The price of a mile (Second story in the world war series)

Chapter 5~ For whom the bell tolls

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Quickly popping his side hatch on the turret of the tank Kris aims his weapon and fires the bullets stopping a flanking American with his mp40. Quickly getting back into the tank he looks through his view and then speaks.

"Things are getting to lively here pull us back!" Kris orders with and the driver pulls the levers changing the Panzers direction pulling them out and beginning the retreat their positions have begun to be over ran.

With the flank crippled and soldiers beginning to quickly run from their positions as fast as they can Kris quietly watches.

The driver following the retreat into the beginning of the pass but a screech from a shell flares over the front track followed by a second shell hitting and immobilizing their tracks. Quickly looking out from his port hatch Kris narrows his eyes to approaching church hills and yells.

"Grab the medical kits everyone out now!" Kris orders and standing up the crew begins to bail when the next volley from the church hills fire the tank takes a few hits and becomes engulfed in flames.

"She's going to explode move it!" Kris yells before he manages to jump out whilst their Panzer explodes the force pushing him along.

Landing on the warm desert sand Kris quickly turns to see if anyone else made it but the screams of men filled his ears. His gunner, radio operator and co driver are burning alive before falling and rolling on the ground.... Human torches..

Unholstering his Luger Kris fumbles with the safety aiming then he fires 1 by 1 aiming for the head in mercy shots ending their misery.

"Oslo!! Alex!!! Du swine, NEIN!" the yell of pained sadness in his voice fills the air dropping to his knees his breathing in quick successions of adrenaline rushes throughout his body.

Standing up slowly and putting his side arm back Kris hears the screams of someone else that's close and he rushes over to see Oskar. The sand around his left leg has been stained in blood Oskars left leg has been blown off with bits of bone here and there. Along with bits of skin and strands of it left on Oskars missing leg.

"Mein gott, Oksar... Your leg" Kris slowly says before he kneels down looking around and seeing Kurt stumble towards the two Kris waves him over before he collapses into the sand.

Looking at Oskars leg Kurt slowly holds out the medic kit to Kris his left arm hanging limply against his side with extreme burns covering his arm.

"I'll tend to you in a minute" Kris says looking at Kurt with narrowed eyes before he looks back at Oskar. Getting to work Kris removes Oskars belt and quickly tightening it above his knee to stop blood flow Kris then begins patching the stub below the knee its self.

"Verdammt! I forgot, Kurt you must hold him down I need to clean the wound" Kris says quickly finding the germ killing bottle to sanitize the wound whilst he preps it and wetting a cloth with it Kurt has pushed down on Oskars chest with his one arm ready.

Once the bloody bandages are removed Kris begins to quickly and thourghly clean the wound of any thing to prevent infection and Oskars screams of pain echo, Kris doesn't have any thing to help the poor man with by numbing the pain.

Re bandaging the gushing fountain of blood Kris quickly finishes what he can and was taught to do before sighing and looking up at Kurt Kris says "Komm hier"

Then he begins to tend to Kurts extreme burns that has ravaged his arm.
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Peeking over cover to fire Weber watches a Lieutenant drop from Weber shooting him and there he smiles ducking back into cover.

'The left flank is being over ran and the right is crumbling... We can't hold out much longer' Weber quietly says to himself trying to decide what to do.