charlotte tarvers is only 14 when the war breaks out, but 17 when she signs up. she's heard the stories from her parents, lovers who found each other by chance on the front lines in world war one in the country of france, now passing down the storie...
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" There is no illusion greater than fear."
- Lao Tzu
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( a/n ) sad boi hours, my dear friends. i'm so sorry.
***
She felt another explosion rip over them and looked up, searching for Gene.
" Gene!" she yelled, as another explosion rattled her eardrums. He'd disappeared, but now she needed to take cover. Charlotte regained her sight and stood finally, shaking on her feet, rushing forward from her perfectly good foxhole her to warn her friends.
" Get some cover!" she yelled, an explosion setting off and making her push her hands to her ears as she continued running.
" Get in your foxholes!" she yelled at a few replacements hoping they heard her. Lipton's voice drew closer and closer and when she looked up, she realized he was hollering at her.
" Get in a foxhole, Charlotte!" he yelled. She scrambled, falling over her feet, and curling like a turtle, as another shell exploded, the dirt and debris raining over her body as she did so. She looked up, and attempted to find a nearby foxhole, but her vision remained somewhat blurred and distorted. The trees continued exploding, and all she could soon see was darkness. She began hacking unable to see much at all, attempting to get what had ever rushed into her throat now out of it. She felt a hand pull her, an explosion showering her and whoever was dragging her in snow and dirt and debris. She cleared her eyes and airways, and looked up just in time to see Chuck, pulling her into his foxhole protectively, and pushing himself on top of her in a bear hug as the explosions continued to sound off. She gripped tightly onto Chuck's coat, pulling him closer and closer hoping it's make the artillery stop. Her head pounded with every rattle and Chuck could feel the poor girl shivering below him as well. When it finally stopped, all she heard a ringing in her ears. Chuck slowly pulled off of the silent girl, as she tried to make the ringing stop. Chuck lay next to the girl, their breathing heavy, as the silence became deafening. But no one moved or even made a single sound by this point. Fear was the factor that drove that.
" Stay in your foxholes!" Liptons voice echoed, as Chuck and Charlotte slowly sat up to look over the edge. Lipton moved crouched through the camp, attempting to make sure everyone was ok. She didn't blame him, it was in his nature to do so. Luz had a firm hand over top of her stomach to keep her from wanting to move from the foxhole.
" Are you ok?" she asked, gently touching Chuck's cheek, seeing a slight scar on him.
" I'm fine, sunshine, you?" he asked, noticing the layer of debris in her hair, and face, and the cuts that littered it. He noticed the blood dripping from the cartilage on her ear, and the moist wetness around her eyes, trying to get debris from them. She didn't feel right. She let out a mucus filled cough, spatting it onto the ground, but the feeling was there. She then began immediately thinking of if she could remember if there had been any call for a medic, if there had been any plea for help that she had somehow missed. Charlotte slowly pushed the helmet up from her eyes, as she let them tiredly look around the landscape, that looked just like how Easy felt. Charlotte slowly sat up more, as Chuck slowly came up next to her. She heard something, a quiet voice. She stared forward, letting her ear strain for any chance of hearing the voice again, just a small sound.
