Final chapter: They give us blood, we give back lead

This is the last installment in a short series written by Leo on World War two inspired by our time in Berlin.


Posted by Leo. Morning comes and people are running to the trenches we built. As we sit together, Max and Timothy talk about the afterlife and how they probably won’t survive this. Max raises his gun and before I can say anything he holds up his hand. I stop and listen. I hear something in a bush about 20 meters away. Timothy picks up his radio and calls H.Q. “Do you have eyes on that bush”. The radio is quiet for a second and then a voice says, “Yes we do and…” The radio goes silent. We look at the bush and the end of a rifle was locked on the radioman. Max yells, “They give us blood, we give back lead”. He starts firing and a man falls from behind the bush. He lays there not moving. It feels like years with a silence that’s scarier than the Allied forces.


Suddenly men start rushing out of the tree line. All three of us open fire and I hear some of the others boys praying that they’ll get home to see loved ones. I hear someone yell, “Grenade” and something flies over my head and lands five meters away. I pull down into the trench but Max and Timothy keep firing. The sounds is deafening and I’m dazed. As I recover, all I can think about is who I am. A young Jewish boy fighting for the Nazis with my only two friends. A crack goes off nearby and my vision clears. I see a body next to me and realize it’s Max. He lays there not saying a word and I don’t know if he’s dead. I reach for his grenades but he stops me with a swift slap to the hand. I look at him again and notice that the wound is only a bullet in his left side and the blood on him is from another soldier who has been shot and lays on the ground without a head. Max looks at me and says “Mr. Shoft, we are overrun”. He smiles and gets back to his knees and starts firing. I ask him about Timothy and he points to his left where Timothy seems uninjured.


The enemy is moving closer. Max tells me and Timothy to run to the left side of the trench all the way back to camp and to stay low so we aren’t noticed. Timothy and I exchange glances but know we have to run now or be killed. Max doesn’t say another word until the enemy is only meters away. We run about 30 meters and realize we can no longer see Max. Then we hear a shout, “Go to hell with me you dirty b*******” and an explosion. Smoke covers the area. Timothy grabs my arm. He nods toward a figure walking out of the smoke. He is short and limping. I raise my gun but the smoke clears to reveal Max with a big grin on his face. He collapses to the ground.


I hope you have all enjoyed this story. If so, please leave a comment about your favorite part. Also thank you so much for taking your time to read it.