[ WP ] A world where people laugh when they are sad and cry when they 're happy .

Earl sat in the corner. Blood was seeping out of his many wounds and staining his military fatigues. He had lost his rifle in the engagement that he had narrowly escaped. His hands were covering his wounds, trying to lessen the blood loss. 
 
 They came out of no where and made a decisive strike. His platoon did n't know what hit them. Earl could still hear the sounds of battle outside the little ruined building he collapsed in. It all sounded like fireworks in the distance. His wounds were likely lethal and he knew that he did n't have long in this world. The tears started pouring as he looked up to the tiled ceiling. Despite the chaos around him, he was crying. 
 
 His crying turned into hysterical sobs that would waver, going from something almost like shrieking to a low pitched wimpering. He cried like he never cried before. Earl knew that he would finally be free from this life. He would never have to worry about artillary barrages or hostile militants in some distant godforsaken hellhole ever again. He would never need to touch a gun or kill another man. His life was no longer a question of survival in an endless war. That question had been answered. 
 
 After a while, his sobbing grew into a silence and he let go. Earl drifted away, at peace with himself. 
 
 Sergeant Earl Wilno, Serial Number: 633.544.49393, woke in a clean medical ward four hours after the ambush. His wounds were dressed and some of them were even completely healed. The shrapnel in his right leg had been removed. The blood drained out of his lungs. He was to be put back in duty by the day's end. 
 
 The man in the bed over stared at Earl. He missed two of his legs and was snickering. Earl joined him. And they laughed together.
