"Then I'm gonna be a spy The best fucking spy again."
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"BEFORE WE DO THIS," Genevieve said to the soldiers. "What are your names? because I've just been calling you tall one and short one in my head."
"Short?!" The short one scoffed. "I'm Thomas Blake."
"Schofeild." The taller one said.
"Is that the only name you've got?" She asked as he grabbed the ladder.
She shuffled past Blake to the other ladder so she could look Schofeild in the eye. They were a striking blue.
"William." He said. "And we already know that you're Genevieve Patterson."
"Yeah you made that quite clear." Blake muttered.
A crowd of soldiers had now gathered behindhim to watch the trio, their faces a combination of shock and fascination. Schofield looked between Blake and Genevieve. His face was a mix of worry and confusion.
"You sure?" He asks.
"Yes." Blake nods but he doesn't sound sure. They both look at Genevieve.
"Can we just get this shit over with?" She scoffs. "We all have places to be."
She went to climb over but Schofield grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.
"Age before beauty." He said. Genevieve rolled her eyes.
"Flattery will get you nowhere Schofield." She said.
Genevieve practically threw herself over the top of the parapet. She landed smoothly into the mud and everything was still. She stayed low, waiting for an attack. But none comes. All she could hear was Schofield and Blake scurry up after her, whispering their shock to what she just did.
They were officially in no mans land. It was bleak and dirty and smelled horrible. Genevieve breathed through her mouth to avoid the smell.
"The hell did you do that for?" Blake hissed from beside her. "Do you have a death wish?"
"You boys were just too slow." She replied quietly.
Schofield shushed them. They were all still for a beat. Hunched down low on her knees, Genevieve looks ahead to see British wire run in loops. It was going to be mess to navigate through. She hated wires. She has scars from them, among other things.
The trio got to their feet and moved forward over the muddy ground. They walked in a crooked line, Schofield in the front, Genevieve in the middle, and Blake bringing up the rear. The smell gets worse as they keep going and Genevieve realizes where it's coming from.
The dead horses.
The corpses were rotting and had flies buzzing around them. Genevieve looked straight ahead.
They came to the first breakin the wire. The path is pocked with craters and puddles but is just big enough for them to get through. If Genevieve scrunched herself up a bit she could get through it unscathed.
She craned her neck to see whats ahead and sees the second wire. Or more importantly, "the bowing chap" that Leslie told them about. The chap was really just a dead German soldier bent double over the wire. One of his arms was outstretched as if bowing to them and saying "This way!"
Next to the man is a small gap in the razor wire, easy to miss without the creepy looking landmark. Schofield struggled to further pull apart the tangle of wire for a moment. Genevieve reached forward and pulled the other side, just big enough for Blake to pass through. Blake nodded to them and slipped through the wire. Schofield nods in that direction to Genevieve, telling her to go through. She tries to keep the wire up so he could pass after her as she goes through.
As she does so, Schofield slipped in the mud. His hand instinctively closed around the wire. It slices into his palm, making him gasp. Genevieve turned around to see red seep along his hand.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
He bites his lip and nods before he wrenches it back, tearing the skin to free himself. A heavy breath hisses out of him. He balls his hand into a fist to stem the bleeding. Genevieve pulled up the rest of the wire so he didn't have to touch it as he passed through.
"You alright?" Blake asks him.
Genevieve wanted him to tend to his hand. She knew it would get infected if they kept going like this. But there was no time to fix it let alone nag him about it. She would have to wait until they rested.
Schofield nodded that he's fine as he looks around. There were craters everywhere. They look deep. Blake headed over to the nearest crater. He looked back to Schofield and Genevieve, some silent communication.
"Sap trench." Schofield says quietly.
He went first, crouching low and disappearing over the side. Blake and Genevieve looked at each other. He held his hands out as if to say "ladies first."
Genevieve heaved herself over the side of it. She landed with a thump onto Schofield. She was practically sitting in his lap. He stared down at her in surprise, his ears tinged pink.
"Sorry." She whispered and moved next to him instead. He cleared his throat and focused on his hand.
Genevieve glanced around and noticed a corpse on the other side of Schofield. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and looked away. There was another one next to her. She looked up instead just as Blake jumps into the sap trench with them. He landed right between the other two.
Blake accidentally pushed Schofield on his way down. Schofield slipped and his wounded hand landed on the corpse and sunk right through. Genevieve and Blake both gasped. If it wasn't infected yet it certainly was now.
Schofield gestured for them to stay calm. He pulled himself out of the sap trench with Genevieve and Blake close behind. They move, crouched low. Waiting for guns to be fired on them. But nothing comes.
The only sound for a moment is their breathing and the squelch of mud under their boots. Genevieve thinks of how glad she is to have worn pants. Suddenly, they heard a loud sound approaching.
They all dropped to the ground instantly.
"Stay still." Schofield hissed to them.
The sound grew louder. Genevieve glanced up to see two planes fly past above them before beginning to recede into the distance.
