“Soldiers, pay attention and stop moaning while you're at it.   We are two miles offshore, near where the biggest seaborne assault ever known by humanity has begun to take place," the sergeant said above the roaring wind and the crashing waves.  “I would like to wish you very well and remind everyone that all of us are fighting for our nation and the 31,595,001 victims of the Nazis. That many people will never see their families again—that is far too much. It remains unacceptable. I wish you well and urge you to follow this plan diligently. Let's go kill some Nazis as well!”

         The mere notion of killing someone caused my entire body to tremble violently. Nevertheless, I embraced the truth that I would kill to not be killed. Then my only friend in the whole  training camp said, "Hey man, I just want to say it was great being with you, you know.  We ain't going to make it; you must know that the chief is just spouting some random crap," he added.

       “Well, I guess I will see you on the other side," I replied shakily.

       The people at the front of the line glanced back at us, and the look on their faces mirrored what Cooper just said: they knew they were going to die.

       I felt the pounding of my heart and felt the color draining out of my face as a sea of bullets ripped through the front half of the boats. Shouts of agony rang in the air. I stumbled through the crowd of dead soldiers, and as I got out of the boat safely, I realized the water had turned red from all the gore and blood as it oozed out of the side of the boat, leaving me in despair at how many losses I just witnessed. 

       A mysterious feeling arose in me as I scanned around for Cooper, realizing he was nowhere to be found. A gurtling scream escaped my mouth as I sprinted over to the bocage, only to realize there was more land. I quickly looked around as I saw a person drive an armored vehicle with a crazy look gleaming in his eyes. I looked in his truck and saw his dog tag glimmer, reading Michel Kavanaugh. I looked giddily at the side of his tiger tank; it said dumpster truck, as if we were trash. But my humor quickly dispersed with realization. I saw Cooper down with a few soldiers, and the rear of the truck started up and started zooming towards Cooper and the soldiers with admirable speed. Time seemed to stop as my heartbeat slowed. "He’s going to kill Cooper with his truck!"

 

       I crouched behind a flat rock as I glanced back because the constant boom of mortars raining down on the beaches made me flinch, blowing bodies up into the sky, thousands and thousands of dead bodies, then littered across the floor.

       I let out a ballistic scream of rage, and my instincts snapped into place. I reached over to my side for my gun and forced myself to steel my nerves. To take the shot, wondering why this has to happen to anyone, watching their friends die and possibly dying themselves. 

       Just then, the air stiffened with dread and death—the hum of motors and the crashing of boats; the boom of projectiles being thrown around. The comforting, lush breeze, which was the only calm thing in this damn world right now. As I zoned back in and focused my sight on the horrifying truth that Cooper was going to die, I wanted to cry, not just for my friend but for the thousands and thousands of others.

        This coastline had endured an excessive amount of tragedies. The rifle fell as my shoulder smacked into the ground, but my sight clicked while it responded to the unexpected jolts of motion. Cooper and the soldiers were now excessively close to the vehicle for Cooper to be diverted from harm, but I had to hope. My face started to get extremely hot. I lined up the shot and grimaced as I curved my finger toward the trigger and fired, the force of the recoil kicking back towards my face, yet just as I had hoped, the shot struck him center in the forehead, causing blood to continually gush out of his head, and the look of horror in his eyes that had been previously brimming with joy to continue stripping away lives and operating enthusiastically was no longer present. Then his body started to slump over. I let out a whoop of momentary happiness, which again instantly burst as I realized the truck was still moving. Their screams of agony rang out, but the one who was the loudest was funny, smart, ignorant Cooper, the crushing of his bones ringing loudly in my ear. I just sat on top of the hill.

       Uselessly and horrified at the sight, wondering if it was all my fault (after all, I was the reason he signed up),  I quickly scrambled at the sight of dead bodies scattered around. I began to pound my hands against the ground as I vaguely felt tears beginning to stream down my face. 

       At this point, I totally lost it. My breath became ragged and unsteady. My heart started racing so fast, and I started to rip at my shirt where my heart was. I made an attempt to will my heart to go to him, praying that I would pass away instead of him. I narrowly escaped being hit by a gunshot. I instantly fled for shelter, still fuming and determined to impose retribution on the people who murdered my pal. I dashed towards the freshly destroyed tiger tank, which was now a burning ruin; careful not to get burned, I ducked behind it. And then, after a brief pause, I began to rush in the direction of the dreadful number of Nazis in gray uniforms who were slaughtering several groups of troops. I started firing at the Nazis right away without stopping, and I ultimately managed to kill all of them. I ran towards the Nazi fort while continuing to feel adrenaline flooding through me. I grabbed a grenade while sprinting and hurled it into the fort, destroying the Nazis in the blast's vicinity.

       The Germans tried to defend their fort for several hours, but eventually the remaining allies and I took the fort and forced the Nazis to retreat with terror boosting them. I started to bend my legs out to run after the nearest Nazi, filled with grief and fully aware that I would never have more moments with my amazing friend. 

       As I was about to start, a comforting hand lay on my shoulder, forcefully holding me in place. Turning slowly, I realized who was stopping me from achieving my revenge; my oh-so-lovely sergeant, who not that long ago was the most scary person I had ever met, said, "The fort has been cleared out. We survived this part, but we have a long road ahead of us, so we need you alive for it, and pointlessly charging into the enemy's hands would not be what Cooper wants for you."

       I sighed, knowing that it would be futile to fight, but swearing to avenge all those who harmed Cooper, while I observed the Nazis escape into the first rays of sunlight. I abruptly comprehend that my fight hadn't been only for my own survival, nevertheless for Cooper and all of those who perished who were wrongfully deprived of the chance to spend time with their loved ones due to the Germans' tyranny.

-Colin C.