Breathless chase after shadows

As the dark veil covered the sky, I was left with no choice but to resign to fate. The enemy was relentless in their pursuit— My platoon scattered after the strike on Khartoum. Only two bullets remain~ One to kill another, The other for myself. I was lucky to find an abandoned trench— wide enough to let my eyes rest. Too fatigued to resist sleep, I hit the hay and slept like a log. Then I heard voices nearby. From that hole I lay in, I could see them clearly— They were South Sudanese soldiers~ the enemy soldiers. They chattered loudly, so I knew they shared a fate not so different from mine... Only that we were enemies— oil and water don’t mix. Thank God for the darkness and the trench, I was hidden from their view. At least four hours of night would still conceal my identity— or so I thought. Then, about ten minutes later, I saw a large black snake, its scales gleaming even in that darkness, crawling toward my hole— from the opposite side of the enemy soldiers. From the way it moved, I knew— that hole was its home. It was returning for a late-night nap. I had no choice but to leap from the trench and run toward the enemy soldiers. I could feel the heavy clouds hanging over them as they scattered in opposite directions. I ran between their fear, the sound of scales closing in behind me— the snake sniffing at my heels. I ran. My lungs were like chains tightening with each breath— but still I ran, my heels kicking the back of my head. And I remembered: I still had two bullets remaining— One to kill another, The other for myself. My helmet burned like a furnace. I jolted awake—still in the trench. No snake. No soldiers. Just shadows. The nightmare had ended, but my chest still heaved from that breathless, imaginary run. I felt the gun still on my chest, reached for the bullets— they were still there. And I remembered: One is to kill another, The other for myself.