Fire and Sand by Stuart Minor

Author:Stuart Minor [Minor, Stuart]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-30T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve.

Jack sat in the shallow slit trench, the flies writhing above his head as he sweated beneath the morning sun, his body jumping as a shell crashed into the earth nearby, the bleary eyed Legionnaires, dozing either side of him, barely stirring as the sound echoed over the position.

‘Got yow some grub,’ Fred said, dropping down beside Jack and handing him a mess tin.

‘What is it?’ Jack asked, staring down at a thick brown sludge.

‘Dunno, I don’t speak Frog, but it tastes alright,’ Fred said, dipping his spoon into the mixture.

Jack batted away the flies and ate the thick stew.

‘Any news of what’s happening up north?’

‘Nowt, but Ed reckons we’ll not have to wait here long, he’s speaking to his company commander now about getting us out.’

‘That’s good,’ Jack replied. ‘I wonder where they’ll send us?’

‘God knows, but anywhere is better than staying here,’ Fred replied, looking up as a bullet fluttered above the trench.

‘Stray,’ Jack commented, before a shout made him turn, his eyes watching as a soldier fell back from a periscope that had been mounted to the side of the ditch, his hands clutching his left eye as he squirmed on the ground. Two men dropped down and held him still as he cried out in pain, his fingers clawing at the shattered glass that had lacerated his socket, a thick, dark liquid pouring over his sun scarred cheeks as he trembled in agony on the rocky ground.

Jack moved out of the way as four men carrying a stretcher hurried forward, their bearded faces worn with exhaustion as they stopped above the injured man and rolled him onto the canvas.

‘I never did like bloody snipers,’ Fred muttered, his eyes looking at the smashed lens of the periscope. ‘We’d best keep our heads down.'

Jack nodded, his eyes staring at the shards of glass that glinted in the sunlight, the sand dotted with blood. He looked away and waited for his pulse to calm, the feeling of ill ease he had felt since the previous night making him feel sick with anxiety.

‘I hope we leave soon,’ he said, scrubbing the inside of his mess tin with sand.

‘Me too, I can’t understand a ruddy thing any of these buggers are saying,’ Fred replied, smiling as a Legionnaire nodded towards him and spoke, his face questioning as he leant forward. ‘I don’t know what yow bloody want,’ Fred said, his voice loud as he sounded out each word.

The man reached into his pocket and held out his pipe, his finger gesturing to the bowl.

‘Do I look like I’ve got anything to bloody smoke?’ Fred said, motioning with his hand for the man to go away. ‘What’s he think I am, the bloody NAAFI?’

Jack laughed, his head turning as Ed hurried along the trench.

‘It’s all set,’ the sergeant said, dropping down between the two men.

‘What is?’ Jack asked.

‘We’re getting you out tonight.’

‘How?’

‘There’s a British supply convoy due to arrive at midnight, they’ll be approaching from the east. They’ve managed to get

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.