Slowly, she regained feeling in her arms, and with a yell of pain and effort, shoved the dead soldier off her. She was red with both their blood. Finally, she stumbled upright, ducking as another shot bounced off the ground near her. She turned, and ran back into the forest, frantic.
A scream made her change direction, running for where the noise came from. She stumbled over a tree root - and almost fell. Through the trees she could just see the family huddled in a clearing, surrounded by the other four soldiers. With no real thought running through her head, she kept her pace, and ran straight into the soldier closest to her.
He went down with a cry of alarm, and she yanked his rifle off him, rolling under his body as the others shot at her, their bullets hitting their comrade instead. He jerked and gurgled. She shoved him off her, and was up and firing before they could react. Two dropped, and the last one ran at her wildly, shoving the blade at the end of his rifle deep into her gut. She grunted in pain, and as he laughed wildly, brought her own rifle up and under his chin. She fired; his head exploding and showering her in his blood and gore. He dropped, rifle blade sliding out of her gut. She heaved a steadying breath, fighting nausea, and pulled it out the rest of the way. Abraham rushed over to her, and the two children cowered into their mother at the sight of her - she looked away, pretending their fear didn't hurt. She waved him off, straightening with a groan.
"Es war eine Falle. Es wird mehr kommen werden." It was a trap. There'll be more coming. She said lowly. He nodded, face set, and picked up the rifle still shining with her blood. She shook her head. "Wir können nicht durch den Zaun gehen, gibt es ein Sniper auf den Leuchtturm." We can't go through the fence, there's a sniper on the lighthouse.
"Was können wir tun?" What can we do? Abraham's voice was desperate, as he looked at his terrified family. Adeline checked her blood spattered watch, swiping some blood off the watchface to check the time.
"Sie haben 40 Minuten, bis das Boot verlässt. Holen Sie sich Ihre Familie rund um den Zaun." You have forty minutes until the boat leaves. Get your family around the fence. Adeline set her shoulders, and hefted the rifle. "Ich werde sie weg halten." I'll hold them off.
Abraham shook his head violently. "Nein, nein! Du musst kommen-" No. No! You must come-
Adeline cut him off. "Sie verschwenden Zeit. Geh, jetzt." You're wasting time. Go, now. She gave him a push towards his family. He looked back at her, torn. "Gehen!" GO!
He nodded once, and stumbled towards his family, pushing them towards the trees. As they disappeared, Adeline could hear boots and shouting coming towards her. She picked up all the weapons from the felled soldiers around her, gathering them under one arm, and jumped, catching hold of a tree branch, and hauling herself up.
She readied herself near the trunk, aiming the rifle carefully. About a minute later, the first two soldiers ran into the clearing. She fired, two clean shots through the neck. They collapsed and she readied herself, as shouts of caution came to her. Five ran out together, firing wildly into the clearing. She fired down from her position, but not before one of them managed to shout out; "In den Bäumen!" In the trees!
She cursed, and shot him, and he dropped like a stone. The next couple of soldiers were careful, and began firing on her before they entered her sightline, hiding in the bushes. They couldn't see her either, but a few lucky shots buried themselves into her shoulder and stomach. She growled, and dropped to the ground, and began walking forward, firing into the brush on the other side of the clearing. There were yelps and cries of pain, and then she was rushed. They abandoned their guns, clearly concerned about hitting one of their own in the close quarters. She dropped into a crouch, and began slashing at any who got close, with a knife clutched in each hand - no technique, just pure savagery. Distracted by the soldiers in front of her, she didn't notice a pair attempting to sneak past her. In a lull, she turned, and saw them. Her eyes widened, and she dived for a rifle, picking it up, and firing. They dropped like stones. She allowed herself a quick moment of rest, chest heaving and blood dripping onto the forest floor.
Then an engine roared behind her; and too late to run, she turned, and was sent flying by a direct hit by an armoured truck. She hit the ground hard and rolled across the clearing. She could feel half of the bones in her body shattered under the force of the collision. Her skull was cracked, and she couldn't fight against the blackness that was threatening to overcome her. The last thing she saw was the familiar silhouette of Schmidt stalking towards her.
The slap resounded around the trees, and the slumped form of Adeline jerked once before her eyes opened slowly. She groaned as pain rushed through her. The soldier that had slapped her, shoved a needle quickly in her neck, and liquid coursed through her, freezing her muscles and limbs. She couldn't move, but she was wide awake, and still very aware of her still healing body as she was hauled upright and held up by two soldiers. As her head cleared slightly, she saw who was kneeling in the middle of the clearing.
She let out a slobbering grunt of horror at the Erskine family, heads lowered and tears streaming down the children's faces. She tried to rip herself out of the grips of the soldiers, but only succeeded in twitching slightly.
Schmidt prowled around them, finally ending up in front of Abraham. He crouched and smiled warmly, before his hand whipped out and grasped the man around the throat. He winced but made no sound. "Oh, Herr Doktor. Sie versuchten nicht zu verlassen, waren Sie?" Oh, doctor. You weren't trying to leave, were you? He tutted, and waggled a finger in the man's face. "Sie haben sicherlich nicht die Erlaubnis zu verlassen. Der Führer ist noch nicht mit dir, Arzt durchgeführt." You certainly don't have permission to leave. The Führer is not done with you yet, doctor. He sighed. "Während Sie zu wichtig, um Schäden sind, müssen eine gewisse Form der Strafe erlassen warden." Whilst you are too important to damage, some form of punishment must be enacted. His gaze fell upon the cowering children. "Wer wird es sein, Herr Doktor? Deine Frau? Dein Sohn? Deine Tochter?" Who will it be, Doctor? Your wife? Your son? Your daughter?
Adeline strained forward. He could not be serious? He would harm children? No!
"Naaaarrrnnn!" the word was ripped from her throat, barely understandable. Schmidt raised his eyebrows, and turned to look at her.
"Nein?" No? He cocked his head slightly. "Haben Sie für diese Menschen kümmern?" Do you care for these people? He walked towards her, and ran his fingers gently down her face and neck, and something like lust flared in his eyes. "Möchten Sie ihren platz einnehmen? Würden Sie alle ihre Strafe auf sich nehmen?" Would you take their place? Would you take all of their punishment onto yourself?
Adeline looked at Abraham who was staring at her, a half-pleading, half-horrified look in his eyes. She looked back at Schmidt who was still staring at her hungrily. Slowly, she forced her drug filled body to nod once. Schmidt closed his eyes, and inhaled sharply, leaning close to her. He bit down lightly on her bottom lip, and then pressed his lips to her ear. "Vier tage folter zu ehren jedes Erskine. Vier tage zusammen." Four days of torture in honour of each Erskine. Four days together.
Then he pulled away from her, and her tense body slumped. Abraham looked at her with tear-filled eyes. "Danke." Thank you. He mouthed.
She closed her eyes, not wanting to see anymore.
"Kommen Sie, Doktor. Es gibt Arbeit zu tun." Come, Doctor. There is work to do.
Schmidt's voice echoed in her skull.