So long soldier - l.h #wattys2017

1.4

"Mama!"

Imogen furrowed her eyebrows, looking around before shrugging and continued digging.

"Mama!"

There it was again. Imogen looked around and gasped. She saw what looked like Mary and Adelaide. She blinked and saw they were still there.

"Cal, do you see Mary and Adelaide too?" Imogen asks.

"Yeah, I see them" Calum nods. Imogen gasps and sprints over, pulling the two little girls into a bone crushing hug.

"Mary! Adelaide! I'm so glad you are okay" Imogen cries. The two small girls cling onto Imogen before she is dragged away by an officer.

"It's the hose for you!" The officers spits, throwing her to two other officers who drag her away. Luke yells and tries to run after her but Ashton and Calum hold her back as Mary and Adelaide hold onto one of the boys, Mary hugging Luke and Adelaide going to Michael who picked her up and hugging her.

Meanwhile Imogen was being pelted with freezing cold water hitting her at a speed that actually caused her pain. She was trapped between the water and a wall as she watched officers laugh at her pain.

When they stopped they chucked her back into the room and Luke helped her up. He hung up the wet jumper and passed her his last one. He rung out her hair and helped her onto the top bunk and hugged her close.

"I love you" Luke whispers, kissing her head.

"I- I l-love y-you t-too" Imogen stutters.

-

The next few days are quiet. Imogen stays out of trouble and manages to stay out of officers sights, unless she's serving them some food.

But Imogen didn't expect what was about to happen.

"They're not showers" Imogen says to Ashton and Luke as she sits down.

"What?"

"Havnt you realised that every time anyone goes for a shower they never come back? And there is always a soldier on top of the roof, don't you see?! It's a gas chamber"

"You mean?"

"They're killing them" Imogen whispers.

They walk back to their room and Imogen looks around for the twins.

"Where are Mary and Adelaide?" Imogen asks.

"They went for a shower with Vivian" Calum shrugs.

"What?!" Imogen yells. Luke and Ashton follow her as she runs outside and runs around "Mary! Adelaide!"

"Imogen!" Imogen runs over and picks up Adelaide but looks around for Mary.

"Gas weg!" A soldier yells.

"What does that mean?!" Imogen asks.

"Gas away" Luke says quietly. 

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Ashton took Adelaide and Imogen collapsed to the floor, sobbing. She watched the gas rise from the chimney and out into the atmosphere and watched soldiers drag bodies out. She saw Vivians black hair and then saw Mary's little body and her shimmering brown hair, now lifeless. Imogen sobbed into her knees and rocked back and forth as rain started to fall. All Imogen could think of was that she had failed her parents.

Luke picked up Imogen and the two boys carried the two sisters back to the room.

"What happened?" Michael asks.

"They're killing people in that shower, she found Adelaide but Vivian and Mary-"

"Oh" Calum nods.

"Look we have to get out of here" Ashton says "But only one of us"

"How?" Michael asks.

"There's a hole behind the fourth room, but it's really small" Luke says. They all look at Imogen and she nods.

"I'll do it, but you have to protect Adelaide" Imogen says, putting a now sleeping Adelaide into her bed.

"We will" Michael nods.

"There's a British base exactly a mile and a half north from here, go there and they'll help you" Luke says. She pulls on one of Lukes jumper and nods "and remember I love you"

"I love you too"

Later that night when all the soldiers and officers are in their rooms Imogen, Luke, Ashton and Calum sneak outside. She quickly hugs Michael and Adelaide and takes a hanging lantern and a box of matches. They sneak around to the hole in the wire and she quickly hugs Ashton and Calum before kissing Luke.

"Be safe" Luke says.

"I will soldier" Imogen smiles, crawling through the hole and taking the lantern and matches "See you soon"

"We love you"