A Promise To Fulfill

The Painful Truth

I looked around the outskirts to find Finn and Schröder. Searching one tent after the other, trying to figure out where they could be. As I was searching, the tank commander of Panzer 736 walked up to me and called out my name. I turned around and was surprised to see him. I ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank god you made it," I told him with relief.

"Your boy made it out just fine as well." He responded.

"Where is he?" I asked him nervously.

"Over at Tent 15. Your Gunner is there beside him as well." He told me.

"Vielen Dank. I'll see you around." I replied to him as I ran towards the tent.

I entered the tent and immediately saw the two beside each other. Finn had bandages wrapped around his arms, and one on his right leg. Schröder had a bandage wrapped around his chest. I walked up to them with a worried look and sat between the two. Both of them were surprised but relieved to see me.

"How are you guys holding up?" I asked them worryingly.

"Finn had it worse,"  Schröder tiredly told me.

"I may not be able to fight alongside you for a while, Kommandantin..." Finn said with some tears on his face.

I looked at him and put my hands on his cheeks and said, "Don't you worry. You'll be back up and running as soon."

Finn smiled at me and blushed a bit. I didn't bother to ask why he was blushing. I was just glad to know that both of them were okay. Schröder looked at me then asked, "How are Gabriel and Nicolaus?"

"I still haven't found them yet," I told them. Then Gabriel and Nicolaus entered the tent right after I said that. "Until now..." I added as they approached us.

"Mein Gott..." Gabriel exhaustingly said. " You have... no idea... for how long... we've been looking... for you..." He added.

"Glad to know you three are still alright. Especially you Finn." Nicolaus said.

I was surprised to hear Nicolaus concerned about Finn for once. Finn too was surprised to hear him that way. "You're concerned about me?" He asked Nicolaus.

He approached him and put his hand on his shoulder. "I can't lose the only person that kept me smiling throughout the academy," Nicolaus told him. "And you know what our commander said. 'Look out for one another.' Right?" He added.

"That's right..." Finn added as he started falling asleep.

Nicolaus thought he was starting to die. He kept shaking him and told him to not die on us. But Finn said, "I'm not dying you dummkopf. I just want to sleep."

Nicolaus patted Finn on the chest and told him to sleep well. Then turned his attention to Schröder. Gabriel and Nicolaus had a conversation with Schröder, trying to forget the fact that he was shot in the chest.

I decided to leave them be for now and left the tent. I grabbed a snack from one of the nearby tents and sat near a campfire. I was eating peacefully as one of the soldiers grabbed my shoulder. 

"Are you Emily Jäger?" He asked me.

"I am. Why do you ask?" I responded. 

He then tossed me away from the campfire and onto the ground. I hit the ground hard and tried standing up. But he got closer to me and threw me farther again. The other soldiers nearby tried stopping him but others prevented them from doing so and formed a circle around us as if we were going to fight. Then they started to yell and to cheer for us to fight.