it wasn’t very often that dave lost his cool -- especially not on the battlefield, and especially not around the other men. they’d just come out of a skirmish : heart in your throat as you walk, each step praying you’d not step in a place you shouldn’t. the sound of gunshots already made him jolt a little, but a grenade being tossed from the other side was the worst of it, something that had skittered past his leg and which made him, and the men around him, fly forward to miss. the explosion was deafening, but it was a scream he most wanted to drown out.
a strategic retreat : camp out the night and wait. the cicadas chirping in the summer heat, sweat on everyone’s dirty faces, the stars bright lamps looking down on the evil of war ... klaus found dave sitting at the base of a tree, weapon tucked between his knees, shaking. “ ... i can’t stop shaking. “ he said with a breathless laugh, looking up at klaus, on the brink of letting nerves get the best of him. “ why can’t i stop shaking? “
@fourthmedium.















