We March On

We know not where we go, only that we were told to do so. We do not speak, just listen. There are no birds singing in this forest. Even the wind is silent. Maybe it is listening also, to the steady thump of a thousand boots hitting the earth in tandem and the intermittent clang of steel hitting steel. Three by three we march, drumming a beat moving ever forward. I cannot see the front of our procession, and I dare not turn to see the back. Above is a canopy of trees bearing leaves nor fruit, stark against a grey sky. Below, the ones before us had turned the snow to slush and mud, sticking to the soles of our shoes as if to beg us not to continue. But still, we march on.

This is no epic journey. We are not here to save a damsel in distress or slay a fearsome foe. This is no victory march for we have won nothing today. We are tired men attached to tired feet. We know not where we go, only what is behind us. We dare not stop to eat. We dare not stop to rest. There is something chasing us, something big. Thus, we must march on.

There is an unearthly scream from behind us. Tired men become desperate men. Our beat becomes erratic as we scatter. Boots pound against earth and slide in the slush as we dredge up the last of our strength to run. Men fall to the ground all around me, not to what is behind us, but to the uneven terrain. There is no one directing us.  Frantic, we have only one goal. We must get away. A second scream, closer this time. In my panic, I do not see the tree root that brings me down. Desperate eyes focus forward from straining faces. They do not see me on the ground. A boot comes down on one hand, another hits my side. I cry out in pain and roll to my side to protect the injury. I must get up. I will not die here. I do not see the boot coming for my head. Everything fades to black…

I wake up alone. I do not see any of my fellows, even fallen ones. I stand and pick a direction. The only drum of boots I hear are my own in this empty forest. I do not know where I go, only that I must march on.