The Day of Blood

Chapter 14: A Life Worth Saving

I followed Levi and slowly reloaded my gun. I watched him as he went back into the house. I crept up to the door when I heard a scream. I sprinted into the house and saw Grace laying on the floor. I looked back towards the front room and saw Levi holding Claire to his chest. He had his gun pointed at her head, "Alright DJ!" He yelled, "You wanted to know why I'm doing this?" He pointed his gun at me, "I'm doing this because us Americans should've joined Germany from the start. D-day will fail. And it's all because you were all too stupid to realize that Germany is too powerful!" He yelled. I dropped my rifle. I looked at Claire and she looked back, "You win Levi. Kill me. You're right. We should've joined you," I said. Before Levi could do anything Claire lifted her leg and kicked Levi in the stomach. He doubled over and Claire broke free. I ran over to Grace who was laying on the floor. I checked her for a pulse. When I felt the steady beat of an unconscious person I relaxed. Just long enough for something to hit me and knock me out.

When I woke up again Grace was sitting next to me. I sat up and put a hand to my head. Grace gasped and started helping me sit up. I looked around and noticed it was just us two, "Where's Claire and Levi?" I asked. Grace looked at me with tears in her eyes, "I don't know. They were gone when I woke up," She said, "It was just you and me." I looked at her and grabbed her arm, "Hey," I said, "Claire's going to be alright. She's got us to save her. We can do it." Grace hugged me and helped me stand up. I grabbed my rifle off the ground and swung it back over my shoulder. I made sure Grace had her stuff and we left the house. We started following the soldiers' footprints through the woods that were behind the house.

We had walked for a few minutes with no signs of German soldiers but the footprints and the broken shrubbery we were walking through. Grace was a few feet ahead of me. I was looking at the ground and walking. I ran right into Grace's hand, "Shh!" She whispered, "Look." I looked up and saw another town. This time the Germans were carrying stuff between buildings. I looked at the bulk of the soldiers. They were surrounding another building. Grace looked at me, "You ready? I say we try to pick them off quickly," She said. I nodded and readied my rifle. Grace slowly crept toward the closest building. She hid behind the wall so none of the Germans could see her. She had her Tommy Gun in hand and was ready at my first shot. I aimed at one of the soldiers by the doorway. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I opened my eyes and with a quick pull of the trigger Bang! The soldier dropped to the ground.

I looked towards grace. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again I saw pure determination and hatred. She stood and walked around the corner. She pulled the trigger and let loose on the German soldiers. I readied my rifle again. Bang! Another one down. I saw a sniper in the window aiming toward Grace. I aimed my rifle up a little bit. Bang! He was down. As we fought our way to the house the only thing I could think of was Cali. I stood up and ran up to Grace, "That's what three to your thirty-two?" I said. She laughed, "You're the one with a rifle not a machine gun," She said. I nodded, "I'm better with these," I said. Grace looked at me, "We got this. We can save Claire. But what are you going to do about Levi?" She asked. I looked at her. I hesitated before finally answering, "I don't know. I really do not know," I said. We walked in silence toward the house. Bang! I heard a gunshot. I looked over to see if Grace had been the shooter. Instead she stood there staring straight, "Are you alright Grace?" I asked. She said nothing. She slowly turned her head to me before falling to the ground. I got down to the ground and pulled Grace into my arms. There was a hole in her chest. I closed my eyes to hold back tears. I opened my eyes and made my choice. I would kill Levi. Claire was a life worth saving.