Wartime Oracle

The days have always been long. The trenches always looked the same. So many people dying. There doesn’t seem to have any end in sight.

A lonely soldier looked up at the dim sky. How many days has he been out here? He couldn’t tell anymore. He looked at his fellow soldiers. Half of them were already dead. One he couldn’t if one of them was asleep or dead. The soldier tried to pour water into his mouth.

Nothing.

No more water. He dryly laughed to himself. The gunfire in the background didn’t faze him. They mixed with the moans around him. His gun was about out of bullets.

“I don’t want to die,” the soldier heard next to him. He glanced behind him to see another soldier covered in blood. His right leg was already gone. The soldier breathed heavily. The other guy reached forward and grabbed his hand. What could he say in a moment like this? The men locked eyes. The other soldier went still as he head dropped. His eyes were still cloudy and open. The soldier reached forward and closed his eyes. He bowed his head. Three more would be last that day.

Boom!

He ducked down as fast as he could. His comrades took out their guns and fired. He alternated between firing and ducking. The soldier clenched his teeth. Click. Click. That was the last bullet. The soldier ducked down in time. He took out his cross and held it to his chest.

Suddenly, he heard a soft whispering in his ear. The soldier looked up and turned his head. A child stood inches away from him covered in blood. He could only see bright blue eyes. Only the blood covered the skin.

“Who are you?” the soldier asked. The child didn’t answer.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. Still no answer. The soldier pinched himself in the right cheek. That child didn’t disappear. In fact, they got closer. Under normal circumstances, the soldier would’ve turned and ran. He found that he his body couldn’t move. The child seemed to be floating closer. The soldier shook his head.

Stay back! Stay away! Get away from me!

The child touched him on the forehead.

Everything went silent. The soldier tried to understand what was going on. His body began to feel light. Little bombs of stars exploded in the darkness. He began to see his fellow comrades marching forward. One by one, they vanished. What was this?

The darkness lit up with bright orange in a bang. Flames engulfed everywhere. Blackened hands rose from the fire. Moans and death rattles shook the air. A skull on fire came rushing towards him.

The soldier jerked back with a gasp. He looked around to see the child nowhere in sight. He rubbed his forehead. What was that just now? The soldier looked up at the sky again. It started to rain. Despite the cold drops hitting his face, unease filled his gut.