"INCOMING!" yelled the faceless voice as the winding sounds of the rockets entered their vicinity. In one instant, what was once life became a smoldering hole filled with death and decay. A cavalcade of hopes and dreams were extinguished in one fell swoop of an enemy cannon.

The surreality of it all seemed to both baffle and intrigue Private Richard Davis who was fortunate enough to be several hundred meters away from impact, only having to endure the raining debris of flesh and bone. The carnage seemed to span on as far as the eyes could see. A barren wasteland that complimented humanities greatest atrocities. As Davis looked down upon what was left of his best friend, Corporal Jack Sheppard's upper body nausea took it's course and Davis emptied his stomach. The horrified look on Sheppard's mangled face preserving his final expression of regret. The psychological scars already forming and the mental image of Sheppard's exposed small intestine being permanently burned into Davis' brain.

"MOVE FORWARD! MOVE FORWARD YOU DOGS!" yelled Captain Price, the soldiers had no choice but to obey. It was either risk death on the battlefield or guarantee execution by a commanding officer. They ran in lines so if one soldier decided to stop, the one behind him would kill him, giving him incentive to keep moving forward. The promise of death seemed to outweigh the chances of survival on the battlefield, something fresh recruits learned the hard way.

"MOVE FORWARD NOW!" screamed Captain Price so like a herd of lemmings they rose up out of the trenches and advanced, many being slaughtered by the subsequent machine gun fire. Amidst the smoke and gunpowder one could almost see the souls of the departed ascending into Heaven. They were already in Hell and many of the soldiers subscribed to the idea that there was no where else to go but up, death being the escape from the damnation that was their lives. However other soldiers believed they were merely in purgatory and that a whole new level of torment awaited them, giving them a reason to stay alive and continue the fight. Whatever idea soldiers decided to subscribe to varied on how many of their friends' blood they had to wipe off their face.

Davis was able to defy death by taking refuge in a nearby crater which he found ironic because the blast that created the crater probably took more than a few lives. The foul stench of death was present in the hole due to two corpses, each with bullet holes in their craniums and one soldier holding an MK VI leading Davis to conclude a murder-suicide pact. The bodies were still radiating warmth indicating their deaths took place not that long ago.

Over head the bullets and bombs were whizzing by so ferociously that had Davis put up his hand in the air it would have surely been shot off. The smoke from the cannons and the chemicals rose high up into the sky and blocked out the sun, leaving a reddish-orange glow to illuminate the battle below. Davis sat ready to advance when the machine gun fire ceased, a time frame that seemed to last an eternity. Finally he heard the call for a reload by the enemy combatants and begin his scuttle out of the crater only to be met with a thud from the butt of an enemy rifle. On the ground Davis looked up at a cloaked shadowy figure of death looming down upon him with one had stretched out. In a bold act of defiance David leapt to his feet and plunged his bayonet into the heart of the cloaked figure. It let out an ear shattering scream before slumping over and breathing it's final breath before reverting back into the enemy combatant.

Davis examined his kill with a look of disgust on his face. He felt ashamed of his actions, he had perverted his soul. Death was so much more awful up close then from yards away. Bending over to closer examine the body Davis had a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he knew this person. In an act far removed from his moral protocol Davis began to ransack the body's pockets for identity. Upon removing the wallet Davis learned the man's name was Emile Viau. He found a few crumpled up bills and a faded picture of a woman with the word's "L'amour Eternal" inscribed on the back. Like a bomb going off inside his head Davis pieced together that this man he had killed was the husband of a woman who had saved Davis' life two weeks prior.

Two weeks before the battle Davis and two fellow army acquaintances were sent on a probing mission into a nearby village to see what it looked like before they laid siege to it like they had done to all the other villages prior. Davis and his company tried hard to keep to the shadows but the small size of the village and their foreign looking clothes gave away their position. Being unarmed they had no choice but to retreat, but it seemed that every corner they turned lead them to a dead end and their subsequent deaths. However a woman opened the back door of the local bakery and beckoned them to enter, to which they did with great haste. Inside they were greeted by a youth of about sixteen who they would later find out is the younger brother of the woman who unlocked the back door. She was a great beauty with long curly blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She had a husky voice but spoke English, albeit with a heavy European accent. When probed as to her reasons for helping them she simply responded that Davis reminded her of her husband, who was fighting in the war of, as she called it, Western Oppression. She claimed that her husband wore the same glasses as Davis and had the same shade of auburn brown hair, parted in the middle as her Emile. She admitted at first she thought that Davis was Emile. When pressed further by Davis she let slip that she believes the killing should be kept on the battlefield and out of her village. She offered them a deal, she will help them escape the town unharmed, if they tell their superior officers that the village has no strategic value and should be spared. All three soldiers agreed and gave their blessings to the woman who called herself Val.

As she led them out of the village via a wine cellar the soldiers began to question their commanding officer's reasons for misleading them into believing the Europeans were nothing but savages who had to be exterminated. They reached the edge of town near a crossroads and Val gave them detailed locations of enemy ambush points and mine fields, using her advice they trio were able to reach the trenches without incident and reported their findings to their commanding officers who unanimously agreed to spare the village. With their confidence of their commanders rattled, the trio made a vow to not kill anymore, Davis was the only one left by the time of the battle.

As David finished his recollection he felt a great weight on his chest, a weight of guilt for what he had done. Davis slumped down next to the corpse with his arms wrapped around it, hugging it as if he believed his sheer will power could reanimate the corpse. He was cursing himself, the war, and the West. The bullets and bombs overhead became a mere background noise to the screaming in his head. As Davis wept he remembered a story his grandfather use to tell him as a child, a story about the Crossroads, where deals of any nature could be made. Collecting his composure, Davis began to switch the uniforms of Emile and one of the fallen soldiers in time to hear "RETREAT!" being yelled by a faceless voice. The machine gun fire proved to be too well placed and the Western soldiers were facing heavy casualties. With Emile's corpse slumped over his shoulder, Davis began a mad dash back towards the safety of the trenches, trying not to watch as some of the remaining soldiers were cut in half by a barrage of bullets. Davis and a lucky few soliders were able to make it back to the trenches, the wounded being left in no-man's land, their screams of pain lefto to penetrate the dreams of the living serving as a reminder to the horrors of war.

When questioned about the body slumped over his shoulder, Davis claimed the soldier was alive when started the retreat, but must have perished in the retreat. The field doctor believed the lie and left the body in the medical tent for the night before being shipped off. Davis knew he would have to act fast; when night fell and the fighting ceased, Davis stealthily crept out of the trenches and followed the same path to the crossroads outside the village he visited a fortnight prior. Digging a small hole, he placed a photo of himself at his graduation ceremony a year ago. He had changed so much since then, his build had increased dramatically, his face was sharp and weather beaten from the harsh living conditions he had experienced for the past year. He was no longer the fresh faced young adult ready to take the world by storm, but a beaten down shell of a former man. He closed the lid of the metal container quickly, not wanting to be reminded of what his past life use to be like. After burying the box he was startled to hear the voice of a young woman behind him. Quickly he spun around to see a creature in the guise of a voluptuous black haired woman. Her skin was a creamy pale and she had blue eyes similar to himself and Emile. She was a true Aphrodite, however there was a subtle evil aurora around her, and for a second her eyes turned blood red and she grinned.

Davis explained the situation to her as best he could without expressing the fear he had for the creature. She asked him in a faux concerned way if he was enlisting her help to bring back the life of a fallen comrade who had breathed his final unloved breath hundreds of miles away from home. Davis' blood began to boil at this and he gritted his teeth and explained how he had took the life of Emile and that he wanted the creature to bring him back to life in exchange for his soul. The creature liked the sound of the deal but explained to him that with the chaos of the war, she could only promise him one year left on Earth because favors were in short demand. Although reluctant at first, Davis took the deal because he knew that after the devastating acts he had witnessed his life was never going to be the same. The screams of death would forever permeate his head and his death was the only way to silence them. Davis agreed to the deal and was then embraced in the lips of the creature, her way of make it official. The creature explained that when Davis puts his hand on Emile's head, his life will be restored and Davis' soul would reserve it's place in Hell. Before departing, the creature said one final thing about how sometimes the dead should stay dead, before vanishing into the night.

Disillusioned from the events that just transpired Davis vomited before stumbling back to the trenches, much more belligerent then when he left. The creature's final words echoing throughout his head. Entering the first aid tent Davis looked down upon Emile's lifeless body and felt a great wave of power wash over him, similar to when he struck the bayonet into Emile's heart. Even in death Davis had complete control over Emile and a for a brief moment contemplated returning to the crossroads and telling the creature to end the contract. However reason began to take over Davis and he thought of Val being reunited with Emile and for the first time in what seemed like forever, he smiled. He took out the picture of Val and ran his thumb over the phrase "L'amour Eternal" which translated to "Love- till the end of time". Davis had cheated Emile out of his time, the shadowy figure had beckoned him, he had to do the right thing. Davis put his fingers on Emile's forehead and his eyes quickly darted open. In a dazed voice Emile asked where he was and what happened. Davis explained that Emile was injured in the battle, but Davis was able to save his life by disguising Emile as a friendly soldier in order to get first aid. Emile seemed to comprehend what Davis was saying and quickly took his leave not before thanking Davis for what he had done. Davis informed Emile as to where he could retrieve his weapon and uniform. Exhausted from the day's events Davis retired to his makeshift bed and fell into a light sleep, haunted by winged creatures tearing the flesh off his bones as crows devoured his soul.

Davis was awakened the next day by a disgruntled soldier who was upset by Davis' constant muttering. It was early dawn and Davis went to go relieve himself when he was confronted by a monstrous fanged black dog. He went to draw his sidearm but the dog was nowhere to be seen. When he inquired about this phantom beast to his fellow soldiers they claimed to have not see the beast. They were all far more interested in a man who was killed earlier in no-man's land wearing a Western uniform, but nobody recognized the soldier. Davis said nothing and went about cleaning his rifle for the next advance. Two days later he received a letter without a return address that only said "Tough break kid, the deal still stands" the letter was left unsigned.

The war waged on for two more months before both sides reached a stalemate when the damage to both economies became nearly irreversible. Davis was shipped back home battle scared and unable to find work due to the depression that followed the war. Many soldiers, including Davis, subscribed to the idea that the truly lucky soldiers were the ones who perished on the battlefield, going out in a haze of self-induced glory. Nobody returned as heroes, there were no winners , the only thing the soldiers returned with was psychological trauma.

The remaining ten months of Davis' life was a cavalcade of misery and despair. He fell victim to alcoholism in an effort to escape the horrors he saw everyday in his mind. People he passed on the streets became disfigured, their faces stitched together like that of a baseball. He was hounded by monstrous black dogs and winged creatures everywhere he went. Whenever he closed his eyes to sleep he heard the screams of torture and pain that awaited his soul in Hell. The only way to drown these things out of his head was to stay in a permanent inebriated state. However with a lack of funding he had to turn to crime to feed his addiction. Soon he became an insomniac and in his last month alive, catatonic.

His final month nobody seemed to notice him but the creatures that plagued his head and a group of adolescents who tortured him when they found themselves bored. Davis was hanging by his neck with his stomach sliced open by his landlord when Davis failed to provide him with the next month's rent. Investigators attributed his death to an attack by a wild animal, but were not able to make light of the word's "What's Dead Should Stay Dead" scribbled across the wall in what appeared to be Davis's blood. The investigation was wrapped up quicker than most and was soon forgotten. Only one person attended his funeral, a foreign woman who identified herself to the priest as Val and said she received a letter from an unknown source regarding Davis' death. She placed a single rose on Davis' tombstone that went from blood red to black without an explanation.