Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the wonderful Rochelle, the undisputed master of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
She sets the weekly challenge, and the standard.
Today’s photo is by her Cousin It, or Kent as she calls him.
It reminds me of my childhood, when the winds from Siberia would hurtle across the North Sea and into our little town just south of Edinburgh, bearing gifts of snow, sleet and hail.
My mother habitually ejected us from the house with the immortal words ‘Fresh air is good for you’.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on the picture, below.
Copyright Cuzzin Kent
Russia
We invade Russia.
A terrible idea.
Not mine, of course, I am just a grunt, a foot soldier.
Whoever made the decision didn’t know much about the weather here in winter.
It is around -30 degrees.
Painfully cold.
In some cases fatally cold.
We are turning into savages.
We do anything to lessen the chill.
We come upon a village strewn with corpses.
Their weapons are still in their hands, frozen in place.
I say weapons, but they are clubs, knives, broom handles.
We want their coats.
We can’t get them off over their fists, clenched around what they were carrying.
So first we smash their fingers.
The soldier’s unsung cry. Excellent slice of war and the brutal turn of survival. Well done!
Very effective to describe such a dehumanising scene of suffering and horror in this matter of fact voice. I also like the little comment that they are ‘turning into savages’. He knows it but it seems he’s beyond caring. This is the tragedy.
Excellently told as always. The horrific reality of war, the tiny gruesome detail standing for the whole.
Don’tcha just love a good war. So noble.
No.
But I do enjoy a satirical comment.
War is hell – no matter where you are, no matter the temperature. It goes on and on and on.
Indisputably.
And tragically.
Vivid powerful writing.
Thank you, Miranda
This actually has a historical basis: both Hitler and Napoleon invaded Russia.
Indeed, and with a similar level of success.
Too bad war is a reality. Powerful last line.
Unarguably so.
Thank you
Wow, C.E., butterflies and rainbows? We’re all waiting. This was brutal but then war is cruel. Survival is a powerful driving force, and men have been driven to worse. It would have been true justice if Hitler had been physically leading them into Russia. Well written as always. —- Suzanne
Thank you, Suzanne.
Like you, my loathing of war is not directed at the man at the front, but the ‘politicians’ who get rich through it.
Your imagery is flawless. Readers can easily imagine themselves in the shoes of the soldiers who are so driven to peel off those coats. Well done!
Thank you, Jan, you know my views on the vile absurdity of war.
Brutal – this really shows how it must have been.
The truth is out there.
Thanks for your comment, Clare.
That was brutal.
Very vivid, too.
Now, I’m shivering.
Sorry about that, next week I will write about butterflies and rainbows!
Thank you for your comment.
I enjoyed it – although it made me shiver!
I enjoyed this winter tale; vivid and brutal.
Yes, Tracey, but broken bones are kinda your thing, aren’t they!
True and I like the shivers too.
Brutal, very effective.
Thank you, Joanna.
Realistic and brutal. Not only in war, whenever survival is at stake, something in us rises that’s hard to control. In this case, paired with an invasion, the sympathy is with the dead victims. But is it really worse to smash dead bones instead of life ones? Excellent, and thought provoking as always.
Thank you, Gabriele, for your praise and your very valid points.
If I can provoke such thoughts in 100 words, I am happy.
Love the way this takes all the “glory” out of war and reduces it to what it really is. The sense of the extreme cold came was delivered expertly
Interestingly, or otherwise, I replied to an earlier comment that war is never glorified on this blog.
Nor the universal soldier blamed.
Thank you for your kind words.
It’s not like the dead need the coats now, do they?
Loved this grisly piece of yourn….
The view from the casual Canadian!
Glad you enjoyed it, Dale.
Now that’s cold!
Yes, ma’am!
Probably just as well for Western Europe that Hitler did try to invade the Soviet Union. Divided and demoralised his forces to our benefit.
Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Thanks for your comment, Paul.
The brutality of trying to fight a war in a Russia winter came home.
Thank you, Michael.
Quiet right about looking back through history, C. Has anyone successfully invaded Russia? Both Napoleon and Hitler failed, of course. Be interesting to find out.
This is grim and grisly, but who’s to comdemn them? Not me. It’s awful, but if you’re freezing to death and you pass some poor dead man with a nice warm coat going to waste … Awful, but that’s what we drive people to when we make them go to war.
Written with clarity and just the right tone for the subject. A great, disturbing story.
Thank you, Lynn, for your thoughtful and yet glowing review.
You will not find war glorified on these pages, nor the foot soldier condemned.
My pleasure :). And your story hit the right tone entirely – condeming the war, not the warrior.
I grew up hearing stories like this… the terrible winter, and what it can do.. the smashing of finger made me clench my hands to tight fists.
To provoke such a reaction in 100 words is as much as a writer can ask.
Thank you, Bjorn.
Oh my heart got faster and faster reading this!
I trust you are calm again, dear lady, and that you enjoyed the story, at least a little.
Oh I did 😃
Oh they have really turned savage.
Sadly that is what happens, apparently
The desperation of the soldiers and their awareness of what they were forced to become screams out from this story. If only those who make such decisions could be forced to hear
Thank you, Siobhan, I am glad it spoke to you that way.
Gritty, dark, brutal. Your trademark, I think. I find myself getting nervous once I start reading your pieces. 🙂 Well done!
Thank you, Sandra, I didn’t realise I had a trademark!
And I am surprised, and quite pleased, that you get nervous, I take that as a huge compliment from the ‘Top of the heap’.
Very well-written, C.E. Kind of reminded me of All Quiet On The Western Front, but, then again, all wartime situations are like that.
“Cousin It,” huh? Hee-hee-hee-heeeee! And here, I just got a haircut on Monday.
You could write a sequel to this — “Weekend In Siberia” by that great Russian writer Frozma Azzov.
Have a quality day. And be well, sir! 😉
Ah, Cuzzin Kent, just be grateful you are not Uncle Fester.
I am now concerned that Lady R is cast as Morticia, but thankfully she speaks no French.
Thank you for your kind words on my tale, and your good wishes.
But still a long way to go on that front.
You really do excel in this format C.E. Another fine gritty piece and a timely reminder of the horrors of conflicts.
Very kind words, sir, thank you.
The ghastly futility of war is a recurring theme, I confess.
Cheers to Graham, he has been quiet recently.
Yes he has hasn’t he 🙂
Dear CE,
Yes, I snapped that on one of those delightful winter days when I couldn’t see out my office window. We get more ice here than we do snow. It’s okay, Cuzzin Kent chose the prompt this week so it don’t make me no never mind.
Re your story. Now who’s Mr. Cheerful? Grisly. Well done and shows what happens to otherwise humans in dire circumstances. Reminded me of Lord of the Flies on Ice.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Yep, could have been worse, at least I kept it in the family.
Re story.
Love ‘Lord of the Flies on Ice.’
Disney meets Golding, with a dash of Flatley, perhaps.
And yes, something does happen, it seems.
Hugs
Brutal. Is this Napoleon? Or Hitler? Or is the Russia that lies in the heart of all of us?
It doesn’t really matter, does it, Neil.
You know that we all have terrible things deep inside.
No, it doesn’t matter at all
Oops, sorry, I credited the prompt to Cuzzin Kent when it is Rochelle’s own work.
Apologies, lazy reading.
Dreams of invading Russia, so many times crushed in ice. Nice piece of history reflected in your story.
Never a great idea, as history has proved.
Glad you enjoyed.