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It had been a week since her run in with the German officer.

Her bandage was now dirty, and it was at risk of infection. Her body was scorching hot and her chest heaved with every step she took. The pain in her thigh was soaring. Her limp had worsened, turning her movements from a brisk walk into a trudge as she made her way further and further away from the base and loosing herself in the forest. She hadn't eaten in days due to this haste, sparing no time for breaks or rest.

The officer would have been found by now, hopefully in a pool of his own vomit, and there would be a hunt for her head. They were a prideful bunch, after all, those German bastards.

She was loosing strength, but that was easily overcome by the deep fear of being captured. As she continued her trudge, she stumbled, Falling to her knees painfully.

Blossom was forced to take a break from her moving.

'You are far enough;' she reasoned. 'Just take one break, they won't find you here...'

She heaved in a breath, trying to calm her heart's rapid beating when she smelled... water. The fresh wetness of the air was unmistakable. Hope surged through her as she got onto her feet and continued onward, grunting in pain.

She moved faster, panting with the physical exertion despite her eyes, which were more alive than they had been in days. And then she saw it.

Through the trees she had caught a glimpse of the crystalline water, and it had her pushing forward desperately. She reached the river and stood still for what felt like an hour. She looked around in trepidation, surveying the place to see if anyone else was present. There was no one.

Blossom watched the ripples of water moving out of the shore while bending to her haunches. Cupping her hands, she submerged them into the liquid and brought its contents to her lips, slowly sipping at it before gulping down the sustenance over and over until her stomach ached and she could take no more.

She began to weep. Her hot tears rolled down to the cool droplets of water left on her skin. She choked on the water, barely catching her breathe as she soaked in her relief. She got up on her feet and threw her satchel to the side slowly and began removing her clothing. She slid off the heavy combated boots that were a size or two too big and lifted the muddied blue dress off her person. She took off her dirty white undergarments and her red bow. When she was fully exposed she moved towards the edge and sunk herself into the tepid waters, cooling her undressed form.

Blossom washed her face, hair and body of all the grime it had collected throughout the month. The brown sludge of her hair being washed away revealing her natural red mane. This was war, things like this were a luxury and so she savored it. The Germans were taking more and more of France, making no place safe other than the forest. The vast lands would be the salvation of all those who opposed the new reign.

Blossom could only imagine though. She hadn't seen any others since the attack on her team. 'My team...' Her stomach clenched at the thought.

She calmed her mind and floated on her back, carelessly watching the blue skies. How was it that the skies remain indifferent to the pandemonium below it? Was war not enough to warrant gray clouds in the summer? She closed her eyes, feeling wronged by nature and yet saved by it.

She heard a rustle in the bush and stood up in the river suddenly, very aware of her exposed and unarmed self. Blossom berated herself at her idiocy. Blossom swam to the edge of the river, grabbed her satchel and withdrew her gun, aiming at the culprit which was a... rabbit.

Her eyes beamed at the sight of it. She couldn't shoot it, the noise would bring attention to her position. So she reached for a piece of grass beside her and yanked it off of the floor. She gestured the creature to come closer, holding out the grass as an incentive. She tried to remove the sense of desperation in her eyes when their eyes met for she was sure it would see it and scurry away. Animals were so perceptive of our baser instincts, it knew a hunter when it saw one and she was practically salivating at the sight of it. Shockingly enough, it came willingly.

It hopped towards her, an Blossom scooped it up in one hand while stroking it with the other and feeding the beast. Once it had settled, her hand reached around its head, grabbed it, and snapped its neck to the side before it could struggle. Blossoms eyes closed in a silent prayer for its place in the afterlife.

She withdrew a switchblade from the brown bag and began skinning it. Its bare skin was rubbed into a raw pink with beads of blood seeping out of it. A fire was built and the rabbit roasted in the daylight while she washed her old dress and undergarments, donning a new one. It was a brown one, which was much more inconspicuous.

Redressing the wound was next. There was no sign of infection, and it hadn't opened up. It was healing well and faster than it had felt it had. Blossom picked at the scab that had formed absentmindedly before covering it up with gauze, but only after pouring alcohol from the stolen canister which, as appealing it seemed to take a swing at it, she knew it could not be afforded to waste it.

Blossom sighed dejectedly, wondering about her fate. She had to find someone. Anyone. She had to have someone to share this anguish with. She couldn't do this alone. Maybe she would find another struggling group she could join, or militant rebels she could fight alongside and rid these holy lands of Nazi scum.

'Not in this condition.' she thought, biting into the rabbit, it's soft flesh almost falling off the bone. The taste, although in actuality quite bland, was heavenly, and she thought herself lucky to have come across such a large one. However, it was not nearly enough to fully satisfy days worth of starvation.

Thus, she put out the fire and began setting traps so she would eat tomorrow and the days after that.

Blossom lay down, taking in deep breaths. It was almost sunset, the colors of the sky changing and staining the sky a lavish blood color. She watched as the clear sun that lit the skies bled into the dark, starry night.

She hadn't had much time to think this week through the haze of her run. It was in this moment of silence, peace, and tranquility that her thoughts rushed through her at full force. Where were their forces moving to next? They had already taken her home, did that mean west?

Mama would say "You shouldn't think about things that have little effect on you, and that you could do little to affect, young one." Blossom couldn't help it though, she never could. The war had changed everything. Her life was so unrecognizable. It was filled with fighting, struggle, and desperation. She turned over to her side and eventually allowed sleep to claim her.

It was the chirping of birds that woke her. She hadn't slept like that since... well, since before the war.

Blossom opened her eyes and sat up. It was still dark, but the sky showed evidence of an impending dawn. She couldn't stay here as much as she wished to. It had been days since she had felt this safe, rested and satiated.

She had to keep moving. Moving until she found someone, or someone found her. Someone to help her bring more purpose, since all she had was herself, and it was going to drive her insane. Going through day after day without human contact. Getting lost in these woods with no way to keep track of time or effectively navigate through them. Blossom would not survive very long alone.

She made rounds to the traps she had set the night before, finding four adult rabbits. Blossom thanked the Lord for His graciousness, and packed them into her bag after finishing them off in the most gentle way the girl could think of.

She the removed her clothes, and made her way across the wide river holding the satchel filled with goods above her red mane. Reaching the other side, she redressed and trekked on with an almost unnoticeable limp.

Not long after, a violent cough racked through her body. He heart filled with doom as she clutched her throat and begged for reprieve. She was getting sick. There were no antibiotics left from the heist. The water was clean, it had supplied the neighboring towns with its fresh springs. The rabbit was well cooked, too. It must have been from the total shock of the body going from the brink of death to stable. It must have been dramatic enough, because she saw no fault in her actions.

"I'm going to die." Blossom spoke aloud. She curled up into a ball, and cried. A desperate struggle for life, this is how she would die. A lay-mans death.

No! She would find someone. Someone who would help her. There had to be a way. The forest was vast, but there would be others there close by! Blossom pulled herself together, and began walking again. She was determined to save herself. Somehow.

As she trekked on, she sneezed. Her nose blocked, and blue eyes watering, she could only breathe through her mouth now. It had been a few days and it was only getting worse. She was right back where she started. She had food and water, but this unnamed illness was what would end her.

Brick had been having his afternoon whiskey when he came in.

Brick took an extra whiff of the aged drink, looking outside the study window out into the gardens and sighed at its aroma. The tropes had seized a mansion in the country side of the small town they were now based in. It still had its staff hiding in its nook and crannies, but they would be found eventually. The ones who had been found set about working the quarters daily, as though there were not at war. It brought peace to him. Although he was the one who owned the house now, it was now also home to other Captains, lieutenants and Majors who passed through the town.

"You requested me sir." said Private Ryan.

"Inform Captain Heinz that his team is to pack up and head to Limoges tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir;" he saluted me before turning and leaving the room.

Brick took a seat at the mahogany desk and leaned back on his chair. There wasn't much to be done as Lieutenant Colonel besides making sure that the tropes that came in and out of the town were fed, hydrated, and well rested. He would come together with other senior officers and strategize their next move.

He would head out into the town everyday to shout out commands and meet with other officers, receiving information on the status of tropes beyond this town. It was mentally exhausting. Brick rubbed his temples at the thought. However, the living conditions were nothing to complain about. The house was beautiful, there were French books and a film room to entertain guests.

His mind wandered off to the girl in the forest. He clenched his glass harder, frustration building. It was an embarrassment. He had sent a team of men to look for her unmistakable red locks and they hadn't come back. A waste of resources he knew, but he didn't care. He wanted her. Oh how he wanted her. He knew of the jokes made at his expense behind his back. He needed to crush her windpipes with his bare hands. He needed to break her in half. He needed beat her bloody.

Scenes like this had played on repeat the pasts few days, bringing with it a sense of rage. He had ordered that they bring her alive and unharmed. He would be the only one to inflict pain on her. He wouldn't have it any other way.

How sweet revenge would be. He wet his lips and took another sip at his drink.

It was dark now, but thankfully the warmth of the day hadn't left the land.

"Blossom where are we going?" Tristan was dressed in his usual paper boy uniform, seemingly oblivious of the current situation.

"I'm going to find someone who can help." She answered, trudging on.

"Help with what?" He asked, puzzled.

"Help me with my illness. I don't know what kind it is."

"Then how are they supposed to help you, if you don't know the illness?"

Blossom paused in her step and turned around to look at him, exasperated. Tristan had been selling newspapers in the city for 3 years, but never seemed to grow above 4.7ft- making him a target for bullies.

The illness had began to give rise to hallucinations. Blossom would be walking and be greeted by people of her past as though they were still alive and well, when they were anything but. Blossom endured it, though. There was something both comforting and tormenting about their non-existent presence.

Tristan stared back with wonderment. " "Are you going to fight them?" he asked, his short legs trying to catch up with her.

"Fight them? I just said I was going to ask them for help. Why would I fight them?" I looked at him incredulously.

"No;" he shook his head "I meant the Nazis, are you going to fight them?"

"I'm outnumbered, barely armed, and sick. Trust me when I say that I'm in no position to fight even a squirrel." She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

Tristan pressed his lips together. "I think you could take them, if you really wanted to."

Blossom rolled her eyes in the most dramatic fashion. "Tristan, I appreciate your company, but I'm afraid you have to go now. You're slowing me down." looking at him once more, she walked away.

Tristan watched her leave somberly "I was just trying to help!" He yelled after her as he slowly faded away.

The past few days she had been visited by the people in her town. Her teachers, her cook, Tristan, and Jacob- who was the stable boy. It was unnerving at first, but she had gotten use to it and now didn't even flinch at the sudden sight of another one of them.

It was getting dark again. She lay down against a tree covered in soft, pillow-like moss and took her rest.

She felt a shake that startled her awake. Opening her eyes, she sighed in relief "Papa!" she leaped into his arms and wrapped herself around him, forgetting all about her hallucinations. His body was smaller than she had remembered, it was probably because of the war.

Food supplies weren't exactly accessible in this time. Lord knows how much weight she must have lost at this point. Blossom couldn't think more on it, as she was shoved to the ground, landing on her bottom. She then felt the cool steel of a gun against her temples. Her eyes opened again and she found another man in place of Papa.

It was took dark to make out his features, but one thing she could make out was the look of contempt on his face. "Put down the gun Maurice, she's clear." Maurice growled before lowering his gun and storing it in its holster.

Another man came around him and offered Blossom a hand. She sat there dumbfounded for a moment before reaching out to grab it. He lifted her off the ground and she leaned against him for support. "Let's get her to the camp, she's weak"

"So we're going to pick up every stray we find? Huh?" the other sneered.

"We going to keep as many people alive as we can. That's what we're doing"

"I'll take that as a yes, then." he grumbled.

Blossom stayed silent through the whole debacle, afraid they would change their minds. She was lifted off her feet as one of the men slung her limp body over his shoulder. It was uncomfortable, but much less straining than walking at this point.

She tried to take an impromptu nap, however, her current position wouldn't allow it. His shoulder was lodged into her pelvis, but she was not about to complain. She had finally found a person, two of them and by the sound of things there were more of them. She never knew how exceedingly much she craved human interaction until now. Almost as much as she craved food. Almost.

Wait, what if they were a group that had an appetite for human flesh, and they were taking her to them to satiate their hunger? It certainly was a possibility. Food was scarce, and he did mention that she was weak. The perfect state for a victim.

A small amount of panic began to build in the pit of her stomach. Curse her naivety. Soon, the distinct smell of smoke was in the air. There must be a fire up ahead. She stiffened, the thoughts of cannibalism still fresh in her mind. She pushed them away in favor of more positive thoughts: people, company and peace. It lifted her spirit somewhat.

Soon, she was staring at their flickering shadows as they walked closer and closer to a fire. After a while, their steps came to a halt. She slid down the strangers body. He was incredibly tall. Her toes reached the floor and she released her hold on his clothes. Blossom took a look at the men before her, studying them dazedly.

"If you are going to stay in the camp, we'll need your name." said the tall gentleman who had been carrying her.

"Robin" she said nervously. She could already feel the awkwardness coming mostly from the situation at hand, but also from her now lacking social skills. She turned around, suddenly aware of her surroundings and saw what looked like bodies coddled up against each other. A few tents stood amongst them. There couldn't be more than 50 people by the looks of things.

"Robin? No surname?"

"Yup."

The tall man sighed in defeat. "We'll talk about this tomorrow when we are all rested." He grabbed a blanket that was thrown on the side. "Here. Use this and pick a spot."

Scanning the area, Blossom found a spot by a tree on the far side of the camp. She started for it, but stopped. Looking back at her saviors, she bowed. "I cannot thank you enough for your kindness." She whispered.

"Don't mention it." They walked off into the camp. Finding her seat, Blossom layed against the tree and rested.

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