"General pummelo! General pummelo! I bring an urgent report from the Orange grove frontlines." A young Luetinent Langerine yelled.
"Out with it luetinent!" GENERAL PUMMELO yelled.
"Sir the navel orange vanguard has been vanquished by the gallant gala brigade." Lt. Tangerine said with much sadness letting out freshly squeezed juice.
"Impossible! How did the attack commence?" Pummelo asked.
"Sir the commander of the gala apples sent in a fruit fly bombardment. We didn't stand a chance. They found our wounded first sir and they dug into their wounds and decayed them from the inside out." Tangerine let out its sour tears. General pummelo had no choice but to embrace his Lt. peel to peel.
"Lt. we must save our juice and mourn for the dead once we win this war." General Pummelo exclaimed.
"Yes! Sir!" The Lt. Said saluting the General.
"What troubles me is the cooperation of the flies. Those flies were larvae only 39 days ago they must be close to death. We need the Caterpillars!" General Pummelo said hitting the desk with his peel.
"The Caterpillars sir? They would never ally with us." The Lt. said.
"Oh! They will for I know of a certain captain that has close ties with the leader of the Caterpillars." General Pummelo said turn to face the Lt. with a scary smirk on his peel.
"NO, sir you don't mean him. His methods are too cruel. Please sir reconsider." The Lt said with a begging tone.
"My decision is final and you will follow my orders Lt. BRING ME CAPTAIN RED GRAPEFRUIT!"
A few days had passed since the Lt. was given the order to find Captain Red Grapefruit. He asked around the grove until he finally received a decent tip that he had gone back to his mother tree. "Captain!" The Lt yelled out.
The captain turned to see who was calling out to him. When he recognized the Lt he turned back around. "I don't want anything to do with your war. That isn't me anymore, leave me alone."
The Lt approached the Captain. "I'm here under orders of General Pummelo. We need your specific brand of cruel sourness. The orchard completely demolished the Naval Orange grove."
That made the captain curious and furious. "How?"
"It seems they made a pact with the fruit flies, they-" the Lt was cut short.
"Flies those despicable creatures. It would seem that Pummelo knew I wouldn't be able to say no." The captain said with a willy grin.
The Lt looked on with a stare that asked the question of why.
"Flies are what killed my wife Valencia Orange and son Blood orange. I know of only one bad apple that would sink so low to use those creatures, HONEYCRISP!"
"That is why we need the caterpillars help." Lt. Tangerine sat with Red Grapefruit going into detail of what had transpired in the last few days.
"Pummelo is correct in sending you to me. The caterpillars are led by Mona the Monarch butterfly." Grapefruit said.
"Why would caterpillars follow a butterfly on your request?" Tangerine asked.
"When she was a caterpillar she cocooned next to my branch. I grew with her as she morphed into a butterfly. I grew and shielded her from the wind. When there was rain I would bend my branch to form a canopy over her so the water wouldn't get to her." Red Grapefruit said.
"Oh! Then it should be easy getting them to work with us." The Lt. said.
"Lt. stay here. Mona does not like strangers. I will go alone. It will take a few days to assemble her army." Red Grapefruit said as he rolled out of his home.
"Captain good luck."
Tangerine laid about the house of grapefruit. He looked at the wall of pictures of the decorated veteran. Grapefruit had made an altar for his deceased family.
After a few days, the door of grapefruit's house swung open. Red Grapefruit stood at the doorway before he spoke. "It's done Lt., they will meet us on the battlefield."
"That's amazing Captian. Shall we get going as well, do you need any time to gather your things?" The Lt asked.
"No. Honerycrisp is waiting for us." Grapefruit said as he turned around and started to roll towards the grove command center.
At Orchard command
"Lt. Tangerine exceptional work, truly exceptional. Once we win I shall promote you to my second in command. Captain Grapefruit how do our chances seem to you?" General Pummelo asked with a sour face.
"We would get juiced if we didn't get the caterpillars help. Luckily they will arrive before the dew falls."
"Good. Lt. Tangerine shows the Captain to his tent so he can rest before we march in a few hours." Pummelo ordered Tangerine.
"Look at all these fresh faces. Their peels are too young to know the horrors of war." Captain Grapefruit said.
"We had to draft that's what this war has done to protect our grove." Lt. Tangerine responded.
Horns blared as the soldiers had begun to move out to the rendezvous point. At the rendezvous point the Pummelo Heavy Corp, Valencia Vanguard's, Mandarine Maniacs, Tangerine Tango, Grapefruit Guerilla, and the Navel Notorious Corp's all gathered. A young tangelo scout ran towards Lt. Tangerine with a report.
"Captain Grapefruit the insects have arrived." The Lt. informed the Captain.
"I shall go to meet them and discuss the plan." The captain roared as he left the command tent.
The captain met with a butterfly that had red and yellow wings. Bigger and much more vibrant in color than any other butterfly. The captain was discussing war plans with the leader of the caterpillars.
Planning and discussions went on for hours among the insects and the grove. A little past midnight the insects enacted Captain Grapefruits plan.
The caterpillars crawled at a fast pace as they marched on the smooth peels of valencias in the darkness. Within a matter of hours, the caterpillars had infiltrated the orchard. They crept in slowly and silently. In the orchard camp, the camp soon began to be consumed by caterpillars that were digging into their cores. The thin outer skin of an apple was easily broken through. Hundreds died before the alarm was raised.
The alarm raised synched with the screams of the injured apples. With the initial attack of the grove a success they broke their cover and charged. The vanguard set up a perimeter with thorn branches. Soldiers on the front used thorn wipes to whip and pierce through the apple's skin. The heavy infantry pummelos and grapefruits marched in squashing and pureeing the apples under their weight. Apple command began its counterattack. Apples fell from the trees. The flies that remained began to swarm the injured oranges. The stems of the apples pierced the tough peels of the oranges. The acidic juice of the oranges stung the open cuts of the apples.
Unbeknownst to both armies and commanders, a new type of enemy was circling above them. The war waged on losses on both sides exceeded the thousands. The wind carried the enticing aroma of citrus and apple. The enemy in the sky continued to circle.
"Captain Grapefruit the enemy is gradually pushing us back. Ever since the Honeycrisp Core entered the battle our advantage has diminished." A corporal advised the Captain.
"Honeycrisp? Then he's here. It's time to reinforce the main force all you sour scoundrels march forward and take no prisoner's!" Captain Grapefruit led the reinforcement at high speed.
The apples push had been stalled. The caterpillars continued to gnaw on the apples. Juice and puree mixed in pools on the ground. Apple's with grievous injuries laid on the ground. Orange's laid peeled and pierced. The sounds of war below drowned out the kaws and chirps of the enemy above. Crows and smaller birds divebombed the warzone. The beaks of the birds struck the caterpillars first as they provided excellent protein. The caterpillars were torn apart.
The crows used their powerful talons to pick up both oranges and apples to soar back up to the sky and dropped them from the sky. The victims would splatter on impact with the ground. The birds pressed the apples to the ground and with their beaks began to peck at their skin to get to the cores. The talons would peel back the orange's peel to get to the meat of the orange's. The attack of the birds left both sides decimated. Hours of the gruesome attack left no orange untouched and no apple without a bruise. Bodies strewn on the branches of the tree. Cores left out to the elements began to spoil and the oranges followed suit.
Captain Grapefruit was the last citrus standing. He looked at the decimated battlefield. Death looked back at him. The birds continued to peck and torture on the injured. Screams resonated in the air. He winced in pain. He looked at his side and a chunk of his body was missing. The top of his head scalped. He looked outward as he heard the screams of someone it was his friend Mona being eaten alive by the biggest crow of the flock. The crow swallowed Mona whole. Captain Grapefruit let out a scream. The crow heard and began to scamper towards him. A shiny black feathered crow stood in front of him with its wings spread out. It kawed in excitement as it was about to begin another feast.
Captain Grapefruit looked down and saw a happy sight. His long-time enemy the general of the apples Honeycrisp laid lifeless below him. "Well, at least I know you're dead. Hey stupid Crow, let's get this over with." Grapefruit said as he plopped to the ground in exhaustion. "I hope I taste sour." The crow vigorously pecked and clawed into him. Getting at the meat and scraping away at his peel.
The war came to an end. Led by a murderous flock of crows other birds ate well for the day.

© Carlos Lozano lazydracoXIII