The fire continued to crackle embers and ashes into the branches of the Firs. Gilbert and Ludwig stood only a meter away from you with tension filled in their eyes. There wasn't any possible way for you to escape their glare. You held your breath as sweat ran down your head and chest. Ludwig grabbed Gilbert's shoulder and turned to the bag.
"Let's at least confirm she's a Russian spy. She might have some type of identification in her bag or Russian veapons," Ludwig said to Gilbert as he opened the bag. You knew they wouldn't find anything. Your commander ordered all of you to turn in your identifications before the mission for security reasons. In case the Russians captured one of us, your commander didn't want you to blow the mission for everyone else. Ludwig continued to dig through your bag taking out flares, gauze, and food for the refugees.
"Vell... there aren't any Russian weapons but there also isn't any identification... vhich is rather suspicious and convenient," Ludwig said stepping closer to you. There wasn't any hope now. You couldn't prove you were innocent and the brothers wouldn't let you go without clear identification. You sat there in your cold and wet jacket looking down at the leaves on the ground. You didn't want it to end like this but you had no way of getting out of the situation.
Suddenly, the communicator started to crackle with a faint voice. You thought that the communicator broke when you fell after the explosion but it seemed to be working.
"_! _! Where are you? The commander is looking everywhere for you! I don't know what happened back there but please say your safe. The other channel has been down for a bit and it's getting a little hectic so the commander wants us to regroup," Elena yelled through the communicator. You stood there in disbelief that the communicator was working again. Ludwig must have accidentally changed the channel when he was rummaging through your belongings. Excited to hear Elena's voice and relieved to hear she was ok, you rushed over to the communicator, but Ludwig pushed you away from it and picked up the device.
"Hallo, who is this?" Ludwig asked to Elena.
"Oh... hello um... my name is Elena Mancini. I'm here with the UN to help refugees cross over from Austria... I'm sorry but who are you and where's _?" Elena said back in a concerned tone.
Ludwig looked over to me and looked back over to Gilbert still holding his gun to my head. They had to believe you now since Elena was confirming your identity.
"Hmm... UN you zay... Could you hand me over to your commander so I can ask a few questions about zis 'UN operation'" Ludwig said sternly.
"Um... wait but... is _ ok? Can you at least tell me that much and then I'll hand you over to my commander..." Elena asked desperately. She must have figured out that Ludwig was German with the accent going through the communicator. Elena must have been worried sick since you were split off by the explosion.
"Oh don't vorry she's just fine," Ludwig said as he glanced at me, "She helped us vith ... a few inconveniences." Elena didn't say anything back but you could hear her footsteps through the communicator as she ran to our commander.
"Hey... yes who is this?" The commander asked bitterly.
"Hallo commander, my name is General Ludwig Beilschmidt. I'm oversee the 6th, 3rd, and 12th brigades on the Austrian border. I have one of your... volunteers here vith me but what exactly is zis whole 'UN operation' zhing. I never got cord about this. Usually the UN tells us of new operations especially in situations like zis. How do I not know you are a Russian spy?" You started to notice how intimidating Ludwig could be, even just over a call.
Your commander wasn't shocked at all. He started to chuckle obnoxiously over the static. "I have to admit I wouldn't trust me either but I promise we aren't here to harm you. I'm glad to hear you escaped though that makes things a lot easier for the UN. I have direct orders from Alfred F. Jones, Arthur Kirkland, and Francis Bonnefoy. I'm sure you know them very well since they seem to trust you a whole lot. If you want I can call them up right now just to confirm," your commander chuckled.
Gilbert started to laugh obnoxiously putting the gun down and walking over to his brother. Ludwig suddenly looked almost sick and anxious. He stood there in complete shock clutching onto the communicator in disbelief. He eventually sighed and looked back at you somewhat relieved. Your commander just saved you from a gunshot to the head. Ludwig shook his head and replied, "Oh god no don't put those three on ze same call az me! Please don't, I can't handle zhem all at once... they are annoying enough on zeir own."
"Thought you might say that," the commander replied, "I can't really handle those three either. It wasn't fun getting orders from all three of them at once."
"Ja vell let's hope ve don't run into them," Ludwig said light-heartedly, "_ said your team vas east of vhere ve are. I'm not sure how you got behind the Russian line but ve vill meet you there soon."
"Sounds good. The Russians aren't moving any more west or east so we should be here once you arrive," your commander stated, "Try to keep my recruit alive. She's one of the only ones here that can speak German." The voice switched off and Ludwig tossed the communicator back to you.
Everyone sat in complete silence for a few seconds until Gilbert burst out laughing. "She's not even a soldier!!! She's just zere zilly little translator to help people cross der Austrian border," Gilbert laughed. Your face started to turn red and you turned to fix your belongings in your bag. You weren't just a translator. You saw death and hardship and pain throughout your trip here. Sure you weren't a top ranked general or even a soldier but you were there to help people in need. Your face to continued to grow hotter and your eyes filled with boiling water. Your back faced the brothers as embarrassment continued to simmer inside you.
"And ve thought you vere some amazing Russian spy," Gilbert continued to chuckle, "Can you believe ve vere saved by zis little hero from a UN volunteer initiative Luwdwig?" Gilbert snickered with a wide smirk on his face. You sat there staring into the void in your bag. Your shoulders slumped and your knees fell to the dirt. It was true. You were simply just a volunteer who tried to play hero. An expendable item that could be easily replaced. You sat there letting the tears fall down your face into the void of your bag. It swallowed your tears as you stared into the pit of darkness. You wanted to crawl away and disappear from this place. Disappear from the violence. The war. The hate. The death.
Ludwig placed a hand your shoulder but you dared not to look up as you were already too embarrassed by the situation.
"So vhat if she is just a volunteer?" You looked up to see Ludwig looking down at you. His eyes were more peaceful and hopeful than before. He also seemed to be smiling just a little. Your eyes met for a brief second before Ludwig turned away with flushed cheeks. "She is more heroic than you vere. You did nothing but sit there vhen ve vere trapped. She had the guts to come all the vay on enemy territory, make a plan to get us out, and escape vithout anyone getting hurt. She vas even injured herself vithout any form of communication or backup but she still managed to help us flee," Ludwig said tightening his hand around your shoulder, "And vhat did ve do? Ve not only tried to shoot her but ve alzo mocked her for saving us. So even if she doesn't seem like a hero to you, she'z a hero to me."