"I've transmigrated back into World War One!!"
——
The two cavalrymen were giving him weird looks after he yelled aloud due to his excitement. "Cough,forget what I said." Aurel said with a laugh and followed the two cavalrymen on foot towards the back of the column where rows of men were marching in a synchronized rhythm.
They were dressed in WW1 German gray uniforms with rifles slung over their shoulders and a pack with rations on their back.
The middle aged man pointed to a gap in the formation "Just march with the men and then when we reach the camp, go to a recruitment station for you to enlist. They won't care for your age so long as you can carry a rifle." Aurel turned towards the man" Thank you for the help. If we meet again I'll repay the favor"
"Hahaha, there's no need kid. Just don't die out there!" He hollered as he and his partner rode away towards the front of the column."Ah! I forgot to ask for their names." Aurel lamented as he had already lost sight of them. Turning back towards the gap in the formation and walking to it, he realized none of the men marching turned to look at him.
They continued to grimly stare ahead as if they were walking to their deaths. Aurel quickly got himself into pace to not be a burden and marched with them, though without the rigid military posture and he was shorter by a good margin to a majority of the other men marching though there were some who had a similar height to him of 5'4.
Aurel was hungry, and though he slept well he thought he'd probably die if they had to march for days. But he was in luck! After a few hours of marching at an easy pace and looking at the beautiful scenery of cloudless sky's and endless green plains he spotted something on the horizon.
Scratch that, he spotted a massive cloud in the horizon. As he got closer and closer he started to be confused as he wasn't so sure what it was."what is that?" Aurel muttered under his breath unknowingly. A tall man next to him heard and turned to him while keeping a steady pace" It's the front. The border between the Empire and the Republic is just under the smoke that covers the horizon…"
"The republic?"Aurel asked but only to turn and see the man he had spoken to previously had already gone back to his usual walking straight with a no nonsense attitude, not wanting to talk anymore.
Aurel sighed but decided to wait for answers as by the looks of it, they were close to their destination.
After another hour of walking the column had finally reach the black cloud.
It was massive. It blotted the sky and when he stretched his hand out, ash landed on his hands. And then there was the smell, it smelt like a mix of ash,sulfur, and gunpowder. A nauseating smell that almost made Aurel want to puke but he held it in and kept marching.
And then came the sounds…
*Booom**Whheeeee**Boooooom!*
*Booom**Whheeeee**Boooooom!*
*Booom**Whheeeee**Boooooom!*
The noise of constant explosions and then the occasional whistling sound of the air being split apart from impact.Aurel didn't take to long to figure out that the explosions came from artillery barrages at the front, some close while others distant.
But they never stopped even after another few hours of marching it continued until it just became a backdrop of the scenery of billowing black clouds,scorched dirt and mud along with artillery fire.
Finally, after a grand total of six hours of marching they reached camp. It was endless with tents and hills along with other fortifications like fences and barbed wire stretching on endlessly. At this point, our protagonist Aurel, Is panting with his hands on his knees, dirt still covering him from the dirt trail in the forest and his stomach grumbling for food drawing the eyes of nearby soldiers who in comparison looked neat and tidy.
After the column arrived it split up with infantry going to the barracks, cavalry going to the stables and keeps, and the artillery being dragged taken to various fortifications. The officers drove by as well on their way to a massive tent that he could make out in the distance in a much nicer part of the camp.
Aurel sighed at his misfortune and decided to ask for directions from a nearby soldier resting against a wooden barrack,"Excuse me? Do you know where I can enlist?" The man grumbled with his eyes closed "Yep, it's by the 72nd infantry regiments barracks, just over there" the man said pointing to large group of wooden barracks a ways away. "Thank you" Aurel said and turned to walk over. After finding a rather obvious building with the words 'Enlist' on it, he found it pretty empty with only a few other youths inside. Walking up to an old man sitting behind one of the counters, Aurel said" I'm here to enlist." The old man lifted his gaze from the book he was reading and looked at Aurel"Name and age" The old man asked with a monotone voice.
"Aurel Sitz, 18" Aurel said, though it was a total lie he looked to be about 15 but his instincts told him he was 13, he wasn't sure about his age as he had no previous memories of this body. Also to enlist you had to be 18 so he naturally couldn't be truthful."hmmm, fine." The old man said signing some paper. Then he asked"Any experience riding a horse?" Aurel thought for a second."No, I have none.""Infantry it is then. You'll be sent to the 5th Infantry Division, here's your papers and now you can go to the barracks for your weapon and uniform." The old man said while passing him a slip of paper with a stamp of approval on it in German.
After enlisting Aurel made his way to the 5th Divison by asking some passerby's. Walking in front of the barrack he noticed that it was massive, being a few city blocks in length and a few hundred feet in width. Entering it he saw rows and rows of bunk beds stretching on and on. Aurel saw some men playing cards. Coughing to gain their attention" ahem, I just enlisted and need my uniform, can you tell me where to go?" Aurel asked. A chubby man snorted" tsk now we have a kid to babysit!" "Calm down Jurien! You'll scare the boy away." A suave man chuckled, his black hair gelled back and a cigarette in his mouth "You can find uniforms of different sizes in that room, as for weapons you'll get yours during training." The man said pointing to a door on the other side of a corridor. " Ah! My names Volker Maier, and you lad?"Volker asked. Aurel smiled,
"My names Aurel, Aurel Sitz."