𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 | | 1917

13. THE PISTOL

"Non." No.

Letting out a breath she noticed Phillipe's sigh.
"Je ne prends pas ça." I'm not taking that.

How could she? There was still blood splattered around the grip.

"Vous devrez vous protéger,"  continued Phillippe, leaning down and picking it up. You'll need to protect yourself. Wiping off the blood against the german's uniform while Josephine watched with a troubled gaze.

He held out the weapon for her to take, but she didn't even remotely move.

"Je ne peux pas tirer," she muttered, staring at him. I can't shoot.

Phillippe breathed out his nose, staring at her with a cold and tired gaze.
"Vous apprendrez." You'll learn.

"Va te faire foutre," she swore under her breath, crossing her arms and earning a chuckle from Louis, standing behind her.

Phillippe shook his head slightly and turned to do something else, dropping the pistols while doing so. Jo stared down at it with disgust.

A silence came. Like it always did.

She slowly made her way towards the window when a sudden noise came. It was loud and it lasted for a couple of long seconds. She couldn't make out what the noise came from, but by the look from the others, she knew that something was going on.

She met the faces of the staring soldiers. None of them looked back at her, stuck with their eyes on the window.

"Que se passe-t-il?" she asked quietly. What's going on? Feeling her knees becoming weak.

"Je..." Leurent became quiet. "Je ne sais pas."
I don't know.

Louis looked down and then up again, fixing the weapon hanging around his shoulder and then the helmet. He stared at the others.

"Nous devrions peut-être sortir et regarder," he said. Maybe we should go outside and look.

Jo's eyes widened just so slightly.
"Quoi?" What?

The other turned to look at them.
"Il a raison," said Philippe. He's right. "Nous devons sortir bientôt de toute façon." We have to get out soon anyway.

She was about to protest, but it was already too late. The three men started walking towards the back door while Jo stood still, simply looking at them.

"Es-tu fou?!" she hissed silently. Are you insane?! Louis turned his head and stared at her. "Les Allemands sont là-bas!" she continued. The Germans are out there!

"On va juste sortir et jeter un oeil," said Leurent. We're just gonna go outside and take a look.

"Vous pouvez rester ici si c'est ce que vous voulez," said Louis as well. You can stay here if that's what you wish.

She muttered a response and within seconds, the men were gone. She quickly locked the door after them and sighed.

The room was almost completely dark, but after finding a paraffin lamp inside one of the kitchen drawers, as well as a box of matches, she managed to see a little better. She placed the medical bag that she had been holding onto for the past hours on the small table standing in the middle of the room and after checking the doors, more than enough times, she quietly sat down on a chair.

She sat there for a couple of minutes in complete silence. The silence was driving her crazy, yet every noice that would reach her ear made her jump. All she could do was patiently wait for them to come back. Even if that meant sitting there for a long time.

There was a mouse in there with her. It wad sitting within the light of the lamp, looking up at her for a split second as it ran by. He seemed as surprised to see her as she was to see him. To think that there was more alive than your own pathetic pulse.

She could hear it still, scurrying about somewhere under the hayrick. Jo though that it was gone now. She hoped it came back. She miss it already.

Then suddenly, the same noise as before came. Louder this time and seemingly coming from all sorts of directions. She got up and walked towards the window, standing on her tiptoes and managing to look out she noticed something in the sky.

Airplanes. They were way too far away from her to see who's side they were on. All she could do was wait and then wait again for the planes to act.

And that's what they did.

Something fell down the jet. Something small, yet visible enough for her to see what it was. She barely made it to the floor before the shockwave hit. The noise was too loud to describe and all she did was curl up against the cold wall and cover her ears.

The flash from the bomb filled the room and she watched in terror as the wall cracked and the furniture the soldiers earlier stacked against the wall was falling down daringly close to her.

Pressing her eyelids shut and holding her breath. Afraid to move and afraid to see what had happened to everything.

The ear-piercing ringing noise came.
And it was worse than anything else.

Seconds turned into minutes before she would look around. The wall in front of her was on the edge of collapsing and there was dust falling from the ceiling.

She knew that she had to get out.

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Hello everyone! As some of you may have noticed; the posting can be uneven, but I hope that's alright for the time being<3

Stay safe and kind,
/connie