Home By Christmas

Chapter Twelve - Kurt

Darkness encased the men, smothering them like a thick blanket.

Kurt blinked, trying to peer through the impenetrable darkness in the hopes of catching something moving or glinting across the training ground. He shifted a little, but made no noise. All around him, he could hear the shaky breathing of the other men, but Kurt tried to ignore it. Instead, he focused on the task at hand and tried to spot anything creeping around in front of him, but he could scarcely see his own hand.

With his eyes fixed in front of him, Kurt noticed a slight glint of light out the corner of his eye. He turned his head a little, careful not to make too much noise, and squinted against the ever-growing pitch black. Moonlight reflected off a soldier's helmet as they tried to creep along the field in order to try and break through the line Kurt's team had created.

Unaware as to whether anyone had caught sight of the man, Kurt flattened himself against the damp mud and crept forward, snaking his way along the line in search of the Hauptmann. Water soaked through the front of his uniform. Kurt continued to move forward until he found the Hauptmann lying flat-out on the mud, his weapon pointing forward.

"Sir," Kurt hissed, trying to get the Hauptmann's attention without creating too much noise.

The older man turned, the whites of his eyes a stark contrast to the darkness. "What is it, Soldat Schäfer?"

"I saw someone moving out there, sir. A patrol."

"Where?"

Kurt pointed into the darkness, watching out for the glint of the soldier's helmet. It appeared within a few seconds. "Just there, the slight glint is their helmet."

"Good work, Soldat." The Haptmann nodded. "Find Müller and Schröder, the one with the scar. Go out there and capture that man. We'll follow and add additional cover and support."

"Yes, sir."

Kurt turned and started to make his way back down the line, looking out for Wilhelm and Paul as he went. They were spread out across a small trench system that they had dug earlier that day. It didn't offer them much protection from the other side and they had to crawl through the line, but at least they weren't out in the open.

He found Paul and Wilhelm towards the end of the line, the two of them pressed flat against the ground, aiming their weapons over the top of the ridge. Neither of them moved to acknowledge Kurt as he crept up behind them, keeping his stomach as close to the ground as possible. Kurt crept closer until he was within whispering distance to the other men.

"Wilhelm, Paul," Kurt hissed.

"What are you doing down here?" Wilhelm asked.

"The Hauptmann sent me. I saw someone out on patrol and he wants us to go and capture them."

"Finally." Paul rolled his shoulder. "I'm losing feeling in my arms."

"You and your excellent eyesight. First you show us up on the rifle range, now you can see in the dark. How does it feel being the Hauptmann's favourite?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and slapped Wilhelm's arm. After years of friendship, he had grown used to Wilhelm's incessant taunting, but he grew less fond of it during training. The taunting felt childlike, something they would have done on the school yard rather than in the army. He wanted to be taken seriously and he scarcely do that if Wilhelm insisted upon acting like a child all the time.

The three of them crept back along the line, crawling along on their stomach and trying to make as little noise as possible. None of the other men moved as they crawled along behind them, the Hauptmann having already passed word of the impending assault on the opposite line. Kurt led the group, keeping an eye out for any movement on the other side of the field. Every now and then he would catch a glimpse of the soldier.