Then And Back Again

[F2d5thCav]

Harold was confused and blinked his eyes.  Across the valley and over the far ridge, the horizon was dotted with many, many bright lights that grew and suddenly extinguished.

And then what seemed like an endless roar washed over him.  Sharp blasts, mixed with what sounded like a thousand freight trains passing overhead gave stunning accompaniment to the distant flashes of light.  Staring wide eyed in horror, he realized it was artillery fire.  German artillery fire.  Behind him, the artillery fire was pounding the reverse slope of the ridge with shattering strikes.  He could hear nothing but the sound of the explosions, which was then complemented by an awful screeching.   Trails of fire rose from the distant ridge, sharply arced, and then fell to the area behind Harold.  More huge explosions.  At this point, he comprehended nothing but light and noise ... endless, deafening noise.  The continual blasts made it almost impossible to think.

For one lucid moment, he stared down into the valley.  The valley's floor was sporadically light by the explosions, and he glimpsed movement.  His eyes, already bulging, grew larger when he realized the movement was that of hundreds of men.  The Volksgrenadiere were boldly advancing, urged forward by "old veterans" who had survived the bloodbath of the late summer and autumn.

They're coming!

Not thinking but operating solely on instinct and training, Harold raised his rifle in the air.  Have to warn the others, he thought, without realizing how absurd that idea was given the barrage that seemed to be flattening everything to his rear.  Pulling the trigger, he squeezed off a single shot.

~ ☼ ~