As what’s left of the leaves change color just off the coast of France during the First World War, two American soldiers are briefed on their mission. James Humble and Clarke Bishop have just arrived in France about 3 months into the Battle of Somme. At their time of arrival, the battle has been nothing more than a stalemate. A bloody stalemate. Their mission is simply to fight and break through the German lines. After being briefed and equipped, the soldiers and their battalion head for the front lines. They are headed for the trenches along the Somme River, where they will immediately begin their fight with the Germans.
Their 40 mile trek will last well into the next day if they stay on course, but no one knows what will happen on their way there. 2 hours into their journey as the squad passes through the small town of Incheville, they get their first taste of the war.
“Down!” Screams the commander in the front.
Within a second of the cry, bullets come flying by from every direction, and suddenly German soldiers pop out from behind homes and buildings.
“F***, I’ve been hit!” Shouts a soldier.
“Man down, Man down!”
James looks to his left as a German soldier lunges toward him and takes him to the ground.
Luckily James is able to disarm him of his mace as he is taken to the ground. The two exchange blows to the face and chest leaving each other covered in blood. The German soldier gets up off of the ground as an exhausted James Humble lie on the ground and spits on his face. Just as the German goes to grab his sidearm, he falls to the ground. James, who had been in curled up waiting to die looks up and sees Clarke standing above him with his pistol aimed where the German soldier once was.
“Looks like it’s just you and me.”  States Clarke as he helps James up off the ground.
“It always has been.” Responds James.
“Yeah, but it’s different this time. Look around you.”
As James got his feet under him, he took a look around and realized he and Clarke were the only one’s left. Having defeated all of the German soldiers, the two decide to camp out under a tree for the night. They were able to loot other soldiers of their materials and food so they could make a fire and eat before heading out in the morning. After a long cold autumn night, Clarke wakes up to the sound of James coughing uncontrollably.
“Damn, what got into you?”
“I don’t know man, I’m just feeling a little under the weather. Probably just a cold.”
“Well, we should get going so we don’t leave the guys at the battle wondering for too long.”
The two men still have quite a way to walk. Knowing this, they leave camp and 6:00 AM.

Luckily, the men did not encounter any more ambushes for the rest of their trip. But the Commanding officers at the River still were not pleased with their late arrival.
“Soldiers! What are you doing arriving here at midnight? And what happened to the rest of your battalion?” Shouted the Officer over the loud sound of artillery in the background.
“Sir, we were ambushed, early on in our travels, and we are the only ones left!” Exclaimed Clarke.
“As terrible as that is, we still need you in those trenches soldiers! We don’t have time to sit here and sulk about the past! Get in there!”
Shocked by the response they just got from the commander, the two sprinted for the trenches. No brief was needed, the only objective was to kill the opposition and move forward.

Soon after James and Clarke arrived in the trenches, all shots died down, due to the time of day. This gave the majority of the soldiers time to get some rest. Even though the soldiers are often cold and restless for the night, the rest is definitely appreciated. But their much needed rest was cut short, as the soldiers were awakened by a loud and odd buzzing sound.
“Clarke, get up. Do you hear that?” Asks James
“Hear wha…” Clarke was cut off by an incredible sight moving towards them.
“James turn around. What is that?” Mumbles a frightened Clarke.
As James turned around, all of the American soldiers around him rose from their short slumber and peeked over the trenches. Hovering above them was a Zeppelin.
“Is that what I think it is?” Screams a soldier in the distance.
“Take Cover! Bomb!” Shouts Clarke frantically. All of the soldiers look up at the gigantic 776 foot long blimp and see three hatches open on the underbelly. And clear as day three bombs drop out of the hatches.

As the three bombs hit the ground, James becomes disoriented. All he can hear is the sounds of buildings crashing to the ground and bullets flying past his head. He falls back into the trenches, which is probably the safest place to be during the air raid, that is unless the bomb were to hit in the trench which would cause the explosion to go throughout the whole trench system. Minutes later, James has regained his bearings and peeks over the trench beginning to pick off german soldiers charging forward through the smoke. He can only fight for a short while until he drops to the ground coughing and beginning to feel nauseous. He loses his breath, and as he reaches for the ridge of the trench, everything goes black.

James wakes up to a blue sky above him and the sun shining in his face. He can hear his comrades in the background talking cheerfully and the sound of metal flasks clinking together. He gets up on a knee and looks around in the trench. Bodies are everywhere. Bugs fly around him, almost as if they were mistaking him for one of the dead. The stench is horrible yet the men in the background still celebrate.

Parched and confused, James spots Clarke sitting up against the trench wall.
“Clarke! What happened? Why is everyone so happy?” James exclaims as he runs over towards Clarke…. But once he reaches Clarke he realizes he’s not moving. He’s dead. Shot in the chest. Not even breathing or fighting for life.
“Clarke, you can’t leave me now! It’s just us remember?” But James’ words don’t reach through. “No! No!” Cries James. Though James is deeply hurt by his lifelong friend’s death, he realizes he must be able to move on to be able to survive in the midst of this harsh war. So he closes his friends eyes, takes his dog tags and leaves him. Giving him the most peaceful resting place possible in this great war. In the middle of the trenches with the hundreds of others.

A depressed James Humble climbs out of the trenches to go speak with the celebrating soldiers at the campsite.
“What’s all the cheer for?”
“Hey guys! Another one woke up!” Yelled the American soldier to his comrades.
“We won the battle! Our artillery took out that big ass balloon, obviously after it had done a great deal of damage. But we were able to hold ‘em off until they finally retreated!”
“Wow that’s incredible!” Stated James.
“Say, what’s up with you man? You look pretty rough, Humble.” Asked another Soldier.
“I started feeling a little under the weather a couple days back, it ultimately ended with me passed out in that trench over there.”
“You should get over to the medical tent fast!”

Upon arrival at the medical tent, the nurse immediately diagnoses James with the Spanish influenza which had been sweeping through the soldiers of the war. The nurse has James lay on a bed while she gives him multiple different herbal remedies. None of which help. There is no cure for the Spanish flu, but the workers in the medical won’t tell James that. Why would they?
As the weeks go by, James thinks of his friend he lost in battle and stares at the dog tags he retrieved off of him. He thinks of how if he could go back and do it all over again, he would truly appreciate him more in the moment. And he realizes that you should always appreciate the ones you love while they’re around, because one day they will be gone. And has he thinks of this, it begins to become harder to breathe. But he doesn’t fight for the air he cannot get. He just closes his eyes. Never to open them again.