Cannonball

Chapter Seventeen: Tunnel Shooting

"I hear the Yanks have finally entered the war," John muttered leaning back in his seat and looking up at the sky, he was growing tired of being stuck in this muddy hell-hole when all he wanted was to be at home with his family. 

They had been here for three years now with no sign of things changing, they had done everything that they had been told yet the promise of returning home did not seem to come. 

"Aye hopefully that means that this we'll be heading home soon," Arthur replied knowing that he could not take much more of this; he did not think that he would spend so much time in France when they had been promised a war that would end in a couple of months. 

Three long years working in the trenches and digging tunnels, it had not been easy and they had all done their fair share of work while they had been here. 

They had all seen their fair share of death during their time fighting a war and none of them would ever forget each of the comrades that had been killed just doing their duty to their king and country. 

Each of them just wanting to return home to the family that they had left behind; they could only think of Aunt Polly, Ada, Finn, Martha, Rosemary, and the young ones still waiting for them. 

Thomas did not speak, his eyes staring at the wall across from him as he tried to suppress the memories that crept into his mind and focus on happier times. 

It was hard to believe that he had been married for three years and had a daughter that he had never met; of course, Rosemary kept him informed but there was so much he had missed and would never get to see. 

He would never experience Kathleen's first word, her first steps... all things that he had heard about but never got to witness. 

There were moments in his daughter's life that he was never going to get back, nothing could change that and Thomas hated that he had been away for so long. 

He didn't ever know what his daughter looked like, Rosemary did her best to describe her but it wasn't the same as actually seeing his daughter with his own eyes. 

The sudden sound of scrapping made the group fall silent, they barely had time to react before the wall that they had been digging at slowly crumbled away.

The tunnel suddenly erupted into chaos as it was filled with shouts in both German and English; people scrambling for their weapons as they engaged the enemy, all knowing that they had to kill those against them. 

The next few moments were madness and a blare, looking back none of them would be sure what exactly happened but one minute a German rifle was aimed at Thomas and the next thing was that he was on the floor. 

He could only look up in surprise quickly followed by horror as he realised that Freddie had shoved him out of the way and saved his life. 

His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he stared in shock, his life had flashed before his eyes and for a moment he thought he'd die in the hellhole. 

Arthur and John were quick to dispatch the enemy soldiers while Thomas moved back to his feet and over to Freddie who stumbled and collapsed on to the ground; his hands clutching where he had been shot and blood now covered his shirt. 

"Medic! Somebody get a medic!" Thomas shouted, his hands pressing into the wound and he prayed that he would not watch his friend bleed to death as he had done with his father-in-law not even a year ago. 

He looked down at Freddie not sure what to say to him, his head not able to accept that it should have been him bleeding to death on the floor and saying his farewells with the thought of his wife and daughter back home.