“Where is your officer?” The Union sergeant parroted the question.

“Off hand, I’d say your lieutenant ran like a frightened child and my major,” Anders arched his eyebrows. “Is chasing him down. It’s a safe bet your lieutenant will never survive this day.”

“So you say,” the sergeant retorted.

“If you do not surrender and pledge to never fight a prisoner again, you will never survive this day, either.” Anders added grimly.

The two men stared at each other, both honest in their assessment of the situation and their intent; stalemated by their beliefs.

“Why do you want to kill all of us?” Anders spoke out of genuine curiosity. “A handful of prisoners left out of the five thousand there were a few months ago. How much death will satisfy you?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“That’s not what this is about,” the sergeant said brusquely. “We have orders.”

“You follow all orders even if they go against common sense and decency? All we wanted to do was live. We had given up the fight, but you still want to kill us. What did you expect us to do? Die quietly?”

“You Rebels want to destroy everything,” the sergeant shouted angrily, “our countries, our homes, and our lives. We did not start this war, but we’ll damn well end it.”

“No high talk of slave’s rights?” Anders’ offense hidden. “No talk of national unity. All I hear is fear of an unknown future. Up here there was no war, there is hardly any hardship but go south and see how many cities lay destroyed, how many dead women and children lay unburied. I’m sick of men like you who only think with anger and hate; who embrace fear as if it were a long-lost friend. You Union bastards don’t even understand you have already destroyed everything we held dear.”

“Not yet,” the sergeant promised.