RUN

Heart Of France

I woke to the strong smell of the campfire. When I opened my eyes, it wasn't a campfire at all. The forest was all ablaze. I quickly shot up from my spot. As far as I could see there were flames followed by charring the french countryside. I ran over to Ethann.

"Ethann! the forest is on fire! We have to go!" I yelled, grabbing my pack.

He groggily opened his eyes. But, when he saw the flames he jumped right up and woke Adam. The smoke was growing thicker with a sudden wind change and the flames began licking at the nearby trees.

"Hurry!" I screamed.

I looked down the road. Apparently, we weren't the only ones running from the fire. A few stragglers ran up the hill towards us. We ran down the road quickly. There was a large crack and a massive, burning tree smashed into the road just a few feet in front of Adam, blocking our path. I covered my face from the blast of hot air. The sparks burned holes in my ragged clothes. I pointed towards the forest and we ran in.

In the forest, the heat was thick like the trees. I helped Adam and Ethann get over the snake-like roots. The forest was illumined with the warm glow of the fire. We ran around the tree blocking our path and back on the road. Ethann and Adam followed behind quickly. Once on the road again, we ran long and far trying to escape the horrors of the wildfire. This would for sure make the soldiers have to travel a few more hours, buying us much needed time. If it wasn't for Isaac and Ethann, the soldiers would probably be in Paris by now. I glanced back quickly at the destruction. Had I caused this?
Eventually, the trees turned to fields, and fields to farms, and farms to villages as we neared La seine.

When we finally came upon a small town bordering La seine, it was almost mid-day. La seine was the famous river that flowed through the heart of France. If we followed it upriver, we would be in Paris in no time. The town we were in was all made of stone. Now cracked and eroding away. We rested in a small bookstore and I took out my apples and we ate in silence.

"We need to find a boat." Said Adam, as he noisily chewed his apple.

"Well there must be some on the dock, no?" Said Ethann.

Ethann's french accent was very thick. He was hard to understand at times. We all spoke english because it was the language taught at the camps. But french was our first language.

"We'll search the dock after we rest." I said laying against the shelf.

I leaned against the shelf behind and against the shelf it knocked over a few books. A newspaper also floated to the ground. I blew off the thick layer of dust and tried to read the french. It had been too long since I actually read or spoke my home language. But I could never truly forget. It read; "Evacuation to Canada has begun! Send your children first!" On the front page was a picture of a huge boat with a Canadian flag on the side.

"My mother, sister and I were supposed to be on that ship." I said, handing the paper to Adam.

"What happened?" Asked Ethann.

"The nazis came to Strasbourg and they attacked. They found me hidden in the floor. I was sent to the camp. I didn't hear from my mother or sister since then." I said.

"What if we find a boat, and get to Canada?" Adam asked.

"We would need a very large boat and lots of supplies." Ethann said.

      Adam just huffed in anger and collected his things together. We walked down the street to the river. This town was much like Nancy. I looked down the river. At the end, was a small, wooden rowboat. Adam saw it first and took off. I followed him with Ethann behind me. It was only about 100 ft. away. Adam was closing in fast. I heard footsteps from beside me. I looked over. Two other boys were bolting towards the boat too. Ethann had saw them first and jumped on one of them. They tumbled to the ground in fury. The second, was still raging towards me. Adam was almost at the boat. I ran in front of the other boy to cut him off. He smacked into me and we hit the road. He quickly tried to get up but I kicked his wrist. I got up and he jumped on me. I fell backwards with my head hanging over the edge. The river current flowed beneath me. I grabbed his collar and swung him over. There was a small splash.

       I didn't stop to look as Adam made it to the boat. Ethann was behind me and the other boy lay on the ground in pain. I hopped in the boat next to Adam and Ethann followed. The rope didnt take long to untie, freeing us from the dock. The current quickly swept us upriver. Towards Paris. We would probably make it there by nightfall.

      We floated on the river for the day. Only a few times when we got stuck against something did we have to get out and push. But, other than that, it was a quick way to travel without wasting energy.

"I knew those boys." Ethann said, after a few hours of silence.

"How?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"They were in same cabin as me and Adam." He said.

"Are you sure? I don't remember them." Adam said.

"I thought they had been blown up back in Nancy." He said, emotionless.

"It's not your fault you know. If you hadn't blown the bridges they would be dead anyway." I said, try to reassure him.

"I know, you've said before." He said, laying down and closing his eyes.

    That was pretty much it for the conversation on the boat. I decided I should try and get some rest. I tried laying down but the boat wasn't really big enough. So, I just leaned against the side.

     I woke to something wet on my face. 
I opened my eyes. The bottom of the boat was full of water. I must have fell forward cause I had woke on the bottom of the boat. Adam and Ethann were still out.

"Guys! The boat is filling with water!" I yelled.

     Adam and Ethann woke up quickly and hustled to work. I grabbed my water canteen and tried getting the water out of the boat. It was filling much too fast. I found a gash in the side where we must have hit a rock. I grabbed Adam's blanket and covered the hole. It slowed the process of the water. But some still managed to seep through. I looked around and gasped. The effiel tower stood tall not far in the distance.

"Guys! Were in Paris!" I yelled in excitement.

    I had only ever been to Paris once. It was such a beautiful city. Suddenly, the leak didn't seem so bad. The soldiers not so scary. The race not so hard. Ethann just began to laugh in relief. We floated farther down the river and deeper in to the heart of Paris. But, the closer we got, the more my smile faded. This wasn't the Paris I remembered. It was just like Nancy. All abandoned and forgotten. In my distraction, the leak seeped through more. The blanket was now soaked and useless.

"We have to jump." I said, grabbing my pack.

   They didn't argue and packed Adam's things. The sun was beginning to set. I threw my pack onto an upcoming bridge and jumped on. Pulling Ethann up too. The boat passed on the other side. I ran over and reached out for Adam's hand. He just missed my hand and kept floating down river.

"Get the next bridge!" I yelled to him.

Just a bit farther down the river was a bridge. We had made it. Paris was pretty much the halfway marking point. The Eiffel Tower stood tall and proud. Although there was a torn nazi flag on top, it still represented the French. Adam had almost made it to the bridge. Then, I looked farther down the the street. There, was hundreds of boys. All staring back.

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Hey! This chapter is dedicated to Breezie123 for her character response! Enjoy!