Page 7 - WordSmyth VI Summer 2020
P. 7
The Trench
The sight before my eyes made me choke and gag with horror. It was a relatively small and shallow trench, but here were enough horrors in it for a lifetime. The sides of the trench were crumbling from shell that had hit it. A large section had collapsed. Through the bare wooden boards that covered the floor I could see a muddy swamp and, had it not been for the boards, I would surely have sunk under. Every now and then I saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. It was the rats, of course. Every trench I had ever been in had been infested with rats. There were bodies littered all around, some slumped against the side of the trench as if they were just taking a nap. Others were in completely unnatural positions, twisted by the force of the blast, missing limbs or sometimes even their heads. I could also hear the thunder of machine guns further up the line and the occasional pop of a sniper, picking off a trooper. But the smell! It was like nothing I've ever smelt. The pungent pong of dead, rotting bodies that could not be buried. It was hell on earth.
By Anthony Hargett
WordSmyth VI Summer 2020
7|Page
