The Ultimate Weapon(Greg Rolwes) Greg Rolwes
The Ultimate Weapon


"It was a cool day. There seemed to be a light breeze in the air that would
never stop. The valley was calm. As the hill rose in front of us flowers loomed and greenery scattered the area. It was beautiful. We decided to camp by a small pond about a half mile from the hill. It felt like paradise. This of course was my first day and I would never see this place the same again. That night we slept in peace, the last peaceful night of my life. It seems to me that was the most important night of my life. It didn’t appear that way at the time, but as I look back on it I realize how much of a gift those nights of peace were. I always thought I was more of a rowdy person but now I reconsider.

The next morning I got up at six. I was the last one to open my eyes. We
gathered our stuff together and got ready for a long day. I looked around into the eyes that I may never see again. ‘Let’s go! We gotta get there as quick as possible.’ The voice boomed in my ears as I reluctantly got up and started moving through the tall grass. Everything looked different from yesterday but at the same time the same. I suppose that’s hard to understand. It was like my mind didn’t appreciate it any more. Does that sound crazy?”
“No I get it.”
“Ok, good. Well, we walked very slowly for many hours. Finally we had it all thought out. We settled down in a concealed area and prepared. Men split up with few words to say. As we spread out my hands got sweatier and sweatier. When the moon had been up for longer than my mind can remember we were told it was time. I peaked through the brush and saw them. ‘Damn’ I muttered. ‘Aw, You’ll get used to it.’ The guy next to me said. I never did. I watched the patrols slowly climb into the other side of the woods and out of my sight. Even though I would never see them again I knew exactly what they did. That’s how it works with us. Everyone has got to
know everything going on. We’ve got each other’s backs.

“I heard the sound of gunfire and my mind raced. I had no idea who shot
first. I just had one instinct, run. Luckily my brain held together and ran in the right direction. I had been trained well. My first target fell against the grass and I prepared for the next. I charged, fighting continuously, with the occasional hand-to-hand confrontation. I must have killed 6 before I was able to rest. I looked back down the hill seeing all the lives that had been lost. We took the few buildings and knew it was over, for now.

“The reinforcements would be there soon. I got my physical and mental
states gathered, mostly mental. I found a spot to cover and stared straight ahead. They were here. They came from both sides. I fired twice, both missed. In an instant they were half way up the hill, an accomplishment that had taken us almost an hour.

Then the scream awoke my senses, ‘They’re starting a flank at 5 o’clock, fall back!’
There was only one place to go, the woods.

“I ran for about four minutes before I looked back. No one was near, friend
nor foe. I slowed to a jog, then a walk. I decide to turn about 25 degrees to my right and at least attempt to rejoin my comrades. I must have walked for 10 minutes before I saw it. The number six was written in blood on a tree. I looked around but there was no one there. I checked for any paths left for me to track, nothing. The blood seemed so fresh. How could some one that recently and that wounded put that there without leaving a trail. I decided to let it go. I had bigger priorities. A few minutes later I saw an opening. I slowly walked near it. Closer. Closer. Every step was so cautious it wouldn’t have startled a thing, but it still wasn’t cautious enough for me. As I exited the woods my heart leaped. There was a little girl about the age of six. She reminded me of my sister I had lost to the roars of the ocean. Her face looked tired and sorrowful, her hands held tight to it. It was pointed straight at my head. I stood there as still as a rock for a few minutes. Then I knew I could not bring myself to do it. I dropped my gun and her's fired.”

“So what’s your story?” I asked as the voice of Saint Peter called names in the distance.

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