[ WP ] A soldier in the heat of battle suddenly hears a voice that says `` I am your child 's imaginary friend . They have sent me to protect you in your greatest time of need . ''

The enemy guns ceased firing and an eerie silence settled over the battlefield. It was these moments that Lt. Simmons dreaded the most, these temporary lulls as the enemy rested and prepared for the next assault. When the sky roared and chattered with gunfire and explosions, when the earth shook with the implacable thud-thud-thud of encroaching artillery fire, Simmons could fill his mind with noise and light, fill it to bursting until there was no room for fear, or doubt, or thought. 
 
 
 Simmons lit a cigarette with shaking hands and tried not to think about the war. He tried not to think about dwindling ammo reserves or how empty the trenches seemed today, trenches that once teemed with fellow soldiers. He tried not to think about the bodies. 
 
 
 “ Things are looking pretty grim, huh? ” said a gruff voice. Simmons dropped his cigarette and spun to face the source of the sound. To his left, in the middle of the trench there was a small stuffed bear. Its faded brown fur was worn and stained, and it stood on its hind legs and stared up at him with black button eyes. 
 
 
 “ Hello, Doug ” said the bear. Simmons blinked several times and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up from whatever daydream he had slipped into. The bear remained. 
 
 
 “ This can ’ t be happening ” said Simmons. “ Y-you, you ’ re- ” 
 
 
 “ Bentley Bear ” said the bear with a nod. 
 
 
 “ But you ’ re Will ’ s teddy bear. You ’ re just a- ” 
 
 
 “ I ’ m his **friend** ” the bear interrupted, growling slightly. 
 
 
 “ What the hell is happening to me? ” 
 
 
 “ There ’ s a scared little boy out there who wants to see his daddy home safe. I ’ m here to make sure that happens ” the bear turned as he spoke, and began walking towards the wall of the trench. 
 
 
 “ H-how can you possibly help? This is insane! ” Simmons shouted at the bear as it began climbing up the wall. 
 
 
 “ To you I ’ m just a toy ” the bear ’ s voice began to deepen as it spoke, and its body started to ripple and swell as it continued climbing. “ To him, I am so much more. ” 
 
 
 A massive grizzly bear stood atop the wall, towering over the awestruck soldier. It turned its great shaggy head and regarded him with coal-black eyes. “ Besides, ” said Bentley, his voice now a rumbling bass, “ I brought reinforcements. ” He turned to face the battlefield once more and let out a deafening roar that echoed across the battered plain. As the sound reverberated through the still air Simmons heard other voices take up the cry, voices that spanned the length of the great trench as other figures rose up to form a ragged line. Animals, monsters, princesses, clowns… all these and countless other forms stood atop the trench wall and screamed defiance at the enemy. Behind every one, peering up from the trench, stood a soldier. Simmons looked at them and saw cheeks glistening with tears, hands clasped over gaping mouths, and he knew that every one of them had just had the same conversation. 
 
 
 Then, as one, they charged. 
 
 
 In the aftermath, after the sounds of battle faded, Lt. Doug Simmons sprinted across the battlefield to paw frantically through the debris. Finally, beneath a pile of ruined fortifications and mangled corpses he found it: a small stuffed bear, now damaged beyond all hope of repair. Stuffing poured from a hundred rips and tears and one arm dangled by a single thread. The bear coughed and looked up at him with its one remaining button eye. 
 
 
 “ We got ‘ em, Doug. You ’ re safe now ” said Bentley, his voice faint and weak. 
 
 
 “ Bentley, you ’ re- ” 
 
 
 “ It ’ s over, Doug. I ’ m done. ” 
 
 
 “ B-but Will, he needs you ” stammered Simmons, tears streaming down his face. 
 
 
 “ He needs his **father**. My days were numbered anyway. Better this than winding up forgotten in a closet somewhere. Just promise me you ’ ll take good care of him. ” 
 
 
 Simmons clasped Bentley ’ s good arm and looked him in the eye, blinking back tears. “ I promise. Thank you. ” Bentley nodded and let out a great sigh, and then his little body went limp. Simmons gently placed the bear back on the ground and stood to look out over the horizon. Out there, far beyond those hills there was a little boy who had just lost his best friend. It was time to go home.
