The Ones That Fell

Chapter Three

She was dying.

The area was a city of ashes, and nothing more.

"Obersturm..." Bosch muttered, and winced from the tears that stung his burns. He was a great soldier, with loyalty equal to Ziegler's. But now, he was suffering. His mouth was trying to make out words, and he was trying to bring in some air into his body. "The...the war will b-be over, y-yes?" He managed to ask. "I-I'm tired of it..." His voice trailed off.

And his eyelids curtained over the windows to his life.

That was it.

"Obersturmf-führer?" Althaus' voice was quivering like his body. "W-what do we do now?"

I stood up, and dragged in air to my lungs. Continuous flashes of light came from the deep forest, and I ran towards it. The shootings were becoming louder. The yells and cries were more vivid. I could have ran into a tree, a bush, or even a person, but all I wanted to do was run. Perhaps I would run into a crossfire, but my legs wouldn't stop.

"Obersturmführer, wait up!" I heard Althaus say. "Please!" But I kept on going. Suddenly I was pulled in by a tight grip.

"Goddammit, Obersturmführer! You looked like a running child!" Ziegler said, and reloaded his MP-40. "What were you doing anyways? You took long! You would've been hit if you kept on running, too!"

"Bosch was still alive, and I tried to help him," I responded. Ziegler glanced over to the panting Althaus, then lowered his weapon.

"We should head back now. The shootings seemed to have settled," Ziegler said quietly, and walked off.

We arrived back at our trucks, and some of my men carried the bodies of Bosch and a couple of his soldiers off to the side of the road. Eventually they will be sent back to the base for burial. I wiped my forehead and told the men to start loading onto the trucks.

Weissenburg was still with the four captured partisans. His shouts were the only thing I could hear. Suddenly he kicked one down, and fired his pistol.

"Weissenburg!"

The prisoners frantically paced around, and one tried to flee. Three more shots went off. The road was littered with corpses and a burning truck.

"What is it, von Koppel?" Weissenburg questioned as he came up to me and holstered his pistol.

"Don't address me like that, Oberscharführer Weissenberg!" I shouted, becoming agitated with his behavior. "What's the point you're trying to make?"

"The other partisans should see what would happen if they plant a bullet in one of our men, or light them on fire. They should know that we don't cower in our foxholes. They should learn their lesson!" Weissenberg spat. "If I was in your rank, I wouldn't be so sympathetic. Didn't you do the same before, Obersturmführer? Didn't you fire your handgun like that before?" He then went off and joined his squad in the truck.

*********

Once we returned to the base, I immediately went to the command post.

"We got the partisans, Herr Sturmbannführer."

The Sturmbannführer removed his cigar and grinned. His silver hair shone under the light of the oil lamp.

"I also want to report that Bosch and his entire squad were killed by the partisans. A mine exploded on their truck."

"Bosch?"

"Yes. Weissenburg executed the captured partisans."

"Were they armed?"

"No, Herr Sturmbannführer. I was about to bring them back for interrogation---"

"There's no showing any mercy to those who killed your men. You carry that symbol on your cap for a reason. We are the superiors. Make them fear you, like how you had been before." He then removed a file from a pile of papers. "We're evacuating to Poland tomorrow. Your objective is cancelled, and you'll receive your promotion once we get to Poland. Understood?"

"Y-yes, Herr Sturmbannführer."

"You're dismissed. Go pack up."

I left the post and halted as two soldiers carrying an ammunition crate passed by. Some of the tents were being folded up and soldiers were gathering their materials. Ziegler was seated on a tree trunk, his chin resting on his palm, and watched his men clearing their camping ground. He was most likely solemn from the death of Bosch, and probably from the announcement that we have to evacuate out of Lithuania.

I leaned against a flagpole, and watched as the clouds slowly dragged on. I could see the stars, glittering like how they had always been. They were beautiful.

I sighed, and felt my cheeks becoming warm and moist.