The king of Birmingham and his daughter

Beginning of a New life

Thomas Pov - 

*tap, tap, tap... 

tap, tap, tap...

I turned around and faced the men that were with me down within the dimly light tunnel, with sweat on our foreheads, dripping ever so often, due to the over-dying heat down in these tunnels that they make us do. I placed my index finger up to my lips, and they all do the same, whilst turning around so the others behind them knew that I had started to hear things again.

I had then pointed to my ear, to also to tell them that they were to listen as well, to see if they also hah heard what I was hearing. 

Tap, tap, tap...

Tap, tap, tap...

"shit" I muttered under breathe. 

BOOM! 

We all had flown back, hitting our backs, and our heads onto the muddy walls near us as one of their grenades had blown down the wall which was on our right. Then the Germans had quickly to scramble into our tunnel. 

"Schnell! Töte diese Bastarde!" (Fast! Kill these bastards!) I heard one of them say before our men even had a chance to take out their pistols. As we trying to scramble back to escape this horror, they had started shooting where ever they felt fit. Then one of them grabbing onto my leg and pulling me towards them. I was quick to pull out my pistol and shot one of them in the shoulder and shouted out for help. *

Quickly, I darted up from my bed, now sitting on the edge, from where I was once laying asleep within a living nightmare, panting and sweating heavily, dripping everywhere on my body because of the now called dreams that I have to face every night ever since I had come back from the war, from when I was in France, digging those tunnels towards the German trenches.

I walked over to the window and had picked up the bottle of whiskey, which had sat on top of my dark brown, almost black in fact; draws. Drinking it straight from the bottle, fully aware that I wasn't going to be going back to sleep anytime soon. I looked down at my golden watch, that was sat on top of my draws and saw that it was just gone half five in the morning. 'parently I didn't gain much sleep at all last night.

 I heavily sighed, and then I had gotten ready for my day ahead. Once ready, I had made my way downstairs to see my youngest brother Finn, and my aunt Polly at the table, eating their breakfast in peace. They both looked up at me, as I had walked down the creaky stairs. Finn looked up at me and smiled softly at me like he always does in the morning, whilst he munches on his toast. I walked over to him and messed up his hair a little, then walked over to the end of the table.   

" You're up early again, aren't we Tommy?" Polly spoke as she was smoking her cigarette, throwing the matches towards me. All I managed to say that was audible, was a light hum. She, along with John and Arthur was the only people who knew about these nightmares that I keep happening every other day. I fear that one day, it may scare away my daughter. I picked up the packet of cigarettes and the matches that Polly had tossed towards me, and then lit the small round tube of nicotine that was about to enter my body.

Eventually, sometime later, Arthur and John had walked through the door, and greeted us all. Arthur looked at me, smiling, "So you're going to pick up our niece today then Tom, mhm?" I gave him a sidewards glance, getting slightly nervous again, but never shown it, and chuckled a little. "Yes Arthur, yes I am. I'm going by myself like I had said yesterday, I don't want to frighten her off just yet. I would also much prefer to introduce her to the family slowly, as there is a lot of us, and it will be a lot for her to get used too." I had told him calmly. 

He Chuckled slightly, with smiles from both Polly and Arthur. John just had his usual smirk plastered on his face as per usual. " That's if you don't scare her off from the second she sees you," he remarks, lighting a cigarette, then taken a puff from it, taking a seat next to Pol.