The Great War

[MyLittleHellhound]

"Line! Form a line you maggots!" the officer cried, shoving the troops into a ragged line. The weary young men forced to fight lined up grudgingly. Some had volunteered, whilst others had been forced. Either way, they were all stuck out in the muddy rain of the Somme fighting the French and British while their officers lounged in classy rooftop clubs. And all for what? Honor? Most German soldiers knew by now, that was a crock of shit.

The soldiers adjusted their helmets on top of their dirty hair, staying below the trench line. Any moment now, an artillery barrage would come in and blast the already cratered ground. Barrage, attack, die. Repeat.

The shells never came though. Men cringed, waiting for the deadly whistling, then straightened as they realized . . . it would have been raining shrapnel by now. Muttering 17 year old boys peeked their heads over the trench, looking for a moving shape in the No Man's Land. The fog was thick, so thick they couldn't see the other trench line. Suddenly, there was movement.

"Sie kommen! Bereit Ihre Gewehre!" the commander shouted.

They're coming! Ready your guns!

The troops shivered as their cold hands checked cartridges and fixed bayonets. This was it, the moment. Down the line, thousands of troops readied their rifles and poked them over the ridge. There were many more of the shapes now, a terrible amount of them.

"Feuer!" the officer shouted. Huge artillery behind the lines boomed, rocking back on wheels in the mud as the shells sailed towards the Allied trench line. They shrieked and exploded, blowing plumes of dirt into the sky along with body parts and equipment. Ammunition went off like firecrackers, a crack crack crack crack that punctuated the light patter of rain. The Germans cheered, aiming down their sights as the shapes came closer and closer. Strange, they weren't carrying any rifles? The machine guns opened up, a heavy thud which raked the figures. They twitched and tumbled, limbs torn away into the mist. But that was the only sound. No screaming, yelling, whistling. No blood. The Germans, despite this strange phenomenon, fired anyway. POW POW POW POW The rifles cracked and smoke rose into the sky as the infantry fired, again and again at the now evident humans. Or were they? Again, some figures fell and again, some kept on coming. The officers were starting to panic now. The machine guns were still firing away, the heavy thud thud thud thud thud thud mowing down dozens, hundreds of them. And then it broke.

A grizzled soldier with a bandage covering his forhead yelled. "Sie wissen nicht bluten! Wir können nicht töten!"

They do not bleed! We can not kill them!

The rest of the soldiers panicked, burning through their cartridges faster than ever. Artillery pounded the ground in front to a muddy pulp, and the figures with it. Arms landed in the trenches, legs soared in the sky, and heads rolled in the mud. Yet the figures still came.

"Untoten! Untoten!" the soldiers cried, throwing away their guns. The officers growled adn shot the men, causing the rest to fear even more. They broke, climbing over each other to get out, get out of this hell hole, and out of the war. The officers yelled, and finally the figures emerged within sight of the trenches. Their shambling bodies were covered in tattered British and French gear, but their eyes . . . their eyes were a bright yellow. The commanders gulped and fired their pistols at the ever nearer creatures. Rounds punched through flesh, but it didn't make a difference. Soon, zombies were crawling into the trenches, surrounding the men who hadn't managed to get out. Some shot themselves, others huddled amongst their dead comrades. The zombies didn't care. They feasted upon the flesh of the Germans, ripping through poor and sodden equipment to get at their hearts beneath. Blood stained the water red, and bones stuck out of the mud like grotesque markers. One of the German soldiers tried to climb out, but it was too slippery. His comrade grabbed his hand as the zombie behind him ripped off his leg with a crunch. The man screamed and let go, falling back into the trench as dozens fell upon his vulnerable body. In mere seconds, the entire German line had fallen back, leaving behind hundreds of dead. The ragged German forces stumbled through the mud, blasted trees, and rain, just trying to get away from the creatures. Many killed themselves after getting away, while others sank into the mud and disappeared forever. The panicking forces managed to get through to the next trench, the people who hadn't seen what the commotion was all about.

Millions of them crawled out of their trenches, knowing that guns wouldn't stop the beasts. What could? Artillery didn't even affect them. The desperate army did the only thing they could, fix bayonets. Millions charged and collided with the undead. Screams echoed in the air as Germans were brought down. Zombies shrieked as bayonets punctured their brains and dropped them. It was a bloodbath in seconds. Men lay dying on the ground, missing body parts. Zombies crumpled in the mud, bayonets sticking through their heads and chests. Yet the undead still came. The stream was now a river as the Germans spilled blood, like a beacon for flesh-eating creatures. They had no limits. No matter how many necks they bit, no matter how many limbs they consumed, they would never stop. At any cost. Already, the millions of Germans were numbered to the thousands. German Command was panicking. Soon, the beasts would reach Berlin, and the war and their lives would be over. They ordered millions of explosives to be dropped, shelled, and otherwise detonated on the approaching wave of undead. Thousands of artillery formed a wall and fired shell upon shell for 5 days straight, never stopping. The zombies were obliterated, punctured, and wiped from existence as the artillery pounded them again and again. The last shell fired, a booming explosion that perhaps would signal the end of the zombie epidemic approaching Germany. Recon planes flew overhead, unable to see because of all the smoke. But nothing could survive that. Nothing in the world at the time would be able to withstand a direct artillery shelling for 5 days straight. Finally, the smoke cleared. German Command crossed their fingers. They had virtually no troops left, and no ammunition for the artillery or the troops that remained to defend the country. To their horror, millions of zombies shambled across the fields that was Saschen Anhalt. They crawled and dragged themselves along the ground, overcoming every obstacle. The artillery had in fact decimated many, but the dead troops were now reanimating as well into fresh reinforcements for the horde. It was all over. Hours later, the first zombies stumbled into Berlin, consuming and overtaking the screaming, and utterly futile resistance of the German army and the world . . .

[darkflareon]

This is great I really enjoyed this. it has great suspention building and you can really feel the fear eminating from the troops. I really like how this is written and wish there was more to read

-Flareon

[Shooter]

[brains]

AWSOME stuff here MLH, just awesome.

The description you emphasize is just phenominal.

What a brutal ending as well....I loved it!

[MyLittleHellhound]

Thank you very much flareon, this means a lot to me. Also, these are the kind of things I write "on the spot." This, probably because I was learning about WW1 at the time in History (Summer course) so I guess that is what spawned this!

Looking forward to your part of the collab story, I've already proofread/previewed Jolteon's and it's very nicely done. ;)

[darkflareon]

For an on the spot write this is very well planned. Its great that outside learning can lead to this kind of writing.

I'm sure that if given more time this could be a mer introduction to an epic story

Oh and you shall have to wait untill the story hits the forum for my part =P

-Flareon