for me was yet to be seen. Before long we were all blindfolded, and then it started. From a distance I heard a man say his last words, followed by a loud bang and his body dropped to the ground. The end had come. I immediately felt nauseous, the lizard hadn’t done me any favors.

One by one, bodies were dropping. And it was edging closer and closer to my turn. I tried to have a conversation with the big man. I needed a sign that this wasn’t the end. But how was I supposed to escape? Chances were looking really slim. It got to the turn of the person next to me. I think it was a woman because when she was asked for her last words, she screamed, ‘You all will rot in hell!’. In my head, I’m like, “What hell? We’re already here!”. For what seemed like an eternity I held my breath and then it came. A loud bang and she dropped to the ground and rolled into what I suspect to be a hole.

Now being the protagonist of this story, I don’t particularly think I should die yet. I didn’t survive all of that to be unceremoniously executed. But I’m kinda conflicted because I hate a happy ending. What should I do with this character? Give myself super powers? Should I have martial art skills? Yeah I know my hands are tied behind my back but Jet Li and Jackie Chan always seemed to pull it off in the movies. Should I be rescued by the calvary? Maybe not. So let’s say I die, what would be my choice of last words? Help me out here!

Only the dead have seen the end of war

© Gottfried. All rights reserved

414 thoughts on “The Deserter”

      1. ok.
        you asked for the kiss as your last wish. let’s take a look from the outside: you smell like someone who has bathed in the shit of a dead man and, everyone knows, terrorists are “officially” homophobic males.
        well.
        bewilderment about who has to kiss you: the first jokes begin between them, the teasing between them, the heated words and in short they have a fight. At that point you take advantage of it, nobody pays attention to you anymore and you run away like a headless turkey. bump into …
        Ok, I gave you the way out, now it’s your turn. 😉 😛

        Liked by 9 people

        Reply

          23. Hey 👋 I promise from now on I will just read your blog and place my comments and leave others alone..

            Criticism comes in all forms..
            You are the only one that needs to worry about how your audience sees and receive your stories or articles

            Liked by 1 person

        2. Your poor fool.. and most irritating 😠 stupid idiot…
          It’s nothing to make fun at.. you jerk.. it’s real.. but you have to be there to fully understand this rambling of a soldier facing this scenario…
          Death is always welcome at this point… and there is no shame in trying to outrun it….

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

          2. Thank you for the compliments, in my part it is said that those who despise buy 😘
            ok, now let’s see what offended you: I gave the character of a story the intelligence to identify hypocrisies and contradictions among his enemies and to take advantage of them, even if in an approximate way. Sure a superpower would have been nicer, but where are these superpowers when they’re needed? peace and love ☮️💙

            Liked by 1 person

          10. Obviously 🙄.. you tried to find humor in that scenario…

            And your distasteful comments shows no compassion or understanding the extent of his experience..

            Saying this though..

            The author finds your comments recommendable and chew me out for lashing out on you..

            So it’s all good

            Liked by 2 people

  3. Last words? “I don’t dissolve.”

    Alternate scenario? Remove the blindfold with a big, bloody head-wipe on the rocks, GROWL, Stand UP and deFY. Heck, if you’re going to die, Make it a movie scene. You already know the worst is coming, though a moving target is harder to kill. People and guns tend to miss more than we know. . Make it potentially worse by forcing it into happening and you force their decision and mental minefield blast out the control their hopped up on. Heck, even if they take you to the next “everyone dies gig” as a trophy example to manipulate them… you’ve still had opportunities to foil them… Heck, you know you’re not getting out alive before war, though there? Then? You’re sure of it happening NOW. FABOT. FUCK A BUNCH OF THAT.

    Now, after all that, I have no intention of minimizing your experience real or fictional. Either is just as good. That sounds like it felt like and was in fact Hell. And, you’re writing this here, so “sounds like” is in the past tense. Thanks for whatever you did to still be here, Gottfried. And, I would say that the memories of whatever you did would be considered proper blessings. Eff the elegy pre-eulogy. Your blog is.a refreshing blessing. Though that time may not have been, your sharing of it certainly is.

    Liked by 16 people

    Reply

    1. Haha, “I don’t dissolve” sounds like something straight out of a Tom Cruise movie.

      Reading the first paragraph, I’m really amped. Oh it’s on! 😂.

      You’re welcome Jordan. Glad to have you along the ride

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

          2. I’m certainly Woo rather than Woo Woo. Heck, I’m and Architect, Tarot Reader and Author, Astrologist, Poet, Writer, Painter… I’ll stop there. Nope, no longer do I divide and conquer myself with that many businesses. Too much Marketing and Internal Civial War. I’m now an Archetypal Cosmologist. COOL! Embraces and encapsulates and integrates everything i do from Psycho-Spiritual acts of Architecture to… no more words. Thanks for catalyzing the realization of what I want to be when I grow up. It suddenly became simple. Oh yes, I blame YOU for my sudden clarity … after 33 yers. 🙂

            Liked by 5 people

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