Dreams and Thoughts - 1917

13 - I need you

The Front
British Sector near Passchendaele, Belgium
July 28th, 1917

TW: Depictions of Sexual Harassment

Pau hadn't told Will about the men who would bully and follow her every now and then. She knew how protective he was of her and felt that Will would probably hurt them. And while that was a pleasant thought, she'd knew he could be sent home for that. Away from her.

And she needed him.

So Pauline kept silent as they harassed and cat called her, either running away or hiding from them. They knew where she was every time and when they found her they'd toss mud at her until she came out, upon which they'd chase her again.

This cycle continued on for weeks until the evenings every few days when they knew Will would return from the front. They all knew that their Sergeant was seeing her and they had a shallow fear of him. At least enough to make them cower whenever they'd see him walking down the road toward her.

But this day, things would change.

Will was gone for extended periods of time now that an offensive was being prepared. Given he was an officer, his leisure time was limited from once every few days to once every week, and the soldiers who bullied her took advantage of this.

One day they stalked her so secretly that she had no idea she was being followed. Not even a feeling of their eyes peeled to her. Thinking that they had finally backed off for that day, she decided it would be a good day to bathe in the river.

She made her way down to the river in a secluded spot and sighed, sitting down on the edge of the river for a few moments and letting down her blonde hair from its halo braids. All the death that she had seen over the days prior, especially with the horrific sniper wounds that didn't quite penetrate the head enough, tore her to pieces. She needed the peace and quiet of the river.

After a few minutes of reflection, she stood up and took off her satchel, opening it and grabbing the bar of soap generously donated to her by Will from his own kit. She set it down along with large, dry cloth to dry herself off when she emerged from the waters, then began to strip from her clothes.

She slowly stepped into the water until she was waist-deep, then took the bar of soap and began to scrub herself clean of the blood and dirt built up on her arms. But as she was about to move under her arm pits, she heard a few whistles and yells of excitement emerging from the forest. She froze in terror upon seeing their sick, twisted, shit-eating grins, their faces riddled with horrible excitement as they quickly made their way toward her.

Her heart was racing but she was unable to do anything but cover her breasts with her arms as they arrived at the scene. All she could mutter out was, "don't," over and over again, but they only began to mock her.

"Don't, don't, don't! Aye, lads, I think we've found ourselves a new frog sound!" One of them laughed, walking toward her. His face then grew serious, looking her nude form up and down. "Out. Now."

"N- no. Don't. Please." She said in her soft, French accent which had now grown a tint of terror now. "Leave me."

"Listen to her whine, Jimmy! I bet she'll beg for her Sergeant... well, he won't be here to save you today, will he?" One of the other soldiers laughed, his long brunette hair bouncing up and down with his belly laughs.

She wouldn't be so frozen if it weren't for her exposure. She knew what they wanted with her and how terrible the turn of events would be if she did step out of the waters. So she stayed put, hoping for a miracle that likely would never come.

"You sure are one pretty little tulip, froggie. I'd like to take you home for myself." The man, who she now assumed was Jimmy, said audibly. His eyes were dilated like he was out of his damn mind, and his face was open with drool flowing from it. "So if you don't step out of that water in the next few seconds I'm going to come in there and do it myself."