The body hung on a heavy cable, swinging just above the ground at the base of the tree. The soldier wasn't the first the Captain had seen. Many found their situation too much. They had been running for over ten years now, and each time there was a shimmer of hope, it would turn out to be a dead end. Some snapped, others would just go AWOL, while the worst, like this soldier, took their own life (sometimes other with them).
It usually happened in the middle of the night. They would wake because a nightmare or would be on a night watch. Alone, the images and memories would race over them, slowly crush their soul until it was too much. The result was now swinging in the cold winter breeze that blew across the field.
"Cut him down." the Captain quietly said. It was almost not heard. The soldiers around were all in disbelief that they had lost another. Someone the day before they had talked to, laughed with, and fought beside. Most could to nothing but stand there frozen in the snow.
The Captain slowly turned and walked away as a Sergeant cut the cable and lowered the dead soldier to the ground. They would bury the body after breakfast and then would have to keep on moving. Hopefully by then they will have word of the northern base they send scouts to find. The Captain continued across the camp the communication tent. He pushed aside the flap and walked into the red lit room. |
