These vacations have given me the maximum laziness and in the end I did not write anything.
I don't know if you're embarrassed or something, but no one writes reviews. Does everything look good in the fic?
Just when I thought we were going to play another round, some adults show up shouting. It seems that they are looking for one of the children but after searching the entire ship and not finding him, they began a massive search involving as many adults as they could. I understand parents, if I had children and one of them disappeared, I would also turn everything around me upside down to look for it, even more so with the situation that is happening abroad.
Along with the couple there are two sailors, I recognize one of them, they are also accompanied by other adults of various ages and appearances.
- Where have you been Karin? - The woman demands to know
-We were very worried, it's almost lunchtime and you still hadn't returned to the deck.- Explains the man.
-I was here.-Karin explains, pointing to the ground with her open hand. -I was with the others, playing. Is it time to eat? I hadn't realized it.- Karin laughs a little, she shows that she is forced but she seems to calm her parents down.
-Oum… Are you going to take Karin now?-Asks Elsa.-Just when we were in the best part.-She adds pouting
-It's late, we have to sleep and prepare for when we get to the port.- The woman answers.
-How long is left?- Albrecht intervenes impertinently and as usual with him.
-About four or five hours.- The man answers.
- Four or five hours? - I ask astonished - At what speed is this tartane going? We should have reached the other shore by now.- Right away I notice how everyone looks at me. Even if I didn't scream, the acoustics of the huge, almost completely empty cargo bay had acted as a sounding board and my voice could have been heard clearly from anywhere in it. Embarrassed by the sudden increase in attention I feel my cheeks heat up and only look down after closing my mouth.
After a moment the couple starts laughing, and soon everyone else joins in. Luckily no one took it into account.
Finally and after finishing laughing, Karin's parents take her to the upper deck. The other children follow the family on their way to the fresh air, having nothing better to do as well and not wanting to attract more attention I follow them.
We went up the stairs again that we had previously gone down to reach the access corridor and after a few seconds of walking that seemed to take forever, we went outside. The icy sea breeze brushed my face and I shivered with cold.
The cover was as he had left it, well; more or less the same; a few people were missing but most were in the same place and position I left them in when I went down to the cargo bay with Albrecht. Didn't their bottoms ache from sitting in the same place with their buttocks resting on the cold, hard wood of the deck?
The people on deck did not look but not with the same face as the people in the harbor square where I took this boat, it was more as if the image of children playing calmed their souls and gave them hope. I suppose that the childish image of innocent children playing always makes people smile.
The different groups make huddles and pineapples to keep warm, the truth is that they remind me of penguins. I once saw them perform similar maneuvers in the Antarctic to keep warm.
Karin's parents go to a group at the bow of the ship and Albrecht invites me to his. It must be said that apart from being a bit cheeky he is a good boy. I go to the crowd of people among whom are what seem to be Albrecht's relatives, they are eating some bread and dried meat, when the boy gets there they offer him some.
For my part, I take off my backpack and take out one of the preserves, it seems vomiting, I put it back in and take out another. I repeat the process a couple of times until I pull out one that doesn't seem to make a pig puke from eating it.
They are some kind of sweet fruit in its own juice, it is extremely sweet and I have to drink a lot of water to quench the enormous thirst caused by eating it.
Albrecht looks at me curiously, I offer him a piece of the strange and sweet fruit in response and he just opens his mouth waiting for me to deposit the food there.
-Do not bite. If you do I'll hit you.- He smiles and closes his eyes with his mouth still open.
I deposit the piece of fruit on his little tongue and he waits a few seconds before closing his mouth, a beaming smile of happiness appearing on his face as he finally gets a taste of the sweet fruit.
-It's yummy, what is it?- He asks curiously.
-No idea. But it's good and nutritious. That's enough for me.-
Albrecht's relatives also smile when they see that the "operation" to feed him was completed without mishap. He must be more rambunctious than he seemed to me in the few hours I've spent with him. We spent a curious evening, seeing how the last lights of the day hide behind the land and the sea.
Apparently the ship does not sail directly through the open sea and sticks as close as possible to the coast, I suppose that if we are really at war this is to continue to be protected by the fire of the coastal batteries.
As night falls, children lie down or curl up against relatives and acquaintances in an attempt to maintain the warmth needed to fall asleep.
One of Albrecht's relatives urges me to join their stack to try and stay warm. I gladly accept. It is rare to find this kind of gesture in times of war.
Albrecht is a bit of a spoiled child right now, wrapped in a blanket and hugged by one of his relatives. Not that I envy him at the moment, well yes; a little bit.
I'm about to fall asleep, finally, when a piercing shriek echoes through the air. I open my eyes wide, I never heard something like that; it's like scratching a blackboard with a knife along with that unpleasant sound that occurs when you rub your hands on an inflatable coupled with a super high-pitched scream of a girl. All that together, at the same time and multiplied a couple of times.
It was terrifying and unpleasant at the same time. The dark night sky partially lit up for an instant, after a few seconds a distant detonation could be heard.
To starboard looking at the sky, about two or three kilometers high, or maybe more; a strange dark figure is seen, you can see it because the light of the moon reflects against its polished surface.
It's like a spaceship from a B movie series, but ignoring and defying physics it seems to have enough lift to fly. It must be some kind of night fighter plane as it's painted black, but shiny black and enameled, it reminds me of the weird mobile bunker structure that was next to the ditch but this one is in the sky.
I don't know what is the point of painting a night fighter plane in a dark color and then enameling it, every little shine of the sky will be reflected on its surface.
If you really want it to blend in with its surroundings you could paint it matte black on the bottom and gray and bluish gray on top. As the Germans did with the Bf.
Something much smaller hovering around the huge night fighter can be seen because it appears to fire at the plane at irregular intervals and the shots expose its silhouette.
The small figure backs away from the huge plane a bit, then charges directly at it again.
Crimson rays emerge from the plane that hit something located right in front of the small figure causing a violent reaction of light that can be clearly seen from here.
Shit, I know what that is… Now the idea of having fallen in the middle of World War II didn't seem so bad to me. I believe that it would not be more serious to fight against the Soviets than against "it".
For God's sake don't come here, please I hope they'll kill him soon. If that crosses us it's a fade to black for our ship and us.
I look around and notice that everyone on board is watching the air battle.
It was impossible not to pay attention to what was happening in the night sky when a huge alien construct, although this fact is not fully confirmed, which shoots lasers, flies and has armor similar to that of a modern tank is fighting hard against a flying mahou shoujo with a vintage heavy machine gun.
The truth is that it is quite a spectacle.
The little flying girl fires in short succession, from here I can't tell if she does it accurately or if it's just suppressive fire but it seems to have an effect as the huge flying enemy stops shooting momentarily in the area from which the girl fired.
After a while of fighting a huge hole appears on the side of the flying device, there is a red glow inside.
Please don't miss this shot.
Moments later the construct "turns off" and begins to fall into the water. Wait, what happened? Where are the shiny bits? Why doesn't it explode? Why don't we hear the final shriek?
-They're great, right?- Albrecht expresses without taking his eyes off the sky. He has wide eyes and an expression of hope and deep admiration. Well, I guess that's normal. In my world, not even having a power armor like that of the fallout or that of the space marines, no person would want to approach those monsters to fight them.
-Yes- is all I could say. I can't really speak fluently, I can't add anything else either.
At the end of the battle, the people on the ship cheer to the sky. Now their faces are brighter, it seems that seeing the heroines of humanity fight and win really boosts morale.
Now yes, after finishing the night show everyone goes to sleep. I have to say that it is nice to sleep with human company. Although in the houses in which I was able to be warm, it is not the same.
It dawns, which is not little, and we can already see our destiny; a coastal city in Denmark, who knows what they call it here. I don't remember all the lore.
In fact I hope the lore is not so exact here. The idea of fighting with hordes of machines as tough as the front armor of an M1 and firing like Imperial destroyers doesn't exactly excite me.
I'd rather it wasn't like that, but with my luck, I'm sure it's even worse.
And it's supposed that as soon as we get to port I'm going to enroll in the youth…
Will youths go to war?
The Nazis did not mind using children and old people to fight, and here it could be different but then there would be no witches.
I don't know, I'll have to wait and see.
I try to wriggle out of the embrace of another of Albrecht's relatives. Looking at them together like this now they do look like a family.
I stretch and yawn a bit before slinging my backpack back on my back and starting to walk across the deck.
The sailors got up before the rest and are busy with their work. I walk up to one and just wait for him to notice me, then ask him how long it will take and he replies that our destination is already in sight.
The city of Copenhagen in Batland.
Yes, that was the name of the country here; no idea if it will have the same shape and territories or if it will have a weird star shape.
Apparently in an hour or two we will dock in the port. It would be a good idea to spend this time talking to the other children to try to get more information.
But it seems that practically no one else is awake.
I walk over to another marine who seems to exude an air of veteran and strike up a conversation.
-Hello- The sailor, who would be lost in his thoughts, lowers his eyes to look for the source of the voice.
-Hello little boy.- How little am I now that I have to lower my eyes so much?
-Do you happen to know anything about last night's air battle?-
-The same as the rest. A neuroi appeared in the sky and a night witch went to defeat it.- Technically that information was available to everyone, but for me it was a confirmation. -Umm… how often does this happen?-
-Ummm... .- The sailor thinks for a couple of seconds.- About two or three times a week. But don't worry, Batland is a safe country. - He adds with a smile trying to instill tranquility.
I spend some time observing the horizon and how the city and the port gradually get bigger next to that veteran sailor. I copy his posture; standing, completely erect, with a serious face and arms crossed over his chest.
The truth is, he looks a lot like my old self.
I don't know how long it takes because the change in my size, due to perspective, is gradual and slow. At some point Albrecht arrives, I pretend not to see him and soon he adopts the same posture as the sailor and me.
I wait for him to drop his guard and become absorbed in his thoughts and scenery, just like the veteran Marine on my other side. Then with a quick movement he pressed the space between the ribs just below the armpits. There is a pressure point there that, together with the scare, will make the target jump.
I execute the surprise attack and Albrecht bounces without moving from the spot, letting out a somewhat high-pitched, feminine shriek. The sailor is surprised and alert but soon begins to laugh when he realizes the childishness.
-Idiot…- Albrecht complains, slapping me to get away.
-You made it very easy for me…- I reply disapprovingly.
-And what? You didn't have to do that.- Albrecht is still complaining. In truth he is a spoiled boy and he doesn't like it when things don't go his way.
-And what, what? You were very well disposed and I was not going to miss the opportunity.- I apologize. The truth is that anyone with the degree of complicity that we have right now would have done the same.
-Then get ready, I'll do the same.- He says with an angry air.
-No, that's not how it works- I explain. Albrecht puts on a demanding face.-You have to wait until im off guard. If you do it now it won't be the same.-Albrecht seems to understand, nods and takes a step away.
-Well, I'll wait.- He answers with a mocking face.
Albrecht spends almost an hour trying to catch me off guard, but it's too obvious. He stares at me for so long that I even feel his eyes piercing my body. He also spends time trying to make him look away while he is really looking out of the corner of his eye.
He tried to get in my blind spot too, I just had to wait a bit and move to the nearest wall and lean back there.
-Ouuum… It's not fair. You don't let yourself.- Albrecht complains like the child he is.
-That's why I said you'd have to wait, this will be an exercise in patience for you- I replied, smiling mockingly.
The sailor is still close, every time he looks at us he smiles. His face is tender, like someone watching his little brothers play with each other.
Time passes and the docking maneuver begins, the city now does seem big; it makes the port we left from look like just a dock with a couple of fishing boats, well; in all honesty that really is the case.
Waiting at the port are a few uniformed soldiers and people dressed in suits, trench coats and leather briefcases. They remind me of those men who captured me in the fishing village the boat left from.
The ship finally docks and the sailors extend a gangway to lower the deck.
People begin to form small groups to go down in a more orderly way. The soldiers are dedicated to maintaining order while the people in raincoats point and write things in briefcases that they take out of their bags, they must be government officials.
Albrecht's relatives take him in their arms and approach the catwalk with his group, they won't be the first to go down but they won't be the last either.
I wait for Albrecht's group to come down completely before I go down. In my new little height I already had some trouble getting up the catwalk so probably if I trip I'll roll down this time.
I'm still not used to my new size, I hope to grow back to my old height, I don't want to be the male version of Rossmann.
I walk slowly down the gangway, trying to balance my load and weight as I look down so I don't trip over the boards that run across the gangway, which are normally used to make it easier for people to climb on board the ship.
I finish going down and sigh calmly when I reach solid ground. There is no longer any danger of being shipwrecked or falling from a certain height, which scared me to a certain extent as this was the first time I had made such a long trip by boat.
-Erik, here, here- I hear Albrecht's voice calling me from a distance.
I note that Albrecht's group has already reached the border post. As in the port from which we left, there is a fence that prevents people from crossing from one place to another without passing in front of the border crossing point, which greatly facilitates the task of the border guard.
Albrecht is waving his arms, trying to get my attention, I respond by slightly raising my hand in greeting and smile sheepishly.
I wait my turn in the queue that has formed in front of the stall until it is my turn.
The counter of the booth is quite high for my height and reaches the height of my mouth.
I look up looking for a friendly face, seeing the face of the guard inside. I drop my backpack and rush to get my new identification. The guard seems to notice my situation and gets up from the seat he seems to be sitting on to go out and get my papers.
I simply pull out the notebook containing my new ID and slam it down on the table as I stare wide-eyed trying to emulate curiosity in innocence.
The guard, who was about to walk out of the booth to collect my ID directly from me, releases the doorknob and picks up the brown pad from the counter.
He opens the notebook and places it in front of his eyes.
-Erik- He says as he reads the content, I nod.-Adler-I nod again.-Born in Konigsberg on March 31, 1927.- I nod again.
The man raises an eyebrow, and makes a face of confusion. I do not understand why. What he said is correct, or at least it is what he puts in the notebook; I read the content to make sure. The guard reads the contents of the notebook, turns the pages and continues reading. He repeats this sequence a couple of times.
-Good, it seems that everything is in order. you can pass -He gives me back the notebook, I put it back in the inside pocket of my coat and the guard gives a signal to two other soldiers waiting on the other side of the gate to open the door.
-Welcome to Batland.- He adds with a very diplomatic smile.
When I finish going through the gate, Albrecht comes running to greet me, it doesn't feel any different but I'm in another country; safe; I believe.
Now I have to find that recruiting office and hand in what I think is a letter of recommendation, but Albrecht seems to have other plans. He grabs my coat sleeve and pulls me, he leads me to where his relatives are waiting. There we wait until all the other groups disembark and pass through the gate.
We ran into Elsa and Karin, and I say we ran into each other because their respective relatives took them to their respective transport shortly after leaving the ship. In a matter of a few more hours all the groups found their respective paths and cleared the small square in front of the border fence.
Gunter walks over to Albrecht and me.
-Hello again.- He greets him accompanied by a gesture of the hand.
-Hello again Gunter.- Albrecht happily returns the greeting.
I just make a small gesture and look him in the eyes.
Gunter talks about how his relatives can't take care of more people and that they're going to send him to youth.
I suppose that way I won't be completely alone, that they take good care of the children there and teach them as if they were at school.
I suppose that if it is an institution regulated by the government, it must be something like the boy scouts but at the state level and combining the idea of a boarding school, that is, it is a place to send your children when you cannot take care of them yourself.
But you must assume that they will be under the care and control of the state.
They show us the way to the nearest office. Once at the door, Gunter says goodbye to his relatives. Albrecht says goodbye to the two of us, in fact he gives me a solemn handshake, as if we were not going to see each other again for the rest of our lives.
Gunter and I look at each other, he nods, and we walk into the office.
A uniformed man and woman in a uniform very similar to that of the Wehrmacht wait behind a counter cluttered with papers and with a bulky cream-colored typewriter. The office is cold and smells a bit musty, plus it doesn't seem very well lit.
Gunter approaches the counter and is served by the woman, I simply reach into the inside pocket of my coat and take out the letter, now somewhat wrinkled, and hand it to the uniformed man.
His gaze and the color of his face change as he examines the envelope. Then he looks at me and back at the envelope. She hastily and nervously grabs a letter opener from the counter and cuts off the top of the envelope to extract the letter inside.
It takes a while to read the letter, I don't know if it's a bit slow or because you have to read it several times to confirm the content.
Then he asks me if this letter was given to me, and I nod. Then he asks me for the documentation and when I hand it over, the man sighs long and exasperatedly and then takes some documents out of a drawer on the counter and, before the attentive and incredulous gaze of the woman, stamps a seal with red ink on the documents.
Then he writes something on them and when he finishes he keeps one of them to give the other one to me.
The document is an admission receipt, I don't know what the letter contained; that now it is almost confirmed that it was a recommendation; but it got me a shortcut to my new destination.
Well it seems that I had a hard time finishing the chapter. Let's see if the next one doesn't give me maximum laziness.