For the Love of War

Chapter 4: Adeline

I woke up alone in a strange bed. It wasn't very luxurious. In fact, I was in the soldier's barracks. I was in the bottom bunk and was laying on my back.

I got up and stretched my shoulders. I nearly screamed in pain but managed to suppress it. Suddenly, the attack seemed to take place in my mind. I remembered being shot in the shoulder and the hip, and James Henry begging me to stay awake.

I slowly walked out of the large tent and looked around. I wasn't at the American camp. Perhaps they had moved camps after the Germans found them. I looked around for a telltale sign of where I was and saw an American flag flying high in the breeze. I also saw many soldiers and army people walking around.

What really caught my attention was the group of German soldiers standing in the middle of the camp. They were unarmed and were being jeered by the Americans that surrounded them as they walked through the camp with their hands tied.

My heart lurched as I saw a familiar face in the group.

"Friedrich! Friedrich!" I screamed across the camp. The German soldier looked up and I felt my heart stop.

"Adeline!" He yelled back, ignoring the leering and hitting done by the guards escorting them. I took off in a run towards Friedrich. I shoved past Richard, who was the one corralling them towards the camp's prison.

I jumped into my brother's arms as best I could with his bound arms and squeezed him tight to my chest.

"Oh Friedrich, ich war sehr besorgt!" (Oh Frederick, I was so worried!) I ignored the screaming of my shoulder and hip and snuggled into my brother's chest.

"Ich habe dich sehr vermisst, Ade." (I missed you very much, Ade.) My brother covered my face with light butterfly kisses. I noticed his coat was soaking with a sticky red substance.

"Oh Friedrich, was ist passiert?" (Oh Frederick, what happened?) I slowly set myself on the ground but held my brother close. He was drafted into Hitler's army early in 1942, and my family hadn't heard or seen him since.

"Die Amerikaner überfallen uns. Was machst du auf einer amerikanischen Basis? Haben sie dich verletzt?" (The Americans ambushed us. What are you doing at an American army base? Did they hurt you?) My brother checked me for injuries as best he could. His eyes narrowed when he found the bullets in my shoulder and hip. Before I could explain, Richard interrupted.

"Wer ist das?" (Who is that?) He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Du sprichst Deutsch?" (You speak German?) My brother's eyes widen.

"Ich habe ihn gelehrt." (I taught him.) I said with a smile. My brother bit his lip.

"Adeline, who is that?" Richard asked in English.

"My brother." I said, just as James Henry came around the corner.

"Little Nurse! You are awake!" He said in German. He wrapped me in a hug and stared at me for a second.

"I am safe." I smiled at him. He was staring at my face and running his fingers through my hair when it happened.

He kissed me.

It wasn't a kiss you give a relative during a family reunion, but a kiss you give to the person you love most. I had seen my father give them to my mother many of times.

It was the most passionate thing I had ever been a part of. He clenched the fabric of my dress and pulled me closer. It felt like my lungs would collapse and my toes would fall off it was so good.

I pulled him closer when a heard a throat clear. I turned my head so my lips were still locked with my soldier's but so that I could see the person.