Chapter 5:
Sorry for the long delay but I was first busy, then sick and then busy again :D Here a short one. I have already written another chaptr by hand (while on the train) but I am simply too tired to tip it down tonight. Oh and I forgot what rank Robert had in military, so I used Collonel ;)
Robert was lying in a trench, half sleeping . He was dreaming of his girls. They were making a picknick on the gren grassplane in ffront oft he house. Cora was laughing about something Sybill had said and even Mary and Edith were miraculously joking. Everything seemed so perfect, when suddenly a whistle blew. Robert just asked himself when Carson had exchange the dinner gong for a whistle when he realized that htis was the signal fort he officers to report tot he command shelter. With a sigh he opened his eyes and all of as sudden the peaceful feeling was gone.
He was lying on a wooden bench, that was covered with a blankett. Robert called himself lucky because as a Collonel he had his own small shelter and a valet, which was William. The young man came in and said: „Milord it is time… They've already called two times. You should get dressed." William tried his best to be good as a valet but he had never done this before and still made many mistakes. Robert was patient with the young fellow because he knew that as his valet the chances of survival were significantly better. This way William followed him everywhere and in contrast to many other officers Robert had already been in a war though many things had changed since the great african war.
In an attack he always tried to put his soldiers in advantage which was difficult if he would follow every stupid suicidial order he got from above. Sometimes he decided to take shelter in a shell hole instead of running blind towards the german trenches, which was in his opinnion waste of life. However, still he had to follow orders and therefore he sometimes lost as many man in an hour as were killed in the african war in half a day.
When the meeting was over he thought of this day to be his last. Some of the orders he got were insane. After he had briefed his men there was still time till the attack should start. So Robert told William to wait outside his shelter and wrote a letter to Cora.
When he came out William tried to look brave and determined but Robert knew the young guy was scared as hell. If he was honest he was not feeling any better but he was not allowed to show angst in front of his mend.
Then the attack started. He ran first, hoping his man would follow hi. Beside him he saw William. Suddenly there was a noise, as if a bullet just had mist Robert. When he looked back he saw taht William hit the ground, with an expression in his face that was a mixture of surprise and pain. Robert faced the german trenches again, but while he had been watching William fall, the enemy must have fired shells. Now the deadly weapons were coming down towards him. Suddenly Matthew was there. He caught Robert and pushed him into the nearest shell hole. But it was too late anyway. One shell came down a few meters besides them and while they were flying towards the hole that already was covered with blood and bodies of dead and injured man, Robert could feel a stinging pain in his right leg. Then they hit the ground. Matthew who landed on top of him was not moving at all.
Then everything went black.