The world stopped as you sat hanging over the deceased soldier. You had only been in the battle for 15 minuets. Blood continued to stain your knees as the man laid limp on the ground. You could feel Elena trying to shake you away, but you couldn't leave. You grabbed the cornflowers out of your bag and placed them on top of the soldier. He deserved them more than you. He fought bravely in a battle saving many lives. Finally, you stood up and turned to the refugees.
"Let's get them out of here. We can come back later for him," Elena said as she picked up her backpack. You simply nod knowing you most likely would not return to the dead man. The earth seemed to swallow him into the soil like quicksand. As you walked away from the corpse your footprints disappeared into the wind, leaving no trace of you or the soldier. War didn't allow time for people to be remembered or honored.
You and Elena guided the small group of refugees away from the smoke-filled battle. Elena handed them granola bars, water, and a few medical supplies from her backpack. Once you reached the trucks you could give them fresh clothes and directions to the nearest train station. Many of the trains in central and eastern Europe were fully operational, allowing refugees to flee west.
The trucks were all still lined up. A few of your peers were there helping other refugees get the needed supplies. You and Elena handed out the needed supplies to everyone and gave them directions to the nearest train station. They all thanked you and made their way toward the mountains in search for a new future. You wanted to smile at them but you couldn't. You still let a man die in front of your eyes without giving him a proper farewell. He was probably laying in the mud rotting into the earth where he'd be forgotten.
Elena could tell you were starting to lose your composure so she came over to give you a hug. "It'll be ok _. You did everything you could. Think about how many people we just saved." Elena continued to hug you but you stood there lifeless. "Come on, we still have to go save some more people. It's what Fitz and his dad would want," Elena said as she drags you back towards the battle.
She was right. You needed to continue to help those in need no matter how many others may fall. You wouldn't be able to save everyone from this war but you wouldn't let that stop you. Feeling more motivated than ever, you start to run towards the battle not looking back to Elena's shocked reaction. Elena followed close behind you as you both ran back into the fumes.
After a few minutes of running, someone close to you screams "GET DOWN!" as an explosive is thrown in your direction. You quickly cover your ears and jump away from the midair explosive. The ground feels oddly wet but the cold dirt hits your arms and covers your mask. A bright light shines into your eyes blinding you from the actual explosion. You sit there shocked as your ears start to ring.
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You open your eyes unable to see anything but black fumes rising from a fire. You try to push yourself up but your arms give out as you fall face first onto your mask. "ELENA!" You scream out hoping to hear a response. No one responded. It was dead quiet except for the small crackle of the flames. As you try to stand up again, this time with a lot more force, you look around to try to find anybody. You continue to limp deeper into the smoke until you can't see the sky or the ground. It was hard to see or hear anything but you continued to move forwarded hoping to bump into help.
After hobbling for about 10 minutes you hear a few whispers in front of you. At first you thought they were German, but as you moved out of the smog you see a Russian soldiers kneeling away from you. How did you end up on enemy lines in only 10 minutes? You thought the German army was pushing the Russians out of the border. Something was definitely not adding up but you decide to hide behind a few crates of ammo and supplies.
As you peer over the supplies, you see two German soldiers tied to each other. They are sitting down under a grey tarp as a white haired man leans over them.
"I am zhe awesome Prussia! You vill let me and my bruder go immediately!" One of the German soldiers said as he spat at the snowflake haired Russian. The German wore a dark navy combat uniform that contrasted his albino hair. His eyes were a flaming red that reflected his anger and attitude towards the Russian, but he also seemed to be smirking.
"Awww poor Prussia completely forgotten in history. No one knows who you are anymore because of how much time you spend with Germany," the Russian said with a cold tone.
"HA! Jou want to talk about history?! Vell do you remember how many times I've kicked jou out out of eastern Europe? You are pathetic! Joy need other smaller countries to lift jou out of your own mess," the Prussian man said smirking menacingly towards the Russian. The Russian reached out and grabbed a pickaxe. He held it over the Prussian's head as if he was about to split his head open.
"Bruder please... let's not antagonize the Russian anymore. Don't worry ve vill get out of this mess one vay or another, I just don't want to die before that happenz, Ja?" A blonde hair soldier asks quietly to the Prussian. He seemed a lot different from his mischievous counterpart. His hair was slicked back and he wore a dark olive military fatigue. His eyes reminded you of the clear baby blue sky above the Alps. He was facing your way staring up at the ceiling as if he was calculating something.
"Ah vest your always the party pooper," the Prussian said smirking.
"Both of you better be quiet or I'll split your head open with pickaxe!" The Russian said with an innocent smile. Everyone fell silent as the two soldier looked at the ground.
For some reason you recognized the two soldiers. You weren't sure who they were exactly but you remember seeing both of them somewhere else. Your eyes reached over the crates a little more to try to get a better look at the three men. The Russian held up a file, luckily the file was in English so you could read it: "German Brothers: Ludwig and Gilbert Beilschmidt." You stood there for a second shocked at the names and the faces. You grabbed your communication device to call your commander but it was only making a small beeping noise. It must have been damaged in the explosion. You shut it off immediately to not draw any attention.
"Looks like I'm gonna be doing this by myself," you whispered to yourself grabbing a smoke grenade from out of your bag. You felt sorry that you were their only hope of escaping from the Russian's grasp. As you peaked over the crates one last time, your eyes met with the baby blue eyes across the tarp. He looked at you and then the smoke grenade nodding in approval. As you sat back down you whispered to yourself, "Here goes nothing!"