Before You Start A War

Chapter Five

For the days following, Niall is able to provide food and water for the men inside the barn every night, and no other problems have occured since the night he lost his items. He's hoping soon that he can stop bringing his gun in again, but he's still unsure.

He's been wondering about that man that addressed him by his name. He's the man that always looks at him differently and thanks him for the water each time his canteen is filled. He hopes at some point he'll be able to learn his name.

That man doesn't seem even remotely interested in hurting Niall or escaping, and he always speaks very politely. Niall was able to recognize the British accent and wonders what caused him to join the war. He wonders if he had a similar story to his own, or joined for reasons like Louis did. He doesn't seem like a fighter.

On the other side of the wall, Harry wonders the same about Niall. He thinks of his reasons for being in the fight, especially since he just seems like a simple farm boy. The Irish accent is very recognizable and thick, so he must've been there for a very long time and only left recently for it to still be as thick as it is. He thinks Niall was only caught in the crossfire of a battle and was recruited because of it.

Each night, Harry hopes eventually he'll be able to catch the man again so he can tell him his name. He appreciated the fact that Niall regarded him as soldier instead of some derogatory or rude term, but he noticed the stutter in Niall's words as he said goodbye to him before. He wanted to call him by his name, and Harry didn't have time to tell him before he was gone.

One night, several days after Harry and Niall's interaction with each other, Niall comes in before the sun has even gone down. It's too early for him to be feeding them, and Harry knows something is going on when he doesn't see the usual bag Niall brings in with him.

When Niall steps in, a few of the men look up in confusion, but most stick to their own areas and ignore the man. However, a few moments later, three men follow in after Niall, and the door is closed behind them. Instead of it being tied closed like Niall normally does, the men hook a rather big lock between the two handles. The rest of the men inside the barn look up at that, and while Niall and his men whisper among themselves, so do the groups crowded around the walls. Then, Niall points toward the back wall, slightly to the left, and stands by the door as the other men go over.

The men crowded in a group disperse from their normal positions to make room for the three enemies coming into their space. One of them keeps watch over the men, his gun already held in his hands and aiming at the ground. The other two men investigate the area, moving the hay and dirt around with their boots and pushing their bayonets into the dirt. After a bit of time searching, one of the men's bayonets pushes through the ground easily and quite a bit of dirt and hay fall into a rather substantially sized hole. The hole is about two feet wide and four feet deep, obviously being dug over a long period of time.

Harry's never noticed the men digging. He's never heard talk of tunneling by anyone, though, he tends not to talk to most of the other soldiers he's stuck in the barn with. The hole was also previously surrounded by stacks of hay and putting it outside Harry's view.

The man who found the hole stands back up and walks back over to the door, past Niall, and right out the door. Niall looks nervous as he sticks to the front door, looking down at his boots while his allies gather the group of men around the hole into a circle, the two men's rifles loaded and ready to fire.

"Did you think you'd be able to escape?" The taller man taunts, thrusting his gun toward the group and catching one of the enemy's sleeves on his bayonet. He pulls it back and the fabric rips slightly.

The man who left then returns with another two men, and all the other prisoners in the room jump up due to their harsh gazes.

"Horan was right about the hole, sir." Harry overhears being spoken. "There were a few men lain around it, but we aren't actually sure if they are the ones that have been working on it."