Chapter 7. Overburden

Finns ears were ringing from the sound of the constant

artillery barrages and nearby explosions. He lent over

the unconscious officer to shelter him from the rain of

mud and dirt.

"I'm not sure where we are." Winston said.

Finn looked around. "Our luck is going to run out if we

stay in the open much longer."

Winston pointed behind them. "We'll get into that trench

line and find a way back."

Finn grimaced. It would give them cover, but walking a

a loaded stretcher back through the tight corners of the

trench was going to be a tough ask.

With the stretchered soldier between them, Finn and

Winston slid down a large shell crater into the trench.

"How big was the explosion that breeched this?" Finn said.

Winston changed his grip on the stretcher handles.

"I don't want to find out."

From the safety of the empty trench Finn heard the

barrages getting heavier. They walked on in cold ankle deep

water till their calves ached, then they stopped and rested the

stretcher on the dry fire step of a trench wall.

Winston stretched. "It's a good thing that old mate here

isn't one of those fat bastard officer types."

Finn laughed. "I reckon we're still an hour out."

"Swap ends." Winston said. "I'll go first for awhile."

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The abandoned trench was part of a larger system. When

they got to a junction, Winston stopped and looked around

the corner to see if it was clear. "Fuck me."

He turned to Finn ashen faced. "There's a problem up ahead

and we can't go back the way we came."

Finn angled the stretcher around the corner and saw what

Winston was looking at - the trench was blocked wall to wall with

the bodies of dead soldiers. Most were still standing upright

wedged together.

The closest were crouched over or lying on top of each other.

"We've got go over the top of them." Winston said.

Holding the stretcher with his back to Finn, Winston began

to climb. Finn felt flesh sliding away from bones as he

stepped on the bodies.

He heard rib cages and small bones breaking as he

followed Winston. At the top Winston stumbled and pulled

Finn forward. Finn fell to his knees amongst the dead soldiers,

and pushed off a rotting blackened face to regain his feet.

When they cleared the trench and were walking on flat ground

Winston turned, "You alright?"

''That was complete shit." Finn said.

"Yes it was." Winston replied.

They walked on carrying the stretcher in silence.

*

"Did you hear that?"

Winston stopped. "I thought I was imagining it."

"Someone's singing the Psalms." Finn said.

As they put the stretcher down, the wounded officer started

to stir. Finn checked his splinted leg and bandages.

"Sounds like he might be in those shell craters over there.

Go have a look Finn, but you make sure you call out before

you get there."

The Captain regained consciousness. ''What's going on?"

''We're looking for a lad."

"Leave him." the Captain said abruptly.

"What?" Finn said.

"I said leave him."

"Why would we do that." Winston said.

"Because I'm telling you to, that's why."

Winston said nothing.

"Did you hear me? I'm giving you a direct order. Leave

whoever is out there and get me back to the lines."

Winston looked at Finn. "Go look for our Psalm singer,

this will be on me."

Finn made his way towards the cluster of shell craters.

"It's going to be on both of you." the Captain said.

Winston stared at him. "Have you ever had to depend on the

man next to you before? I was a coal miner, my Father and my

Uncles are still working in the coal mines to support the War."

The Captain sneered. "Is that the defence your going to use

at your court marshal - that your poor and uneducated."

Winston resisted the urge to kick him in the face. "Maybe I am,

but I know what the difference between right and wrong is."

The Captain started to un-holster his side arm.

"I couldn't care less about the working class shit hole you

crawled out of. The penalty for the wilful defiance of military

authority in the face of the enemy, is death."

"I agree," said Winston, "but that would depend on who you

think the enemy is."

*

Finn had reached the first crater and found it empty, when he

heard the gunshot. Alert to the possibility of surprise attacks,

anxious soldiers on both sides immediately returned fire at an

imagined threat.

Finn slid lower in the crater as the air above him became a

storm of undirected gunfire. Bullets splashed and sizzled

on the muddy rim of the crater. After a few minutes

the gunfire slowed, then stopped just as quickly as it had began.

Finn called out to Winston and got no reply.

Keeping low he crawled out of the crater and started to run.

He could see that the Captain was off the stretcher and lying

face down in the mud of a wheel rut. Winston had his

knee on the back of his head.

In the Captain's outstretched hand was a gun.

Finn called out again. Winston didn't look up or answer.

As he got closer Finn saw there was blood on the side of

Winston's face and in his hair. There was at least one wound

in his back that was starting to bleed.

"Hang on Winston."

*