Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori
Kenneth Wangsadarma
Huh foo. Huh foo. The sounds of breathing grew louder. Now, only the sound of my shoes slapping against gravel and the thunderous beat of my heart could vie against it for domination over my sense of hearing. Huh foo. Huh foo. Rest. That would be nice. But I knew the consequences of getting caught, and so I ran further still. Huh foo. Huh foo. The glint of the golden idol under the hazy moonlight and greedy flames caused my bony 9-year-old body to remain conspicuous, even as I weaved through the never-ending sea of men. Huh foo. Huh foo. “Just my luck,” I cursed as nearby knights noticed the cretin that was me and his mad dash to safety. Their placid eyes blazed to life like hellfire as they rose up to exterminate the problem.
My legs begged me to stop, and my heart threatened to break out of its bony cage but still, I continued onwards. I had to! A tired and sore body was nothing compared to what would happen if I did not get to safety on time. There! I spotted it. “Yes!” I thought with excitement. The hole in the wall remained unfixed. The hole, which was barely large enough to fit even someone as tiny as me, seemed to wink in amusement under the flickering flames as the excitement brought forth a burst in my already surprising speed. “It looks like my mission was finally about to come to an end,” I thought with relief.
But then I was brought back to reality as maddened shouts and thunderous footsteps echoed from behind. My hair rose and cold sweat started coming out as I realized I had forgotten one thing. No matter how fast, a single one of my steps was equivalent to three of theirs and they were very close behind. The twang of a bowstring rang behind causing me to jerk to my right. But I was too late. The arrow came in like a proud falcon, refusing to lose its prey as it stabbed right into my left forearm. “It’s not that bad,” I analyzed through the agony, “but this will definitely increase the difficulty of bringing this heavy doll.” But then as if the previous shot was the command of a general, multiple twangs echoed through the air, interrupting my thoughts as a murderous flock of arrows came screeching down towards the ground.
Despair gripped my heart, but I made up my mind and just ran faster. Maybe it was due to the shining statue of God huddled safely in my arms, or maybe it was because my bad luck had finally exhausted itself, but most of the arrows struck each other before going anywhere near or crashed straight to the ground, grazing me at best. Only two arrows struck me but they had fortunately missed my legs, allowing me to keep sprinting forward. The arrows had also hit the toughest parts of the leather armor that I had worn underneath my cloak, thus leaving them unable to penetrate into my body. I couldn’t think at that time, but I should have probably prayed a short thanks to God for the miracle because the next volley struck me with enough to leave me looking like a giant porcupine. The multiple sudden intrusions of foreign metals caused multiple, uncontrollable muscle spasms that sent me skidding forward. The next thing I knew, I had smashed straight into the rough, gray wall.
The armor had stopped the worst-case scenario of becoming a human Swiss cheese but the shock of having multiple arrows on my back still tricked my mind into believing that I had already died. Eyes woozy from the impacts and increasing loss of blood, in a different universe I would have probably just laid in there awaiting Death to greet me. But then, the knights made a mistake. They got closer. Their feet moving in tandem like a storm was like a wave of sound that brought clarity to my mind. I knew what I had to do. I had a mission, and I would accomplish it. With rapidly weakening arms, I grasped forward at the oddly coarse dirt and dragged myself forward. That was when their second mistake came in. Seeing the pathetic display brought them to a stop as they broke out in laughter. Pointing and jeering, they waited in amusement. Sick delight clung to their minds as they waited for the opportunity to take hope away at its peak. That was of course until I got up.
Shock and amazement soon turned into fear as the half-dead me stood back up. The madness of an animal backed into a corner shone through my eyes, leaving them unnerved enough to break ranks and take a step back. That was their third mistake. In that tiny window of chance, I picked up the idol and tossed it through the hole to my right. All I could do now was hope that a comrade, who would be able to get the idol back to safety, was waiting on the other side. But for now? I turned back, ready to fight my way out. That was when I noticed a hazy figure barely visible behind the knights. Death’s cold eyes calmly observed me and at that point, I knew. “Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori,” I whispered with a bitter smile. Then I closed my eyes, doing nothing even as I hear one final strum of multiple strings being released at once.
My legs begged me to stop, and my heart threatened to break out of its bony cage but still, I continued onwards. I had to! A tired and sore body was nothing compared to what would happen if I did not get to safety on time. There! I spotted it. “Yes!” I thought with excitement. The hole in the wall remained unfixed. The hole, which was barely large enough to fit even someone as tiny as me, seemed to wink in amusement under the flickering flames as the excitement brought forth a burst in my already surprising speed. “It looks like my mission was finally about to come to an end,” I thought with relief.
But then I was brought back to reality as maddened shouts and thunderous footsteps echoed from behind. My hair rose and cold sweat started coming out as I realized I had forgotten one thing. No matter how fast, a single one of my steps was equivalent to three of theirs and they were very close behind. The twang of a bowstring rang behind causing me to jerk to my right. But I was too late. The arrow came in like a proud falcon, refusing to lose its prey as it stabbed right into my left forearm. “It’s not that bad,” I analyzed through the agony, “but this will definitely increase the difficulty of bringing this heavy doll.” But then as if the previous shot was the command of a general, multiple twangs echoed through the air, interrupting my thoughts as a murderous flock of arrows came screeching down towards the ground.
Despair gripped my heart, but I made up my mind and just ran faster. Maybe it was due to the shining statue of God huddled safely in my arms, or maybe it was because my bad luck had finally exhausted itself, but most of the arrows struck each other before going anywhere near or crashed straight to the ground, grazing me at best. Only two arrows struck me but they had fortunately missed my legs, allowing me to keep sprinting forward. The arrows had also hit the toughest parts of the leather armor that I had worn underneath my cloak, thus leaving them unable to penetrate into my body. I couldn’t think at that time, but I should have probably prayed a short thanks to God for the miracle because the next volley struck me with enough to leave me looking like a giant porcupine. The multiple sudden intrusions of foreign metals caused multiple, uncontrollable muscle spasms that sent me skidding forward. The next thing I knew, I had smashed straight into the rough, gray wall.
The armor had stopped the worst-case scenario of becoming a human Swiss cheese but the shock of having multiple arrows on my back still tricked my mind into believing that I had already died. Eyes woozy from the impacts and increasing loss of blood, in a different universe I would have probably just laid in there awaiting Death to greet me. But then, the knights made a mistake. They got closer. Their feet moving in tandem like a storm was like a wave of sound that brought clarity to my mind. I knew what I had to do. I had a mission, and I would accomplish it. With rapidly weakening arms, I grasped forward at the oddly coarse dirt and dragged myself forward. That was when their second mistake came in. Seeing the pathetic display brought them to a stop as they broke out in laughter. Pointing and jeering, they waited in amusement. Sick delight clung to their minds as they waited for the opportunity to take hope away at its peak. That was of course until I got up.
Shock and amazement soon turned into fear as the half-dead me stood back up. The madness of an animal backed into a corner shone through my eyes, leaving them unnerved enough to break ranks and take a step back. That was their third mistake. In that tiny window of chance, I picked up the idol and tossed it through the hole to my right. All I could do now was hope that a comrade, who would be able to get the idol back to safety, was waiting on the other side. But for now? I turned back, ready to fight my way out. That was when I noticed a hazy figure barely visible behind the knights. Death’s cold eyes calmly observed me and at that point, I knew. “Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori,” I whispered with a bitter smile. Then I closed my eyes, doing nothing even as I hear one final strum of multiple strings being released at once.
Just an ordinary kid happiest when he is eating, hanging out with friends and just chilling at home.