The Shadow

Chapter 14

   (Good news guys!! After much thought, I've decided to upload this book twice a week! Tuesdays and Fridays! Here's Tuesday's first upload! I hope you guys will enjoy this)!

   Donny's POV:

   It broke my heart seeing the way Frances completely switched. She used to be so happy before, even when she first started a few months after her family died. Now, she won't even crack a smile. She spends her time sharpening her axe and knife even though they're already sharp.

   "How come you keep sharpening those?" I asked. Frances only gazed at me and turned away. "The sharper it is, the less time it'll take for those scumbags to die." Frances muttered. I stared at her quietly, wondering what got into her. I made my way over to Aldo, feeling concerned.

   "Lieutenant, I feel like something's wrong with Frances." I voiced in concern. Aldo looked at me and nodded. "I know. I've noticed it for the longest. She's not acting well." Aldo agreed. "What do we do?" I asked. "I think we gotta talk to her." Aldo suggested. "Are you sure that that's a good idea while she's sharpening her knife and axe?" I asked, cautiously. Aldo glared at me. "Fine. Let's go." I mumbled, defeated. I love her, but she gets wild when she's in a bad mood. I did not wanna be on the receiving end of her axe or knife.

   Aldo's POV:

   "Frankie, you ok?" I asked. Frances looked up for a second and looked back down, continuing to sharpen her knife. "If you keep doing that the blade is gonna end up dull." Donny mentioned. Frances shot him a glare and continued once again. This scared even me. What the fuck happened?

   "Frances, I need to know what the fuck is going on. What happened?" I asked in a rough tone, trying to scare her into telling me. After a moment, Frances threw down her knife and started sobbing. Donny and I side eyed each other, alarmed and confused. I immediately rushed over to sit next to her and pulled her into my arms. She continued to sob loudly. Donny sat on the other side and rubbed her back, not knowing what to do. We remained that way for a few minutes.

   Frances removed herself from my arms and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "What's wrong Paris?" Donny asked. "Those fucking Nazis. They did it again. They took someone that I love." Frances seethed. "Who?" I asked, puzzled. "My best friend Amelie. She worked in the cafe that I used to go to. The Nazis captured her because she knew me. They killed her because she refused to talk." Frances explained through sobs.

   Frances told us about that girl a few times. She was the whole reason why we had Stiglitz in the first place. This made me feel guilty. Frances has lost way too much people. First, her parents and her brother, her aunt and uncle afterwards, and now her friend. This made me realize even more that Frances is just a child. She's 13. What the hell is this gonna do to her after the war is over? If it's ever over.

   "Why couldn't they just kill me two years ago? Why am I still here if I'm just losing people that I love?" Frances sobbed. "Frances, don't do that. You're here for a reason. We need you here." Donny said. "You guys will be fine without me." Frances mumbled. "No we won't. Our biggest fear as an entire group is losing you. We will fight as hard as we can to prevent you from dying. If this goddamn war spans until you're an adult, so be it. You are not dying. Not on our watch." I explained, harshly. Frances stopped crying for a moment and gazed up at me.

   She sniffled and hugged my waist tightly. After a few moments, she let go and hugged Donny. He sat there and awkwardly pat her back. "Donny put more energy into it." I said, breaking the silence. Frances giggled for the first time in awhile. That felt great, finally hearing her laugh. Thank God she's still here and living.

   (There we go y'all! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! See you next week)!