March 11th. 1846.

  "The crown came down in fire and dust,

  The drums were beating slowly,

  We marched the roads we swore we must

  Boats soaked in rain, blood, and snow.

  No king rode forth to claim our land,

  No lord to stake his claim,

  We took the field by common hand

  And none shall rise again."

  The regulars sang the old chant one that dated back to the Civil War. Today was the day to put an end to all this madness. We the 112th lined up and spaced out, ready to be the tip of the spear.

  My rifle was shouldered, my eyes locked onto the fog ahead. The elves didn't know we were coming. At least not yet.

  "Fix bayonets!" Echoed throughout the ranks. We attached the dagger to our rifles. I let out a deep, icy exhale, my head dropping down before glancing over at Clint. His jaw was tight, his eyes distant; his fingers itched as he held his rifle.

  "Prepare." The Captain said as he walked down the line, observing us, his Saber tapping lightly on the snow.

  The thunderous sound of cannon fire came to an end. I held my hand as it opened and closed anxiously, lifted my head. I saw the musicians lifting the trumpet.

  A large gust of wind passed us, lifting the snow as the trumpet began its rapid taps.

  "Regiment! At the double!" The colonel ordered, and we began a slow advance, spacing out as we hid in the fog, the only sound being our boots crunching through the snow.

  We advanced in snow that's been soaked in days-old blood, and corpses now one with the snow. We took cover in the holes made by artillery before crawling out and hiding in the freezing floor.

  One arrow flew to the ground, and soon another, and with that, we heard the elves begin to attempt to rally.

  The silence was now broken, and we began to make pace toward the elves. rifles at the ready, and as more arrows came flying down, new orders came.

  "By platoon drop and fire!"

  At least some of us heard it. Many were so focused on battle that they were practically deaf.

  But we understood quickly as arrows flew down. I dropped to my stomach firing blindly into the fog, waiting until the men ahead did the same, allowing me to rush past.

  But soon, the sky darkened. As we hid behind a rock wall I looked at Robert his eyes locked onto the dark clouds before he shook his head and raised his rifle and in that instant, a lightning bolt struck a man ahead of us turning him into a black mist.

  "WHAT THE HELL!?" Robert exclaimed before rushing forward. I followed behind, firing blindly toward the elves as lightning came down, striking anyone unfortunate enough to be chosen.

  "IT'S THE SAME AS ARTILLERY YOU WILL CONTINUE YOUR MARCH EVEN IF IT MAY BE THE LAST THING YOU DO!" The colonel barked out as we desperately tried to get away from the dark clouds, yet their reach seemed to have no end.

  We finally heard it, the echo of more trumpets. The foot regiment began to follow behind us.

  We followed the pattern even under the lightning fire watching as some caught fire. Others were reduced to a black crisp.

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  We ran. We dropped. We fired. And we ran once more because we had no other option.

  In the fog, we began to see the silhouette of wood and stakes, smelling burning of wood and the awful stench of death.

  "WE'RE ALMOST THERE! PREPARE TO FIRE BY PLATOON"

  We desperately attempted to rally into platoons while maintaining order and advancing.

  Charging toward the elves, a white flash dropped me to the floor, my right ear ringing as Clint lifted me up, wiping the blood from my nose.

  "Fire! Fire!" Robert yelled and began to swat off a flame forming on my coat.

  "I'm fine!" I pulled myself off Clint stumbling at first before recovering my strength.

  And there for the first time, I saw an elven camp. The defenders raised their spears. Archers behind them arrows nocked back.

  And for a brief moment, we stared at each other.

  And the elves let loose.

  Their arrows dug into our ranks, and men fell back screaming out, others dead on the spot.

  With the stock of our rifles, we tore down the stakes and kicked down their now destroyed defenses. We immediately formed a small line and fired a volley into the inhumans. Other platoons began to do the same. We rushed the inhumans, bayonets fixed rifles loaded.

  "GIVE THEM STEEL!" Was the last thing I understood before the entire line, including me, began to scream as we rushed the inhuman line. Bayonets raised chest high. Pressed shoulder to shoulder, and once we saw the inhuman scramble to form a defense, we fired a deafening boom, my ears ringing

  And when my hearing came back, I only heard steel slamming into steel screams and cries. I raised my rifle over my head, thrusting into an inhuman, and the moment my bayonet pierced inside him, three more followed.

  The inhuman defense began to break retreating and attempting to rally.

  "SPREAD OUT! FIRE ON THOSE WHO REMAIN"

  I quickly loaded another shell into my rifle and crouched down, aiming down my sights.

  "OFFICER ON THE LEFT!"

  I snapped my rifle to the left, seeing a figure in armor swinging his greatsword widely before a rifle shot echoed. The officer dropped his sword, holding his chest before another shot dropped him to the ground.

  Aiming my sights on an inhuman archer, I fired the shot blending into the noise of chaos. The archer went stiff, dropping onto the snow.

  With each volley, more and more inhumans died, many were trying to retreat and often fell. Others died fighting. The brutality was absolute. The inhuman camp was now filled with so many corpses that I had to step atop them to move forward.

  Almost no inhumans were left. Many were hiding, and soon, a crowd came out perhaps forty or fifty of them. Hands raised in surrender other threw their weapons to us and knelt begging in their language.

  "Secure the area!" The captain ordered. Men went to capture the elves, I, alongside Clint, wandered into the elven barracks. Entering the tallest and most prestigious tent, I lifted my rifle. Slumped on a table was an elf. The same one I saw days ago, still wearing his prestigious armor. All except for his breastplate.

  "SURRENDER!" I ordered, yet no sound came from the inhuman. Clint hesitantly stepped forward, kicking the table. The inhuman slumped back, revealing a dagger lodged inside his chest, his hand still wrapped tightly around it.

  "What a letdown." Clint muttered and kicked the corpse onto the floor. Crouching down, he pulled out the dagger from the corpse and tossed it to me.

  "Reckon he was some kind of Monarch. Maybe a Nobel. Who knows now?" In that moment, Clint spun around, and we both raised our rifles to an inhuman female. She wasn't dressed like a warrior but seemed more formal. She held a dagger in her hands, trembling. Seeing our rifles, she dropped the dagger and raised her hands.

  I lowered my rifle and lifted a hand to call her over.

  But Clint interrupted before I could.

  "What are you doing, Kasey?"

  "She isn't a fighter..she's.. a civilian. To be taken prisoner as stated -"

  "She's an inhuman Kasey."

  "We don't kill those who aren't guilty," I responded and glanced at Clint, who grabbed my shoulder and whispered.

  "You're right. But she isn't innocent, Kasey. She came here. She massacred that village, Kasey. She watched crimes and said nothing. Is that Innocence?"

  "But she-"

  "She's the reason Kasey is fucking dying in a tent instead of being home with his family. What are you going to tell Jason when he's on his feet? That you let the person who did this to him walk free? Or worse. What if he dies and you let his killer live? Is that justice, Kasey?" Clint let go of my shoulder, his eyes darting to my rifle before giving a slow nod as I raised it.

  The bullet echoed inside the small tent. The inhuman stumbled back, holding her chest, her eyes looking into mine with betrayal before she fell back.

  "That's it." Clint patted my back before I swiped his hand away.

  He chuckled and began to rummage through the entire tents, finding scrolls and various maps.

  He swiftly left the tent, and I followed behind, hearing the last fading gasps of the elf.

  Outside, all the tents were a mirror of ours. We handed all the information to our officers and began to sweep the area. Once secured, we began to pile the bodies up, leaving them in one giant pile. Then we gathered our dead. We laid them individually at least as much as we could before we had to stack them atop one another. Dozens lay dead more wounded.

  We escorted the inhuman prisoners to the ridge. We, the infantry, were lined up in neat rows. Being part of the 112th meant I had to watch at the very front of the line.

  The inhumans were forced to kneel on the snow many soon began to wince and cry from the pain others stared at the sky and some held their heads low in defeat.

  The General himself stepped forward Saber in hand. He took the tallest and oldest elf and forced him to stand and look at the him.

  "Inhuman! Elf, as many call you. I come here to tell you. You are defeated. Your armies are reduced to nothing. You invaded and expected victory, yet humanity prevailed. You surrender. But under the law, we will not accept it!" He looked back at us before unfolding a paper taken from his pocket.

  "Genocide. Rape. Murder. Slavery. Displacement of a population. These are only some of the many crimes you are accused..no. You have done! Among them is the execution of prisoners you have taken. We will return this favor." The General drew his revolver and aimed at the inhuman's head and shot. The inhuman fell back, and soon the rest of the prisoners began to cry out others attempted to push themselves up only to be beaten down.

  And soon, one inhuman was dragged up, taken to the cliff's edge, and was pushed off, his scream, piercing the wind before a thump echoed.

  And this continued. And continued. One by one, the inhumans were thrown to death, and any who ran were shot dead.

  And soon, there were none left.

  "The battle is won! Enjoy! Eat what you can! We'll begin moving soon." The general exclaimed and fired into the air.

  I watched as the line quickly dispersed. I stayed stiff and in formation watching the old battlefield still stained with dried blood and stacks of corpses.

  And I wondered why.