Chapter 1
“James.” Sirius said. “Let’s talk about this for a minute.”
“Why?” James asked, strapping his bag to his back, turning and striding through the trench.
“James!” Sirius called after him. “We just need to think about it.”
“There’s nothing to think about! This is your brother, this is my fiancé!”
“We should at least wait until it’s dark!”
“Kingsley said to leave immediately”
They were both jogging now, pushing past resting soldiers as Sirius struggled to keep up.
“Kingleys never seen no-man’s land.- we won’t make it ten yards. If we just wait..”
“You heard him!” James replied angrily. “He said the Germans have gone.”
“Is that why he gave us grenades?”
James ignored him, shoving past the soldiers grouping together and continuing on.
“All I’m saying is that we wait!”
At this rate, James was going to get them both killed, and the message would never be sent.
“Yes, you would say that, cause it’s not your love there, is it? But He’s still your brother, Sirius. Just because you haven’t seen him for years, doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist.”
Sirius recoiled. Never had James, snapped at him in all the years they had known each other. But war changed people. For the better and for the worse.
James sighed. “ I know you two don’t get along, but for me? Will you do it for me? You have more experience. Come with me or I’ll go alone” He pleaded.
There were tears in his eyes and Sirius knew that it was a losing battle. He wouldn’t let James go by himself, never. They would go together.
“Nine miles, would take us, what, six hours?”
James’ face lit up. “Yes, and we would make it just by nightfall, just enough time for them to call off the attack.”
He turned to one of the men.
“Where’s Major Stevenson?”
The man took a long drag of his cigarette and looked up at them. Misery was spread across it, and James knew that this was the face of a man who had long since given up hope.
“He was killed, three nights ago. Major Leslie has command.” He muttered.
“And where can we find him?”
“Next dugout to the left.”
———
“We have a message from General Kingsley. “ James said.
Major Leslie looked at them, frowning.
“Are you our relief?”
“No, sir”
“Then when the fucking hell are they due?”
“We don’t know, sir.” James said frustrated. “But we’ve got orders to cross here.”
“That is the German front line.” Leslie said, pointing.
“We know, Sir.- If you’ll just take the letter, he gave us.”
Leslie grabbed the letter, opening it and glancing down.
“Settle a bet, will you?”
James and Sirius exchanged a confused glance.
“What day is it?”
“Friday.” Sirius said, before James could snap at the Major. He needed to calm down before he said something he would regret.
“Friday? Oh well, none of us were right.” Leslie said, glancing round at the few men sitting with him.
“This idiot thought it was Tuesday.”
He looked back down, and read the letter again. Suddenly, he looked furious.
“Are they out of their fucking minds? One slow night, they thing the Germans have just gone home?”
“Do you think they’re wrong sir?”
Major Leslie stood up. “We lost an officer and three men, two nights ago. They were shot to bits patching up wire. We dragged two of them back here. Needn’t have bothered..”
“Sir,” James hissed. They needed to hurry. They couldn’t just stand around chatting.
“The general is sure the enemy have withdrawn. There are aerials of the new line-“
“Shut up! We fought and died over every inch of this fucking place. Now they suddenly give us miles? It’s a trap. “
He rolled his eyes. “But chin up. There’s a medal in it, for sure. Nothing like a scrap of ribbon to cheer your dead bodies up.”
He sighed, stepping out the dug out. “Alright.”
“Where’s the nearest way through sir?” James asked as they walked along the narrow trench.
“Our wires a mess, but there is a path through of sorts.”
“When you get to the first wire, look for the dead horse. The stench will let you know where it is, long before you see it. Useful in the dark. When you get to the second wire, look out for the bowing chap. There’s a small gap, just beside him. The German line is 150-odd yards after that.”
Another soldier spoke up. “Watch out for the craters, they’re deeper than they look. If you fall in, there’s no getting out. “
Leslie pointed to a gap at the top of the wall. “Your best bet is to pop over here. If by some fucking miracle, you make it past the German line, send up a flair will you? And if you don’t, try to chuck it back. These things are hard to come by. And remember we’ll only come to get your body when it’s dark. Good luck, soldiers, you’ll need it. “
He walked away without a backward glance.
“You sure?” Asked Sirius.
“Yes”
They both began to climb the ladders, ready to go over the top.
Sirius placed a hand on James’ shoulder before he could make it to the top.
“Age before beauty, yeah? Let me go first.”
He took a deep breath, and hoisted himself over. James followed just behind him.
They began crawling forward, across the mud and debris littering the floor.
When no guns started shooting at them, they got up, still keeping low, but going at a quicker pace.
The dead horse, was unsurprisingly easy to find. Lying on its side, flies gathered around and on its rotting flesh, the stench making James gag.
The barbed wire was harder to get through. Ducking and winding through its spikes, they moved through. On the second row, was a moulding body, hung bent over the wire, bowing.
Sirius pulled back a piece of wire next to it, letting James past. Just as he was about to let go, he’s clammy fingers slipped and a sharp edge edge embedded itself into his hand. Shit.
He grabbed it, pulling it out and pressing his hand to his chest to staunch the bleeding.
“You alright?” James asked, stopping to look back at him. Sirius nodded.
“Look for cover.”
In all directions, the only thing James could see, was destruction. Bodies, rats, the ground blown apart, barbed fences and no vegetation for miles around.
After a few minutes, the two of them came across the sap trench. Sirius slid down, resting against the wall and examining his throbbing hand. James slid after him.
A corpse lay beside him, rats eating away at the flesh. Suddenly, James slipped, pushing against Sirius who, put his hand on the nearest thing to support him. The body.
He groaned, swiftly moving away, feeling sick.
They carried on moving through the narrow trench, glad of the cover it had given them, trying to ignore the overload of bodies all around. It didn’t help that there were rats everywhere too.
Eventually, the sap trench ended, and James and Sirius climbed out, back into the open.
From behind them, the rumbling of a plane approaching could be heard, and James froze just as Sirius grabbed him and shoved him down. “Stay still.” He hissed.
The planes passed as they watched before Sirius realised. “They’re our sides.”
The two of them got up, holding their guns in front gazing around. “We’re halfway“ James muttered. “Keep going. “
An hour later, they found the first line of barbed wire protecting the German trench.
“There’s a gap,” James pointed to a part which seemed as if it had been blown apart.
Sirius nodded and the two of them made their way through it, on high alert.
A crow squawked. James shivered. It was eating away at another corpse. No one deserved that, James thought, kicking it.
He would’ve tried to shoo the rats away, but he knew that was a lost cause. They would come right back, as soon as they left.
The German line was just before them. They drew their guns and peered inside. Would Major Leslie be correct and would they be shot as soon as they got there? Or was it deserted as General Kingsley had said?
“Fuck me, they really have gone.” James said relieved. The two of them slid down into the trench, which was a lot neater and structured than the British front line.
Sirius took out his flask, uncorking it and pouring some water over his wound.
“Your hand alright?” James asked
“Put it through a dead effing German after I cut it. “
“Patch it up.” James grinned. “You’ll be wanking again in no time.
Sirius snorted. “Wrong hand.”
The two got up again, making their way through the trench, guns out and pointed.
James kicked over a bucket, and the embers of a recent fire, spilled out, still glowing hot.
“They’re not long gone.”
Fuck. Not good. They could still be around.
Jane pointed at a tunnel. “This might be a way through!”
They carefully made their way through, clicking on a torch and looking around.
“Look at this!” James exclaimed. “It’s massive. They built all this?!” he said in awe.
Sirius looked down at one of the tables. On the edge was a black and white photo of a family. He stared at it for a few moments longer before carrying on.
He found another tunnel, branching out from the room they were in. “Here’s our way through.”
“Sirius!” James called. He turned back, looking at him.
James was pointing his light at something crawling along the floor.
“Bloody hell. Even their rats are bigger than ours.”
They watched it skitter across the floor.
“What do you thinks in the bags?”
Sirius rubbed his forehead. “You cannot be that hungry.”
He bent down, looking though the boxes arranged on the floor. Sirius froze.
“What’s wrong?”
“Tripwire.” Sirius replied nervously. “Don’t move.”
“Where is it?”
“Goes from here, to the door.” Sirius said, pointing with his torch.
Another rat dropped from the ceiling, and they both jumped.
“Oh Jesus!”
It ran forwards. Straight towards the tripwire.
“Oh no!” James yelped.
And the world exploded.