Back straight, head up, hands behind my back, right over left. I reminded myself the stance I needed to do in the army line. Each foot in orderly timing. Men watched me carefully, as if the instructions were coming out of my mouth. A sigh left the lips of my mouth, watching as Ark approached me, with a straightforward gaze, serious and straight. I held myself down to him, in the thought of him being more superior then I was since he was chief. But he is only one year older.... The thought made me stare into his dark brown eyes. They were beautiful. Amazingly beautiful. Those eyes reminded me of my father's hazel gaze.
A tear rolled down my cheek as the memory of the door slamming as my dad left the house. Later, news was heard that he was found dead with a gunshot through his forehead. There was nothing that could be done. It was a terrible ordeal for me and my mom. I was sent off to the military to fight and get enough money for a roof to be over my parents heads. Nobody understood that. If it was death that would bring peace, then I would die fighting, protecting Italia. It was simple as that.
        My mind snapped back to reality once I heard orders being called. All I wanted to do was to roll my eyes, but I knew they would put me to shame. I listened as intently as I could as Marsellie's words rang loud and clear all throughout the line. "When I call your name step forward." That's when everyone got quiet, and waiting. Names were called within seconds and my head snapped when I heard the name being called. My feet stepped in equal timing as I went forward, and the woman stared down at me, silencing the people in line with a raised hand.
"Bella. You have served long and hard. Through war after war. Are you sure you want to continue in the army? Or do you want to join the veterans to live a better life?" Her gaze was unwavering, almost scaring the living daylights out of me. Something flashed in her eyes.
Is that concern? I shook my head, then straightened. "I am sure chief." Marsellie gave a nod, her lips pressed together tightly, and then continued calling on. Ark ran over to me with worry and pride flashing through his gaze and as he approached me, he slapped me across the back.
No words came out of my mouth, only a grunt left my mouth.
"The time has come." Marsellie glanced back down at me, and I stared back at her, my gloved hands balled tightly into a fist. "We are going to war."

The battlefield was a disaster. Bombs were going off in all directions and guns could be heard across from across the field. Many men yelled, but for me, it was natural. The butt of my gun was held tightly between my fingers, while a dagger was stiffly held in the belt of my pants. And we were off. Man for his own wits. I ran across the battlefield finding a spot for protection other then my bullet proof vest. Another bomb went off, sending rocks flying down the mountain. Large, humongous, boulders. I stood terrified, frozen as I noticed one of them was coming for me. Then my vision shot from one angle to another as I was tackled out of the way.
           "Don't stand around like that! You'll get yourself killed!" The voice I recognized. It was Ark. I looked up to see has hazel gaze staring down at me with a worried glaze. "Are you hurt?"
           "N-No. Not at all." I stuttered, not leaving his gaze, and pushed him off lightly by the shoulders. His hands reached to clean my face, but I backed away, shaking dust from my face. A man with a large dagger came into view behind Ark, and a shot out a bullet, and the man fell. Ark's eyes grew wide as he saw the gun pointed close to his ear, but I pulled it down.
          "I better be off no." His hands waved in the air. "I can't keep the army waiting."
           I gave a curt nod, and watched as he left. Something made me twitch, and then came a loud bang. What wa- before I was even facing the sound, I was sent flying backwards, and my head snapped the ground.

My eyes opened to the sound of sirens going off, and I groaned, gripping my head as I sat up, and squinted. Dust was everywhere. In the air, my eyes, my lungs. I blinked my eyes, adjusting to the dusty terrain and that's when I saw it. Giada was sprawled against the ground, her foot missing, and she was bleeding out. My feet stumbled as I attempted to get up, and scrambled over to her, my leg seeming to be broken. As I approached, Giada groaned and looked up at me. I did not like seeing her like this. I never liked seeing my friends terribly hurt. My head eched with pain, but I put my best effort as I knelt down, slinging the young lady over my back.
         Her complaints made my head hurt terrible, and the terrible pain in my leg grew worse with every step. Then the sound of whistling startled me, and I turned to notice a guy with a shotgun in his hands. My muscles tensed as I noticed more men were beginning to surround me. It began to sink in that they wanted to capture us. 
              "Put down your weapon and the woman, and we won't shoot." The man pointed the gun toward mine, and motioned for them to stand down. I slowly put down the gun and Giada, worried not only for my safety but also for hers, so I kept a sharp eye on the guy in front of me.
         What I did not notice was the guy with a long dagger approaching me slowly, then with a quick movement he stabbed my through the back of my chest, going through the front. My eyes suddenly grew wide, and as the guy took it out, the collar of my shirt covered the deep wound, and I gripped my hand tightly over the wound. Gunshots fired through the air, blaring out at the men, and each one fell, one by one.
        Within seconds Ark was in front of me once again, his gaze frantic and filled with fear. "Bella, are you ok?"
         My face went from pain stricken to a quirky smile, for the first time in years and looked up at him. "We had a great time together.... Didn't we?" Words left my mouth, deep and hoarse, and he looked at me even more dumbfounded.
         "Yes of course we did. Why would I say no? I love you Bella."
          Before I could speak, my legs buckled beneath me, and I fell forward. Ark stuck out an arm, catching me, and laid my carefully against the ground. "Bella?" He shook my shoulders lightly, and my hand fell away from the wound, leaving the wound to be seen in plain sight. "Hey! Marsellie! We need help!" His gaze faltered to the young woman before looking back at my eyes.
         "Bella please...." He cried. "Was it one of those men who hurt you?"
           "Yes..." The words came out as a wheeze, and darkness began to edge my vision. The words of a young girl rang through my head and I could hear the rapidly declining heartbeat. She said mommy and pappy, but I said Ark. "I love you... Ark...." Then the sound of the beeping machine began to let off a long, single beep, and the battlefield turned dark. It felt like a water poured over me, leaving me painless and in a feeling of calm, waking up in a hospital.

Authors note: Please comment what you guys think about this chapter! Thank you children and adults ☺️