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About a few months had passed since I had come to the war and about a few months since I had met Liam. At first I nearly jumped at everything he did, thinking he would take my life at any moment but I started to realize he was being honest with me.
However I wanted to show him something. I turned over my shoulder to see him sitting down and supposedly cleaning out his helmet. I sat up.
"Liam?"
"Mhm? Yes Evelyn?" he glanced up at me. Noticing my posture he got to his feet hastily. Looking around like a watchdog. "Is there someone coming?"
"Sit down, Blondie. No one's coming, it's quiet- For now but you'll have to follow me. Quietly." I moved away and backed against a charred fencepost. I heard the faint clank as Liam moved closer to me. I looked around again, just to be sure.
"Nicknames now?" Liam asked, amusement traced his tone. I rolled my eyes and dipped my head for him to follow.
For the next few hours which seemed like a lifetime, I stopped and got down on my knees to crawl under the barbed wire, Liam followed suit, however I heard him mutter a few words about not bring his tool for cutting wire. When he was able to heave himself up, we continued on. The fresh mud and dirt oozed beneath our boots as we walked along the outskirts of no-mans land.
Shouts started to fill my ears, I motioned to Liam, he must've heard them before me as he kneeled down. I followed and moved myself towards a bank. I left my head rest on the mud before peering over.
Below us German soldiers walked in numbers of ten to twenty in military arrangement. About a thousand where present I guessed, all wore the same uniform Liam did, however some had stripes on their arms. Generals, I supposed.
"That looks like my troop." Liam whispered, pointing to at least fifteen men a hundred meters away. He moved his hand back and turned his head to me.
"Why did you bring me to this dangerous place?"
"Look at your troop again Liam and I mean very closely, look at their faces. Are they older, middle aged or younger?" I asked, motioning with my head. Liam turned back and spoke again with no emotion.
"Young."
I nodded silently, "They are here not because of their own will, Liam. They are here because Hitler manipulated them and put himself in their minds."
Liam turned his gaze back to me, his eyes wide.
"I don't- I don't understand. That's not true!"
I bit my lips and shook my head, "It is Liam, Hitler doesn't see them as children or young boys. He sees them as his men or- to put it in an even better way. His youth, young minds to train into Nazi's."
Liam looked as though a shell would drop on us at any moment, I heard him take a few breaths before replying to me.
"So I'm just one of his men manipulated by Hitler? I don't believe you." he snapped, I was taking aback by his harsh reply, but I couldn't sugarcoat what was a trench away from us.
Not that I would sugarcoat his actions anyway.
"You don't, the proof is a muddied wall away from us. So you can decide, you where the one that followed me anyway." I replied icily and slid down from my spot, getting to my feet I started walking, my rifle in hand. Until another hand grabbed it-and mine.
"Evelyn, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just confused-and frightened." Liam spoke in a hushed tone. I stiffened than I let out a breath before facing him.
"You were frightened and that's understandable. But what matters now is we need to leave before someone sees me or you for that matter." I moved from his grasp and started to climb into a trench, I heard Liam sigh deeply behind me before climbing in.
