~*~
Emma made her way back to the entrance hall where she slowly and quietly began climbing up the stairs, her dagger clenched in her fists. She mentally prepared for anything that could happen but what she saw still took her by surprise.
An English soldier was laying in front of her, a puddle of blo+-od around his head. He looked dead. Emma didn't know what to do. One half of her wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as she could as whoever shot that guy could still be around. Her other half, however, told her to rush up the remaining stairs to actually check whether someone was still around and maybe gather some more supplies and to eventually check on the soldier in front of her.
In the end, Emma gave in and made her way towards the unconscious soldier. She leaned down checking for a pulse, relieved when she felt it pump weakly but steadily against her fingers.
Just to make sure that no one was around, Emma decided to check the rooms upstairs, spotting the dead German that the British soldier must have fought. She took the soldier's backpack, grabbing his rifle and supplies as she could still put them to use.
Turning back towards the other soldier, she asked herself what he was doing here. No Englishmen had been here for weeks, no months, and suddenly the Germans slowly left Écoust and a single British soldier was here in front of her. He looked fairly young, not as young as other soldiers she had seen, he was probably around his mid-twenties just like her.
Emma felt the need to help him. Maybe it would turn out to be useless but then she could at least tell herself that she had tried.
Grabbing some supplies out of her bag, she carefully lifted up the soldier's head feeling the sticky and warm blood on her hands. He couldn't have laid here for long but long enough to have the blood already dried on the wooden floor.
The young woman began cleaning the wound, not with great precision but well enough to not have it be infected immediately. She knew it would sting but in his unconscious state, she doubted he would notice.
But when suddenly the soldier began to stir and open his blue eyes Emma shrieked and jumped back being absolutely startled by the sudden movement. The soldier's head hit the floor with a thud, causing the young man to groan in pain.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!", Emma apologised getting back closer to the soldier although still remaining a safe distance.
"Wh-who are you. Where... Where am I?", the soldier mumbled, panic evident in his voice while he sat up against the wall, slightly dizzy and feeling the bloody back of his head with his hand. He looked scared by her presence and Emma concluded that it was because of the German uniform jacket she wore.
"My name is Emma, I'm English no worries. You're in Écoust... Or at least in the ruins that remain of it. I believe you had a fight with a German soldier before you probably literally fell unconscious.", the young woman explained. Will had to smile a bit at her last sentence, wincing in pain shortly after.
"You should stop touching your wound. It won't do you any good, my dear." He immediately retreated his hand looking at the girl in front of him confused.
"I need to do something, but I cannot remember what.", he said.
"Well, I cannot really help you but I'd say in your state it's no wonder you cannot remember a lot for now. We should get your wound cleaned and try to patch it up."
Will just looked at her indifferently.
"That means, let's leave this place as who knows when the Germans return. I have a hiding spot not far from here that we could go to to get a closer look at your injury."
The soldier still looked at her sceptically. Emma herself wasn't too sure why she was just inviting a random stranger to her room but she felt as if she needed to help him out. The British man didn't appear to be the kind of person you shouldn't trust but Emma was careful, nonetheless.
"I-... My name is William. William Schofield."
"Well, nice to meet you, William."
Emma stood up from the ground, gathering her supplies back into her backpack also picking up her dagger and the newly achieved rifle.
"Still has a few shots." she mumbled to herself as she strapped it over her shoulder.
Making her way down a few stairs Emma looked back at Will who was still looking at her without having moved an inch.
"Come on, grab your stuff and let's get going. The night won't last forever and soon the sun will start to rise.", she stated, going back up the stairs holding out her hand to the man. He took it as she helped him stand up. They quickly left the house together, looking around for any potential dangers.
~*~
The city of Écoust was engulfed in even more flames than before. The sizzling sound of flare guns being fired could be heard and every few seconds they lit up in the sky. Emma couldn't understand why this was the German soldiers' way of celebrating, it was disgusting her. The light obviously made it easier for them to walk around the ruins and to find their way back - although Emma knew every street and all the ways to her hiding spot by heart - but it also made it harder for them to hide in the shadows.
"So, tell me, what are you doing here? I haven't seen any English soldiers around here for months now.", Emma started whispering trying to distract herself a bit and lower the tension that was unmistakably in the air.
"I could ask you the same.", William started, observing their surroundings.
Emma still held her dagger in her hands but also had the rifle ready for anything to come.
"Do you know how to shoot one of these?", Schofield asked as he caught her helplessly trying to get the weapon in a somewhat correct position.
"Not really, but I guess you just point it at someone, pull the trigger, reload and hopefully hit your target. Not that I plan on injuring anyone."
William just nodded not knowing what to reply.
He continued following the woman through the streets wondering what her story was, what she was doing here and for how long she had been fighting for survival in this city. What was a British woman doing in Écoust? She definitely knew her way around which was fortunate for him as he would have surely stumbled around the small streets not knowing where to go.
They neared the main streets leading up to the burning church that was still in quite some distance from them, Emma really wanted to avoid this place but from the other streets flare guns were being fired so she quickly decided that they should take a different route.
Suddenly a shot rang near them, the voices of Germans could be heard.
"Da! Dort, da ist jemand!" (There! There, someone's there!)
The two companions quickly jumped into action when at the nearby fence to the city's graveyard a shot ricochet, missing them by mere inches. They began to run as fast as they could towards some ruins that they could hide behind. Emma was worried at Will's still unsteady steps but he managed to follow her without stumbling too much. His steps were more of him dragging himself forward but it was relieving to know that his injuries weren't as bad as they looked. His body and his instincts were still functioning.
More shots followed all missing them as they hit buildings, sparks and dust falling down to the floor.
"Los! Schießt! Lasst sie nicht entkommen!" (Go! Shoot! Don't let them escape!)
Cursing under her breath, Emma kept running as fast as her malnourished body could get her. Soon they had gotten some distance between them and the enemy soldiers.
Breathing in and out to calm themselves both stayed in their safe spot for a few seconds until the commotion behind them had vanished. Emma decided that they were good to go again and with a nod she signalled the British soldier to move further down the alleyways.
It was again so bright around them with all the flames and the many flare guns being fired that being in the open as they were right now they had to try to stay still.
William jumped on the floor, trying to blend in his green uniform with the dusty bricks on the that were laying around just like he had learned in the battles he had fought, motioning Emma to do the same.
As soon as the lights vanished and they were surrounded by the darkness again, they got up, William now offering Emma his hand and helping the young woman up as they immediately started running again.
They were finally nearing the burning church and the city's fountain but Emma grew more and more worried. It was just a question of time until more soldiers were alerted by the two intruders in their city and therefore the more time they spent outside in the open the more likely it was that they were going to be spotted and shot.
William knew just as well as Emma what a problematic situation they were in. They needed to find a place where they could hide and he somehow trusted and also needed to trust Emma that she would lead them to safety. He was depending on her, someone he had known for a few minutes. Someone he barely knew anything about. Yes, she said she was British and she had a London accent but what was she doing here in Écoust then? In the middle of a world war? She could be with the Germans for all he knew. But he had no other choice but to follow her.
~*~
~*~
I hope you are all doing well!
I am awfully sorry for not posting when I promised to, but studying for my A-levels took much more time than I anticipated and therefore I didn't really get the time to write and continue this story properly. I still have one more chapter ready but I won't be able to continue actively writing up until the beginning of next month when all the exams are done. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, why not leave a comment or a vote :)
(By the way, I absolutely love gifs, hope you do not mind me putting them everywhere ;D)
See you in the next chapter! Have a great day and stay safe everyone! :)