Ultraground War - Personal Essay

“Rapid Heartbeats.Cold Sweat.Quick and Short Breaths.These Three things are all I feel now. I close my eyes for a moment, try to get myself together, but I just can't. My body is shaking uncontrollably like it's cursed. Everything is so confusing, like the world is collapsing right in front of my eyes, and I just stand there, completely shocked, unable to act.

Crisis is all around me. Explosions shake the ground over and over. Screams, yells and pain cries beat at my eardrums. The smell of smoke and gunpowder is filling my nose and spinning my head. Dark figures pass before my blurry sight, running around to an unknown destination. My feet are barely holding me, and I grab hold of the remains of a nearby wall to keep my balance. I raise my head again and rub my eyes in an attempt to clear my vision, but it's no use. My feet finally give up and I slide from the destroyed wall and drop on the ground, leaning back and looking up to the sky. Any other day, those perfect-blue skies would be the sign of a beautiful day for a stroll in the gardens of the glorious castle that once stood here. But not today. The castle is gone, together with the rest of the city, and the remaining forces of the royal defense army were gathering on this very hill, the highest point that views every location in the surrounding areas. They have pinpointed us here for hours. They were greater in numbers, firepower and morale, while all we had left is just dead bodies and wounded soldiers, faintly crying for help that will never come. Earlier on today came a wounded messenger to us, with grim news telling the queen and the royals were taken captive. By now they are probably all dead - our enemies weren't famous for their merciful ways...

I try to take another breath but then feel a sharp pain near my stomach. I look down to my chest and find a large and sharp piece of glass stuck right below my heart. Blood was still flowing from the wound. That thing probably made a hole in my lung. I take a shallow breath, trying to supply myself with air without the unbearable pain from my wounded lung, but even the smallest of breaths are so painful I feel like I am splat in two.

I raise my eyes to the sky again. Is this how I'm going to die? Badly wounded, on a desperate battle to try and stop a much worthier enemy from taking the only things we have. This is not what I was thinking of. Not how I thought it will end. I hoped for something else. Maybe a glorious death on a legendary