The afternoon sun shone on Ernest's back as he stood on tiptoe to peek over the wall of the trench. All men had been warned not to look over, despite their natural inclination to do so. Even if there was no attack at the moment, a random sniper shot could result in the death of a soldier on his first day of duty. “Johnson!” Ernest quickly went back down into the trench. He turned to the sergeant behind him. “Do you want to be killed, soldier?” » The sergeant barked. “No sir!” Ernest responded hurriedly. He crouched in the trench as the sergeant left him. He looked at the trench. To his left were several other soldiers, some asleep, waiting to be awakened by the sound of gunfire, others crouched uncomfortably, awaiting orders. To his right, the soldiers currently on pumping duty were working hard to keep the water in the trench free. However, this hardly worked, as the floor of the trench was almost completely covered in mud, with a few solid spots. He dozed for a second looking at the trench, then looked away. If he hadn't gotten used to the smell of the trench, he wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything. The distant smell of toxic gas from the night before, the smell of rotting sandbags and stagnant mud, the smell of dirty clothes that hadn't been cleaned in months, and the smell of reminiscent food breakfast, it all combined to create the worst smell possible. . The new soldiers in the trenches were traumatized. He turned to the soldier next to him. “I wish something would happen just to get this over with,” Ernest said. “Did you see anything when you looked up?” » » asked the soldier. “The fog was too thick, but it may have cleared now.” he replied. "I'll check," the soldier murmured, looking around... in the middle of a paper...... placed on the step. After about an hour of monitoring the movements, his tired body began to sag. He tried to stay awake, but couldn't resist the urge and fell asleep. He was soon awakened by the sight of the furious sergeant. No one needed to say a word, he knew what was coming as he was led to an empty area behind the trenches. "Sorry, private, I'm just following orders." » declared the sergeant as Ernest was tied tightly to a lone tree. He couldn't help but think of all the other soldiers who had died at the hands of their own leaders in this very place. Three soldiers stood nearby and ordered him to be shot. He held his breath, waiting. Gunshots rang out as his body collapsed onto the rope. A pool of blood quickly gathered at his feet as a soldier untied him and buried him in a shallow grave. His blood slowly seeped into the ground as the soldiers returned to their posts..