A loud explosion shook Private Henderson awake.
Henderson opens his eyes.
Sun shining on his face, he looks next to him and sees his comrades still asleep.
His face turns into a grimace; he remembers he is stuck in a trench outside of his hometown of Los Angeles.
It's the year 2081: The United States of America is locked into a brutal war against the 4th Reich of Germany. This war, which has been going for decades, has left cities devastated by nukes and hundreds of millions dead in its wake.
But the war is drawing to a close. The once mighty United States has been reduced to just one major city: Los Angeles, one of the only cities not ravaged by German nukes or otherwise taken by German soldiers.
Desperately clinging to life, the United States have dug in around Los Angeles.
Suddenly, the artillery behind American lines come to life. The hundreds of artillery pieces start roaring simultaneously.
''Look alive men! It's Judgment Day!'' Captain Burrows shouts.
''What´s going on, captain?'' Sergeant Jackson asks, puzzled by the sudden bombardment.
Burrows, grabbing his rifle, replies: ''The krauts attacked our left flank yesterday and we left them pretty devastated. Command wants us to attack their trenches and hold it against all costs.''
''Why do we have to do the dirty work again?'' Corporal Williams asks, annoyed.
''Because we're the ones that are low on ammunition.''
Henderson loads a magazine into his rifle.
He looks at the picture he's holding in his hand. On the picture Henderson is standing in uniform between his parents in front of their old house in Houston, before they had to be evacuated to Los Angeles.
Henderson was an only child, and his father would always tell him to do their family and their country proud. It seems like only yesterday that Henderson was fantasizing on his bed about slaughtering multiple German invaders with his bare hands while protecting his comrades.
And here he is. A fresh recruit, barely 18 years old, on the frontline alongside other teenage boys dressed up in uniforms with killing machines in their hands.
Henderson peeks over the trench and observes the German trench on the other side. Between the two trenches is a space that soldiers refer to as no man's land: a mile littered with bodies from previous skirmishes and craters from artillery bombardments.
''Are you out of your damned mind, recruit?!'' Captain Burrows yells and pushes Henderson's head down.
''You know damn well those kraut snipers shoot anything that moves, and I don't want to clean up another body!''
Henderson nods and apologizes. He knew that in a few minutes they would have to go up and over.
Henderson was thinking about how this was the moment that he had been waiting for his entire life. Everything he had done in his life will come down to this moment.
This will be my moment of glory, and if I have to die in that moment, so be it.
I would rather die a heroes' death than live a cowards' life.
''This is it men! Attack!'' Burrows shouted.
Henderson gripped his rifle tight. Left and right, Henderson saw his comrades climb out of their trenches.
His heart and his mind were racing.
''This is your chance, Henderson. Take this chance to climb out of this trench and run towards your destiny,'' a voice in his mind said.
Henderson climbed out of the trench and stood among his comrades, facing the enemy.
''Run, Henderson. Run to your destiny.''
And Henderson started running.
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit Henderson in the neck and he fell to the ground.
He tried to breath, but he couldn't. Henderson put his hand on his neck and then he looked at this hand: it was covered in his own blood.
It dawned on Henderson: he was shot in the neck.
Corporal Williams stops and looks at the 18 year old that is helplessly laying on the ground. Captain Burrows grabs Williams by the arm.
''Leave him. He's dead.''
'No.. don't go…' Henderson thought. His vision started blurring, and he could not hear the sounds of the battlefield anymore.
As blood starts entering his lungs and his main organs shutting down, just one sentence goes through Henderson's mind.
There is no such thing as a heroes' death.