Northern France
November 1917
The front was oddly quiet that morning, not a single shot had been fired from the two sides to the surprise of many. Men here rest 5 miles behind the front.
Outside of a little village, was a German camp. Two men, one old and the other young, are resting by a bonfire just outside of camp, attempting to keep warm during the harsh winter months. The nearby forest was covered in a new layer of snow.
Stanislaus "Kat" Katczinsky
TJADEN
(Imagine them in the 1917 uniforms)
Tjaden: warum brauchen sie so lange? (Why do they take so long?)
Kat: Tjaden, Sie wissen ja, wie sie sind, wahrscheinlich haben sie die Mission vergessen und sind einem Schmetterling hinterhergejagt. (Tjaden, You know how they are, probably forgot about the mission and went off chasing a butterfly.) said the older man in a sarcastic tone
Tjaden: Glaubst du, der Bauer hat sie dieses Mal tatsächlich erwischt? (Do you think the farmer actually got them this time?) A worried expression was present over his face
Tjaden: Sicherlich hat er ihre Gesichter inzwischen erkannt (surely he has recognized their faces by now)
Kat: Das ist das sechste Mal, dass wir ihn in den letzten 2 Monaten bestohlen haben, er muss inzwischen stinksauer auf uns sein. (This is the sixth time we've stolen from him in the last 2 months, he must be pissed off at us by now)
Tjaden: Warum bist du dieses Mal nicht gegangen, Kat? (Why didn't you go this time Kat?) said Tjaden crossing his arms
Kat: Kann ein alter Mann nicht ab und zu eine Pause machen? (Can't an old man take a break now and then?)
Both men chuckled a bit after that last phrase, and then returned to usual chatter while they waited their friends arrival. Tjaden grew more worried by each passing minute. What if the farmer killed them? What if a shel landed on them? His worried would disappear because 12 minutes later laughter would be heard up ahead followed by footsteps. Running out of the woods were 2 people. One of them was holding a cage with an animal in it. The other was making sure they weren't tracked.
PAUL BAÜMER
ALBERT KROPP
When the two runners reached the bonfire the contents of the cage were made apparent. Inside was a dead goose, and some eggs.
Paul: Diesmal hätte ich es fast nicht geschafft (I almost did not make it)
Kat: Was dieses Mal geschah? (What happened this time?)
Paul: Ich bin beim Laufen gestolpert und gefallen und wäre tot gewesen, wenn Kropp dem Bauern nicht einen Stein an den Kopf geworfen hätte. (I tripped and fell while running and would have been dead if Kropp hadn't thrown a stone at the farmer's head.)
Tjaden: Haben Sie ihn getötet? (Did you kill him?)
Kropp: Nein (no)
Kat: Genug geredet, lasst uns den Vogel kochen (Enough talk, let's cook the bird)
Kat: Ich brate den Vogel, Paul, du kochst die Eier. (I'll fry the bird, Paul, you cook the eggs.)
Paul: Ja (yes)
As Paul was removing the eggs his hand grabbed hold of a sharp object
Paul: Ein Kristall? (A cristal?)
Paul: Leute, seht euch das an (guys look at this)
Kropp: Wo haben Sie das gefunden? (where did you find that?)
Paul: Es war hier mit den Eiern (It was here with the eggs)
Tjaden: Sieht teuer aus, werden Sie es verkaufen? (Looks expensive, are you going to sell it?)
Paul: Wahrscheinlich nicht, ich werde es behalten. (Probably not, I'll keep it)
Kat: Schlechte Idee, hier wird alles gestohlen, denken Sie an die Uhr von Kimmerich (Bad idea, everything gets stolen here, remember Kimmerich's watch)
While discussing about the crystal they didn't notice that another man had sneaked up on them.
???: Guten Morgen meine Herren (Good morning gentlemen)
At the sight of this man everyone around the bonfire let out an annoyed groan
Tjaden: Was wollt ihr Himelstoss? (What do you want Himelstoss?)
The man known as Himelstoss seemed to take offense to that.
Himelstoss: Wie unhöflich, so spricht man nicht mit seinem Vorgesetzten (How rude, that's no way to speak to your commanding officer)
Paul: Kannst du einfach gehen (can you just leave)
As Himelstoss was turning back to leave. He spotted a bright yellow cristal in Paul's palms.
Himelstoss: Was ist das? (What is that)
Paul: Nichts (nothing)
Himelstoss: Lassen Sie mich sehen (let me see)
Paul: Nein, geh weg! (No go away!)
Himelstoss: Sprich nicht so mit mir- (don't speak to me like that-)
BOOM
An artillery shell landed right in the middle of the bonfire. Nearby soldiers rushed to help the wounded, but when the smoke cleared there was no trace of the 5 men present. It was like if they vanished.
One soldier who saw the whole incident reported seeing a blinding light before the men disappeared
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Hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter of the book
If there is something that you don't like pls tell me so I can work on it to improve the story.
I'm not used to writing stories in third person and with a lot of dialogue
I'll also try to make the chapters longer from now on
See y'all in chapter 2