A Mercy of None

The children's laughter filled the air with a sense of happiness and tranquility. Their eyes wore a luminosity that brightened the days and their innocence calmed the many around them. The birds joined in the happiness and chirped happily, singing joyously with the children.

The scene mirrored beauty on Lipowa Street as residents spent another day in Bermingham Park to bring a sense of normalcy to the community. The soft air caressed their faces and provided little comfort to the sick mother in the wheelchair.

Her heart was heavy as her hands gathered droplets of sweat in her palms as she felt fear run through her veins, filling her body with feelings of dread and trepidation. Confusion filled her, but she didn't know why, her heart told her to run with her children as fast as possible while her mind explained to her the possible reasons why she imagined the fear deeply ingrained in her soul. Like a puppet for logic, she begged herself to stay calm, forcing a smile on her face to greet her children.

"Mama, are you okay?" The worried brunette asked her mother, her hand gripping her young brother’s.

The mother nodded, smiling more at her son, and brought her hand closer to his chest to calm his shaking movements.

"I'm fine, Esma. Why don't you go buy your brother ice cream? There is a kids discount for some flavors!" She forced her voice to sound enthusiastic and waved the children away.

Esma squeezed her brother's hand tighter and looked at the little boy with unspoken words. Although he was young, his mind was forced to mature upon seeing deaths that scarred the members of the Vanidestine family. Esma leaned down to ruffle her brother’s soft brown hair before pulling him closer to the little cart that sold ice cream.

"Maybe mama feels under the weather?" She wondered as she smiled at the vendor in the stall. He looked boyishly handsome. His dark hair was both tousled and sleek, complimenting his sun-kissed complexion and his beautiful pale green eyes that dragged her into the depth of his orbs, holding her eyes into his possession. Maybe he is single?

"Probably. Mum looked scared. I think someone said something to her?" Aiden asked, looking up to catch his eye.

She shrugged, frowning before smiling at the cashier, receiving a confident smile in return. His eyes seemed to get brighter as they held hers in his capture. He leaned closer to the table to cut the distance between them and put his hands on the table.

"What can I get you two, beautiful? He asked her, smirking slightly at her.

Her little brother, Aiden, faked gag before rolling his eyes. Esma quickly shoot him a stern glare, mentally warning him. Before she could respond, a series of ticks were heard.

They were loud and echoed with a forewarning at every tick. The sound continued in a consecutive sequence, each second making a single sound, threatening the residents with an unknown horror. She counted the ticking as it followed the time, six ... seven ... eight ... nine ... ten. In the tenth second, a small metal shape fell from the sky to the earth and erupted into chaos, fragments of soil and rocks erupted with the metal, exploding in the distance, attracting fire as it passed.

With the blast came its family as others joined the blasts to destroy the lands people once treasured. The screams of the people were heard as their voices showed their confusion and terror in its loud notes. A shrill cry echoed in her ears as Esma realized it was hers. She quickly squeezed her brother's hand and ran to her mother as fast as her teenage feet could take her.

The bombs moved closer to where people were running, firing from a distance closer to their flesh. Buildings quaked with the force, some caving to the eruption and joined the destruction on the ground. The mother waited for her children in despair as her eyes flowed her tears of years of grief and terror. Her heart warned her of the coming disaster, but she chose not to listen, and maybe she will pay with this stupid decision with the lives of her children.

Esma rushed over to grab her mother's wheelchair and pushed her with all her might, her brother's little hands pushing with her. The sounds of screaming echoed in their ears as new sounds joined the song. Shots were fired into the mass of chaos, killing people on their arrival. The smell of burnt flesh was the clogged of the people’s nostrils as they rushed to save loved ones and their own lives.

Footsteps walked the earth in synchronize motion, joining the horses with the armored men, marching further into the chaos. Their eyes thirsted for blood as they formed a line opposite the escaping people and raised their hands with their bows in place-

-The children screamed louder than their little feet ran to save their young bodies-

-The men on horseback raised their guns and pointed-

-Esma pushed faster as her feet started to ache with the movements-

Within seconds the arrow and bullets were unleashed as the screams of men, women and children sang louder, the song of pain. Their voices became muffled as their mouths touched the ground, covering their faces in the dirt. Their blood soaked the earth, coating the earth with its pain and stories of loss.

Esma's eyes shed streams of tears as a headache pounded her mind, her brother's tiny figure trembling as he tripped to his feet to catch up with the fast pace. Dark hair viewed as he ran closer to Esma before reaching her side and taking over to push. The mother raised her mouth to cover her cries as she wanted to stay strong for her children, she cannot lose them, she cannot lose another one, she rather loses herself.

Another round was shot as other bodies reached the ground, further marking the ground with the tears shed. The smell of burnt flesh and fresh blood perfumed the air with its scent of disgust as the horses' hooves moved closer to the group of moving people before passing and forming a broken line ahead with more foreign soldiers joining in, blocking the residents.

Their faces were covered in metal helmets and their bodies in polished silver armor. Esma paused, her hands gripping the boy and his brother. “They are ready for war!” She thought as their armor darkened in the overcast sun. The sky was filled with clouds as the light of life and happiness fade with was intervened by the clouds.

A tall, muscular man stepped forward with his dark brown house. He raised a hand and the soldiers moved in sync, raising their weapons in perfect, practiced order.

"Citizens of Lipowa, greetings! I am General Marc Hoffmann, head of the German National Army. Our leader has decided that we will no longer be separated but in one. The only difference is, we’ll be one with our allies and perish our enemies. I’m afraid that means every one of you must die! Let there be no mercy!" The man with his heavy accent screamed with ego in his tone.

"All the men of twenty years and over, present themselves!" General Hoffmann commanded, his men stepping forward into attacking place after his last words.

All the men in the community looked at their families. They were not ready to die, they had the lives of their children to see, but they had their duty, to protect those they love even if it meant their lives as the price. They hugged their wife one last time, kissed her on her cheeks, lips and forehead before kissing their children one last time.

They stepped forward with bravery in their eyes, looking up at the sky once in silent plea. They were going to die. Furthermore, they knew it. In a second, the guns were positioned and Boom! The bullets fired at the town's men without any remorse, killing congregations, husbands, brothers and sons in one fell swoop. Their blood splashed and marked the faces of their families, children adorning their fathers' blood on their faces, tears in their hearts, and death in their mother's mind.

"No! Please no! Ashton! Ashton my love no! You promised to stay with me forever!! Ashton, please, no no no, don't die, don't die! " A blonde haired woman rushed forward and kissed a bloodied man in her arms, crying for his life. His hands marked in red rose and caressed his wife's face, smiling at her one last time.

His hand fell.

His screams were joined by residents as they wept in pain for their men. Esma screamed with her mother as she saw the last image of Esma’s and Aiden's father being shot multiple times, his body marked with holes, through his eyes and mouth. The mother saw her bloodied and breathless child in her arms, dead like her happiness after her baby's last breath.

The dark-haired boy covered Aiden's eyes with his hands as he cried loudly for his father, with the little boy's small body clutching him for a place to hide.

The men laughed loudly at the people before the general stepped forward and grabbed the woman's arms, pulling her tiny figure up and closer to his.

"Your husband is dead! Dead! I wonder though, who is going to satisfy you now?" General Hoffmann sneered, running his hand down her cheek to squeeze one breast firmly and hard.

The woman screamed, pushing and pulling away from the man before spitting into his eye. Everyone stopped, silently clapping for the woman but praying for her life. The wind picked up speed as it raged over the surrounding people, attacking the soldiers with its force but doing no harm.

General Hoffmann bared his teeth before slapping the woman across her face and throwing her to the ground.

"Blvde Fotze! Dreckige Hure! I'll make you regret this, die Zicke!" He screamed as he removed his armor, close to his waist. People shouted in protest as they saw the horror unfold in front of them. He started undressing, loosening his pants while pressing his foot onto the woman’s leg.

“Ah!” She screamed, trying to push him away from her leg.

"Mama! Mama!” A little girl cried, bouncing to save her mother, protecting the body of the woman with her little one. The women of the community rushed forward, leaving Esma, her brother, mother and the dark haired boy and the other children standing as they rushed to save their own.

The men prepared as the general abandoned his undressing to pick up his weapon and aim towards the child.

Esma screamed as she rushed forward-

The mother screamed, moving to push her daughter out of the way-

The men pointed their guns-

Pandemonium ensued when the bullet hit the little girl too soon, as the women fell forward to attack the general. The soldiers started shooting again, killing the women as Esma rushed to be pulled back by her brother and the boy. Screams filled the air as the bodies joined their husbands on the ground, coating the earth with their missing pieces of flesh and their guts spilling out through their bodies. The children fell to the floor screaming as their tears flowed like the end of a circle, screaming and crying.

The soldiers chuckled, pushing away the bodies off the general whose face was mutilated and bloody. He looked around at the crowd, landed on the sickly woman angrily and pointed his gun at her.

"This drama has lasted too long! The end is near and the beginning of the era is now, praise Hitler! May your souls rest happily in hell for you have all sinned with your choices. Make peace with God." The general shouted before motioning for a few men to tie them up with chains.

The rest of the survivors were brought into a tight circle as the chain caught on their necks, hands and feet, leaving them with no possible escape saved for death. The mother was thrown from her wheelchair and forced to stand with the others, her body rocking back and forth. The soldiers pushed them to the ground before walking away in sync, saluting the general once before leaving.

The horses followed closely behind until all the soldiers left with excitement in their eyes.

Esma reached out to wipe away her mother's tears to remember her chained hands before lowering her head to touch her mother's. Her body was shaking with sobs as she joined the crying and chained children.

"Why us? Why would they kill us? Their kind, the same body, the same organs, the same blood, their brothers and sisters. Why?" The dark haired boy asked angrily, snot running down his nose from the amount of tears shed.

Aiden shook his head before biting his lip to stifle his cries.

"That is the beauty of war. People have to die for peace to be found, for unity to be made among the division created by mankind. A wise man once said, ‘The older men declare war. But it is the youth who must fight and die.’ Perhaps one day, when the blood of the brothers and sisters has soaked the Earth, perhaps one day it there will be peace. " said the mother to her children, smiling at them to reassure them.

The children stopped fidgeting but kept their silent cries as the bombs fell from the sky and destroy buildings in its passing. Houses of memories and laughter fell from its standing to join the shambles of bricks and wood in the floor until all that remained was a memory and a roof. Trees fell from the height and broke apart into many pieces while other caught on fire and spread its flames onto the grass until the high heat could be felt, its orange and red hues danced together as the sunlight was lost.

The wind was felt no longer as the fire grew closer to the survivors.

"I love you, my babies. Perhaps we'll meet your father when we go and reunite with your sister when we reach. Perhaps we'll finally be at peace when the flame take us. I love you so much," the mother said one last time with her love shining in her eyes.

Before the children could reply, a bomb joined the children as it fell flying into the bonds, crashing onto the land and taking the survivors souls with them, marking the earth with the remainder of blood and destroying the settled land. The once happy people became a memory as their bodies were left out to rot next to each other as they died as a community, as a family, as their happiness became what it truly was, a memory.