Author: Sandra Meaders

Tatiana crept out through the night with a green pack on her back and a gun in her hand. The gun felt heavy and rigid. Her fingers streamed with sweat despite the cold air whipping at her long blond hair. She placed the gun down and pulled out a black knit cap from her coat’s pocket. She tucked her hair into the hat then knelt down on the cold dirt to grab her gun. She stood abruptly then hurried to the dusty road and started walking. Other figures crept out of shadows from buildings and doorways and joined her. In long bumbling lines and rows, they gathered and marched through the night. The man on the moon watched them from his seat in the sky.
“It’s a full moon tonight,” said a voice.
The voice was promptly shushed, and they marched onward. The group crept toward a bridge. In the distance, they could hear the rattle of weapons and the hum of missiles.
No one spoke as they crouched and waited. The moon seemed to peer down on them and move closer, growing bigger, and brighter. The crackle of weapons and rumbles drew nearer. With each minute the sounds grew louder and more distinct.
“Hold your ground, no matter what,” rumbled a deep voice.
The moonbeams danced in the night with the continued rumbling. The earth started shaking.
Tatiana whispered a prayer and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She continued muttering and whispering a prayer. Her prayer started echoing in the lips on neighbors next to her and it rippled through the group until every man and woman muttered the prayer over and over again.
The earth rumbled and groaned with the movement of large vehicles clunking toward them. Closer and closer the enemies traveled towards them. Tatiana’s cheeks wetted with tears, and she continued whispering her prayer. The sweat dribbled from her hair line and mingled with her salty tears.
The starlight and moonbeams glistened and sparkled on the heavy machinery moving towards them. Men marched alongside the machinery with guns cocked in their hands, ready to fire. Tatiana rested her finger on the trigger when the moonbeams and starlight twisted and swirled around the enemy making their bodies and machinery glow at an unnatural iridescent light. The men screamed and the machinery groaned as they were sucked into the moonlight. The moonlight retreated and the man on the moon swallowed them whole.
Tatiana sank on her knees and sobbed through praises of thanks and gratitude as the men and women around her scratched their heads and looked up at the moon in wonder.