Chapter 14 Bombardment
The road to the cemetery was pitch black, and some soldiers put out the cigarettes in their mouths for fear that any light would be discovered by the French artillery on the opposite side.
The night wind howled, mixed with the smell of gunpowder from the front line. Lu Mingfei's heart beat faster and faster, and fear surged like a tide.
Kaczynski saw Lu Mingfei's fear, he put his arm around Lu Mingfei's shoulders and said softly: "It's okay, kid, we are just going to spread these barbed wires to the front line. Although we may be bombarded, I believe we can return alive tomorrow morning."
Kaczynski's voice seemed to have a magical power, and Lu Mingfei's originally frightened heart gradually calmed down. The other recruits also moved closer to Kaczynski, as if they felt safe around him.
At this time, the sky was filled with the long whistling sound of artillery shells passing through the sky, followed by a loud bang. The explosion made their eardrums hurt, the ground was shaking, and the soil was flying everywhere, as if the whole world was collapsing.
Lu Mingfei and his companions were all so scared that they covered their heads and lay on the ground. When the shells exploded, Lu Mingfei finally realized that they were really on the front line.
"Okay, don't be afraid, kids. Everyone gets scared to death at the beginning, and I'm no exception. But it's okay. I'll find some clean underwear for you to change into when we get back to the barracks." Kaczynski pulled up Lu Mingfei, who was still lying on the ground and shivering.
"You don't need to worry too much about shelling like the one just now. They're just loud and usually land a few kilometers away from the front line. What you really need to pay attention to is the sound of small mortars."
With Kaczynski's help, Lu Mingfei and the others stood up again and continued to walk towards the cemetery. They leaned close to Kaczynski and listened to him impart his valuable experience.
"This small mortar is the most annoying. You never know when it will hit you. When you hear the 'buzz~~ding~' sound, lie down immediately, bury your head in the ground, and keep your body as close to the ground as possible."
"When the time comes, just follow me. When I lie down, you should lie down immediately as well. Do it as quickly as possible."
Under Kaczynski's earnest instructions, Lu Mingfei and his team walked through the woods, and a cemetery with tombstones appeared in front of them. The night wind blew, and the tombstones looked particularly eerie in the moonlight, as if countless pairs of eyes were watching them.
The place where they set up the barbed wire was still in front of the cemetery. They crossed the cemetery and crawled forward on the ground.
There was a tattered barbed wire fence in front of them. It had been bombarded by the French before, and their task was to repair the barbed wire fence.
A few kilometers away was the French artillery position. A shell flew into the air, and then a strong red light burst out. This strange red light illuminated the entire battlefield. The red light began to slowly descend. It was the French umbrella flare.
There were many searchlights shining into the sky, and soon a black shadow was captured by the searchlights. It was a Prussian plane.
After the plane was spotted by the searchlight, it began to flee in a hurry, but it was too late. The sky was full of artillery fire and soon it crashed to the ground like a bird with broken wings, emitting black smoke and making a violent explosion.
Lu Mingfei and the others were deeply shocked by this scene.
"Okay, guys, it's time to get to work." After the flares went out, Kaczynski woke up the stunned crowd and they started to work.
"I'll show you." Kaczynski inserted the stakes used to tie the barbed wire into the ground, and then covered them with a piece of cloth. The sound of the wooden hammer hitting the cloth was low and small, so it would not be easily discovered by the French.
Lu Mingfei tied the wire mesh to the iron stake. There were many sharp spikes on the wire mesh, which pierced his hands. Blood beads condensed on his fingers, and the pain made him more awake.
After a few hours, they finished repairing the wire fence. It would be another two or three hours before daybreak, and then the truck would come to pick them up.
Just when they were about to take a rest in the trench behind them, Lu Mingfei noticed that Kaczynski's expression was very serious.
"Kaczynski, what's wrong?" Lu Mingfei still had a good impression of the old soldier who took care of them.
"Something is wrong." Kaczynski looked at the French position opposite with a serious expression, and then closed his eyes. Lu Mingfei looked at Kaczynski's eyes and was a little confused. Before he could say anything else, he saw Kaczynski suddenly open his eyes. But those eyes were no longer the dark blue he had seen before, but a light golden color instead.
The pale golden pupils made Lu Mingfei feel familiar. He felt as if he had seen such eyes before. He remembered that in the toilet of the cinema, the little boy's eyes seemed to be golden.
Lu Mingfei felt as if he sensed something from Kaczynski. Was that feeling like wind? The wind kept gathering towards Kaczynski from all directions, and it seemed to be carrying something with it.
Before Lu Mingfei could ask anything, Kaczynski pressed his head to the ground and shouted, "Fire! Get down!!!"
Another burst of red light emanated from the French positions across the street, but this time it was accompanied by a barrage of artillery fire that blocked out the sun. Shells rained down, the ground shook violently, and dirt and gravel flew everywhere.
Lu Mingfei and his men were lucky, as the shelling was not directed at them this time, but at several columns not far from them. A violent explosion sounded over there, followed by a wailing sound.
"Let's go!" Before Lu Mingfei and the others could rejoice in their survival, Kaczynski immediately pulled them towards the trench behind them.
The French position launched another artillery attack, but this time the target was Lu Mingfei and his men.
Under the leadership of Kaczynski, Lu Mingfei and his men hid in the trenches, but a fat recruit failed to climb into the trench in time and was hit by a shell.
"Joseph Bem hasn't come in yet!" Paul discovered that the recruit was their classmate.
"We have to save him!" He wanted to climb out of the trench and find Joseph Bem, but was held down by Kaczynski.
"Don't go. If you go out now, you'll be seeking death." There were still continuous gunfire outside the trench. The huge shock wave generated by the explosion of the shells made Lu Mingfei and the others feel uncomfortable in their internal organs.
Everyone thought Joseph Bem was dead. They hid in the trenches and stared at the sky, waiting for the truck to pick them up at dawn.
The gunfire stopped, and a wailing sounded outside the trench.
"I can't see! I'm blind! Mom!"
That was Joseph Bem's voice. It turned out that he was just knocked unconscious by the shell, but his eyes seemed to be blind.
Joseph Bem lay on the ground, groping around, crying and calling for his mother.
Paul could no longer bear it and went to pull Joseph Bem back, but before he could climb out of the trench, another round of artillery fire sounded.
Joseph Bem's figure was covered by the shelling and disappeared.
Joseph Bem died. He was the first person to die in Lu Mingfei's class and the only one who clearly stated that he did not want to go to the battlefield.
(End of this chapter)
