Chapter 15: Manor House Rally
As Christopher opened his eyes, he heard an officer yell, Charge!”
He and the others attacked the Germans from the flank, completely catching of them off guard, killing them all.
Snap! He turned around as he heard a noise and aimed at it, but what he saw surprised him completely.
Out of a ditch rose Blau Streifen, wearing a German uniform. The colt smiled at him, shrugging.
The American could only stare at him, struggling to get up with an answer, yet his finger went slowly for the trigger.
Blau’s expression faded and became one of fear. Ford pulled the trigger and hit the boy right into the chest, falling over.
Christopher looked at the body, then his rifle, slowly processing the death of Blau.
Why did I shoot?
Christopher gasped as he awoke, breathing heavy as he found himself in the hospital room. “Just a dream…” He mumbled, breathing heavily.
The flap opened and he saw Mackay walking in, together with Conti and Blackmore. “Sir, tell me they found the kids.” He looked at Mackey with hope and worry, William and Fletcher did too.
“I wish I could.” The Captain replied with regret in his voice.
“Jackson didn’t give a damn about them, despite your order.”
“You got it all wrong private,” McKay said, surprising him as he sat down on a chair. “In Kasserine, he and his men were trapped with civilians in the pass. He couldn’t bring himself to let anyone behind. But he ended up losing everyone, soldiers, and civilians. He’s never been the same, trying to wipe his slate clean ever since, only doing so in an aggressive manner.
None of them could really form a reply before Mackey added, “But you don’t need to worry about Jackson. You and Captain Hill are heading stateside.”
“Are we’re looking at a court-martial, sir?” William asked, ready to face the consequences. The Major sighed, his answer was clear.
“No. We ordered you to keep the kids safe, outclassing a Sergeant’s orders. And it wouldn’t reflect well on the armies to punish the soldiers who took the pressure off of Wetherby, turning this battle in our favor. There may be an award in the future.”
“What about me?” Fletcher asked them.
“You, you still do why you are here, finding the kids and get them to safety.” The Major answered him. “You are free to choose who you take with you. We know William and Ford are your preference, but its better they recover at home.”
The three officers then left.
Christopher took a deep breath. I don’t care. My task is to keep those kids safe, no matter what. For their age, they are very brave, the bravest kids I’ve ever seen. William, you’re with me?”
He got a determined look an answer. “You bet! Those injuries aren’t so serious, we can still make it. We got your back, Fletcher.”
“Appreciated.” He said and they all walked to the tent of Jackson, seeing Duffy walking toward them.
“What are you doing here?”
“What’s it look like?” Hill countered.
“Hey, I wouldn’t go in there. Jackson’s been hitting the sauce.” Duffy warned them ad Ford nodded.
“Thanks for the warning.” He said before entering the tent with the stallion and Brit, seeing the Sergeant setting on a chair, drinking from a flask. His expression became surprised as he spotted the three.
“You got to be kidding me.”
“We are not giving up on the kids,” Ford stated.
“Tell it to the Chaplain cause I got no room for a soldier who can’t follow orders.”
“You weren’t following orders when you refused to leave those civilians behind.”
The radioman stated for a moment before standing up “What did you just say to me?” He asked in a threatening tone.
“You heard me.”
“You better leave while you stay can still walk,” Jackson warned them.
“Mackey told us. It wasn’t your fault. You were only to try right by your squad.” Ford explained before getting punched by Jackson, yet managed to catch himself.
“Get out!”
“We are not got anywhere.” The private said stubborn and the Sergeant tried to punch again, hitting the beam in the middle of the tent and cried in pain. He then winched and sat down.
“My orders were to fall back. But I just couldn’t leave them. I told them we would keep them safe until reinforcements got here but they’re never came. They never came. Now go.” He pointed to the flap.
“Not without my squad.”
“You think you got some guts, don’t ya?” Jackson taunted annoyed. “Trying to get the job done; day in and day out while your men are dying all around you.”
“I still got a mission. Keep those kids safe from the Waffen-SS. They assisted us bravely in the heat of battle and are relying on us. And we won’t leave them behind.” Ford explained with determination in his voice.
“You must be crazy,” Jackson replied cold.
“Crazy ain’t the half of it.” Ford countered and his superior sighed.
“All right, fall in.”
He just finished as Duffy walked in. “What is it?”
“We got informed by an anonymous source about where the children are held.” Fletcher, William and Ford knew at once who the anonymous source was as Jackson nodded.
“Right, let’s move out and get those kids back!”
As they got to the jeeps, it started to rain, causing Hill to comment, “And I thought it rained a lot at home.”
The British private led them all through the streets into an alleyway. A Squad of Germans and an Italian soldier waited for them. “Glad you could make it.” Konrad smiled at his three friends.
“Nice to see you too. Where are they?” Ford asked him and the Sergeant pointed to what looked like a manor at the other end of the alleyway, being surprisingly undamaged by the bombings, decorated with German banners.
“See that building? It’s an outpost and not only that, but a holding cell of sorts for prisoners in transport. We saw the kids getting brought in here.”
“Then why didn’t you get them out?” Jackson asked into the round, sounded slightly annoyed.
“Because, it’s an Outpost of the Waffen-SS, they don’t want us regular soldiers around here. But we managed to get a spare uniform of them, with ID papers.” Escher explained, with his squad mates looking at Ford.
“What?” He asked confused before getting it. “Oh…why me? Couldn’t William do the job?”
“Sorry, but you’re the only one who fits into the uniform, couldn’t mock up a better one in time, plus the guy on the ID looks closest to you.”
The American sighed. “Alright, but you owe me big time after this.” Then he got the German uniform on, it really fit him perfectly.
“I hope your German isn’t rusty.” Fletcher looked at him with worry.
“I got this, Fletcher.” He replied calmly and walked towards the outpost, looking at his ID papers. “Sturmbannführer Friedrich…I don’t think I wanna know what happened to this guy.”
A guard stopped him at the entrance holding up his hand. “Papers please.” Ford did as told. “That's a handsome photo of you. “The German stepped aside, allowing entrance.
He walked in, seeing a soldier sitting at the desk, having his legs on the desk, smoking peaceful, spotting the disguised solder and his expression was one of surprise. “You're not Friedrich! That uniform is not right. You're an imposter!”
Christopher quickly punched him into the face, knocking him out and drew his Colt 1911. “So much for sneaking in.”
He carefully went down the hall, shooting two guards posted at the stairs before they could react and took one of their MP40s. The shots had probably alerted the entire building and an SMG was better than a pistol in that situation.
Walking up the stairs, he fought his way through the adjoining hallway and came to a kitchen. One of the Kitchen Staff members, apparently the chief, as he wore the typical white cap and an apron, grabbed a knife and threw it at the Allied soldier, who barely avoided it by ducking behind a shell. “I make meat out of you!”
Peeking over his cover, he ducked as another knife flew past him before he got up and fired a short burst into the Chief’s chest, killing him as he fell over, then quickly took care of the other staff members as they tried drew their pistols but failed to do so in time.
The way was leading him to a large dining room, moving into an auditorium and bar, killing all the soldiers along the way. As the area was safe, he reloaded and collected ammo from the dead, they all used MP40s, so he had plenty of it before a strong stench entered his nose.
Turning around, he saw it belonged to a drunken soldier, drunkenly walking around before collapsing. As he was no threat, the private moved on.
Ford enters a large room, going up the stairs, seeing a Waffen-SS soldier on a microphone at the other end of the large room. “I don't hear anything. Testing, testing. You! Up there! Stop!” Christopher didn’t listen and ran into the next corridor.
“Allied Imposter, you are surrounded! There is no way out off this manor alive! It would be better for all of us if you gave yourself up before we stain the interior of this lovely home with your blood.” A man on a loudspeaker warned him but he didn’t stop.
The man went upstairs again, shooting three guards in the room and opened the door, seeing a prison cell with the kids in it. They seemed surprised, yet glad to see him. “Christopher?” Blau asked him and he nodded.
“Yes, I am here to get you out.” He took the key and opened the cell, “Follow me!”
Having the kids behind him, Ford cleared the roof of 4 hostiles before reached the edge. Dinky, Blau and Katja clutched the wooden railing, shaking nervously. “It's awfully high.”
Letting out a sigh, realizing he had to motivate the kids, Ford said, “I apologize for this.” He broke the reeling, causing the children to lose their balance falling down screaming before they noticed their fall was slowed down by a green glow around them, landing gently on the ground with Ford.
“Did you really think we hadn’t worked this out?” Fletcher asked with a warm smile before getting into the jeeps, with their Axis friends taking a Kübelwagen, driving away. However, only a few minutes later hostile Kübelwagen appeared out of an alleyway, giving chase.
The passengers fired their weapons to get rid of the pursuers, while the drivers took random turns to shake them off. “Why there's never a straight street in Europe, I'll never know!” Ford yelled as he took another turn only to see a roadblock at the end of the road.
“Dead end!” Dinky yelled but he spotted an entrance to a park.
“I got this!” He yelled back and they all entered the park. The Bombings had caused that almost all trees had been over, they all tried to avoid them as good as they could, but it was a bumpy ride, causing Hill to yell,
“Do you have to possible hit every single tree?!”
“Sorry, William!” He shouted back before he hit a stone and the jeep turned over, the siblings screamed. Jackson and Konrad tried to brake but were too slow, crashing into each other, also turning their cars over, with Dinky screaming.
“Runs in the family, eh?” Fletcher heard William’s voice as he stood up with an aching body, seeing that him passing out as he lay on the ground. The unicorn saw that the others were apparently also knocked out, but he still checked with his magic for injuries.
He sighed in relief that they were unharmed, yet knew the enemy wasn’t far behind, so he looked for a good shelter.
Fortunately, he spotted two towers located just bear the exit of the park in a backyard, providing a good sniping point.
Focusing, he used his magic to gently pick up everyone and carried them into one of the towers, then went into the backyard and walked into the other tower as he saw some explosive barrels stored in the backward, making it an ideal trap for the enemy.
Once he was in position, he pulled out his binoculars and saw enemy troops arrive in the distance. It was an entire battalion, eight-hundred Waffen-SS troops at least. They probably had heard the shots and investigated it but it didn’t impress him in the slightest as he raised an eyebrow, clicking his rifle. “Is that all?”
As the enemy was still far away, he drew his bow, shooting arrows at a fast rate. At this distance, the SS-soldiers had no possibility to locate him or fire back, scrambling to cover as their numbers dwindled rapidly.
Still, they managed to advance slowly, down to five-hundred men, being in visible range, so Fletcher fired his K98, dwindling their number even further, yet they managed to return fire, but all bullets hit his cover, or flew past him.
Due to his experience, he was able to operate the bolt quickly, also reloading just as fast whenever he ran dry, bringing the enemy down to a hundred as the slowly reached his position and he teleported into the other tower.
“Search the area!” one of the Germans yelled as they entered the backward, giving the unicorn the perfect opportunity.
Charging up an explosive shot of his bow, he fired an arrow at the explosives, creating a massive explosion that engulfed the entire backward.
Fletcher slowly uncovered his eyes as the smoke cleared, seeing dead bodies everywhere. “Guess that’s over.”
But just as he turned around, his archer sense warned him of being targeted by someone in form of and rising sound in his ears, dicing to the ground as a sniper fired, missing him. “He’s upstairs! Storm the building!” A German yelled and Fray detected around 20 survivors.
He grabbed his MP40 and cocked it, but the handle jammed. “Great,” Fletcher mumbled and grabbed Ford’s Garand, firing at the soldiers as they kicked the door open, scoring headshots, not letting them get up.
Upon hearing the characteristic ping! sound, he couldn’t help but enjoy it. It does add a magic touch, that noise.
He reloaded quickly and finished the rest of them off. “Phew…”
Yet, before he could react, another soldier tackled him to the ground, trying to stab him into the chest, he struggled against it. “I will enjoy cutting you open!” The man sad with joy before Fletcher managed to use his magic by hitting the back of the head with his rifle, stunning him.
Fletcher used this to throw the man off him, throwing him into another soldier that came up the stairs, knocking both out but saw a third one rushing at him, also knocking him down.
This Waffen-SS soldier reached for his pistol, aiming at the stallion’s head, but Fletcher used all his strength to push it away, managing to point it away.
Bang!
A shot went off, causing both to hold their ears as they were ringing.
Yet Fletcher managed to recover from it fast, punching the hostile into the face, knocking him down and drew his pistol, holding him at gunpoint.
They both breathed heavily, staring at each other. “What are you waiting for? No-one else will give an honorable death...to a man who's done the things I've done...Do it!” The soldier yelled, but for some reason, Fletcher couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger.
The German sighed. “I knew you couldn't do it... You're a good warrior... but you could never take that extra step... to do what was absolutely necessary.”
“Why? Killing you just so you can live in peace? Is that really what you want?” Fletcher asked, not able to understand.
As the man looked up Fletcher saw that he had a scar across the underside of his left cheek, stretching all the way down to his chest by the looks of it but could be more. Due to that, the soldier breathed heavily through his nostrils sounding like a hog.
“Peace?” The man let out a chuckle. “I won’t see peace for the rest of my life. Death and destruction is the only thing I saw.”
“I did too. And there’s always a way to find peace. Now go, along with your men.” Fletcher replied calmly.
“Why? Why do you even care?” The Waffen-SS soldier asked confused.
“Because I believe everyone deserves a second chance. I only kill if I have to.”
“Lucky you. I lost at all a long time ago…Along with my two comrades.” The man told with a sigh and Fletcher raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?”
“We all three were once like you, honorable. In fact, you remind me of my former self.” The German told with a hint of regret in his voice.” Where do you think I got this horrible scar?”
“What…Why do you tell me this?” Fletcher blinked, seeing out of the corner of his eyes how the other two men awoke, standing up but did nothing, their expressions neutral. They all had a slightly muscular build, blond hair and blue eyes. But the leader looked like he was in his forties, the face slightly sullen, wearing an Oak A camo smock and cap. Fletcher realized this was the officer he had seen when they first entered the city.
The other one who had tried to stab the knight was wearing the same uniform but a Helmet instead of a cap, the face rather rounded. Also noticeable was he had light stubble, his hair very short, almost shaved.
Fletcher recognized the third one at once, it was the sniper he had spared earlier.
“Because…” The German started, “You are what we once were…Normal soldiers, fighting for what they believed in. “I used to be a simple officer just known as Eberwald Von Treffler before I got the nickname Warthog…”
Long ago, Von Treffler and his two friends Merlson Karrien and Alfreck Zwingmann were serving on the eastern front, traveling in a Halftrack along the countryside, seeing dead soviets in the ditches. “Poor guys, they must have heavy losses, never standing a chance,” Merlson commented with pity.
“Yeah the sooner this is over, the better for them and us.” Alfreck replied before their commander gave out orders.
“Alright, men. See that village up there?” He pointed at it in the distance. “We have to secure it. There are reports of Partisan preset here, so keep your eyes open.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Sniper went into position at a hill where he had a good view over the village but could see no soul, like it was abandoned as his comrades slowly moved in. “Something’s not right.” He mumbled to himself.
Then, something moved into view. A group of civilians, children among them.
As his comrades came closer, one of the male civilians drew a pistol and fired, and all hell broke loose as more of them drew weapons, together with Red Amy soldiers coming out of their hiding places.
Merlson knew he had to help but he had a child in his line of fire, unable to pull the trigger before some bullets flew past him and he quickly aimed at the partisans that had him in their sights and fired.
Despite the chaotic battle going on, he could see his kill clearly and gasped in shock. The bullet had found its way to the intended target, but it had also killed a mother and her child, lying in a puddle of blood behind the soldiers. “No…”
“Damn, damn, damn!” Alfreck cursed as he vaulted through a window for cover, having to reload his MP40.
“Ura!” He heard a yell and saw a Soviet soldier kicked the door open and in a fit of panic, the German rushed at him, throwing him to the ground and stabbed him into the chest, rapidly, not hearing how the soviet protested to stop until he didn’t move anymore.
Zwingmann breathed heavily at what he had just done, seeing that his hands were covered in blood, the killed man was not older than 18.
“This is too much! Call artillery!” Von Treffler yelled to a Radioman as he fired his PPSh-41, having it looted earlier that day.
“Jawohl!”
Going to cover, he reloaded before loud whistles greeted his ears and he looked up into the sky to see the artillery was heading right on his position. “Oh, Idiots!” He exclaimed before he was thrown around by the force and blacked out.
Later, he came to on a hospital, noticing he was bandaged around his head and torso, seeing an officer of the Waffen-SS walking in. “What happened? Are my men alright?” He asked the officer in confusion.
“They are fine, and you did well in destroying the village with the artillery. It will show the Bolsheviks not to mess with us by using such dirty tactics. Maybe, you should join us, we could use guys like you.” the officer said and walked out.
Von Treffler just stared at what he had just heard. He had unintentionally destroyed an entire village and its civilian population. It was like hours until he stuttered out, “W-what have I done…”
Later, they had to defend their position against enemy tanks, taking cover in trenches, firing at the enemy infantry as suddenly, a T-34 stopped next to them, making stuttering sounds, as the engine had stalled.
“Mines, on the tracks!” The officer ordered and Zwingmann did as told, the tank exploded into a fireball as he started to move again, the explosion was deafening.
Suddenly, they all saw the burning village instead of a burning tank, staring at it before Zwingmann’s helmet was shot off and he lost his balance.
“Dammit, get up!” Von Treffler yelled as his comrade replied,
“Have to reload! How do I reload?” Alfreck panicked as he couldn’t figure out how to reload his MP40.
His superior stared at him for a moment before he and the sniper could only laugh maniacally at the madness of the world.
“…Day and night we had nightmares of the destroyed village, what we did. Joining the Waffen-SS was our way to process our experiences, or so we thought.” Eberwald said with a shaking voice. “I have no real memory of what it was like before this moment…Clearly, I come from somewhere but it is as if my life is not real. Like I only exist in that world of war. Strange, I know I have memories but I can’t picture any.”
“Yes,” Alfreck continued, “That’s how we got our nicknames of Warden and Vulture. In Russia, we quickly pushed the Soviets back, trapped an entire army at Smolensk. With planes and artillery. Dead Soviets and busted up tanks and cars for miles. Miles. Your eyes see it but your head can't make no sense of it. Then we bring the prisoners away. Those who collapsed, got shot by the SS, killing the wounded too. All day long. Sun up to sundown. Shooting wounded and exhausted men. Hot summer days. Ain't smelled nothing like it. The sound of it. Screaming. Black clouds of flies buzzing. Like being in a giant bee hive.” He told with a shaking voice, like he had been afraid of what he had seen back then.
“I had my fair share of horrors too. But tell me, why all this to capture three children?” The unicorn asked and Von Treffler shrugged.
“We don’t know. We got orders from high command to capture them if we get the chance and await further instructions. As member of the Waffen-SS, you don’t ask questions when it comes to orders.” He paused for a moment. “Anyway, you should get going. The Allies may have the advantage but shortly before your daring liberation action, a reserve got activated and is on its way towards the city.”
“Thanks for the information.” Fletcher replied as the three soldiers saluted him and left.
“Ugh…what a crash…” Ford mumbled as he woke up with the others.
“You’re okay?” Fray asked with concern and he gained weak smiles.
“A bit of a headache, but I’m good. Quite impressive shooting you did.”
“You…saw everything?” Fletcher’s expression became confused and the private nodded.
“Yeah, semi-conscious. At least that’s why I think is this condition called.”
“Still…It’s sad what happened to those men…” Dinky mumble with pity as she held her head and the stallion sighed.
“Sadly, that is very common to happen in war. I mean, look at me and my fear of fire. You can only hope to get over it someday.”
“I agree but we should get back to our lines before the reserves arrive.” Jackson interrupted as Ford got out of the SS uniform, having it worn over his own.
“Well, we have to go too. Godspeed.” Karl said as he and his men left too, going separate ways.
The group walked carefully through the enemy territory, knowing an ambush could be around every corner.
As Duffy peeked around a corner, he decked as a bullet flew past him. “Damn!”
The others looked in surprise as several SS-squads with a Panzer IV were on the other side, opening fire. They pressed themselves against cover as the tank also fired, missing them but the explosion made their ears ring. “We have nothing against that tank!” Jackson yelled.
“But I do!” Fletcher charged up a shot, with the tank slowly taking aim again, the kids looked at it in fear, praying their friend was faster.
In a matter of seconds, the tank exploded, with the turret being blown off. “Nice shot, Fletcher!” Duffy cheered but the stallion had an expression of confusion.
“I…uh…wasn’t me.” He replied before the Waffen-SS soldiers retreated and they saw a Tiger Tank coming from the side, firing it’s MGs at them before coming to a halt.
The hatches of the commander, drive and gunner opened, and they all saw to their surprise, that the tank was operated by the Falkner Squad. Von Treffler was the commander, Alfreck the driver and Merlson the gunner. “What are you doing here?” Fletcher asked them.
“Buying you time to get the kids out of here. Now go! At least, we can die for a good cause.” With that said, he and his two men climbed back down.
Despite being slightly taken back, the group didn’t hesitate and started to move, seeing how the Tiger started to fire as the Waffen-SS came back, holding its ground.
“Is that everything they got? So far I’m not impressed!” Von Treffler taunted as they fought waves of infantry.
Out of the corner of their eyes, Fletcher and the kids saw how the tank then got hit by a Panzerfaust into the fear and the engine caught fire, but the three men kept fighting, even as a StuG III drove up and their Tiger took more damaged, battered up. “Fire, and take them with us!”
Both tanks fired at the same time, destroying each other. The Falkner squad had scarified themselves but it got the group the time it needed.
“I…I can’t believe they did that just for us…” Blau mumbled in disbelief.
“Me neither but…I think they did it to finally find peace.” Fletcher suspected. Somehow the Von Treffler reminded him of Midnight, Alfreck of Wolf. Suddenly they heard gunshots in the distance.
At the end of the street, Germans and Italians were holding their position at a warehouse, holding the Allies off. “That’s the last strategic position we have to take, let’s gave them a hand!” Jackson exclaimed, taking aim.
But before they could do so, something hit Fletcher’s head hard. “Ouch!” He yelled and felt pressure on his horn, shaking his head to get it off, without success. So he looked up and, saw a pin spinning on his horn before coming to a stop. “Uh...we should run…” He said with fear, his eyes small.
“Aw, you id-“ A house exploded next to them, the shockwave was not enough to throw them over but deafened their hearing for a brief moment.
“You're supposed to throw the grenade, not the pin.” Ford mumbled a biz dazed before recovering, joying the fight with his comrades, while the ponies stayed back.
As Fletcher took aim with his MP40, another explosion occurred at the warehouse, strong enough to make him stumble for a brief moment and he heard a disoriented yell. His ears ringed, she made out a German and an Italian soldier charging out of the smoke towards him and he quickly drew his pistol, shooting them into the head before they reached him.
Then a loud bang sounded, seeing how a Sherman fired into the warehouse, the smoke obstructing his view, before Hill yelled, “Enemy spotted! They’re coming out!”
“Coughing, the remaining defenders came out of the smoke, their hands raised. “They’re surrendering! it’s over…it’s over….” The Radioman said relieved.
“There you are. Glad to see you were successful.” Major Blackmore walked up to them with Mackey and Conti.
“Sir, we did some recon and enemy reinforcements are on the way!” Jackson reported to them with worry in his voice.
“We know they are mobilizing to take back the city.” Mackey replied. “I hate to say it but can you keep a lookout? We have to secure the prisoners.”
“No problem, sir.”
Fletcher and the kids just nodded. They were exhausted bit helped here could mean they had better chances to greet to a safer place afterwards as they moved to the outskirts of town, looking around with binoculars.
“Nothing…Wait…Tiger, dead ahead!” Dinky yelled, pointing to it and they saw it parked next to a barn, camouflaged with hay. Just shorty, a Sherman and Churchill tank arrived and Ford informed the commander.
“We got a Tiger tank, right next to that barn!”
“I don’t see it.” The commander replied after looking through his binoculars.
“Just put a round in that building.”
“I can’t I have order not to cause any more damage.”
“He’s right there!”
“If I can't see the bugger, I can't bloody shoot him, can I?” The Churchill commander countered and moved on.
Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau watched with worry as the British tank drove past them and suddenly exploded, getting thrown over into a ditch. To their horror, the tank startled to roll backwards towards them. They crawled backwards, Fray yelled, “No! No! No!” And attempted to use his magic to break the tank, barely succeeding, and saw how the Tiger moved from its hiding spot.
It targeted the Sherman tank and fired, destroying it with one shot, going up in flames and they saw out of the ditch in shock how the Germans opened fire from the barn and other surrounding buildings, mowing down the Allied infantry but couldn’t see their friends anywhere in the chaos.
Seeing how the Germans were gaining the upper hand, Fletcher looked around, he saw a small sewer entrance just at the end of the ditch and made a sign for the kids to follow. Despite being still shocked, they acknowledged with scared looks, crawling towards it and hid in it.
The ally held their breaths as the Waffen-SS checked their surroundings, praying they wouldn’t find them.
A garishly light started to shine from behind and they slowly turned into its direction. With fear the kids saw a SS-soldier looking at them, holding a flashlight, his expression neutral.
With fearful expressions, the children raised their arms in surrender, Fletcher did too, knowing there was no way out.
Were they doomed?
Was this their fate?
“Hey! What’s the hold up?” Someone called out to the soldier and he turned his head around. Then looked back, turned his flashlight off and left.
Marching past, the soldiers started to sing.
♫ SS marschiert in Feindesland,
Und singt ein Teufelslied.
Ein Schütze steht am Wolgastrand,
Und leise summt er mit.
Wir pfeifen auf Unten und Oben,
Und uns kann die ganze Welt
Verfluchen oder auch loben,
Grad wie es ihnen gefällt.
Wo wir sind da geht's immer vorwärts,
Und der Teufel der lacht nur dazu!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
Wir kämpfen für Deutschland,
Wir kämpfen für Hitler,
Der Rote kommt nie mehr zur Ruh'.(x2)
Wir kämpften schon in mancher Schlacht,
In Nord, Süd, Ost und West.
Und stehen nun zum Kampf bereit,
Gegen die rote Pest.
SS wird nicht ruh'n wir vernichten,
Bis niemand mehr stört Deutschlands Glück.
Und wenn sich die Reihen auch lichten,
Für uns gibt es nie ein Zurück.
Wo wir sind da geht's immer vorwärts,
Und der Teufel der lacht nur dazu!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
Wir kämpfen für Deutschland,
Wir kämpfen für Hitler,
Der Rote kommt nie mehr zur Ruh'.(x2)
♫
Dinky was shaking, terrified. “They're not human....They're beasts! Demons! No...much worse than demons!” She said with fear.
“Shh…stay quiet or they hear us.” Fletcher tried to calm her down.
After a few minutes, all Germans had passed by. “With those reinforcements moving in, it’s too dangerous to go back into the city. I hate to say it, but we have to move on.”
The kids didn’t react for a moment, trying to make sense of what he had just said.
“B-but…what happens to us if Christopher dies?” Katja asked, fearing the worst but Fletcher held up a hoof.
“He won’t, he has survived worse. We can only hope for the best.”
They realized he was right and nodded, the dead soldiers were beyond recognition as they walked down the country road.
Still, they all hoped their British and American friend would be alright, not having been along the bodies.
Where would they go without them? Was there still a safe place? None of them could really think of an answer.
“Hey, I think I see something in the distance!” Blau called out and pointed to it.
Fletcher pulled out his binoculars and took a look. It was a Kübelwagen with an Opel Blitz behind, driving towards them. “Quick, off the road!” He yelled and they did as told, hiding in the woods as the two vehicles came closer.
Again, they held their breaths, seeing how the vehicles stopped on the road next to the woods, seeing an officer. Noticeable has he had two silver stars on his Pauldrons, a general by the looks of it, stepping out of the Kübelwagen. “Come out, Green Knight, I mean no harm.” He called out calmly, having apparently seen him from the distance.
“Stay here.” Fletcher said and walked out. Something told him it was worth a try, saluting the officer who returned it.
“The famous Green Knight, also known as Sagittarius. At last, we meet. I've been hoping so, it's an honor.” The General said. Craggy, weathered, with sunken, cheeks, as if the skin on his face was almost loose. His black hair was so closely cropped it could have been painted on, the front of it arching over his scalp in a thin widow's peak. His eyes were grey and outwardly appeared old and tired yet, looking into them, one could see life. More than that, perception, cunning, an edge as sharp and deadly as any blade.
Why would you want to meet me?” Fletcher asked suspicious.
“We are not to take commandos as prisoners of war anymore. Surrender now, while I can still guarantee the safety of you and your little friends. Other commanders won't be so generous”. The German replied, sounding honestly.
Fray stayed silent, thinking for a moment. “How does an honorable man like you serve them? And you know that I don't fear death. I'm not afraid to die to protect those children.”
“I'd noticed that, commander, as far back as Africa! But, do you really want to risk their young lives? Surrendering is no consent of failure but a way to keep your little friends alive. By my Officer's honor, I promise you two will be treated as equals.”
“To treat us equally would be to treat us unjustly. I have killed your men, I've taken the lives of more people than they’re ever known in their life but haven’t hurt a single living thing. Yet you ask me to let them suffer as I would? They’re not to be hurt. And if there's any chance of that happening, the deal's off.” Fray warned him.
“You do whatever the hay you like to me. I've been through more curd than you can imagine. Your methods are unlikely to make much of an impact on me. But the second those children come to any grief...at all...I will not be restrained in making my displeasure known to you and your command. Are we clear on that?” He added before waving at them to come. Dinky and her friends hesitated but did as he wanted, feeling slightly nervous.
The General had a neutral expression but nodded. “Of course. They won't be harmed. In fact, you and they shall be my guests rather than prisoners. Do you play chess?”