Hell Come To Earth

When I stood I could feel blood running down the sides of my head. I could feel heat against my skin. Everywhere I looked fire was climbing to the sky and the ground under it melting to glass. Another set of planes flew over with water dumping it over us and putting out the fires.

The radio came to life. "Is anyone near the city still alive?"

I cleared my throat and responded. "I'm still alive and-" I trailed off and started to look around. "I'd say half the men that was in the trench with me."

Some of them had been charred or half charred by the fire. It was a terrible sight, but the sight wasn't any worse than the smell. The smell of burned flesh will never leave my nose I think.

"Go check the streets and make sure everyone is dead." The orders came from another man I had never talked to in my life.

We made for the streets. Those that had survived the fighting and the bombs. We could hear men screaming and for every scream we had to put them down with bullets due to the injuries being too much for them to survive. Those we could save got taken to a doctor and then prison.

"I feel sorry for anyone who didn't die in the bombing. They will either die in prison, or they will go home never to be the same after the area is taken from their army." It was a statement more to myself but behind me some grunted in agreement.

Clearing the streets took five hours, and then came clearing the buildings which took another ten. We lost twelve men to a building collapsing from how damaged it was. What was the killer for most men was the fact that some of the buildings had women and children present when the bombs came down, and the windows busted out from the impact letting the fire in killing them right away.

That was something that killed me inside also, but we didn't have the ability to go home no matter what. We only go home if we are hurt too bad or killed. It was a fate we all knew was coming when we signed up for the war in the first place.

"The city is now declared all clear."

That meant that it was cleared of any fighting men and will house our command forces. That was when they started to tally up our losses. They said we lost around ten thousand before the bombs and twelve thousand if you count those who died after the bomb dropped.

That was terrible news. We started this campaign with thirty thousand men. How have we lost half of our troops already. I hope that this war will be over soon, and I hope that it won't end the same way as all the other global conquests have in the past. My god have mercy on us all when this is all over.