The Boy of Company B

[5] Not As They Seem

"Lieutenant Potter needs you boys." Sergeant Smith informed us.
The five of us paused our game of Go Fish and waddled our way to his makeshift dugout. It wasn't even really a dugout, but rather a sad little shelter. The structure was supported by two wooden posts and the roof consisted of a thin sheet of metal. There was a cot that sat in one corner, and a small dresser in the other.
Potter sat on his cot reading a newspaper and smoking a pipe. He quickly glanced up from his activities and set them aside. We stood at attention almost in unison.
"I'm sending you boys up the line," he said, taking a long drag from his pipe.
"For what, sir?" I inquired.
"Food and other supplies. I understand that Sergeant Gilmore here has gone on many a mission, perhaps he could teach you newer recruits a thing or two."
Charlie smiled proudly and nodded his head, signalling his acknowledgment.
Potter began, "Sergeant Smith will take you up the line and over the top. You'll go about 2000 yards to a campsite. There's a stubby little chap there, Major Shelby. You'll be able to recognize him by his bad temper. He'll give you lads what you need."
"Yes, sir." We said.
Lieutenant Potter gave a wave of his hand which signaled Smith to take us where we needed to go.
"This is exciting, eh?" Finn said, grinning widely.
"Finally we can do something that isn't just sitting around and waiting to attack!" Will responded with glee.
"You've been on missions like this before?" I asked Charlie.
He gave me a soft smile and nodded.
We maneuvered around the many sleeping and rowdy men and came to a dead end in the trenches.
"Just up there is where you'll need to go. The campsite is easy to find. Just look for the smoke" The Sergeant instructed.
Charlie started up the little ladder that was placed against the dirt wall and climbed over. He turned around and helped the rest of us up. After I reached the top I stopped to take in the warm spring air. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the small breeze that flew through my hair. I felt at peace as the fresh air gently rushed against my uniform. I smiled to myself when I heard the song of a bluebird. It was almost sundown when we left. Which had struck me as weird. Why go now? Why not first thing tomorrow morning? If something happens in the dark it'll be quite hard to see. William must've read my mind, because just as I thought this he asked,
"Why are we being sent to do this now? It's almost dark."
Charlie turned to look at him.
"I'm sure we'll make it in time."
"But didn't Potter say that the camp was 2000 yards away? That's 4000 yards we're walking." Thomas pointed out.
Lewis nodded in agreement, "Yeah, what happens if we come across a couple wandering Germans?"
Charlie stopped walking and turned to us, his hands tightly gripped his rifle.
"I've been on a ton of these missions before, you guys can trust me, we'll be alright. Okay?"
We came to an understanding and nodded. Charlie spun back around so that his back was facing us. We walked about 100 yards without saying a word.
Finn began to fidget with his hands, occasionally biting the skin off of his fingers. I gave him a little slap whenever he did that since it was always causing his hands to bleed profusely.
"Are you bored too?" Finn asked me.
I nodded and stared at the ground, "This silence is awkward,"
"You can say that again..." he whispered.
Finn cleared his throat and turned to face me, "Have you noticed any strange behaviour in Charlie recently? Or is that just me?"
I stopped to think about it for a second. A part of me knew exactly what he meant by 'strange behaviour.' Charlie always seemed a little bothered whenever someone mentioned the Germans, let alone harming them. In the beginning I figured that he just wasn't a killer at heart. But now, I wasn't quite sure what to think.
"Yeah, I have." I told the Irish lad.
His eyes wandered for a little bit and then settled on Charlie who was ahead of us all.
He walked with a little bit of a saunter, always had.
Glancing back at me Finn suggested, "Do you think it could just be from how long he's been here? I mean, he's a sergeant, he's probably been here for a year or two."
"I suppose it's possible," I replied.
"Just a bit worried about him, I guess..." Finn said, his voice trailing off.
"Yeah, me too," I agreed.
We both stayed silent. I think the quiet got to Finn because the next thing I knew he was singing. Lewis joined in on the song and the pair grabbed onto each other and danced around like court jesters. I laughed when Lewis tripped over his own feet and crashed into the ground, sending Finn with him. Their khaki colored uniforms now had dark brown spots all over them. The boys groaned and got back up onto their feet to dust themselves off.
The walk was peaceful. There was no gunfire, no screaming, no gas, no Germans, no machine guns, no shelling, no tanks, nothing. Just the five of us with our own thoughts and imaginations. I imagined myself in my childhood bedroom sprawled out on my bed with a book in my hands. I listened to the distant sound of my mother's gramophone as it played downstairs. I saw myself outside playing with my younger brother, Sammy, waiting for our father to come home from work and tell us a story. Life was good.
****
The sun had fully set and it was almost impossible to see anything since there were clouds blocking the moon. I tripped over Thomas a few times since he was such a slow walker.
"How many times will you run into me, Lawrence?"
"Maybe you should walk faster, shithead,"
We both poked fun at each other whenever we accidentally collided. I could tell that he, and the others, were exhausted. My guess was that we were half way there.
"I suppose we should find a place to set up camp for the night and sleep. We'll continue in the morning." Charlie said.
We reached into our knapsacks and pulled out our sleeping stuff. The five of us found a long line of trees to sleep under.
I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned for what felt like ages. I had finally given up on trying to get any sleep and decided to just go for a little walk instead. I went past the trees and into a wheat field that was close by. A bird came dashing out from one of the trees and scared me shitless, causing me to curse under my breath at the thing. I was jumpy mainly because I had a a little feeling like something bad was about to happen. But I shrugged it off as just anxiety for not being able to see much of anything in the dark. I sat down on a log that leaned against two other trees in the middle of the field and closed my eyes.
I heard the faint sound of whispering and my blood ran cold. Quickly, I flung my eyes open and frantically looked around. I hoped it was all just my imagination. The clouds rolled back and the moon shined down through, illuminating everything in its path. The light revealed something I wish wasn't there.
A German.
But what made my heart stop was standing right in front of him.
It was Charlie.
The two weren't fighting, in fact, they were smiling. They looked like old friends that had meet up after a long departure. He whispered to the other man in perfect German.
Charlie was not who he said he was. He wasn't my comrade. He was not our ally. 'Charlie' was a spy.