For Liberty

“We’re all here for a reason. We all know what we have to do. Guys don’t let me down. Don’t let me see you fail. You can do this, we’re the best. Now grab your weapons.” With these words, Thomas L. Smith, Tommy for his friends, tried to inspire his troops. Dinner was just over. The babies back home were probably settling down for a nap. Tommy knew his leadership would make a difference in this war. The position they were in, they had been there last year. Sure, some of the faces were new, and some of the old faces were gone, but they were a team. They would not let their common foe win. It was a battle for honour, fought by brave soldiers, a battle for liberty, fought by people just like Tommy. Unlike their enemies. These creatures had nothing in common with Tommy’s soldiers. And so he watched as the agile hands gathered the necessary ammunition for the assaults of the day. The air was cold, the snow was dense. They could walk on it as surely as they would walk on the ground, and it would play to their advantage. They were the ones leaving their base. They would assault the enemy’s stronghold and try to push them back into their positions, and eventually drive them away. It had all to be done before sunset. Before the light ran out.

Tommy looked around at everyone with him. Yes, they all knew who they were facing, and they almost all looked eager. Tommy, like some of them, had a more personal reason to fight in this war. It was a question of honour. He could not show his face home until… Until this battle was won and everything he stood for was once again stronger than what they faced. It was about might. It was about right. But for Tommy, it was also about the fight. He loved that part. And in memory of his cousins who could no longer fight in the war, for his father who had stood in the exact same spot, behind similar barricades years ago, for his grandfather who had done the same. For his uncles. Yes, this war had been going on for so long that he could not remember the name of all relatives that had been part of the offence. Or the defence. Some years, the enemies lost; others the allies did. Sure some things had changed. Synthetic fabric for example meant they could stay warmer longer in this weather. And unlike the people that shared the war stories with his grandfather, Tommy was not barefoot in a meter of now, although he doubted that people fought barefoot, except maybe in pre-historic times.

Tommy snapped back to the present. He looked at his best friend’s face. James Thompson, Jimmy. A soldier in this endless war just like Tommy. He too had known relatives that stood if not on this battleground, on ones similar somewhere in the same nation. Ever since they were little kids they had heard of the battles, and with a mix of anticipation and fear they decided they would be part of this. They must have been 5 year old back then. They were at the swing sets in a park from their early childhood. They promised they would have each other’s back when they would chose to fight in these battles. They trained informally from that point on. Last year, they were taught by veteran fighters. Tommy did not expect he would lead the assault this year, but things had changed quickly. He had seniority now; he was the only one who could lead them. He also had a much bigger stake in this than any other one else this year. Tommy felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around ready to fight.

Nathaniel McCord. Nathan. He was a new face around here; people were still not quite used to his weird accent. He was moved to this region this year. Normally people would have doubted his worth in this battle, but he too had a personal stake in this battle. Tommy could only hope the veteran in whatever city he was trained knew what they were doing. He was the only stranger in this ragtag group of fighters. Tommy looked at his watch. 1315, it was time to move.

“We have to get moving. We’ll split into 3 groups. Jimmy, you take these guys here, you move from behind the buildings over there, and you try to cover us. We will come from another direction. Nathan, you take these guys and move from that side. I know you know your target, and you are allowed to do whatever you have to do to take it out. I’ll with these guys here; we will use this snow as cover. We all know my target, and I know where I can get my best shot. Don’t take any chances I wouldn’t.”

He winked. It was time. Time to lead this group into battle. They had been ready for this day ever since they left the classrooms. This was it, the day they would become more than soldiers, they would become men. And so they marched. At 1400, they were all in position. Their target seemed to be making plans on their own. Tommy had done well to break away from conventional plans. Their foes were planning on making a move at 1500, and would try to meet them in the middle of the battlefield. Instead, they would be stuck in their barricades, pushed back away from their ammunition supply chain. Tommy was nervous, but he could not show that to his men. 1409, 1 minute before the cover fire started. Time seemed to slow down. Once this was over he would walk home proud. Tommy started breathing again; he had not noticed he was holding his breath. As oxygen started flowing in his body again, he realized that it was time. As if on cue, Jimmy started attacking the enemy, taking them by surprise and making it harder for them to reach their weapons. As this started, he guessed Nathan’s position, and slowly moved forward. He was looking for red. That was his target. Nathan’s would be wearing orange. Their enemy’s uniforms were anything but convenient in this snowy battlefield. Their enemy was surprised but not beaten. And so the battle started properly. The initial strike had been brutal, but the response was efficient. Their enemy was in their base, they had a huge tactical advantage. Tommy had counted on the initial shock to drive them back.

It worked, however their enemy responded by hiding in their fort like a turtle would in a shell. Tommy had hoped it would not come to that. He sent two messengers to tell the two groups to stop firing and try to circle around the back. If that did not work, they would have to rejoin with the main force in front of the impregnable fortress. As soon as the messengers left, Tommy motioned his group forward. They would try to trick their enemy into thinking the flanking groups had relocated in front. 1505, time was moving way too fast now. The damage to the enemy’s base was undeniable. But so many of his fellow soldiers’ uniforms were now darker due to the rapidly cooling fluid. And so, as the new plan was put in motion, Tommy was starting to take part in the fight properly. Tirelessly he took out targets. But his shots did not affect their determination, and the battle was brutal. Then their forces thinned. Too late, Tommy realized that their plan had been guessed by their cunning foes. He yelled his orders: “Fall back, FALL BACK!” But it was too late, he knew it. With one look to the tired faces around him, he said: “We make a last stand now. It’s almost sunset. We have to move now.”

It was almost 1600 when he led his soldiers in this last desperate assault. He was told not to do that by his mentors, but his plans were about to fail. He could not allow that to happen. As he rounded a corner however, he fell face to face with an enemy. He did not have time to react. However the enemy was shot from behind by Nathan, who had heard the shouts to fall back. Nathan however was also shot, by the orange uniformed enemy. Tommy reached down for the weapon he had dropped in shock. He aimed and let the shot go. He then ducked instinctively. The orange target missed him, but the shot went behind Tommy, and got Jimmy in the shoulder. Time slowed down again. Tommy looked at the battlefield, as the sun was setting down. The peaceful snowy field was now red. He could see all of his soldiers that had been hit. He would win, he had no choice. It was for honour. It was for liberty.

Swallowing his fears, Tommy made sure he was armed, and moved into their enemy’s base, through a hole that had appeared during the battle. He was not the only person left on the battlefield, but he felt alone in his mission. He turned a corner, saw an enemy, it wasn’t the red he was expecting, but he shot anyway. He kept moving. Kept making sure his weapon was in order. He then heard a voice com from behind: “That wasn’t the smartest thing you’ve done. I always knew you were dumb.” As the red enemy was getting ready to shoot him, they both heard a yell from outside the fort. They were both on the western wall, Tommy felt alone, but Jimmy was there, and with a loud shout, distracted the enemy, and shot. While his attack was dodged, Tommy’s foe counterattacked instinctively. Jimmy as hit in the forehead. There was no coming back from that. Tommy however used the distraction to do what he came to do. And so the shot left. Straight, powerful, precise. And nailed Tommy’s target on the nose as she was turning back to face him. Tears welled up in her eyes. “It’s not fair, you got me in the face, I’m telling mom!” Stacy Gwendolyn Smith, the enemy, was beaten. And so were the other kids’ sisters, cousins, and female friends. Tommy had done it, his older sister was now crying. “Don’t think you’ll get away with this. Santa won’t give you any presents this year.”

Tommy went down to meet with Jimmy, who was red in the face. “That’ll show the 6th graders. A bunch of seven year olds can win the battle.” He helped Jimmy up, and they both walked home in time for supper. Tomorrow they would wake up to unwrap their Christmas presents as children, but tonight, they were men.