Shell Shock

All I ever heard was stories. Stories about how brave my grandpa was, but I wasn't as interested in him as I was about what he owned. It's a gold pocket watch with traces of other metals in it.

It was his pride and joy, and he had it on his person when most of his trench was wiped out by charging infantry. I've done my research, and I am fairly certain the area where my grandpa was wasn't cleared out, it was in an isolated part of the trench, soldiers were skittish to go and clean out those bodies.

I'm sure they had other reasons. Otherwise, he's still there, with his watch. It's not like he's using it or anything. I told my family I was taking a tour of Europe, which was partly true but when I got to the isolated trench something didn't feel right.

It was weird, I looked around for other treasure hunters but could find none. I looked over the trenches, mostly long, straight holes in the ground, a few cave-ins here and there, but as the trench was concerned, good shape. The contents of the trench was so utterly gruesome no wonder the soldiers didn't try to clean up.

Dried blood marks every where, skeletons in gruesome positions. One looked like it was reaching for a pistol another was trying to run away as they were shot in the back. Most of the skeletons had some skin on them and it was crawling with bugs. The stench was awful. I wasn't going to leave until I got what I came for. I jumped into the trench, pulling out a flashlight.

Shit, no batteries. It's ok, it's still light enough to see around. As I was walking through the piles of rotting bodies I heard a sound. Nothing big so I figured it was a rat. I keep searching then it quickly becomes pitch black. I was technically trespassing, so I had to do it at night. Then things got creepy.

I started to hear breathing. Heavy breathing, it was loud. It was right in my ear. I turned around, but nothing was there. I continued my track, then I got to the part my Grandpa was probably killed in. It was the most gruesome of all. Because of the nearby hill, it seemed to be sheltered slightly by weather and was not completely decomposed, WW1 ended only about 50 years ago.

Makes you wonder why the Nazis didn't find this part of France in WW2. This part of the trench had many bodies with some organs and flesh still in them making the stench truly horrible. I threw up. I tried to keep walking but then more peculiar things happened.

The breathing turned into rasping. And I heard footsteps, other than my own. I stopped walking and the footsteps got louder. Maybe it's a cop trying to arrest me for trespassing. I run away deeper into the trenches until I find an end to it. I see my grandpa's corpse.

He's lying down next to a pistol pointed at his head. He killed himself before the Germans could get him. Some hero he was... I checked his pockets. I found what I was looking for and turned around. There was some weird creature there.

A humanoid, but in a gas mask it's hands were missing and were replaced with jagged pieces of sheet metal, scrap from a vehicle or something it's eyes slightly portruded through the mask. They were dark red. he was standing there rasping and looking at me. It started walking towards me, I back off. Whatever this thing is, it's not normal at all.

I run away and he has a weird limping chase towards me. I hear crashing further up the trench. I run and it was a cave-in. The path was blocked. The monster was now making some weird moaning noises as it's limping sprint got him closer.

I tried to climb and the monster jabbed my hand against the wall. I scream in pain and it sticks another spike in my cheek. It cuts through my cheek and cuts my tongue in half. I accidentally swallow the cut off tongue and start gagging on the blood. The monster then just got up and watched me. It stood perfectly still until I passed out from trauma and exhaustion.

I wake up horribly changed. A metal plate maturely rammed into the hole in my cheek. It was ever so painful. I couldn't feel my legs. I look down and almost throw up. They're gone, in their place a few splintering pieces of wood and a rusting metal rod. I can feel bugs nawing on my exposed limbs. I look almost exactly like the monster. I moan in pain, but I can't move. The monster slowly limps to me. It takes a gas mask and slips it over my head with his spiky arms.

Then a fog rolls into the room I take a breath and I slowly feel sleepier. I notice the same gas is leaking out of the monster's mask. I try to hold my breath but I can't. The pain is so unbearable, I have to keep breathing. I feel deeper asleep. I know what the monster's doing, he's turning me into one of him. I breath more. I almost cry but he sewed my eyes open. The gas takes more effect. I fall into it. All I have to do is take one last breath. I try to hold it. My lungs deflate, I exhale, I hold it for a few more seconds then breath in.