Notes from the Author:
Hello again! I would first like to begin by expressing how thankful I am to the people who read the first chapter! Honestly, thank you very much. I really do appreciate it. Secondly, I would like to apologize for taking so long to create this next chapter. I have been very busy lately.
Nonetheless, I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter of Matt Cruse's most daring and challenging adventure yet.
...
It was bloody and butchered...
The slice of recently cooked roast laid before me on copper tin plate. Accompanying this sad slice of beef was a small portion of carrots and mashed potatoes...
My sight fixated on this piece of meat...so bruised and somewhat bloody...The scenario remained with me. I kept replaying the scene in my head.
Just like this piece of meat, that poor old man laid beaten and bloodied... sprawled out on the Parisian sidewalk...
...
The crowd just kept beating him while hurling insults at him in French. They stomped and jeered at his misery. The old man's tried to cover himself with his frail arms, putting up a pitiful defense.
It was pointless in the end. The crowd was dispersed by the French soldiers at the scene and the old man, this elderly gentleman with his brown coat, his wooden walking cane and his long, snow white hair, laid motionless on the sidewalk in front of the Parisian cafe.
Just like this piece of meat I was eating, he too, was bloody and butchered.
I felt nothing but disgust and shame while eating my food...I had no appetite.
...
" Monsieur Cruse!, " A sweet and affectionate voice with a French accent called out to me across the dinner table, " Is something wrong with your food, my dear? "
"Aucun problème, mère. Matt is just recovering from a 'traumatic event' we saw early today. " said André with a sarcastic tone in his voice.
I was suddenly transported back to my physical surroundings. It was a cool evening in the French countryside on the outskirts of Paris and the sun was rapidly setting outside.
After witnessing the brutal beating of an old man and understanding that France was preparing for an imminent conflict, André and I quickly retreated out of the city and arrived earlier this evening to his family home. At the moment, I was currently having dinner with André and his affectionate mother at their old family homestead. To be honest, I was so used to believing André was a generic commoner who lived the Parisian urban lifestyle, I would have never guessed that he was raised by a family of farmers and cattle herders...
The homestead which André was raised on was a small, two-story wooden house situated on a vast farmland which grew carrots and potatoes. It was a quiet, little place. A perfect getaway from the loud and highly active streets of Paris. As for its age, according to André, the homestead had quite the story. Built during the Revolution of 1789, The Delacroix homestead had been burned and looted during the Napoleonic Wars by both the British and Spanish army and it served as a small observation post during the Franco-Prussian War, some forty-five years ago.
It was scarred by war and past conflicts but the warm lighting, the plentiful furniture, the many black and white photographs of the Delacroix family over the decades, and the rosy warm smell of recently cooked food gave this place life and emotion. It provided me with some comfort.
"Monsieur Cruse?, " I heard Madame Delacroix called out again.
"Sorry, Madame Delacroix! " I said suddenly. "Forgive me,...I was lost in my thoughts. I really do enjoy your cooking. It's very good!"
Madame Delacroix gave a soft chuckle. "Silly child! You haven't even touched your food! How exactly do you know if you like it, if you haven't tasted it yet?"
I suddenly realized Madame Delacroix's concern and replied with a forced laugh. "Of course! Sorry, a lot of things are going through my head right now... "
"Ah, Matt! " André called out to me. "You are a fool not to taste my mother's delicious cooking! It's better than the dog food they serve at the academy!"
"Merci, mama! " André said with great affection towards his mother.
André's mother replied to his compliment with a loving grace. I studied André's plate...or rather, plates intensely. He had finished at least two servings of food already and his appetite was not yet satisfied. He had a light smile on his face as if he completely forgot about what happened earlier today. I wondered to myself, did he even thought about that old man from early today?
A few minutes of silence passed by until Madame Delacroix suddenly broke it with her gentle voice.
" I've heard what happened early today...'The call' has gone out." She said with a saddening tone.
André and I looked at her with blank expressions on our faces. We already knew what she meant.
"Gentlemen in military uniforms came by to visit all the local farmsteads in the area." She continued with a depressing feeling. "If war is coming again, it won't be long until they close the schools and lock off all the cities. Just like in 1870..."
Madame Delacroix gave off a sad expression. Studying what she said, it sounded like she had experienced this before. As if, she was scarred by moments like this in time's past.
André's expression was that of sympathy. He stood up from the table and calmly walked over to where his mother was sitting at the opposite end of the table. He slowly gave her a loving hug from behind her chair and said a soothing phase in French in an effort to comfort her.
To be honest, seeing this made me smile. It was refreshing to see André demonstrate a genuine act of kindness after constantly being exposed to his sarcastic and care free attitude.
His affection for his mother reminded me of my own mother and sisters back in Lionsgate City. I missed them ever so dearly. If the threat of this impending war was genuine, I need to return back to Canada as fast as possible. The last thing I want is to remain stranded in a foreign country trapped in a period of conflict.
I felt somewhat ashamed, wanting to leave France...to leave André and his mother like this, after being exposed to their generosity... But, it's not like I can just take them with me...
So many thoughts were running through my mind. Many of them include that of Kate and my family...But there was one thing that I need to know. I was a foreigner here. Not just in France but in Europe, as well.
I knew nothing of politics. Especially, of European politics...Why is the threat of war now suddenly upon us? What exactly is happening here in Europe?
I need to know the answer to this. So, I finally contributed to the atmosphere at the table and asked my question.
" Hey...What exactly is happening here in Europe? Why is France preparing for war?, " I asked with a curious demeanor.
Both André and his mother looked at me with a blank faces. They suddenly looked at each other as if, they were trying to construct a way to answer my question without confusing me.
" Well, Matt...my friend. " André began with a light smile on his face. He then slam both of his hands on the dinner table, startling both me and his mother. "...Those bastard Germans want to bring destruction to France but we will crush them, by God! "
André sudden patriotic outburst caught me off guard...I was completely unsure on how to respond.
Before André could continue, his mother scolded him in French and pinched his ear fiercely as a means to discipline him. He gave a short gasp of pain, pleading for his mother to let go of his ear.
Madame Delacroix gave a look of anger and disapproval of her son's sudden outburst. "Forgive my son, Monsieur Cruse...To answer your question: If France is preparing for war, ...it's preparing for war against Germany..."
" Germany? Is Germany threatening war against France?," I questioned.
" It's complicated, mon enfant. We French have a hatred towards Germans and the Germans hate us French...c'est stupide. Foolish old men fighting each other... ," She said in disgust. " However, if tensions are rising again...it would be over old grudges. So much hatred has built up for decades. Now, I guess it's finally spilling over...again."
I took a moment to process this new information. So, war was brewing between France and Germany. Over what? Some sort of foolish rivalry?
" There has to be more than that. Why do the French and Germans hate each other? " I said with curiosity.
" L'Alsace-Lorraine! " André shouted. " Forty-five years ago, our proud nation was robbed of her territory. The provinces of L'Alsace-Lorraine were taken by those sinful Germans in the War of 1870...Ever since then, the people of France have never forgot this disgrace upon her honor and thus, we swear vengeance upon the Germans!... "
"Oui,.. my son is right. , " Madame Delacroix said, giving André a somewhat disapproving look. " The war has left us unable to forgive the Germans and our hatred has continued ever since..."
All of this was polarizing. Being a native of Canada, European politics was a confusing mess...But I understood the basics.
France lost a war to Germany forty-five years ago. The Germans took some parts of France as a result and ever since then, they hated each other...like an old married couple.
I made a soft chuckle at the thought. This truly was a mess and I wanted to be far away from it as possible.
"France won't lose this time " André declared. " A new France has risen from its defeat and with England's help, we will claim la victoire! "
I stared at André with confusion. Being a Canadian, any news involving England would, no doubt, involve the rest of the Empire. We've always knew about our own chilly relations with the Germans...a few incidents here and there, across the world...But, a war with them? I saw this as unrealistic. England would never drag us into a war with Germany...Especially, on the behalf of French revenge...
" Enough politics! " Madame Delacroix demanded. "Monsieur Cruse, how long are you staying in France? I imagine you would like to go back home after all of this, no? "
Call it "Mother's Intuition" but she was right. I needed to go back to Canada. If the Airship Academy has closed due to the threat of war, I had no real reason to stay here in France.
I needed to leave before this upcoming war broke out. If I wait too long, leaving the country might prove to be extremely difficult.
I put aside my thoughts and responded to Madame Delacroix.
" Yes, Madame Delacroix. I would like to go back home...but I don't mean to take advantage of you and your son's kindness. " I said with a respectful grace.
They both started at me for a few seconds before looking at each other and erupting into a fit of laughter...I guess my Canadian generosity was a humorous act to the French...
" You're a kind child, Monsieur Cruse!, " said Madame Delacroix.
" Oui, mama... maybe too kind...like a toy bear! " André exclaimed between his moments of laughter.
" Child, if you wish to leave France, my son can take you to L' Aerodrome in the center of Paris! Airships from North America pass by there all the time! "
"Oui, Matt. I can take you there tomorrow morning. Not a problem! "
I thank them graciously for their assistance and for the food and lodging they provided for me. André and his mother would allow me to stay with them for tonight and then he and I will head to L' Aerodrome in the morning.
From there on, I would get a ticket to the first airship heading to Lionsgate City. Back to Canada, back to my family and of course, back to Kate.
...
Madame Delacroix implored us to step outside as she cleaned up our plates from dinner. I offered my assistance to her but, being the kind mother that she was, she stubbornly refused to let her "sons" help her. It was a "mother's duty", she proudly exclaimed.
Her kindness and motherly behavior was extremely passionate. Again, she reminded me of my own mother.
As Madame Delacroix cleaned up for us, André and I walked outside his family home into the cool, summer night .
The night sky over us shined in beauty. The many stars and constellations greeted us. As well, as the many airships sailing across the vast darkness of the sky. They played their hypnotic humming from their engines as they flew to their destinations.
They were marvelous inventions...Beautiful dreams...
We both looked at the airships as they traveled over us.
" One day,... " André began, breaking the silence. " I will pilot one of our airships and sail to Berlin and then, ...I will rain bombs upon them."
I was unimpressed by André's continued rants against the Germans but,...he was right about one thing.
I really didn't understand the French people...nor their aggressive nature towards the Germans and potential "traitors" towards their nation.
I thought about the old man again, one last time...
" Why didn't you want to help that old man earlier today?" I said to André, studying his face for an expression.
André's face gave a short moment of guilt but he quickly wiped it away, replacing it with his typical stoic expression. " He refused to show his love for his country and he suffered the consequences." He said with no emotion.
" So, that's your excuse!?, " I exclaimed. " He was just an old man. That was some one's grandfather. We could've done something!"
"Yeah, he was a foolish old man. Any man, any Frenchman knows better than to disrespect his country like that. He should've realized that...but he didn't. "
"He was doing nothing, André. He was minding his own business..."
"Exactly, doing nothing... and that's what killed him. Doing nothing."
My gripped my hands in anger. I felt so guilty. Listening to André's carelessness made me somewhat sick. Before I could say anything else, he continued.
"Besides, Canadien...Use your head. What were you going to do, if I hadn't stopped you? Protect that old man? All by yourself? "
I suddenly stopped myself and begun to truly listen to him.
"One Canadien against fifth teen -to- twenty angry French patrons? They would've killed you too! "
It was extremely hard to believe it but he was right. What exactly was I going to do against a whole crowd of people?
"I told you, Matt. You don't understand my countrymen...I'm going to bed...Bonne nuit, Canadien."
André soon made his way back inside, leaving me out in the cold wind of the French countryside.
I looked at the ground which I stood on. This foreign land, the soil and grass which laid beneath my shoes. It was a beautiful yet harsh place. But I quickly realized something...
...Watching Vikram Szpirglas get mauled to death by cloud-cats on-board the Aurora...
...Beholding Bruce Lunardi's body gunned down in a hail of bullets...
...And helplessly watching Captain Shepherd call out for help as he float aimlessly into the dark void of space...
I realized that life, regardless if you're on the ground or in outer space, is truly a cruel existence and anyone can be made an example of.
It doesn't matter if you're a pirate captain, heir to an airship corporation, a military trained astronaut...or an elderly man minding his business at a French cafe, life can be cruel to anyone and sometimes you can't do anything but just stare and watch.