Strangers in the Night || William Schofield || 1917

Of Surviving And Memories

"Nobody sees me. Even I don't recognize myself anymore"

~*~

Emma Leslie woke up to what she believed to be shots being fired.

The Germans were absolutely insane with their declare of total war, killing everyone and everything who was in their way. The young adult was fortunate enough to still be alive but every day she wondered how much her luck would continue to last.

A burning smell entered the room and it took Emma everything not to cough loudly. Were they burning down the building? The entire city? Were they finally leaving? She knew from experience that when the Germans left they would leave behind a trail of destruction and death. She shuddered at the thought of seeing someone she knew dead in the streets, everything she had grown up with over the last few years to be in ashes. Everything being in ruins. Even more than it already was.

When the smoke got too much Emma decided that it was time to leave and just hope the smoke would have cleared with time so she could come back to her precious hideout. It was nighttime anyway and she was desperate for something to eat. She needed to get out and search around for anything the Germans could have laying around. Over the last months she had learned many tricks to survive and was more skilled than ever with self defense and running. Yes, being able to run fast and far was a necessary skill for survival as Emma sadly had to learn.
She was glad that her father always taught her and her brothers the essentials of it even though they were always met with their mother's disapproval. God bless her soul.

Getting up from the dusty bed, Emma grabbed a piece of cloth to shield her mouth and nose from the thick smoke.
She quickly put on her jacket that she had stolen from a German soldier to disguise herself a bit more and grabbed her bag that was laying on the ground which had all she owned and needed in it. She had been able to save some linen and medical supplies from her home the day the Germans invaded Écoust and she was glad that except for some minor injuries she didn't need any of it to that day. Next to medical supplies she also had her flask of water in there. She was definitely dehydrated but the Germans were especially crowded around the city's fountain as they used it as a water source as well, leaving her no other option than to carefully use what little water she had left. Emma wouldn't carelessly risk being caught, killed or raped by some German blokes just because she needed to get to there for water.
What was also pretty important to her was her dagger that she always carried with her. It wouldn't do much against soldiers with rifles but in combat it was still quite useful.
It had been a gift from her brother, Richard Leslie, before he had left six years ago to live in England and build his own life together with his fiancé back when Emma had been seventeen years old. Now she was here, a lonely twenty-three year old fighting for survival. She had wondered over the nearly past two years that she had already spent in this miserable state what had become of her family. She thought about the last letters she had received from Richard telling her of the new house he and his wife had bought to have enough room for future kids. How he decided to fight in the war and Isabelle, his wife didn't particularly like that thought. Neither did Emma. The last time she saw him had been at his wedding. A beautiful small ceremony…
A tiny smile crept on her face at the thought. Only shortly after that she had traveled to Canada to see her other brother Henry. He had found a promising job there which had caused him to move there nearly four years ago. But sadly Emma didn't get the chance to ever visit him again as the war began shortly after.

At first everyone took the beginning of another war lightly but they soon would realise that it was far more complicated than first anticipated.
It was again the perfect example of how old men had youngsters who barely experienced life fight for silly causes and have them lose their lives. They were the ones having to live with nightmares of war hunting them, scars of their battles and memories of killing and seeing friends die. Emma couldn't grasp men's fascination with war. It was silly. The destructive kind of silly.

Thinking back at all the messages Richard had sent, Emma started to miss his funny remarks more and more. If he were here with her, he certainly would light up the mood by throwing sarcastic and cynical remarks into the conversation. Oh, how she missed him. And the calming presence of Henry…

Emma sighed one last time, finally leaving the room and starting to climb up the pieces of wood she had stacked in front of a small window leading to the cellar. She couldn't see anyone around only a few dim lights were flickering, the smoke coming from the burning church. Emma couldn't believe that they just set fire to a holy place of worship, the ruins completely engulfed in flames. It was horrible to see the city in this state. She tried to remember the good old times before war had started when the streets were full of people walking to the market or going to the sunday service, but it was difficult. She really missed it.

Slowly, Emma climbed out of the small window, closing it behind her to cut off any further smoke to make its way in. She carefully made her way through the streets, staying close to the walls of the remaining houses in order to stay in the shadows and potentially have the opportunity to quickly hide. She was lucky though as she successfully made her way out of the city centre to the outskirts of Écoust. Her goal was to check the buildings she had tried to avoid over the last few months when the Germans were still actively stationed here as they now seemed to be the perfect place to look for leftover food and supplies. She neared the old house close to the river, staying in the shadows the best she could. Silently, she made her way inside, a hand on her dagger to be ready whenever someone might attack her. But so far she was lucky to not have been spotted. She decided to explore the rooms downstairs, careful not to hurt her feet by stepping on broken glass.
Emma beamed when she discovered a small bag on the floor that one of the soldiers must have accidentally left there. She picked it up, quickly checking what was in there: some old bread that still looked good enough to eat. Her meals for the next two days were secured.
But she still felt the need to go upstairs for a reason. On any other day she would have left as soon as she made a successful discovery to get to her safe place as fast as possible but somehow this day her gut told her to go up the stairs for some reason.

~*~

As promised, here is a kind of longer chapter to brighten up the end of the week :)
Please note that I might not be able to post in the next week or two, at least not that long of a chapter. I am awfully sorry for that but my birthday is approaching (my 18th that I'll spend all alone by myself -.-) and I have to study a lot of stuff for my A-levels that are coming up in two weeks. I hope you understand. Thanks for all your votes and comments, I really appreciate it 🤗