As Zac, Shawn, Alfie and I walked to the barrier, I kicked. To my surprised, it rocked back and forth, before I caught it. It was surprisingly light, and as Zac jumped it, a plan began formulating itself in my mind. Shawn jumped it as well, and I stayed put, running my hands up and down it's sides, smiling. "You're thinking." Zac stated, looking at my eyes. I nodded, clutching it. "And your plans are insane. But they work, miraculously." I nodded, once again, agreement overcoming my face. "And this one is gonna work best." The three of them all shot my strange glances. "If," I continued. "It's pulled off properly."

--

Almost a half hour later, our army stood amassed on the bridge. "This 'wall plan'", Zac began, sarcastically, "Is gonna work a storm! And we don't even know what it is yet!" Zac surrendered to my stubbornness. I smiled, ordering about twenty people to attach holds to the wall. Shawn watched in wonder, and Alfie stood, smoking. I spun around. "Smoking kills, you know?" I asked him. He took the cigarette out of his mouth, and chuckled, a thin wisp of grey smoke curling into the air. "So does war. And the fatality rate is much higher." He dropped the cigarette on the ground, and crushed it under his foot. Appreciatively, I nodded. "Thanks."

--

The holds attached, I assigned another twenty people to grab them. They all fulfilled this mundane task. "Lift!" I yelled. Together, on their own count, they lifted the bridge, easily. "One hand." I said. The bridge dropped several inches, but was still above the ground. "Lower." They lowered the bridge, until only their ankles showed. "Arm yourselves." I said, and they grabbed their guns. "Aim OVER the bridge." I ordered, again. They lifted the guns over the bridge. "Fire a single shot. One shot. Then stop." They all fired; some more than once. Suddenly, I heard the squelch of a bullet entering flesh, a dying scream. "Shit!" I yelled. The men holding the wall lowered their guns. "Forward!"

--

The men lifted the barrier, slowly waddling forward. I looked past the barrier, to the Japanese army charging up the bridge. In the last half hour we had readied ourselves. Huge metal sheets had been driven into the bridge, protecting most of us from most of the Japanese assault. Unfortunately, we couldn't move them. Suddenly, bullets began pounding the barrier, and we used the Japanese fortification against them. The heavily sheeted metal, bulletproof, but light, blocked all of the bullets. I stood, for only a second. But I saw enough, before diving behind shelter. Almost two hundred thousand Japanese soldiers charged at us, sprinting forward. Several men jumped to their feet. "Hold fire!" I screamed, and they hid behind cover. A sudden thought ran throuhg my head, and I began daydreaming. As I thought, deja vu swept over me. My thought returned, more powerful and realistic this time. "My name is Jasan Brown. I am the sole survivor of an attack on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu, leaving it's 900, 000 residents floating behind me."

--

The Japs all came into view now; their army stretching almost a mile long, in the confined bridge space. Men fought for space to fire, and only the front lines had room. The bullets kept relentlessly pounding the barrier. "Hold!" I said, once more, to affirm my command. The men were restless. Whispering, I counted down from three, over and over, expecting something to happen; anything. The men around me watched, as I counted down, expectantly. "Jasan!" He yelled, in desperation, not knowing what was happening on the other side. I nodded. "I know!" I yelled back. Three more seconds passed, as the gunfire mysteriously ceased. A Japanese head popped over the barrier. "Now! Fire!"

--

In a single moment, almost twenty thousand men stood, and opened fire. The Japanese taken completely by surprise. "Slam them!" I yelled at the men holding the barrier. They all nodded, and thrust the barrier forward, knocking the men at it to the ground. "Grenades!" I yelled, as I emptied out a clip. Thousands upon thousands of magazine were stockpiled around us. So were grenades. Suddenly, our army ducked momentarily. The Japs spent several precious seconds eyeing the numerous dead we had accumulated, as the injured began to be escorted from the front. A good tactic; but time consuming. "Up!" I yelled, confident everyone had grenades. Again, our army rose in a single, co-ordinated movement. At the same time, thousands of grenades flew overhead. Some were ejected from huge RPGs, at the back, while most were thrown. All well cleared the barrier, as we ducked once more, to reload. As the grenades exploded, the Japs realised the power of our unit. The grenades all exploded simultaneously. I noticed one man had a video camera, and was filming as we fought. "You'll make a killing." I said, chuckling, and became serious once more. "Bastard." I whispered. He looked at me, as I slammed a magazine into my gun. "Huh?!" He yelled, over the explosions. I grabbed the camera, and smashed in on the ground. This is warfare, not the media."

--

Several more minutes of intense gunfire passed. I crouched, ever still, my knees paining as I did. The men around me awaited my signal. Another explosion rocked the bridge, almost the twentieth in the past two minutes. A man stood, as bullets zoomed past his head. For a split second, the firing stopped, creating an eerie silence, where, for almost twenty minutes had been unstoppable gunfire. But the silence barely lasted. "Up!" I screamed, and again, my army pounced to their feet. "Stay!" I yelled, as all guns were lined up, ready to fire, while the Japs reloaded. "Fire at will!" Our guns suddenly erupted, and grenades flew overhead. The Japs were hit hard for a second or two, before retaliating. The man beside me watched the Japs break like toothpicks. He chuckled. "Encore?" He asked. I shook my head. "This isn't funny." I ducked behind the metal sheet, pulling him with me. "All you can see is men falling to the ground. All you can see is small red splatters." I paused. "As much as I hate these men, you are NOT the one out there, experiencing the real pain, the real blood, the sight of nineteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine brave men fighting for their family. For their country. "I doubt you'd want time to slow to a painful halt, as a bullet embedded itself into your body. I doubt you'd want to feel the pain as the bullet kills your nervous system slowly. And the blood pooling around you. That's when you know you're going to die. Death is never easy. Not for anyone. Japanese," I gestured to the Jap army, then to Zac. "Australian. Or even, "I swallowed, delving into the past. "Or even for Americans." The man smiled, chuckling. "Nice speech." He said, sarcastically. I slammed my gun against his bladder. "I know how to kill a man slowly. You will feel every drop of blood fight with the others near it to crawl helplessly out of your body. You will feel EVERYTHING." I said. He glared me in the eyes, placing his hand on the bridge. "Try me." He said, in Japanese. "SHIT!!!" I yelled, and pulled the trigger, the gun now aimed at the man's head. "Run!" I screamed. The men around me turned, and began to run. "Get off the bridge!" I yelled. The men at the barrier, turned and started to follow us, as we ran backwards, still firing, looking occasionally back. I looked over to the body, lying still on the ground, blood pooling around him. But his back was arched. It was a bomb. "No..." I said, to myself. It was a detonator. All along the bridge hundreds of flashing lights were beeping. "Keep running!" I screamed. In that moment, the Japanese soldiers broke rank, and vaulted the barrier. "Sprint!" I yelled, dropping a trip mine. It was painted grey, so it blended in with the streets. I risked a single look back, and saw one Japanese soldiers trying to stop his comrades. He knew. Sick of fighting, he turned and began to run the opposite way. The flow of soldiers caught him, and he was dragged along. Suddenly, a gunshot went off, and the man's body went limp. They kill someone who tried to protect them. My men began to reach the end of the bridge. Zac was among them, and beckoned them to keep moving. The Japs weren't firing. I stopped, as my army left the bridge, and began running down the streets. Placing my hands behind my head, and dropping my gun, I stepped off the bridge, right in the middle of the road. All the soldiers stood, and looked at suspiciously. Then it hit me. There were other spies among us. "Shit." I whispered. The men all looked at me, and I gestured with my head toward the beeping lights. No-one registered recognition. I took another step backwards, until I reached the sidewalk, where I sat. One of the men took a step. And the bombs exploded.

--

Almost one hundred thousand Japanese soldiers were caught in the explosions. The bridge collapsed, as huge pieces of the road were ripped up. All the way up to the sidewalk was caught in the explosion, and flying debris smashed into the building behind me, and I ran through it, evading the explosion with my life. Just. The entire side of the building was decimated. Steel, glass, road, rock and flame all surrounded me, as I sprinted through the building, and into the next. The first building collapsed as I spun around, landing where the bridge should have been. Several seconds past, as they felt like minutes dragged into hours, as the smoke cleared, and the chaos settled. I tried to find the metal sheets we'd driven into the bridge. And bodies. I looked for bodies, and rubble and debris. But there was nothing. The only testament to a huge battle was the huge building that had been toppled, and a massive crater. I looked at myself. I was covered with blood, dirt and grime. I was covered in it. I walked slowly into the middle of where the street used to be, when I realized my leg was bleeding. So was my face, and my shoulder. Pieces of debris and rubble had sliced my limbs and face. They stung, but were not serious. The blood slid slowly down my leg, taking pieces of dirt and filth with it.

--

I looked around, as men emerged from the shadows or the ruined buildings and wreckage. It was then that the suffering my army had received was evident. Many men had severe cases of shell shock, others were wounded from stray bullets, and covered in blood. Others had to rely on the people around them to even move. Zac, Shawn and Alfie all stood around me. I gestured to all the wounded men, and shock spread over all three faces. I stepped forward, bellowing a command. "Let the wounded lie!" I watched as a wave of nods and appreciation swept the army. All but about one thousand men fell to the ground , some slowly, others quickly, to avoid prolonged pain. I surveyed the thousand men. They were battle-hardened, and ready to fight. "The rest," I began. "Come with me."

--

I stood at the helm of a dramatically smaller army, as I faced the beach. It had only taken us a few minutes, but now we were facing the western shore of O'ahu. Another Japanese force had assembled, far smaller than the last. We knew they'd heard about the horrific defeat on the bridge. I had, accidentally, annihilated their assault, and possibly saved the state of islands. Possibly even the eastern side of the country. The morale was at rock-bottom low. The men were horrified, as another soldier described it too them, slightly twisting the tale, as I moved to just within earshot. The soldier put an apocalyptic spin in the tale, but it was mostly correct. I stepped forward, onto the beach, my gun resting on my shoulder, the sand crunching beneath my feet. The men looked up. "And I'm the one that did it." I told them, in Japanese. "They saw it coming. Bombs lined the bridge." I stopped, looking back to the buildings. "Fire!" I yelled, and my men jumped from the cover, holding rocket launchers and machine guns. I opened fire as well. "Good bye." I said, as the men were slaughtered. At the cease fire, one man was still alive, bullets embedded in his ribs. Blood pooled around him, sand filling the wounds, as he tried to crawl away. I knelt beside him. "Tell me everything, and I can let you live." He looked up at me, expressions of torture glistening in them. "We have a barge. A huge one. But, you killed all the soldiers on it. It could sail all the survivors aboard it to the mainland, in several hours." I placed my hand on the man's head, whispering. "Help is coming." I assured him. "Alfie!" I yelled. "Get a medic!" He nodded, and one of the men stepped forward, carrying a box of medical tools. He ran to me, and saw the Japanese soldier. "What?"

--

I placed my gun under the man's chin. " he is under MY protection. If he dies, you'll be going to hell." The man nodded. I pushed my gun forward, digging it into his skull. "AND back." He swallowed, nervously and nodded. "Good. Get to work." The medic knelt, and examined the man's wounds. "Need help?" I asked. He nodded. "Lay out a mattress of some kind." I grabbed a huge towel from nearby, and lay it out, followed by another. "There, done." I said, and the medic smiled. "Get him onto it." He told me, and I extended a hand to the man. He grabbed it, and stood to his feet, painfully. Luckily, only two bullets had hit him. One had skimmed his ribs, and emerged the other side, leaving a clean wound, and the other had just left a small ditch in his skin. The medic sighed when he saw the wounds from another angle. I lay the man on the towels, and our medic cleaned his wounds. After patching both gun shot holes, the medic stood back to survey his handiwork. "Should hold. But, he'll live." I nodded. "Good." I helped the man to his feet, and the pain seemed to have numbed. "You any better?" I asked. He nodded, smiling. "You saved my life, sir." I nodded. "Yep. All in a day's work." I said, sarcastically. "Would I have the honour of protecting you, in battles to come?" He asked, deadly serious. "It's all about honour with you people." I said in English, contemplating. Finally, I nodded. "Yes, if you wish."

--

Zac, Shawn, Alfie, Shinra; the Japanese traitor and I all stood at the beach head, watching Japanese boats sail into the harbour. "This is where it all ends." I said, bluntly, and the others agreed. "Hide." Shawn and Alfie retreated back to the streets, where several rocket launchers lay about. Zac ran to the other side of the beach, and Shinra and I hid in the Japanese camp, among the carnage. One of the boats reached the shore, and I lay motionless in the bloody sand, clutching a radio. "Don't fire!" I whispered to Shawn and Alfie, through the radio, as two men stepped off. Zac was also lying still, a large sniper concealed beneath several inches of sand. The two Japs strode quickly over to the Japanese camp. I held in the radio button. "Fire." I whispered to Zac. My gaze shot to his position, as the sniper flashed twice, and two red hot bullets emerged. The first bullet struck it's target in the head. The second missed the man's neck by less than half an inch. He flinched, momentarily. This fatal error was followed up by two other man rushing onto the beach. Zac fired again. This time, the bullet struck it's target, carrying the body several inches through the air, before dropping it. The two other men stood, gob smacked. "Again." I told Zac, through the radio. My glance shot to the boat. Two others were close behind. We had left it too late. Even if Shawn and Alfie fired their rockets at the boats, the survivors could swim to shore. It was worth the shot though. I clutched the radio tightly, as two more of Zac's bullets spiralled out of the gun barrel, and into the men. "Fire!" I yelled into the radio. Barely a second later, two rockets flew past Shinra and I, slamming into the two further off boats. Both vehicles were hit, as several men from both were through overboard, into the frothy water. "On three, to your feet!" I yelled to Shinra. He nodded. "One." Another rocket flew past, slamming into the beached boat. The two men on the beach dropped to the ground. "Two." A second, wounded boat hit the beach fast, throwing several of it's crew to the deck.

--

"Three!" I yelled. Shinra pushed himself to his feet. I opened fire on the second boat, as a man sprinted off, carrying a small machine gun. My bullets peppered the ground around him, before one hit his leg. He dropped to the ground, as Zac fired at men running onto the shore. Two more of Shawn and Alfie's rockets sped past. Another quickly followed. The first boat was hit three times, the first rocket causing the most damage. It slammed into the side of the boat, just above the water line, tearing a massive chunk out of the steel armour. The second hit the deck, tearing a section of it too pieces. The third spiralled around, before hitting the top. As the smoke cleared from the explosions, Zac fired at a man running from the wounded vessel. His bullet struck the man right on, throwing him into the water. My gaze shot to the other two boats. I swore under my breath, as almost one hundred men mobilised on the beach. "Shinra!" I yelled. "Grenades!" The two of us scavenged through the camp, before I found a large crate of grenades. Shawn and Alfie's rockets flew deathly close to the camp, and I flinched. The two missiles hit a newly erected riot shield, that barely withstood the explosive siege. Zac still lay almost motionless, slightly readjusting his sniper. One by one, he picked off three men holding the shield. The horde suddenly opened fire in all directions. Hundreds of bullets flew around the beach. Zac ducked behind a small dune, as it was peppered with bullets. "Dammit!" I yelled, grabbing a grenade. "At will!" I screamed to Shinra, as I lobbed the first grenade. Shinra grabbed two handfuls of grenades, rolled them up in a blanket, and left the camp. "Shinra?" I asked.

--

"Shinra!" I screamed after him, but too late. He was on the beach head, sprinting for the Japanese forces. One of the Japanese soldiers watched him from the corner of his eye. The man opened fire on Shinra. One of his bullet hit Shinra in the knee, before he dived behind a sand dune. "Bastard!" I yelled, lobbing another grenade. The grenade buried itself in the sand, as Shawn and Alfie pushed the Japanese group toward it. I jumped up. "Die!" I screamed. I fired several times, aimlessly into the sand, to turn the Japs toward the grenade more. They were protecting someone, and would die to do so. I kept firing, until my magazine was empty. "Dammit!" I yelled, dropping to the sand, searching for more ammo. Suddenly, a grenade landed about three yards away from me. I watched it land, and ran to the side, sand filling my clothes. The grenade exploded, throwing sand several feet into the air, and a body. A plan quickly formulated in my head. I screamed in agony, and, as the sand settled, and the body landed, I pretended wounded and dying.

--

I watched satisfaction crawl over the Japanese faces. Slowly, I crawled over to my gun, as they redirected their fire. Shinra still lay wounded behind the sand dune, and Zac had abandoned his sniper. Shawn and Alfie continued firing rockets, but their ammunition wasn't unlimited. Several Japanese bodies littered the beach. My gaze shifted to the third boat, as almost twenty other man came charging forward, all in a rushed manner. This made it easier for us to pick the off, but harder to kill in one blow. I dived, grabbing the radio, and slamming the button. "Fire at the main force!" I yelled into it. Shawn had th radio strapped to his neck, so he could hear every command, and my yelling came unexpectedly. He winced in pain, dropping his rocket, and firing accidentally. The missile hit one of the boats, and took three of the reinforcements, who were still running off, down. Blood came streaking down a fourth's face, as he ran through the debris and smoke. The beach had become a battlefield. Five men who waged a war against an army. But a single move by the Japanese could destory us all, and in turn, O'ahu. Shinra lay panting still, the bag of grenades resting in his lap. "Shinra!" I screamed. "Throw them!" I looked back at the main Japanese group. Slowly but surely, they were being pushed back toward the grenade. "Fire once more!" I ordered, into the radio, now lying at Shawn's feet, after the last painful incident. Shawn nodded, and fired, before retreating behind a piece of large rubble. The reinforcements, now reduced to fifteen men, began firing at Shawn and Alfie, as they ran to hide. Bullets peppered the ground, just behind Alfie's feet. As he turned the corner, he slipped, and the bullets caught up to him. Most of them missed, but one hit Alfie's leg, and a second hit his chest. Within seconds, he had lost a lot of blood. "Shit." I said to myself, watching the events unfold.

--

Alfie dragged himself behind the rubble, painfully. Zac suddenly opened fire with a grenade launcher he found in the sand, hiding a small pistol in his pocket. The Japanese reinforcements were distracted by this new threat, and several of them were killed. Once again, I ran to the grenade box, and began lobbing grenades, trying to direct the fire of the main Japanese assault team. About 7 of the main assault team had been killed, and almost half their reinforcements. But, we had two men down. Shinra just lay behind the sand dune, panting, almost as if he was dead. He had, however, momentarily stopped the blood flow. The sand around him, however was bloody, and dirty. "Shinra!" I screamed, lobbing another grenade. The man registered response, and nodded. He forced himself onto one knee, and grabbed the bag of grenades. Standing weakly, he stepped, and stumbled. Correcting himself, he climbed over the sand dune, pulling two hand guns out of his pocket. "No!" I screamed. He started to sprint toward the assault team. "No!" I screamed louder. He couldn't hear me. He kept sprinting, holding the guns in the air, firing. The Japs were suddenly bombarded by bullets, and several men collapsed, as Shinra's perfect aim was put to good use. But, suddenly, all the Japanese fire turned to him. Several bullet shit Shinra in the stomach, sprouting blood to the surface of his skin. "You're killing yourself!" I screamed. But, he had accomplished his goal. He reached the assault team, placing one gun in the bag of grenades, and the other toward a commander like man. He said something to them in Japanese, and all their guns were lowered. I strained to listen. "Fire. And we all die."

--

The beach went eerily silent. "Move." Shinra said, more an order than a request. Silently, the Japanese soldiers parted, giving him free access to the commander. "So we meet again, brother." Shinra's words hit my like a bullet. Now, in the dead silence, I could hear everything. Shinra dropped the bag, and hugged the commander. I was horrified. He had used me. He released the embrace. "Now, recommence the attack." Shinra ordered. "Bastard!" I screamed. I grabbed a high caliber rifle, and just before the man huddle up, I fired. The first bullet missed Shinra's head by an inch, and he flinched, along with the rest of his pitiful army. I moved my scope, and fired one more time. The reinforcements reached the main group, as time, for the final time slowed to a deadly halt. The bullet carved through the air, as a third man greeted Shinra with a handshake. In the same moment, explosions rocked the boats, and I realized the Japs planned to stay. This was what was left of their current army. The rest were dead, or back at home, in Japan. No-one had expected a total wipe-out. By five men, no less. The Japanese commander looked toward me, shocked to find me still alive. Then the bullet struck. But it missed Shinra. It missed the commander. And it missed the third man. It had fallen short.

--

But none of them were the target. It took almost a second for the bullet to cause any damage. In that single second, I dropped the gun, and ran. Several of the Japanese men fired at me. It was the last thing they did. The grenades exploded. All of them. Nearly 100 high explosives, in a contained area. The blast was devastating. One hundred and ten Japanese soldiers died almost instantly. The explosion reached the boats, tearing them apart. Sand erupted hundreds of metres into the air. Zac and I reached the streets before the explosion wiped out everything on the beach. Almost one hundred square metres had been destroyed. Alfie was lying in pain, clutching the wound. Shawn was on his feet, staring in awe, and Zac stood beside me. We watched the spoils of our efforts. We all had minor wounds, or worse. Even had a bullet embedded in my rib. Alfie was worst of, and blood was pooling around him. "Guys!" He screamed, in desperation.

--

We all turned, as the smoke cleared, and the sand settled. He was dying, quickly. "Don't try saving me." He said, like a final wish. "It was an honour." He coughed, blood erupting from within his mouth. He fell back onto the ground. "I'll miss you. All of you." Zac knelt also. "Know that you didn't die in vain. Today, not a single American did." He nodded, a weak smile crossing his face. Tears began welling up in my eyes. It was hard for me. It was almost the exact same situation as when my mother had died. "Don't leave." I whispered. Alfie overheard me, but not the others. The dying patriot grabbed my arm, and pulled himself up, next to my ear. Then he whispered something to me, that I'll never forget. No-one else heard it, but Zac saw it. Then, he fell backwards, and coughed. Blood was surrounding the brave soldier. "I'll never forget you." I said, a tear rolling down my sore, bruised and bleeding face. Finally, he died. His pain was over. I picked the body up, with the last of my energy. Blood dripped off he fresh corpse. No, I told myself. Not a corpse. A memory. A warrior. A man.

-Epilogue-

I stepped onto the boat, carrying a single bag of luggage. Alfie had been given a proper burial and funeral several days before hand. The war had ended almost two weeks ago. Zac stood next to me, ready to fly home, back to Australia. My flight ticket was in my back pocket, and I was going with him. Shawn had chosen to stay behind. He was with us now, waving us goodbye. "But, war is all around you." I said. "Don't you want to escape?' I asked him. He shook his head. "These people need all the help they can get." I nodded, acknowledging what my friend had said. The war had torn apart buildings, weapons, people and an island. But it tightened my friendships with the two men I now considered closest.I watched Shawn wave and walk off. Zac turned to me, smiling. "Time to go?" He asked. The boat was to take us to what was left of the airport. A single plane had survived, in perfect condition, and it was to take us to Australia. We were clean, and unarmed, ready to start a new life. Both of us were only in our twenties: I was twenty-six, and Zac was twenty-four. I looked at him. "Sounds good." He chuckled.

--

Almost 20 hours later, we landed. Australia was beautiful. We had landed at the Brisbane airport. Zac was smiling, as he slipped his sunnies on. "Time to get laid, eh?" He asked, jokingly. "In your dreams." I said, returning the joke. "They're all mine."

-END-

.: Final note :.

This IS being re-written, to be bigger, better and more epic.

Plus, I wanna make it full of win.