%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |
Flash Fictions and my darker short stories that chronicle the journeys of Virgil Solomon. |
The turn of a new century had come to Europe, and with it, another mad man who wanted the world for himself. Foolishly, I’d felt some semblance of English nationalism, and boyishly marched off into the meat grinder. It was unlike me, for the occult and the oddities of society fascinated me far more than mindless bloodshed, but somewhere deep within, there was a constant, aggravating gnawing that implored me to buy a commission in the Army. And there I was, in the frenzied throes of Europe, marching with my countrymen into battle. I never much cared for others unlike myself, but It hadn’t taken many days of seeing these men suffer in a way I hadn’t seen even among the indigents, and unwanted things of London’s underbelly, that I found myself sharing some indistinct bond with them. It was during late spring that I’d come face to face with myself – my real self. We’d marched on Oporto, and while I’d only ever tried to maintain some semblance of order in the lines, that day I took the life of someone I’d never met. It haunted me for a time. I somehow thought that I was different; that that wasn’t me. I awoke the next morning but I hadn’t felt different, I was still ‘me’ after all. Then I knew – that was me all along. In the bygone seconds of warfare whence only fleeting, quiet moments protrude through the din of chaos and death, there comes the lies we tell ourselves to maintain the frayed strands of sanity that linger. In those moments, I struggle to maintain the façade of stoicism, for the throes of death, and cries for help temper a heart and change the spirit. But that was me all along… I have to get out of here. Word Count - 300 The Napoleonic wars raged in Europe from 1799 to 1815, resulting in over 2,500,000 dead or missing and 1,000,000 civilians killed. Oporto was a British vicotry, fought on May 12th 1809 in the City of Oporto, Portugal. At the time this was considered to be the largest scale war ever seen in Europe and changed the tactics and methodologies employed in warfare for nearly a century. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
Winner!