The training camp was already alive before sunrise. Commands rang across the field, boots struck packed dirt, and distant gunfire echoed in controlled bursts, practiced but never comforting. The air felt tense, like it was waiting for something worse.
Today was supposed to be just another day of training. At least, that’s what they told themselves.
Shawn sat on a crate near the tents, notebook open in his lap. His pen moved quickly, capturing sounds, movements, fragments of conversation, anything that made this feel like study instead of survival.
“Are you seriously writing all this down?” Jasper called, adjusting his gear.
“Yeah. For when we get out,” Shawn replied. “Gonna turn it into something big.”
Jasper snorted. “Just don’t make me look weak.”
“No promises,” Shawn smirked. “I’ll exaggerate everything.”
“Wow. Fake news already.”
Nearby, Reuben turned a rifle over in his hands, studying it carefully. “Do you even know how this works?” he muttered. “The way it’s built… it’s incredible.”
“You gonna marry it?” Jasper teased.
“Duhhh,” Reuben shot back with a grin.
A sharp whistle cut through the air. Everyone flinched.
Training intensified. Commands came faster, sharper. Mistakes were corrected instantly, sometimes painfully. The joking faded, replaced by a silence that grew heavier by the hour.
At the center stood General Waffe, Reuben’s father.
He rarely raised his voice. He didn’t need to. His presence alone tightened the air. Tall, precise, unreadable, he moved through the ranks like everything revolved around him.
“Again,” he said calmly. “Slow thinking gets you killed. Move.”
Reuben stiffened whenever he passed. The curiosity in his eyes vanished, replaced by something rigid. He didn’t joke. Didn’t linger.
But sometimes, something slipped.
During inspection, General Waffe paused beside them. “Stay with your group,” he said quietly. “Watch out for each other.”
A beat.
Then softer, “Please.”
Later, he raised his bugle.
Tooooot! Tooooot!
The camp snapped to attention.
“Men,” he called, “the time has come. We march to the fort and defend our country with our lives.”
Everything moved at once. Gear tightened. Lines formed. The air shifted from training to something final.
They climbed into trucks as engines roared to life, dust rising in thick clouds. The convoy rolled toward the fort.
General Waffe kept glancing at Reuben along the way, long quiet looks that never became words.
At the fort, they were assigned positions. Reuben and Jasper took the entrance. Shawn climbed into a lookout tower.
From above, he wrote constantly.
“Finally I can see everything…” he muttered. “Why is Jasper carrying Reuben again? ”
He laughed softly.
The view was almost beautiful: green slopes, distant ridges, smoke drifting lazily. “Never noticed how nice this place looks,” he wrote. “If it weren’t for the war…”
A low mechanical roar rolled across the sky.
Shawn frowned. “That’s… not right.”
Down the mountain road, dark vehicles surged forward, fast, tight formations kicking up dust. Doors flew open mid-motion.
French soldiers poured out, spreading quickly. But instead of advancing, many pointed upward.
A massive zeppelin emerged from the clouds.
It drifted across the sky like a floating fortress.
Fear rippled through the defenders. Voices wavered. Orders tangled.
Shawn ran to the bell tower and yanked the rope. The alarm rang across the hills.
Below, General Waffe shouted commands, trying to stabilize the lines. Jasper rolled his shoulders, forcing confidence. Reuben froze, gripping his rifle.
The zeppelin opened.
A deep mechanical groan echoed above.
“Incoming! ” Shawn shouted.
The first bomb fell.
It struck beyond the ridge. The ground shook violently. Another followed, closer. Then another.
Panic broke.
“Hold positions! ” General Waffe shouted. “Do not—”
Another explosion cut him off.
Jasper grabbed Reuben. “Move! ”
Reuben didn’t. He was staring upward, frozen.
A blast hit near the lookout tower. The wood cracked. The structure tilted, groaned, and collapsed.
“REUBEN!” Jasper lunged.
The tower came down in splinters and smoke.
French forces surged through the broken perimeter. Formations dissolved. The fort was no longer defended. It was falling apart.
Shawn climbed downstairs, heart pounding.
Below, Reuben lay trapped under debris.
Jasper was already there, digging frantically. “Reuben! Hold on!”
General Waffe tried to reach them, but the battlefield split him off.
“I’M COMING!” Shawn shouted.
Gunfire tightened around them.
Jasper strained against a heavy beam. “Someone… HELP!”
No one came.
Reuben watched him, helpless.
Jasper forced a shaky grin. “Stay steel for me, alright?”
Then he pushed with everything he had.
“MOVE!”
Reuben pulled free.
The beam dropped.
A faint metallic click sounded behind them.
They turned.
Reuben caught the glint of a gun just before Jasper could react.
Instinct kicked in. Jasper lunged for his rifle and brought it up to aim.
A shot rang out.
Jasper staggered, the impact hitting his gut before he understood what happened. His breath caught. The world tilted.
He collapsed.
Reuben fired, but the shooter was already gone.
Shawn froze. His notebook slipped from his hands, pages scattering in the wind. He saw everything, but couldn’t react.
“Fall back!” General Waffe shouted. “Secondary positions!”
The fort dissolved into retreat.
Reuben knelt beside Jasper. “You said to stay steel…”
No answer.
Shawn reached them, silent.
General Waffe stepped behind them. “Go,” he said quietly.
Another whistle screamed overhead.
Shawn grabbed Reuben. “We have to move.”
Reuben hesitated.
Then he picked up Jasper’s bandana.
They disappeared into the smoke as the fort fell behind them.
Hours later, the war was over.
Shawn and Reuben prepared for transport. The ground was littered with bodies, enemies and comrades indistinguishable. All that remained was silence and sorrow.
They climbed into a jeep and sat without speaking.
Shawn pulled out his pen. His hand trembled as he wrote:
“I know Jasper wanted me to make him look good in my paper, but… how can I make him look good when all that’s left of him is a rotting body?”
About the Author
Jayden Caparas is a 15-year-old student from the Philippines currently in Grade 10. He is passionate about football, debate, and chess, and he thrives on challenges that encourage both critical and creative thinking. Whether strategizing on the field or during a debate round, Jayden enjoys testing his limits and discovering new ways to improve.
He has always loved communicating with others, whether through direct conversation or by expressing his thoughts through writing. In the future, Jayden hopes to become a lawyer or a politician so he can use his communication skills to help others while building a successful and meaningful career.