Elephants
A battle for Humanity & Survival in the Resource Wars


Paris 'City of Light', France
April 12, 2060
Captain Louis-Ferdinand Celine
Free French Alliance
1750hrs


The sky was orange and dark, with thin clouds high up above; which was very different then the earth below. It was brown, wet, and continually changing as artillery from behind the front lines; continued to fire. I looked around in my foxhole, which was also crowded with two other soldiers fighting along side me, and a friend of ours who had since passed on after a small fire fight which had originally led us to taking a position in the foxhole. We all looked at one another, the heavy rain that came down, and collected at the bottom of the fox hole pinged against our helmets. Our faces were dirty with mud and scraggly facial hair. Our uniforms were soaked, and also dirty from collecting mud inside the foxhole.

I had been in the military, for almost nine years; and yet during all nine of those years I had yet to see combat as violent, vicious, and hard fought as it was here in the 'City of Light'. Never before had I seen men fight against one another so viciously, only wielding a knife or even just their fists to use against the other. What was even worse, was the look in the man's eyes when the knife or final ending blow was given, ending one man's struggle for survival and life.

But that was how it was now, in the 'City of Light'. Man killing man, whether it was for just a piece of bread or place to sleep, it did not matter anymore. Paris had become a hive of fighting and death, in a war torn Europe; which was just tearing itself apart quicker than it could come to a reasonable solution, if it even wanted a reasonable solution to begin with.

As I and the two other men, Sergeant Louie Fonck and Corporal Charles Dubois sat quietly in the foxhole, with our dead comrade and squad leader: Major Anthony Nungesser. The sounds of shells from the rear flew over head as we sat with our rifles in hand; waiting for some kinda movement.

The clouds had quickly turned to overcast, and the 'City of Light' had gone a dark deluded grey with no lights shinning from any houses or other buildings. The entire city, had become a ruined field of rubble and debris from fallen buildings, and raised roads that had been shelled constantly. If there was any place in the world, that I could call hell. Paris was it.

"Where to now Captain?" Sergeant Fonck asked me, his body curled against the crater side, like a baby inside its mother. "We can't just stay here, and wait for death to come to us. We should get out of here, and try to reach headquarters. Then we can get dried out and maybe some food."

"Yeah Captain. We can't just stay here and wait for death, while the Major sits there rotting away. If we don't die by an enemy bullet or shell. We're sure to die from the smell and flies collecting on him." Corporal Dubois said, both looked at me with concern and fear.


I looked at them both, reading their faces and body language as the sound of shells and now gunfire in the distance continued to go off. My boots were thick with mud over them, and my old trusty rifle; an old American M1 Garand rested in my hands, getting soaked just as much as the rest of us. I looked up into the rain, my eyes squinted as I gave a face of disgust to the clouds above before looking back at the Corporal and Sergeant.

"All right, we'll make for headquarters; but keep your heads down. Also, make sure no one see's you or your weapon. We don't want to track any attention to ourselves. The whole continent is in a frenzy, and we're still aways from home. Let's make sure we all get there alive and uninjured." I said looking at both me, and then for some reason my eyes glanced over at the lifeless body of the Major, as if I needed his approval for my orders.

"Yes, sir!" Both men replied in unison. The sound of machine-guns and rifles, along with artillery shells continuing to go off in the distance around us. I nodded, and turned to look over the top of the foxhole. All around us, there was nothing but crater after crater. Buildings were still standing, but only partially by themselves which the rest was left as rubble and debris to just hinder our way to the headquarters, which was last known to us to be located somewhere around the base of the Eiffel Tower. Which was still surprisingly standing after the area and buildings around it had been pounded into dust by field artillery just a few months ago when our forces, were making our own push into the heart of the city.

Now we were fighting for every inch of ground, to either take or even in most cases, hold. Our enemy: The French Republican forces, who were considered at one time, our own country men were making their own push into the capital city; making it hard for us to hold out in major parts of the city after they had swept in unexpectedly, and massacred many of our men and women without batting an eye lash. Since then, it had turned into a war of attrition for both sides. Neither side, could really make a move without the other side taking notice and gathering forces in the area of the supposed attack. It was one of the reasons, for the headquarters to move around so much, we were constantly having to move from one sector of the city to another, just so we could hold against a possible French Republican assault.

But to my surprise, there was still a world working outside our own little one. No matter how bad the fighting in the city was, I was always surpsied at the many journalists coming from America, with personal guards reporting on the events taking place here in Paris. Whether their reports on the situation, were actually broadcast or written in the American media, I could not say. The television and other media outlets in Paris, and the rest of Europe had been silenced by the constant fighting. It was only American journalists, who seemed to be the ones reporting, and trying to do anything about the situations here in Europe. But still, I never once saw a helicopter or airplane with the Stars and Stripes painted on it, to bring relief and aid. It had seemed, that our small little world here had been forgotten and not cared about. We were alone, and there was only one thing to do which was, survive.

Very nice Doc, I like the placement of France. Not sure why the guy has an M1 but it's your story, I'm gonna have to keep an eye on this to find out why it's called Elephants

Excellently written. I look forward to seeing how the hero gets on.

Glad you both enjoy it. I will hopefully be able to get this one finished, and done with something good? And William, the reason they have American weapons is because France in the 1950s (at least early 50s) were equipped with them during the French Indo-China war. If you look at most of the weapons and gear, it's all American. Just with a Frenchmen in them. lol So don't be weirded out, if I mention a lot of American weapons from WW2 and Korea. I will also mention French weapons as well, so don't worry about that.



Chapter 1: Hell on Earth

After the three of us had gathered our things, and stripped the Major of his valuables like wild animals to a kill. We double checked the area around us, and quickly made a shot towards a small cafe; just across the street from the small field where we had been sitting in the foxhole for the past few hours. At first Corporal Dubois ran across to the cafe, his extra gear he carried bouncing slightly as he hurried with all his might inside the cafe. I looked at where the corporal was; his head sticking out a moment to look around the area before motioning with his hand for the next one of us to hurry over.

The sergeant looked, and I patted him on the shoulder before giving him a bit of help over the foxhole. As the corporal had done, Sergeant Fonck rushed across the field as quickly as possible; reaching the cafe without any trouble from possibly hidden snipers. It was now my turn. The rain still continued, and the stench of the Major was starting to get worse. My gag reflexes quickly kicked in as I caught a terrible mix of blood, mud, and rotting corpse. Suddenly I wasn't feeling so well, and my face felt a bit numb from the gagging. I looked around, holding my breath and looking towards the cafe; Sergeant Fonck and Corporal Dubois both quickly motioning for me to join them. I nodded, and before I realized it. My legs were already moving, and I was in the middle of leaving the foxhole, and the rotting Major.

My extra gear shook and rocked in the air as I took a fresh breath of air, my M1 firmly gripped as I quickly shot into the cafe. Sergeant Fonck closed the twin doors behind me as I went to stop myself, but instead slipped from my wet boots; and crashed against the cafe's large long counter. My M1 dropped to the ground, and my body suddenly gave a quick pinching feel in my right leg, as I smashed it against the counter. Both of the men hurried over, looking to see if I was o.k. or injured. It was a shame, that it was only the three of us left alive; and that Corporal Potez who had just joined our squad as the medic a month ago, was dead and rotting somewhere in the ruins of a nameless hotel just a couple blocks away.

"Are you all right, Captain?" Sergeant Fonck asked looking at my leg. Corporal Dubois shook his head at my stupidity, and got up to check the windows.

"Yes, Sergeant. I am fine. Just a bit of a bang, nothing to worry about." I replied getting up off the floor, and grabbing my M1. I looked around the cafe, which was completely empty of all life besides our own. It was a complete mess, from all the debris and smashed things; but besides that. It was completely empty. "All right, let's see if this cafe has a back door. We'll make our way to headquarters, through the alleys and side streets. I'll take point, Sergeant Fonck. You will take the rear while Corporal Dubois, you will make sure nothing gets the jump on us from the sides. Understand!"

"Yes, Captain!" They both said in a weary un-cheerful unison. I looked at them, but knew I couldn't do anything for them moral wise. We had lost most of our squad mates, in just the last few hours; and things were not looking up for us. Our support gunner, Sergeant Walker who had joined our squad as a British liaison officer, had been killed while running across a wooden bridge, connecting two side by side buildings, which had almost been raised entirely from the ground by French Republican artillery.

Private Pitain and Corporal Hanriot had both been gunned down by French Republican machine-gun fire after we were ordered; to assault the machine-gunner's nest which had us pinned down at the time. Neither of them looked the same as they did before they charged the machine-gun nest. Their faces were bloody and covered in dirt, and mud. Their bodies were torn to pieces by the rapid firing machine-gun; and even Private Pitain's right arm had been partially dismembered as the gun fire cut across his belly. Our Major, and squad leader: Major Charles Bertrand had been severely wounded, after our previous skirmish with French Republican forces inside a hotel. But lucky for him, he got away with being wounded, and did not have his brains splattered across a wall like so many others had inside the hotel; which gradually led us to taking shelter in the foxhole, and now inside a ruined and empty cafe.


"Captain, we should get moving now. Who know's if headquarters, is still at the tower?" Sergeant Fonck said bringing the stock of his B.A.R to his shoulder. "And, I'm not dying here in this god forsake, cafe. Sir."

"Good point Sergeant, let's get moving. Headquarters probably thinks, or is starting to think we're dead." I said trying to lift of their weakened spirits, with the sarcastic comment. Neither of them smiled or even showed a sign of cracking a smile before we started off in our positions down the alleyway.

"Keep your eyes open, and your trigger finger ready." Corporal Dubois said as he moved between me and Sergeant Fonck.

The rain still continued to pour down, but not as much as it had before back in the foxhole. The clouds were still a large grey pillow, and did not seem to be breaking apart anytime soon. It was like all of Paris had become one large pile of grey's and browns, along with other dark and deluded colors. At one time before the war, Paris had been a place of enjoyment and entertainment. But now it was nothing but a war zone, with one side trading places with another one day, and breaking a peace deal with another side the next. Since our transfer into this sector of Paris, we had seen nothing but fighting for three whole weeks. Whether it was fast and intense, with bullets whizzing by your head every second or slow and calm; with just a patrol moving by every now and then, it didn't matter. Paris of a hotbed of gunfights, death, and terrible atrocities.

As we continued through the alleyways, and side streets of Paris. The sounds of gunfire and artillery slowed. At least the artillery slowed, as we reached a point where the sound of machine-gun and rifle fire was going off in rapid succession of one another. Sergeant Fonck, and Corporal Dubois both joined my side as I stopped, and watched machine-gun tracer fire rip past the end of one alleyway, going both ways. We stopped where we were, not knowing which side was which; and who was even fighting. It sounded like a French Republican machine-gun, but it was hard to tell since neither side had specific weapons they could call their own like in other previous wars. Both men looked at me, and I at them before looking for a way around or at least a better place to see where and who was firing. Corporal Dubois quickly found a fire escape which was hanging down well enough for us to get up and get inside.

"Good work, Corporal." I said smiling at him; his face blank and shallow as he just nodded. My own smile quickly shifted to a frown as I slung my M1 over my shoulder, and pulled myself up, putting one foot above the other before reaching the first platform. I looked inside the nearby window, recognizing the inside as someones apartment or hotel room. Both the sergeant and corporal followed behind me, I myself smashing the window open so we could get inside.

They both followed, all of us having our weapons at the ready incase someone came out of a darkened corner, ready to stab or shoot us. The gunfire now below us, along the street continued as the screams of men echoed through the cold wet air; reaching us and putting a chill down our spines.

"Clear." We all said, notifying the others that the area checked was safe. I quickly made my way over the window, slowly sliding my head over so I could look outside. What I saw, quickly made me jolt back and almost fall to the ground. Once again, my gag reflexes came and I felt almost worse this time. Corporal Dubois and Sergeant Fonck both looked out the window, seeing what I had seen.

They also had to turn away, gagging themselves before we all got our acts together; and took some breaths. All along the street between the two fighting forces was nothing but a street covered in pure red blood with body parts and pieces floating between the gunfire going over them. On either side, there was barbed wire and other braces with men laying dead on top. I stopped a moment, and tried spotting any insignia on either side to identify them with our side or another. Both of the other men backed away from the windows, and sat on the couch taking sighs of relief before a sudden pounding against the door came.

I quickly turned around, my M1 pressed firmly against my shoulder, and my eye looking down the sights which were pointed directly at the center of the door. Both the sergeant and corporal shot up; a B.A.R and a old beaten Thommy Gun, along with a M1 stood in the way of whoever was 'knocking' and were at the ready to fire without a second thought.

Again, more pounding came from the other side of the door. It cracked a bit around the knob, but the knob and entire lock were blown away by the sudden shotgun blast, which had ripped right through. Luckily none of the pellets spread out much. Before we or they could do anything, we all stopped and looked shocked at one another. Facing us were five Free French Alliance soldiers, armed with shotguns and rifles. We all stood for a moment, not saying a word or even blinking it seemed as our brains registered the shock and fear which had surged through our entire bodies. Their uniforms were almost entirely covered in blood and mud, which gave off a bit of a odor.

"Holy [censored], is it good to see some friendly faces." The Major, who was carrying a shotgun said slinging it against his back. We double checked them, and then lowered our own weapons. The other squad, were wet and dirty as we were; but were much better kept facial hair wise. Our's were grown out, and we had taken on mediocre sized beards, and our hair was long and unkept.

"What unit are you all with, sir?" I asked stepping forward to the Major.

"Third Regiment, Conrad Squad at your service. What unit are you with, Captain?" The Major said smiling as a couple loose bullets from a machine-gun or rifle ripped through the window I had previously been looking through, shattering a part of it. We all looked back, but didn't let it bother us.

"We're apart of Lightning Squad, First Regiment; sir." I replied, the men of Conrad Squad looking us over, and commenting quietly to one another probably about our look. The Major, just looked and smiled a moment before turning it into a strange frown.

"Where's the rest of your squad? There's only three of you here." He said looking at us, and then focusing on me.

"They're dead sir, cut down by enemy fire I'm afraid to say. It's not a pretty sight, sir." I replied looking at the Major. He nodded in understanding what I meant, and turned to his own men.

"Alright men, let's get moving back. We've got some French Republicans to kill!" He said in a bit of a raised cheerful tone. They all smiled and nodded, the Major looking back at me and the others. "Your headquarters, is still at the Eiffel Tower incase you were curious. Seeing how you don't have a radio on you, and you look like hell. I thought you might wanna know. Also, be careful around here. French Republicans are all over the place. We're here just to do some recon and maybe some demotion. Get back to your headquarters ASAP, Captain. Get your new orders, and hopefully cleaned up."

"Yes sir, thank you sir." I said clicking my heels together, and saluting. Sergeant Fonck and Corporal Dubois followed my example, and stood at attention. The Major saluted back, and the men of Conrad Squad filed out with the Major, going off to do whatever else they could.

After a moment, and the sound of the footsteps by the squad could be heard going down the stairs nearby. I turned, realizing that the gunfire out in the streets was silent. There were no longer screams, cries, or even the sound of a man. I hurried over, and saw that both positions once held by one side, were completely empty of men. The only one's left were those laying dead. I looked back at the sergeant and corporal, both were shocked to hear nothing as well.

I wasn't long, before we got our stuff together once more; and made our way out of the apartment building, and headed off towards the tower. Lucky for us, the Major had been kind enough to tell us that the regimental headquarters, was still stationed at the Eiffel Tower. It was something we were all glad to hear, and think about. We quickly shot across alleyways and side streets, once we were on the streets; hurrying towards our destination, home.

A-ha, you really like Pre-war stories don't ya Doc? Very nice, very nice, I like the setting and I always liked the French. No, I'm not French, nor does my lineage lead back to France; I just love the French. :shrug:

Great story, write more, write more!

Thank you, Francois.

And to answer your question. Yes I do. The main reason is because it's so unexplored, and you can pretty much do anything you want in Pre-Fallout Great War time. And mainly since the Resource Wars, in Europe are so unexplored and unknown. I like giving my personal theory on what it was like.

I may even work on a Resource Wars FanFic, involving the Middle East. But that's a bit TOO far ahead for me at the moment, so this is my primary story.

Keep feeding my EGO!!! :intergalactic: :goodjob:

I will! As long as you keep writing really awesome stories.

I like your idea with going along with Pre-War stories, you speak the Truth there my friend. It's unexplored and thus, free territory to do as you wish without upsetting anybody. Smart thinking, and good luck with all your endeavours... I shall follow your story!

FYI: This chapter, just goes a bit into the mindset and thoughts of how some soldiers feel, like myself, during combat and afterwards. I will go into it more, in the next chapter.




Chapter 2: Life and War

While the artillery became silent, and the gunfire rose louder and louder. The three of us moved fast and carefully through the side streets and alleys. We were all silent and didn't make a sound, giving basic hand signals to one another, signaling to either stop, move, or hurry. This type of movement went on the whole trip to the Eiffel Tower, and once we were about a block or two away from the magnificent French icon; we stopped.

Sergeant Fonck had taken lead, the two of us trading lead position through the whole time of moving. As we stopped, I hurried over to the sergeant. He was looking around the corner of a woman's store; before turning to both me and Corporal Dubois. His face was sunken and pale, unlike it had been before with a nice bronze coloring.

"What is it Fonck?" Corporal Dubois said, not realizing he had spoken out of rank. But I didn't bother with it, not really caring what we called one another for the moment. I stepped over, and tried taking a look.

"Six Republicans." Sergeant Fonck said looking back around the corner quickly, checking again before turning back to us. "Two have Gauss Rifles, and the others look to have just basic weapons." The sergeant said cocking his rifle, and getting his 'game' face on. I looked at him, and then towards the corporal.

"Let me take a look." I stated stepping over, and looking around the corner where Sergeant Fonck had stood. "Damn-it. He's right. Two are armed with Gauss Rifles, the others basic firearms. Looks like we're going to make a flanking maneuver." I added stepping away from the corner, and looking back at the two men. The nodded in agreement, and we went back down the alleyway we were standing in, taking a right where the alley forked left or right.

We were as silent as possible, our gear gently rocking against us as the sound of artillery began to beckon once again all around us. I thought to myself, where was this artillery firing from; and where was it firing at. But this was not the time, to think and wonder where the artillery was firing from or at. That was the funny thing about war, your mind seemed to drift off to other things. It was as if your brain did not want to face the reality that was at hand, and right before you. As a soldier, you were trained to learn how to handle this, but no matter how much training you had; your brain still continued to drift off to other things. They called it the, 'Duality of Man.'

Suddenly my attention of the artillery, was broken and I was suddenly at the attention of Corporal Dubois who was pointing at another fire escape, which led into another apartment. I nodded, realizing that Sergeant Fonck was already up the ladder, and waiting for us. I hurried over, threading my fingers together so the corporal could place his foot, and could get onto the ladder.

It didn't take long for him to hurry up, and I get up as well. Soon enough, we were inside the apartment which to our convenience had a door leading to the fire escape, rather a window which could cause more noise that we wanted to make. The sergeant this time, lead the charge into the apartment, and quickly took up a position in one window while Corporal Dubois took up a position in another, inside the small kitchen area. I myself took up a position with the sergeant in the living room.

The two picked their targets carefully, both of them had one of the Gauss riflemen in their sights while I had what looked to be the commanding officer. They waited for my order, and quick enough got it. My M1 which was firmly set against my shoulder kicked a bit, as the first round from my rifle smacked into the chest of the commanding officer. Killing him instantly. The sound of the roaring B.A.R. which Sergeant Fonck carried spouted round after round, hitting his first target, and then another and another. Corporal Dubois got several rounds off, or so I though he had; hitting his first target and what I thought to be another.

Blood spattered through the air, landing on the wall below and collecting around the bodies of the fallen. It was like a massacre, not one word besides that of screams was said as Corporal Dubois, Sergeant Fonck, and I unloaded clip after clip into the group of French Republicans. In the whole moment it took place, my mind raced with joy and confusion. I knew what I had to do, but doing it was not as easy. Even though I had killed before, I still could not understand it. But it was the adrenaline rush, which pumped through my veins that kept me going through this hell.

"Cease fire, cease fire." I shouted over the roar of the guns. Both of the men stopped, and looked for a minute at the bloodshed which we had created. Like before, the street was covered in blood and pieces of body parts. This time though, I did not gag or think of being nauseous. I think my body had finally accepted the bloodshed over the last few years, which was very strange to me. I did not understand it, but couldn't do anything but accept it.

"Well that was one hell of a kill." The sergeant said smiling and smacking a new 'brick' clip into his B.A.R. Corporal Dubois smiled and checked his gun as well. I did the same, and then quickly check to see where the Eiffel Tower was placed.

"Alright, lets go strip those bodies. Take those Gauss Rifles if you want. They could come in handy later on?" I said walking over to the door. I opened it quickly, and checked both ways of the hall, noticing that nothing was there. The entire place was empty, and if not either the people were staying quiet or were waiting for us to make a wrong move. I motioned silently to the two, and they quickly followed behind me. The staircase was in good order, but at the bottom it had been ruined by what looked to be several grenade explosions. The sign of a small fight which had ended quickly, was all apparent when we saw a torn and bloody hand, almost sitting up right in the rubble of the staircase. It was missing several fingers, and flies circled all around it.

We quickly got out, and hurried over to the bullet riddled corpses of the dead soldiers. Their faces were so human, and yet we treated each other like animals who were savage and unworthy to live life. Luckily, I and the others had not yet become an animal who was savage and unworthy to live life. The moment a bullet hit me, then I would know I was savage and unworthy to live life any longer.

"Check them for identification as well. So we know who we killed." Sergeant Fonck said looking at me and Corporal Dubois. We nodded in agreement, but really the taking of their dog tags, was not to identify the person. But to show others who we had killed. It was like a minor trophy of combat, which all soldiers on both sides did frequently.

"God I hate the smell." Corporal Dubois said with a face of disgust as he checked the pockets, of one of the soldiers who had one of the Gauss rifles.

"Don't breath then." I said taking the tags off the commanding officer, and putting them in my pocket. At that moment, I realized that it wasn't that we as soldiers, thought one another savage and murderous. That was already a known fact, and had been stated by the death of each soldier killed. But whenever a bullet hit one of the soldiers, it was telling that soldier, and those around him; that he was no longer worth to live life. That's all it was, and that's all it ever would be. I closed the eyes of the officer, looking away before finishing up with his stuff.

"Alright, let's get moving. We've got to get back to headquarters." I said standing back up, and looking towards the tower before turning to the men. The nodded, finishing what they were doing. Both the corporal and sergeant, had taken the Gauss rifles from the dead bodies; which wasn't a bad thing. It was just another spoil of war. And so, we quickly hurried off towards the Eiffel Tower. It was a bit ruined from explosions, but was still standing strong as always.

After moving some more through alleyways and side streets, we finally reached the tower. All around the Eiffel Tower, trenches and posts were positioned in certain places. In the center, there was the headquarters main building, the rest were machine-gun nests and mortar pits. We quickly moved along, over looking the place before moving towards the South entrance.

"Halt!" A voice said in a demanding voice. I turned to see it was a fellow soldier standing up in a small trench. His rifle firmly against him as he looked down at the sights; his gun pointed right at my chest. "What's the password?"

"Oscar?" I said looking confused, and not sure of my answer. The man looked at us, not moving a muscle. He looked at our uniforms, and faces before lowering his rifle and smiling.

"Welcome home. What squad you with? Oh it doesn't matter now, go head on to the main building. Colonel Maginot will probably ask." The soldier said allowing us passage into the trench. We smiled, and looked around, all of the buildings around the Eiffel Tower were flattened, and yet the tower still stood strong. It was like a symbol of French determination, even though we were fighting our own countrymen. But I did not let that fact change my mood of the situation. I along with the sergeant and corporal, were glad to be back 'home'. Finally we could get some food, and sleep. With our small number, we were sure to be given some R&R before moving back out with replacements. It was all in a days life of a soldier, fighting for a free and independent world.

An excellent read.

subscribed.

Thanks Gunjaer.

I'll try and get something up tomorrow. I've already got half of Chapter 3 finished, I just need the other half which I don't know where I wanna take the end of the chapter yet, so hopefully something will be up tomorrow.