Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

The Siege of Syrn: Part XII

When he came around again, Dirk was lying in the grass at the foot of the wall. He felt an intense pain in his side, and vaugly he became aware that Arem was there, kneeling next to him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We beat off their first attack fairly well." Replied Arem, "As soon as I could get away from the fighting I grabbed another soldier and we brought you down here. You were bleeding pretty badly, but the wound doesn't seem to run that deep."

"Thank you."

"You were right." Said Arem. "We've definitely seen action, and it wasn't even a week since we've been here."

"Just how long can we hold out, I wonder?" Said Dirk. "The men who told us stories were right. War is a horrifying business. I should never have enlisted in the army."

"I have a feeling that pretty much everybody who enlists and then gets called to action feels that way at one point or another." Said Arem. "But if everybody deserted after the first battle, who would be left to defend our country? Our honor? Our lives?"

Dirk nodded. He tried to stand up. Arem gave him his hand. He stood up, but his legs were shaky. After a moment they steadied.

"How do you feel?" Arem asked.

"Very weak." Dirk replied, he panted slightly. "And out of breath. My side is still very painful."

"I'd better get you to the Infirmary." Said Arem. "I only put a makeshift bandage on, but they can tend to you better there."

The two started off toward the inner wall of the city. Dirk felt sick.

More writing by this author

Blogs on This Site