𝐖𝐚𝐲𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬。𝟷𝟿𝟷𝟽

𝐈𝐈𝐈. 𝐍𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝

He goes first, crouching low, and moving faster now, picking his way towards a hole in the earth. He then jumps directly into the old sap trench. It's blown out and more of a ditch instead, but it offers a stretch of cover.

Blake turns to Juliana, to inform her that he's moving. She nods and watches him jump into the sap just next to Schofield. What she didn't see was that he landed next to a dead man.
Just as Blake lands, Juliana moves forward. She's picked an area that seemed to be clear next to Schofield. She wasn't looking carefully when she jumped down beside him, and almost lands on top a dead soldier who's intestines were being feasted on by rats.

Schofield reaches his hands up and grabs her waist in mid air and pulls her to his right. At the same time, Blake scrambles back in horror knocking into Will. Juliana lands between the two and Schofield's slips. His left arm outstretches, and his wounded hand reaches for something to support him. Instead it falls right through the stomach of that dead German, that he saved Juliana from landing on.
His hand goes through the flesh and disgust is seen on his face. Beside him, Blake and Juliana are frozen and stricken with fear. All three panic and hold their breath, not wanting to breathe in the nasty smell of the corpse.

-"Oh Will," Juliana breaths, she reaches into her bag to pull out some cloth for him wipe his hand. With a wave of his other arm, he tells her not to waste the bandage on him. He also gestures for the two to "stay calm".

They move further along the side of the sap trench, making them closer to the German line.
With Schofield in the lead, they move along. The whole time they listen for the sound of open fire on them.

The mud clings to their clothes, the hem of Juliana's dress drenched in it. Thankfully no one slips as move along quickly on their toes.
Above them, the sound of planes can be heard and Juliana's blood runs cold. The trio quickly move to the nearest shell- hole. They pull their helmets down low, and Juliana squeezes between the other two in order to disguise her blue dress. Thankfully they caught on, and do their best to hide her.

-"Stay still." Will instructs them. They nod in understanding and shut their eyes in fear.
The engines grow louder and the planes fly close overhead.
It was hard for them not to peek, but at the same time necessary. So they turn their heads to look at the objects in the sky.

"They're ours. Keep going. We're half way."

The younger two nod and follow Schofield. He seemed so calm on the outside, but on the inside, he was as equally scared as the other two.

They continue their trek across No Man's Land and when they finally reach the German Line, Juliana lets out a sigh of relief. They make their way into the trench and hide behind sandbags. The soldiers ready their weapons, and prepare to shoot if needed. Juliana stays behind Schofield. She holds a pocket knife in her hand, ready to attack if needed.

The two men nod and turn out in unison.

-"They really have gone." Blake observers. This was true, as the massive trench didn't have a single sign of life in it besides their own.

Seeing that they were safe, Schofield crouches down to attend to his throbbing hand. Juliana sees this, but doesn't move. If he needs help then he'll let her know.

"Your hand alright?" Blake asks while standing next to Juliana. He looks at her, hoping by her facial expression, she'll provide him with a medical based answer.

Juliana sends him a concerned look with a shake of her head and shrug of her shoulders. As if to say "I don't know". Blake nods slightly and turns back to Schofield.

"Put it through an effing German." Schofield answers, takes out his canteen, and pours water on his sliced up palm. Blake keeps watch as Juliana crouches down beside Schofield to stop him.