It Wasn't His Fault

 Another day, another German town taken by the Allies. Will stepped over a pile of rubble as he followed the other soldiers down the empty streets toward their temporary barracks. Those who hadn't already evacuated the town must have left when the fighting began, because there was no sign of the people who lived there. A doll lying in the dirt caught Will's attention. He stooped to pick it up, his thoughts immediately going to the young daughter that he had yet to meet. A hand clapped him on the shoulder, startling him into dropping the doll.

"Come on, mate, one of the guys found a bottle o' something down in a cellar 'few blocks down. Let's crack it open an' celebrate. Us Canadians are on a roll, eh? Ol' Hitler ain't gonna see what hit 'im!" A soldier with a wide grin and a mess of curls shook a bottle in Will's face.

Will grinned. "Better put that away, Robbie. If the captain finds you with that, you'll be on sentry duty all week."

Robbie's smile only grew. "Only if 'e can catch me."

Will shook his head and followed his friend to the abandoned storage facility that they were using for barracks. Will had enlisted in the army in October of 1942, and Robbie had joined him a year later. Since then, they had become close friends. Robbie had a knack for making everyone around him laugh, even in the direst of circumstances.

Not wishing to get caught, Will only drank a few sips of alcohol, but Robbie fully indulged himself and was busy entertaining a large crowd with a greatly exaggerated story of his heroics when Will drifted off to sleep. He dreamt of his family back home in Canada. Of his wife, Melissa, and their young daughter, Abigail, who he had yet to meet. He dreamt of Abigail's second birthday party, which Melissa had recently written to him about. How Melissa had managed to obtain the ingredients to make her a birthday cake, and Abigail had nearly ruined her dress in her enthusiasm. He wished he had been there with them, but he was glad they were safe, and he knew he was doing everything he could to keep it that way.

* * *

Will was thrown from sleep by the sounds of frantic men and bullets cracking from their guns. Around him, soldiers were scrambling from their dreams and grabbing weapons, racing out of the building toward the sounds of gunfire. Will leapt up and grabbed his gun, following the other men outside. On his way, he passed Robbie. Robbie was grinning.

"What fun!" he cried. "I've always wanted to be part of an ambush. I 'ad hoped I'd be on the side actually doing the ambushin', but this'll make a better story!"

Will just stared at his friend. "What?"

Robbie chuckled. "Always look on the bright side, mate! Come on, let's join the party." Robbie grabbed Will by his jacket and dragged him toward the fighting, ducking occasionally as bullets flew overhead.

During the night, German soldiers had crept up on the Canadian forces camped in the village and waited to launch their attack until the darkest point of the night. They had attacked on the east side of the village, where most of the Canadians were sleeping. Many had been killed before the alarm had been sounded, and in the dark, it was impossible to receive orders. The Germans had taken time to plan their attack and were acting as a unified force, but the Canadians could receive no visual cues from their commanders, and any auditory instructions would be futile if the Germans had a translator. On top of that, the Canadians couldn't see who they were shooting at or where they were going. They simply followed the sound of the gunfire and shot at anything that moved.

Bodies already littered the ground, and Will nearly tripped over a moaning comrade as he maneuvered his way through the rubble. He turned to help, but Robbie dragged him past. "Too many to help all of 'em, mate." They kept running, adrenaline racing through their veins.