Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait on an update! Warning: This chapter contains blood and gore. I tried to keep it non-explicit, but this is a story about a war so there will be violence and blood in this chapter and others. Please leave a review and let me know what you think!
Chapter Nineteen: Attack!
After taking a moment to process what I have just been told, I grab my armor and put it on as fast as I possibly can. While doing so, I look at the faces of the men around me. Qing looks like he is about to throw up, and his hands shake as he tightens his armor. 'This is it.' I tell myself. 'I'm going to war. I'm actually going to fight.' War has never seemed so real. Once our armor is on, I jog quickly to the entrance of the tent with Mushu and Qing. "Be careful," we whisper to each other. Then, we open the tent flap and step outside.
The sights I see before my eyes are horrifying. A few tents are on fire, the flames lighting up the night sky. At spots, the grass is slick with blood. Men are fighting with all of their might against the Huns. But the worst part is the sounds: the crackle of the flames, the screams and cries of the dying and wounded, among others.
I force myself to focus on the battle taking place in front of me. In all of the confusion, I notice that the horses have gotten out of the stable. I immediately spot Khan. Jumping on his back, I try to formulate a plan. It would seem as though my captain is one step ahead of me. "Ping!" Captain Li Shang shouts to me, "Ride up and kill their general!" I see, standing on a small hill in camp, a large figure of a man. His stature and clothing show him to be Hun, and his armor shows him to be someone of importance. He must be the Hun general. I nod my head before charging at the man.
Being on horseback gives me an advantage, and I am able to easily break through the horde of men that stand between me and the Hun general. When I get there, I jump off of Kahn and engage in a fight against the man. After a few moments of fighting, I disarm him and kick him to the ground, pinning him there with my boot. "KILL HIM!" Captain Li orders, "CUT OFF HIS HEAD!" I look down at the general. His eyes look scared, almost pleading. Still, I know what I must do. With a yell, I lift my sword above my head and then bring it down on his neck. Blood splatters my face. 'I've done it. I've killed someone. I Fa Mulan, am responsible for this man's death.' I force myself to stop thinking about these things. Now is not the time.
I spring into action. The battle is a blur of swords clashing and men dying. I take down Hun soldiers one after another, trying not to think about the fact that these are actual people. An hour or two later, around dawn, the Huns begin to retreat. We chase them out of camp, many men firing arrows at their retreating forms. For a moment after the Huns leave, we are all silent. Technically, we have won, but no one seems to be in the mood for celebration. How can one possibly celebrate when so many of their brothers are either dead or bleeding?
Finally, Captain Li begins to shout orders. "Alright, I need anyone who is not significantly injured to go around and find those who are. If you find one of ours who is injured, take them to the medical tent," at this, he points to a large tent with the word "medic" printed on it. "If they are Hun, find me, and I will decide what should be done with them." The men nod and begin to disperse. I follow, anxious to see if my friends are injured, or even still breathing. "Ping," the captain grasps my shoulder as I walk past him. I turn to face him. "I have another job for you. I want you to go around to the dead Chinese soldiers and take their dog tags. Put them in this bag," he hands me a burlap sack. "When you have finished, bring me the bag. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," I say halfheartedly. I spend the next few hours going around camp and collecting the dog tags from the fallen Chinese soldiers. The task makes me sick. After living and training with these men for a little over a year, I considered many of them brothers. Seeing them so brutally slaughtered makes me want to scream and cry and throw up all at the same time. Among the dead, there's Bai, a man who always found a way to make everyone laugh, now laying lifeless with a fatal wound on his chest and without a right arm. There's Da, a very intelligent man who I have had many conversations with about ancient history, now so massacred that his dog tag is the only way I am able to identify him.
The worst part is when I enter the meadow that Mushu and I found on the first day and have met at many times after. The grass is now soaked in blood, bodies, both Chinese and Hun, litter the ground. This meadow used to be a safe place for me; the place where I could be Mulan, not Ping. Now, all sense of security is gone, taken in battle just like Bai and Da. After I have just finished taking the dog tags from the fallen men in the meadow, I make a promise to myself. Never again shall I step foot in this meadow. War has changed this meadow, just as it has changed me. Just like myself, this meadow shall never be the same again.