# You have to Crawl Yujer

Yujer knew something was wrong, the ammo supply has become slow, he was now crawling to transport ammo, once every two days. At first he thought some peace talks are taking place and that is why the war has slowed down. But no, the realisation hit him when he was in the trenches, the explosions seem to be louder, more frequent and closer, the enemy was closing in. The trenches that used to be quiet during the day were now constantly shaking. The soldiers weren't talking much anymore. Even the crass jokes had stopped. Yujer knew something was wrong. They were losing.

The higher management was in disarray and was trying to get more soldiers to the front lines but casualties had increased, instead of medics taking away the injured bodies, they were now being tied to crawlers so they can take the injured soldiers back to camp.

It was turning out to be hell.

One day all crawlers were called in to a meeting, the big moustache general from the Capital was there, he proclaimed that there have been some hiccups and the Army has come up with a solution. The next words that came out of his mouth scandalised everyone. He said, "Crawlers are needed to crawl across the front lines carrying explosives".

Then the pamphlet reached us. For every explosive planted and triggered successfully, they'd receive three times what they earned from a single crawl. Also they could go home early if they planted over 100 explosives across the front lines. This was meant to slow down enemy movement. The crawls would happen at night, but this was more risk as one was on contested land and could encounter the enemy at any point. Crawlers never carried guns because they were heavy. You needed to be light to crawl fast.

While in the trench one day, Yujer talked about this with the soldier he was supplying ammo to. The soldier told him that he'd give anything to return home and be with his family. How he'd like to sleep in his own bed, drink water from the well, make love to his wife and his mistress back home. He had several mistresses, he didn't remember all their names, but he was confident that there were several of them, which was confusing for Yujer as he had none.

Yujer thought about it for multiple days and then he enrolled himself in the explosive planting program. He was trained for 2 days. They spent half a day teaching him how to use a knife and another half explaining how to trigger the explosives if he was caught. The instructor was very particular about this. He told them that getting captured was bad for morale and wasting an explosive was bad for the budget. On the second day they taught him to pray effectively so that this emergency case never happens.

He was nervous and fearful on the first night carrying explosives, but they were considerably light and he could crawl faster and stealthier than before. A mortar here and there didn't matter much because he had grown accustomed to them. He placed the explosives as far into the contested territory as he could and crawled back. It was easy, it felt easy. The next day he received his payment receipt, he had been paid 3x the usual amount for planting the explosive. He was ecstatic in that moment.

The next night he went out and planted 2 explosives at different places. He did not encounter any enemy. He was ecstatic. It felt easier, and this continued for a month. He had successfully planted 102 explosives and all of them triggered successfully. He was given the chance to go back as he had done his duty, or he could stay and make more money. He decided to stay. After the gruelling war for 3 months he had planted over 400 explosives, and made a lot of dough. He was the most successful crawler. He had enough money to go back and sustain a peaceful life. He received medals and commendations, but the Army realised that they could not stop him from going back home. It would hurt the sentiment and make it seem like the Army was going back on its word.

He made his last crawl on the day he crossed 400 explosives and applied to leave. His leave was granted and he went back.

He was at home and for the first time he felt relieved.

Three months had passed. There were whispers that the Army was successful in delaying the enemy movement. There was a parade. Everyone seemed happy.

One fine day, he received a letter from the Army Academy. He was asked to come to the HQ to meet the big moustache general. You cannot really disobey these orders as they will just pick you up and throw you into a prison. So Yujer went to the capital. The big moustache general gave him a medal and asked him to train new crawlers as the strategy for crawlers to plant explosives has been successful. But there was a twist now.

The crawlers would no longer plant the explosives and crawl back. They would infiltrate enemy lines and trigger them themselves. Yujer could not just say no to this, it was hinted that if he refused he'd be forcefully taken away and would have to resume his duties as a crawler.

So he accepted. He wondered if they would teach the new crawlers how to pray.