Chapter 16: Under siege
That question surprised Fletcher completely, not able to think of an answer for a moment. “Uh…yes, I do. Sometimes. Why?”
“Because I love to play chess and I find so few challengers. Besides, I think some friends of yours would like to see you again.”
Dinky and her friends slowly grinned as he said this. “They’re okay?”
“Yes, they are.” The General pointed to the truck. “Get in. I am General Erich Von Richter.”
Fletcher and the kids nodded, getting into the back of the truck. Von Richter seemed honest, they could all tell.
It took only a short time until the two vehicles came to a stop and they found themselves in a town. At the outskirts were fields with German tanks parked in concealed positions, along with a few garrisons. The town itself was separated in two by a river, with a church on the other side of a bridge, the garrisons in the town had a few Italian tanks parked next to them.
“Here we are. My orders are to organize an orderly retreat behind our next defensive line, the Gustav line. So don’t expect to be staying for long.” Von Richter informed him as he led them to a house. The kids started to smile as they spotted Konrad and the others.
“Hey, children, glad to see you’re okay.” Konrad smiled, happy to see them.
“Likewise. What are you doing here?” Dinky asked them.
“Well, after your rescue, we decided it was best to retreat out of the city, knowing the battle was lost. Von Richter organized that we were redeployed here to help with the retreat. With the founding of the Social Republic, I’m now officially part of their forces but can still be with my friends.” Matteo explained.
Yet before anyone could answer, Tim walked up with a ball in his hands. “Wanna play?”
“You bet!” The three children exclaimed with grins.
And so, they passed the ball to each other, laughing, while Fletcher played a game of chess with the General. “So, General, why do you like chess so much?” The Green Knight wanted to know.
“It helps me to focus on my tactics. For me, the battleground is a chessboard where I can express my intellectual supremacy, taking every variable into account to obtain quick victories with minimal losses. Rommel greatly appreciated that back in Africa. I joined in conscription due to devotion to my country rather than for the Nazi Party. As such, I know to respect honorable soldiers, like you. You gained a lot of respect by both sides.”
“I know. I’m just doing my duty like everyone else.”
“If it's any consolation, you appear to be doing it well, under the circumstances.” Von Richter said with a slight smile
As time passed, it became a cloudy day, only now the kids and Fletcher noticed that the rain had stopped long ago, shortly before the ambush and the General prepared to leave. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Herr Fletcher but I have to organize the troops at other defenses.”
“Thank you for your generosity, General,” Fletcher replied before the officer drove away with his Kübelwagen.
“So, what is the plan?” Blau asked Konrad.
“Well, our orders are to retreat to the next defensive line, in this case, the Gustav line at the mountains behind the town of Cassino. Those are the suburbia of it. When the order comes, we will fall back. We will see what happens next.”
“By the way, where’s Karl?” Katja asked as she could not see him anywhere.
“He’s inside, manning the radio, waiting for the order to come.”
The lieutenant waited patiently outside, not expecting any trouble soon, as suddenly, he saw flashes of explosions in the distance and the radio buzzed.
“We got enemies on all sides. We can’t move! The bombs!”
“Come in! Come in! Come in!” Karl tried to reach his comrades in the town east from here but had no success, only static, so he got outside to his squad. “Did you hear that? That came from the town in the east of here. The Americans must have taken over.”
“This far east already? And Tommy coming from the north. We’ll be trapped!” Tim exclaimed with fear.
“We have to warn the others! Follow me!” The officer said to his four friends and they all followed him to the church, seeing another officer with his soldiers waiting there. ”Hauptmann Funke! We have urgent news!”
“What is it, Karl? This better be important.” the Hauptman said surprised.
“The Americans, they have taken our positions east from here!”
“Deploy the 88s. We don’t want to be caught unprepared.” Funke ordered and the squad of Karl, together with Fletcher, the kids and his men pulled one 88 AA gun out of the backward of the church, posting it on the road, facing the bridge.
“Why do we need to deploy 88s to protect our Panzers? The Allies are no match for them.” Tim wondered.
“Our Panzer are superior to the American tanks. But even superior machines cannot defeat something they cannot attack.” Funke pointed out as the AA gun was in place with his man manning it. “Alert the men, they’re had enough rest. We would not want them to get caught off-guard.”
“Yes, sir.” Karl led his squad and friends to a garrison just next to the church, an Autoblinda parked next to it as they heard the sound of an engine in the sky. “Incoming! American planes!” He yelled as and the AA gun fired at an overpassing aircraft but missed. “That was a spotter plane. Must have been looking for potential targets.” He suspected before entering the Garrison.
“Wake up! Get your weapons! Americans attack! Do you not hear what is going on outside?! Get up and fight!” He yelled at the sleeping Italians. They startled but didn’t hesitate to get up and outside, but ore plan engines sounded in their ears and they looked up. “Oh no! They are dropping paratroopers! We must stop them from spotting our tanks!” The officer yelled and his squad opened fire, killing the American soldiers before they had a chance to get to the ground.
Then they moved to the next garrison just down the road, an Italian tank was parked next to it. “Wake up you fools! The Allies are attacking!” Karl yelled before spotting more parachutes in the sky. “More Paratroopers dropping from the sky!”
As they moved towards the other part of the city and the garrisons of the field, the Italian armored car and tank moved out and deal with them as they landed, notable by the loud MG and cannon fire.
Just as they entered the last Garrison in the fields, they saw how the Americans ran down the streets, out of the town. “Good job, everyone. The Paratroopers are fleeing. But the Americans cowards are sure to return.” Funke said on the radio in the building and the soldiers went back to the church for a briefing.
“The Americans are on their way. We must present a strong defense. Keep the Panzer hidden and safe until nightfall.” He ordered and the soldiers saluted.
Fletcher and the kids helped to build up sandbags, seeing how two more 88s got set up, one at the right end of the fields, one on the left. “Is there any way we can help?” Dinky asked Karl.
He thought for a moment, not wanting them to have the burden of killing on their shoulders, but had an idea. “We got some Panzerfausts. Aim for the tracks or engine to disable tanks effectively.”
“Okay.” The filly replied and grabbed one, her three friends did to and they took position in the woods. They knew by aiming at those weak points, they could take out the tanks without harming the crew.
Only a few minutes later, a soldier yelled, “The Americans are arriving in force.”
Infantry and tanks moved in, greeted by a hail of bullets from the defenders. The two Italians armored units also were there, shooting at the infantry and the lightly armored vehicles in form of Halftracks and armored cars.
The Axis troops held bravely their ground, yet Dinky got a little worried. “I hope William and Christopher aren’t under their causalities.”
“I highly doubt that, Dinky. With the SS counterattack, it’s very unlikely they made it so fast here. Those troops must belong to a different company or Battalion.” Fletcher replied in a calming voice and she nodded with a weak smile, realizing it made sense before hearing several engines.
“They try to catch our friends off guard.” The filly said as she saw two Shermans with another two tanks that had an open turret, moving up on the right side the fields. The tanks moved towards the woods, so Dinky took a deep breath, taking aim with the siblings, remembering what the soldier had said to them at the facility, making sure to hold it correctly by the crook of their arms but Fletcher held up a hoof.
“They’re still too far. Wait.” He said, and they waited until they were right in front of them and pulled the triggers. The two unicorns aimed for the tracks of the Shermans, the siblings for the engines of the two other tanks.
As the charges exploded, it caused the tracks to fall off and the engines to catch fire, immobilizing the tanks and the crews bailed out, retreating from the battle.
Yet the four noticed how the 88 on the right was slowly turning towards the wrecks, meaning it had also dealt with the tanks regardless of their action, but they hoped regardless their assistance had helped.
Upon disregarding the tubes, Katja yelled, “Watch out!” And pointed to three Halftracks, having what looked like turret at the back, one got destroyed by the AA gun in a matter of seconds.
“Give them a taste of the Quad!” One of the drivers yelled and the gunners fired into the woods with the turrets, having a rapid firing rate. The group pressed themselves against trees as bullets hissed past them before two explosions followed and they slowly went out of cover. The halftracks had been destroyed by the two Italian vehicles.
“That was close.” Blau let out a sigh of relief as they went back to the others, seeing how the American troops fell back and all German tanks were intact.
“The Americans are leaving?” Tim mumbled surprised.
“The cowards do not fight in the dark,” Karl replied and the ponies noticed how the sun had set.
“Oberst Heimchlar to all Panzer crews, darkness has fallen; now we move.” The radio buzzed. “Hauptmann, you did well today here. I pass on my recommendations to High Command. Now I will show you real leadership!”
They all then saw how the tanks moved out, driving past wrecks and dead bodies of the killed Americans. “Our Panzer will cut a swathe through their lines like a scythe through grass. We’ll give the Americans a taste of German Engineering.” The Oberst was confident as he led the tanks in his Tiger.
“As long as the Americans planes- “ Funke said with worry but was cut off by the tank commander.
“Our steel is strong! The American bombs will fall upon our Panzer like rain on rock.”
“What is he doing? He's driving straight into the Allied front lines!” Escher exclaimed in disbelief.
“High Command has ordered him to attack. What else he can do?” His superior asked in return.
“I don't think anyone has any idea what's going on anymore.”
The children, however, could just stare at the tanks that were moving out, their expressions were a mix of shock and despair. “How...How can they be so confident if they’re going to a battle wee they will very likely die?” Dinky mumbled and the Knight sighed.
“Sometimes they feel they have to. This is their last post, their final stand. There's nothing left for them here. The war's consumed them. All they want now is to go and see their fallen friends and say 'I went out bravely, just like you. Am I forgiven now, for living on when you did not?'...It's the saddest thing you can ever see.”
“Good luck, Oberst,” Funke added on the radio but Heimchlar just replied,
“Luck is for the weak, Hauptmann.”
Karl and Konrad then walked up to their friends. “You did really well. Now rest, you have earned it.” The Lieutenant said with pride and the nodded, going back to the Garrison to sleep.
The Americans were repelled for now, but they all hoped the retreat order would come soon.
In the early morning, Konrad woke up, seeing his four friends were still asleep. He let them rest, quietly going out, strangely hearing music coming from one of the buildings behind the church.
Curiosity got the better of him and he took a look not able to believe his eyes.
In a room of the building a very...round man in a clean, grey uniform. His face was broad, pale and fleshy but still possessed a flush of vigor, his half-closed eyes sharp and assertive. His dark hair was sleek and combed without a strand out of place. His small nose and wide mouth with thin lips looked almost baby-like. His features were fixed in a state of bliss, his head tilted to one side, a broad smile across his face as he took in the music- Konrad would recognize that anywhere, it was Herman Goring seated in a chair, swilling a glass of some beverage and gazing at a painting. The music played on a gramophone.
Goring turned to him, almost as if only just noticing him. “Ah, Sergeant Escher.” He got to his feet, paced over to him and shook his hand. “I must thank you profusely, my good man. You have truly done Germany, nay the world, a valiant service on this day. You shan't find me ungrateful.”
A bit taken back, the NCO replied, “Uh...Thank you, sir. Are you referring to the...”
“Your recent defense on the nearby perimeters. Your men outdid themselves. Had the Allies bombed the place, I could not imagine what may have been lost. I felt it best to show you the fruits of your efforts” He then poured him a glass. “Try some of this.”
Konrad eyed the glass with unease. “...sir?”
“Please. I insist.”
While not drinking much for the sake of his children, Konrad did as the Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe wished, then cleared his throat at the powerful drink and examined the glass, as he was familiar from the taste. “Is that...cognac?”
Goring nodded. “Indeed...Did you like it?”
“It's...a fine beverage, sir.” Escher replied, never having been much a fan of it.
“Take a guess what vintage it is.” Konrad could only give him an awkward look. “Go on, have a guess?
The Sergeant thought for a moment. “...18...65? I'm sorry, I'm not much good with these.”
Goring chuckled in response. “It is 1753.” He briefly marveled at the bottle. “This cognac, Sergeant...is older than America. Just think, how peculiar is man when we can measure our achievement in a bottle of alcohol.” He shook his head and sniffed, looking almost melancholy. “When Paris surrendered, I wept with happiness...I could not bear to see a city so beautiful, so cultured, so magnificent in design and history, reduced to rubble. I could not live with myself if it were so. This, my dear Sergeant, is my little cave of wonders. One of several. Here, for as long as I can spare, the glories of Europe's golden ages are safe from the barbarism of war...Bask in it, Sergeant. You have earned that honor.”
Konrad listened a moment and recognized it. “Is that English music on the gramophone?”
“Yes, William Blake.” Goring gave a look of feigned fear. “Ooh, don't the Fuhrer, he wouldn't like this.” The man then giggled. “William Blake had a most glorious death, captain. He passed away on the 12th August 1827, having just finished a portrait of his angelic wife, Kate, and lay patiently in bed in his little country home, singing hymns of his Lord who at last carried him to Paradise...A most extraordinary man...The Fuhrer wouldn't have liked him.”
“So...all goes well?” Escher concluded.
Goring rolled his eyes. “I believe so.” He replied in a slightly disinterested tone before pouring another glass for him and Escher. “To William Blake, the Fatherland and an end to war...However far away any of them may be.”
“Ahem...cheers.” Konrad said and clinked glasses with Goring.
“Your defense was spectacular, captain. So much was saved that day.”
Konrad nodded, feeling proud they had managed to keep all tanks hidden. “A bombing round will be unlikely, sir. And the civilians we offered shelter are safe for now and if not, we have a safe route to fresh bunkers.” He lied, hoping there was still a safe route.
“Of course, of course. But you see, recently one of my, shall-we-say, colleagues in a mutual field brought my attention to something invaluable.” The commander showed him the painting, appearing near to tears as he gazes at it. “Mehmed II Enters Constantinople by Fausto Zonaro...Only a copy, sadly, but...what a sight.”
Konrad looked at it in awe, though he couldn’t really think of anything. “Very...inspiring, sir.”
“We took Greece recently, didn't we...Hardly seems impressive when Mehmed did it first...So much more grandly. No fields alight with firebombs, no cacophony of tanks and gatlings...But a conqueror upon a white horse, banners around him catching the sun. The past gone out in a glorious clash of steel...and a new world dawning...Why, Captain, why is that not something we see now?” Hermann wanted to know and Konrad shrugged.
“We've conquered more than Mehmed did.”
In response, his interlocutor bursted out laughing. ”When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer'...Plutarch said that...The Fuhrer wouldn't have liked him either.”
Konrad just stared at him, uncertain of what to think. And Goring put his glass down
“Forgive me, Sergeant. I'm just a foolish, fat old man who's had far too much to drink.”
“No, no, sir. The fault is mine. I...I don't really know what to say here.” The NCO hastily replied before clearing his throat- “The men await your orders.”
“Of course. A few more moments here is all I ask. You don't have to stay. Here is simply the only place I can escape this ugly war...and every night, the guns sound louder.” The commander said as he poured himself another drink and dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief. “But given the stubbornness of the Allies, I will have to leave soon. Good luck.”
Konrad saluted. “Thank you, sir.”
Then he met up with the rest of his squad, sein how the kids chatted with Matteo.
“Your comrades did well with their tank.” Blau said.
“Si, they did. That’s the Carro M15/42. Originally, it was designed as a replacement for the M132 and M13 in Africa with a more powerful engine and air filters to cope with the harsh conditions of the desert, but was finished after our defeat and the surrender, so the Germans armed us with what was left of those tanks.” The Italian replied before the Lieutenant gave a briefing.
“Hauptmann Funke has delegated responsibility to me, so listen up. The Americans could arrive at any moment. They will not underestimate us again, so expect a much larger force. Our position must be defended. My best guess is we blow the bridge and focus all defenses around the river crossings. And no matter what, defend the church. If we lose that, all is lost. But General Von Richter managed to send us a Semovente 90/53. Fletcher, children, you can help with the ammo.”
“Okay, let’s go.” The stallion acknowledged and the children followed to the south of the town, seeing that the Semovente 90/53 was a self-propelled gun with open top and rear of the gun compartment, which left the gun crew exposed to shrapnel and small arms fire, stationed in the back.
A group of Pioneers placed sandbags near the shallow water, a weapon crew placed a heavy MG42 behind it.
What the group noticed, was that behind the Semovente was an ammunition carrier with a towed trailer parked, aiming them understand why Karl suggested their help for this before they heard him yell, “The Americans are pressing to the east!”
“The Americans? …They arrived so quickly.” Funke was taken back by this but the Italian vehicle crew had already an enemy tank in sight and fired.
Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau heard only an explosion in the distance, showing that the self-propelled gun had a long rage before the Italian commander yelled at his crew, “Fire! Reload! Quicker!”
Fletcher and the kids carrying the shells from the carrier and trailer to the vehicle crew, ensuring they could reload and fire quickly, holding the Allied tanks at bay.
Any infantry that tried to cross the river was slowed down in the water, making an easier target for the MG, either mowed down or forced to retreat.
Due to that and the destroyed bridge, signaled by a visible explosion in the distance, the Axis troops managed to hold off the Allied advance for some time before the Americans retreated. “The Americans, where are they going?” Tim wondered.
“It appears the Americans are easing off. Sir! We need orders! What should we do?” Karl asked Funke.
“Man the defenses! Every soldier to his post!”
Having some relief from battle, the group took a deep breath and helped to deploy tank traps and barbed wire on the other side of the river. The young colt hissed as he cut himself on it. “Geez, that hurts!” He mumbled as Fletcher cast a healing spell on his wound.
“Yes, but it prevents enemy infantry from crossing.” He pointed out before the sounds of several engines sounded in the distance and they took a look with binoculars and their eyes went wide.
A large force of tanks moved in.
“Hauptmann Funke! This is not just an advance force! This is a full-out invasion!” The lieutenant exclaimed.
“Give me time to think! Keep the bridge ways secured!”
“We cannot handle this force with our limited resources, Funke. This is too much!” Karl pointed out and the superior officer’s expression became one of unease, thinking to think of something.
“…Konrad, ready my staff car!”
“Yes, sir!” The Sergeant did as told but had a bad feeling about this.
One of the Shermans managed to avoid the shots of the Italians and fired at the MG crew, taking them out with a well-placed shot before getting destroyed by the Tank destroyer.
Karl and his men took cover at the sandbags, firing at the infantry that used the wreck as cover. The children heard screams, seeing that the Weapon crew was still alive, mortally wounded, wriggling on the ground in a pool of their own blood before medics retrieves the fallen soldiers.
Distracted by that, Fletcher did not notice how Tim walked up from behind with the LMG variant of the MG42, resting it on the right side of his shoulder as bipod. “Wait! Wait!” The stallion yelled as he noticed but it was too late as the young man pulled the trigger.
A terrible ringing was in his ear and Fray held it, screaming in pain. “Are you crazy?”
“Fletcher? Everything alright?” Tim asked concerned but Fletcher could only hear a ringing noise. “Fletcher? Are you deaf? Do you hear me?”
Dinky and her friends looked at the unicorn with concern, he groaned and looked at Tim with a painful expression. “Don’t do that again!”
Yet, their actions paid off as the Allies retreated once again and Konrad reported, “Hauptmann Funke! We have radio contact with High Command! They wish to speak with you to relay orders!”
“It is about time! We are getting out of here.”
Fletcher and the kids smiled, happy that they could finally go to a safer place, going with the squad to the radio. The signal was not very good, mostly static and the barely could hear anything. “Please repeat! The signal is very weak.” Funke requested.
“Your orders are as followed: You must hold the suburbia until the rest of the retreating forces have evacuated.”
Funke let out a frustrated groan. “No, we’re still not hearing you. Here, let me try something.” It surprised everyone as they all had clearly heard the orders
“These are your orders!” The officer on the other end stated before Funke shot the radio.
“Gentlemen, I suggest that we leave immediately.”
“Leave?” Vogel asked in disbelief. “As long as German and Italians are fighting their way to here, we must keep the door open!”
“Well then, Karl, congratulations. You are hereby promoted Oberleutnant effective immediately. You can stay if you want to.”
“You can't just leave your own men!” Dinky exclaimed in shock
“Our retreating allies have not made it yet to here. If you go now, you are disobeying a direct order from high command.” Karl warned him.
“As far as high command knows, that order never made it to here. Anyone that doesn’t want to die here is free to join me. Otherwise, good luck gentlemen.”
Karl just looked with disgust at the Hauptmann the others in shock, save for Fetcher, who had a neutral expression. “Very well, officer. If that is your choice then I will not stop you. But before you go, I want to do one thing for me...When you go to sleep tonight...and you see the faces of every man who died today defending your command...and they ask why weren't you there...I hope you have a good answer.”
The Hauptmann did not react and walked out.
“What should we go?” Tom asked into the round and Karl sighed.
“Get some rest, we’ll see tomorrow.”
They all nodded. Another day drew to a close and the suburbia was still held.
In the next morning, they all watched the Oberst coming back seeing smoke in the distance, with Karl using binoculars. “Mein Gott. The Americans knew exactly where they would be. Damn High Command!” He cursed.
“All of this is starting to feel like a grant suicide mission. Our Panzers are destroyed – what hope could we possible have? We’ve stayed longer than anyone could expect!” Konrad replied, seeing how the tanks drove at a crawling speed towards them, as the engines were damaged, most had also their main gun destroyed, the infantry had their heads lowered in defeat.
“Expected by whom? By cowards! By idiots! I will not leave my fellow countrymen behind to be swallowed up by the Americans. WE will not leave them behind.” Karl stated determined.
“But without communications from High Command, we won’t know when to…”
“Screw High Command! Our last orders were to stay. So we stay.” Karl cut him off and walked away.
Konrad lowered his head, staying silent for a moment before asking, “Then what will you have us do?!”
As the two walked away with the rest of the squad, the kids stayed quiet for a moment, then gulped slightly. “O-o-okay...okay...” Dinky mumbled and Fletcher looked at them with sympathy.
“It’s okay to be scared. Deep within, everyone is.”
“It’s just….we don’t want to die here…” Katja admitted with a fearful expression and he gave her a hug.
“Don’t worry, I keep you safe.” He smiled and they nodded with weak smiles, checking on Karl, seeing he was discussing tactics with his squad.
“In mere moments, our brothers in arms will be streaming in from the north, hopefully with some remnants of the Oberst’s Panzers. If we let the Allies take positions across the river, our men will run into a hail of bullets. We need to keep the Allies contained. Set up defenses across the river.”
“How can we help?” Fletcher asked and the officer sighed.
“You did already enough and I don’t want to put you in more danger than you are already. Take the next transport out of here.” He said with worry and caring in his voice.
“Okay then. Good luck.” Fletcher replied and Tim informed,
“Members of our comrades in arms have arrived!”
“Good! We must keep the Allies out of their way, and keep the evacuation route open!”
Among the retreating troops was an Opel Blitz. The officer flagged it down and the ponies got into the back, the driver just nodded and moved on.
“I hope they will survive this.” Blau looked with worry out of the back.
“I am sure they will. Hope dies last.” Fletcher tried to calm him down as the truck drove out of the city, joining a convoy of other trucks and tanks.
“Any idea where we will go?” Katja asked him and he thought for a moment.
“Not really. My best goes would be to find a quiet place, safe from the war for you, then deal with the interference.” He replied as he looked out of the back, a motorcycle glided past the truck.
“Alarm! Air strike!” Someone yelled and they saw two planes in the sky, coming in fast.
“Out! Out!” Fletcher yelled and they all jumped out of the back and into a ditch, just barely before the planes opened fire and the truck went up in flames, along with other vehicles of the convoy, then made another pass with bombs, destroying some of the tanks.
“By Celestia…That was too close…” Dinky panted heavy as she saw that the convoy was completely destroyed, wrecks and dead bodies were the only remains left.
“What now?” Blau asked the stallion.
“We walk.” He said as he climbed out of the ditch, helping them out as the planes flew away.
The just followed the road for some time, hoping they would get a means of transportation, but they didn’t saw another convoy for the length of their walk. Had been the defenders overrun? Or did troops that had evacuated just taken another route? They couldn’t tell.
The way led past a house and they decided to take a rest here, as the door was not locked. Inside, everything was there, but no residents, probably abandoned.
“I can’t really tell if Karl went crazy or just very heroic to stay to safe his comrades…” Dinky mumbled, not able to make sense of it.
“I guess a bit of both. My suspicion is he either lost some good men before or had some arguments with Funke before.” Fletcher replied as they sat down on chairs.
“Do you hear that?” Katja looked out of the window, seeing a truck pulling up next to the house. To their surprise and fear, Waffen-SS soldiers stepped out.
“Stay back, I take care of that.” Fletcher said and walked out of the door, his weapons ready, as he was suspicious. “What do you want here?”
”We could ask you the same.” One of the Germans countered.
“Our convoy got attacked by American planes and we took shelter here.” He explained calmly.
“Uh-huh. Then why don’t you come with us?”
“No, thanks. We don’t exactly have good experience with you guys.”
The Waffen-SS member chuckled. “Too bad.”
They drew their weapons but Fletcher reached quickly, switching to his spear and spinned it and the kids saw in awe how his action formed a shield, the bullets ricocheted back, killing the soldiers.
“Let’s take their truck.” He suggested and they nodded.
But just as they stepped out, Dinky saw a tank in the distance, aiming at them. “Watch out!” She yelled but it was too late.
The tank fired and an explosion threw her to the ground, coughing from the smoke and dusk as she got up “Are you okay?” She asked the siblings who also coughed.
“I think so…” Blau stumbled as he was a bit dazed before his sister gasped.
“Fletcher!” She exclaimed as the stallion was trapped under the rubble of the destroyed house and they all tried to dig him out.
Suddenly Dinky felt how she got grabbed from behind and she struggled before feeling a quick pain and felt sleepy, closing her eyes, Katja suffered the same fate.
Blau Streifen on the other hand, struggled as much as he could, kicking and biting his attacker, before he got slammed against the truck and chocked.
He tried to stay awake, but slowly, his vision went blurry and he passed out from the lack of air.
“Pretty though, I give him that. Get them on the truck and let’s get out of here.” The leader of the soldiers said and they left.
Had the Green Knight died?
Had his efforts been in vain?
The rubble started to rumble and a hoof shot out of the rubble.
A battered and bruised Fletcher emerged from the rubble, screaming in a mix of pain and anger into the air.