Second Harvest

Plunging through the knot of men, Roy saw Stanley curled into a ball on the dirt. Instantly, the day of the train incident flashed into Roy's mind, as he reached out to roll Stanley over. Roy began sobbing uncontrollably. "Stanley, Stanley, what have you done?" The gaping wound in Stanley's midsection was enormous. Blood was pumping like a shower from the center of Stanley's chest; meanwhile, his intestines rolled out in a churned bloody mass. Roy took his hands and started shoving the internal organs back into the body cavity, but it was a fruitless effort. Roy's face was completely covered in Stanley's blood as he tried to press on the various blood spouts squirting in the air. "Oh darn you, Stanley, please don't die, please…"

A dirty blood-soaked hand reached up and grasped Roy by the collar. Stanley opened his eyes, and a gurgling sound emitted from his mouth. Stanley tried to speak, pulling his friend's face in closer. Meanwhile, Stanley's heart continued to pump blood baptizing Roy head to toe in red.

"What is it, my friend? Speak to me, please. Don't you die on me, I promised your mother I'd take care of you."

Stanley whispered softly but struggled to enunciate his words. "I told you I wasn't a chicken." He then released his grip on Roy's collar and closed his eyes, arms limply falling to the ground. The pumping blood slowed and then stopped. As Stanley's life ebbed away, gunfire and cannon rounds continued to blast their position. Thick, acrid smoke stung their eyes. Roy looked up to the sky, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth letting go with a dreadful, painful cry, screaming for almost a full minute. Men covered their ears because the shriek was so loud and painful. Their sergeant pulled hard on Roy's shoulder.

"Let him go, Roy, he's not going make it."

Roy's eyes flashed open. He was dark red from Stanley's blood, making the whites of Roy's eyes look fierce and dangerous. Jumping to his feet, Roy grabbed Stanley's rifle and slung his own over his shoulder. The sergeant tried to stop Roy, but it was in vain.

"Soldier, get your butt back down here, that's an order!"

It was too late. Roy began running toward the enemy's position. Bullets were flying everywhere. Explosions erupted all around Roy as he ran straight toward their enemy. His fellow soldiers watched in utter shock as Roy fired his rifle with accurate precision. With each leap forward, Roy cut enemy soldiers down sweeping his weapon side to side as he ran. At one point, he dropped Stanley's empty rifle and put his own into action. Leaping into the fray of the enemy, Roy jumped into the opposite trench and started killing Germans. He was met with shocked and confused expressions as the Germans began to flee from Roy.