THE FRONT: PART 4
The rain resumed again, and the steady tapping noise only served to shatter Scott's nerves further. He raised his rifle and pointed it through the parapet slit and used the barrel to knock the decaying arm out of sight. That made him feel slightly better, but the fear was still there, worming around in his gut with no way to escape.
Scott withdrew his rifle barrel from the parapet slit, then decided to fix his bayonet. That way he would have something much deadlier than just a rifle butt if it came to close combat. The bayonet was eighteen inches long and tapered to a point that was triangular and decidedly deadly. The triangular point was to keep stab wounds open, flat bayonets, like the ones employed by the Germans, tended to be less deadly because their wounds could be easily stitched and bound. But British bayonets, with their triangular points caused wounds that couldn't be easily stitched and continued bleeding long after the stab itself had happened.
Feeling a little bit better about his chances of surviving the night Scott fixed the bayonet onto the end of his rifle and leaned it up next to him, the point reaching up to his nose. The rifle had a round chambered and all it would take would be a squeeze of the trigger to kill an attacking German, but if it came to close combat, where firing rifles could lead to you hitting your own men the bayonet ruled supreme, and on many of the caskets brought back to England for burial the cause of death was listed as BAYONET WOUNDS.
Then, feeling a little unsure of himself, Scott took his trench knife out of its sheath as well and stuck it into the trench wall where he could reach it easily. He had every weapon out except for his Webley pistol, but he didn't trust the little gun, it was delicate and frequently jammed, so he left it where it was, in his shoulder holster.
Then something caught his eye and he turned his head to look. It was a bear, walking up the trench, his helmet was off and in the darkness, Scott could just see the rifle in his hands. His bayonet was on as well and scott felt comforted, he wasn't the only paranoid one in the trench.
He hadn't seen scott yet, and Scott was about to call out a greeting when the bear shifted his rifle. His bayonet was flat. He was a German.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART FIVE...