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The armored train roared on the tracks, black smoke billowing from the exhaust pipes, and the long carriage was like a steel dragon galloping across the vast field.

The warning lights on both sides of the track flickered on and off, and the cars that fell into the shadows from time to time gave people an oppressive atmosphere.

Sergeant Charles and Sergeant Victor sat on the cold iron plate, staring at each other and silent.

- Boom, boom......

The distant artillery fire became clearer, and the occasional shells fell and exploded beside the train, and the flying shrapnel slammed into the armor like a hammer against a cutting board, and then fell silent after a brief moment of thrill.

"Charlie, will we survive......" Victor buried his head deep in the crook of his arm, his golden hair covered with gray dust, "Can we go back to Paris?"

Charlie looked at Victor, and although he was not sure of his own, he replied, "Yes, we will all return to Paris alive...... I'm pretty sure. ”

The carriage swayed, the sound of gunfire echoed in the distance in the middle of the night, and Charlie looked at the hazy moon in the sky, vaguely recalling something buried deep in his memory.

Victor raised his dirty face and whispered, "Mom and Dad are still in Paris, I really want to go back......"

"I would love to go back too. Charlie sighed, and there seemed to be a dull pain in his chest, "But I can't, my hometown is long gone." ”

"Is it Lorraine? where we've been before. ”

"Yes. Charlie took a cigarette out of his pocket and silently lit it, "I can neither nor do I want to go back now, I don't want to see that person again." ”

"Who?"

"My dad. Charlie spat out a puff of white smoke, "because he's a German." At this point, his chest hurt even more, and maybe he shouldn't have smoked so much, but, "If he were still alive......"

In the white smoke, there seemed to be a small town with snow, the small stone bridge and flowing water in front of the town, the flower shop at the crossroads, the house where he once lived.

"Yes, if it weren't for what he did, maybe I would still be a German by now. Charlie blew through the white smoke, and his thoughts seemed to go back to that night more than ten years ago, "Perhaps, I may also become an enemy of our France, and be an executioner with a gun pointed at you." ”

Part.1 Once Upon a Time in Lorraine

If memory serves, it should have been more than ten years ago.

Charlie's father, Charlemagne, was a German military doctor, and in Charlie's impression, his father had always been an irresponsible drunkard who often did unreasonable things when drunk.

The same was true of that time. Dad went to the tavern in the city and drank a lot of wine, and when he went out, he took half of the family's savings with him, and stayed in the tavern for two whole weeks, and came back with a face as red as a monkey's buttocks, and a beard as messy as a dog's hair.

What's worse is that when he came back, there was not even a single child left, only an empty wine bottle in his hand.

Charlie's family was not wealthy, his mother Dani was just an ordinary violin teacher, and as for his father Charlemagne, in this short period of peace, the military doctor had little salary to pay, and he was still ......

"Charlemagne!!" Six-year-old Charlie heard his mother's shrill scream, which he had heard more than a hundred times, "You're drinking again! I beg you, will you let our family go? How the hell did you do it, you can drink all your money with a drink!"

"Well, these wines aren't cheap in the first place. Charlemagne burped, looked indifferent, and said such irresponsible words, "Besides, it costs a lot of money to get those medicines." ”

"What medicine?!" Dani's face suddenly clouded, and her first reaction was that the drunkard was making excuses.

"Ask so much what you do. It's just that the brother of one of your French ladies is sick and dying, and I can't help but pay out of my pocket to buy medicine for her brother......"

"So you're giving money to someone else for nothing?" Dany's face turned pale, "We can barely eat, Charlemagne!

"Shut up, you idiot. Charlemagne just wanted to scold unintentionally, but the more he spoke, the more excited he became, "It's not because you French, I'm a doctor, what can I do, can't I save you when you die, stinky woman!"

"You!"

"What are you, long hair, short knowledge, get out of here. Charlemagne's wine was so strong that a bottle slammed into the ground, and the flying glass shards scratched Dany's leg in an instant, and blood gushed down.

"Good. Dani stared at Charlemagne coldly, walked into the room without saying a word, and slammed the door shut, leaving Charlemagne alone in the living room in a daze.

Charlie numbly hid in the room and listened to their quarrel, which should have been an ordinary thing, but today I always felt a little different.

He sighed and looked at the old family photo in front of the bedside table: at that time, his father was wearing a plain white military uniform, his mother was wearing a red dress, she was holding her little self in her arms, and her father was also holding her mother's shoulders and looking at the newborn little Charlie with a smile......

And now, all that's left is black and white.

From my mother's room came the violin's sighs, intermittent and weeping. Sometimes, Charlie really misses the time when the family lived happily before, but now, just like the sound of the piano, he may not be able to come back.

"Charlie. Mom pushed open the door of his room, still holding the red violin in her hand, "Let's go, go back to my mother's house in Paris." "I thought your father was the best of them all, but now I understand that he is no different from any other German soldier." ”

Charlie can't remember how he felt at the time, but he only remembers that later, his mother's cold hand led him out of Lorraine, leaving the small bridge and flowing water, the flower shop at the crossroads, and the old white house, and getting on the train to Paris.

Until now, more than ten years have passed, and he has never returned.

Part.2 Verdun

"So, that's why you don't want to see him?"

"Yes. ”

With a dull sound of brakes, the armored train slowly stopped at the final terminus.

The explosion-proof iron door of the carriage was unlocked, and the dim light of the searchlight outside crept into the cold carriage, and the dust of the battlefield flooded in in an instant.

"Sergeant Charlie, Sergeant Victor. Your defense zone has arrived!" shouted the crooked military cap outside the door, clasping his hands behind his back.

"It's time to get out of the car, everyone cheer up. Charlie patted Victor on the shoulder, "It's time to protect your home." ”

There was a sound of "brushing" equipment in the carriage, and the soldiers jumped off this "warm" barrier with some reluctance, just like the doomsday bus arrived at the terminal, and no one wanted to get off.

"Welcome to Verdun, everyone. The major said with a smirk.

Outside the train, some soldiers with black and gray faces talked to each other, and all kinds of ugly or sympathetic words reached the ears of Charlie and Victor.

"Another group of corpses targeted by crows. ”

"Look at them, they all look like leprosy ghosts. ”

"God bless these children. ”

Charlie frowned, pretending not to hear, and walked straight between them, until someone who was missing half of his eyes said, "Tsk, you better go home to your father, don't go to death." ”

Charlie couldn't hold back any longer, silently picked up the rifle and walked towards the one-eyed dragon, his eyes were almost spewing fire, he pointed at the one-eyed dragon with * and said, "Okay, I will take my gun all the way back to my hometown." ”

"Do you dare to point a gun at me and want to make trouble? Didn't your father teach you not to be rude to your seniors!"

"Don't mention him to me, bastard!" Charlie suddenly picked up* and slammed it down on the Cyclops' head, who hurriedly blocked it with his arm, and slammed it on the knuckle of the Cyclops' hand, causing him to scream in pain.

"Hey, Charlie, don't do this!" Seeing that a fight was about to break out, fortunately Victor and other comrades hurried to the scene to separate the two, and Victor stood in the way of Charlie, "Everyone is their own person, forget it, he didn't mean it." ”

Charlie and Cyclops glared at each other, and after repeated persuasion, Charlie still chose to back down, he spat out, and finally left here with a gun, "Don't mention Dad to me next time, otherwise I'll fight once I see you." ”

"Stop!" suddenly came the major's voice behind him, "Sergeant Charlie, come with me." ”

Charles clenched his fists, and although he was not happy, he followed the major into the command camp of the French army.

"Your profile says your father is a German, right?" said the major, with his hands behind his back, with a clear hint of disdain and disgust in his tone.

"Yes. ”

"Are you sure you can face the German soldiers?" said the Major to Charlie, as if questioning, "I fear that you will develop sympathy for the Germans, so I intend to assign you to logistics." ”

"No!" Charlie tried his best to restrain himself from losing control, and for a moment, he even wanted to slam his fist on the command table and yell, "I'm French now, and I don't want to recognize that drunkard dad anymore! I treat France like my own country, no, it's my country!"

"Really?" the Major still looked at him with suspicion, "well, trust you, you and your men go to the high ground at the front, to prove your loyalty, and to take out the enemy." He smiled casually, "Use bullets to tell everyone how much you love France." ”

Part.3 No one saved

Charlie took up his gun to protect his current home, and he changed his mind to return to Lorraine as soon as possible, liberate his hometown with his gun, and tell the drunken father that he was a real soldier, so he accepted the task given by the major without hesitation.

When we reached the high ground, it was almost dawn, but the haze of the battlefield still lingered in the sky, gloomy, as if it was about to rain, which was depressing.

Charlie saw several layers of barbed wire pulled up on the edge of the trench below the high ground, and behind the steel plates and sandbags at the top of the hill, several shivering soldiers were squatting, exchanging lighters and lighting cigarettes with each other, looking like they were going by day and day by day.

A black-faced captain spotted Charlie's team, stood up inexplicably, and suddenly rushed down the hill, as if he had seen a long-lost brother, and wanted to hug Charlie for a frenzy.

"You must have come for a shift change!" he said with a handful of snot and tears, "Great! We can finally go, everyone come out, go back, I invite you to have a barbecue!"

"Wait. Charlie stopped him, and the captain's face suddenly became gloomy again, "We're here to help defend and not change shifts." ”

"W-what......" The joy on the captain's face vanished, replaced by a deep despair, like a man who had been sentenced to death, unable to say anything again, "I see. He silently took off his tattered military cap and hung his hands weakly to the side of his thighs.

Charlie and the others also walked past him wordlessly. Afterwards, they heard the dull sound of gunfire behind them, and Charlie forced himself not to look back, and those who sat on high places smoking only watched numbly, apparently they were used to such things.

"Charlie, can you promise me? When the war is over, we'll go home. Victor asked suddenly.

"Paris?"

"No, Lorraine. Victor looked at the wolf smoke wafting in the distance, "That's our home, we grew up together." ”

"But then you moved to Paris, and so did I. Charlie replied lightly, "So, we have to learn to forget the past." ”

Victor laughed hoarsely and put his right hand around Charlie's shoulder, "Don't I know you yet?"

"Let go, don't mention him to me. Charlie glared at Victor.

"Look, look, don't be angry, I'm just telling the truth. Victor waved his hand in apology in a hurry.

Maybe. Charlie sighed, why can't he forget about that German drunkard father, why is he so irresponsible and squandering the family's efforts?

Probably, when he was a child, he also fantasized about becoming a soldier like his father, Charlie thought to himself, although he was just a small military doctor, but the appearance of him wearing a plain white military uniform could not make Charlie forget.

Charlie also had such a dream, picked up a gun, put on a handsome military uniform, and became a hero. The same is true of Victor, every boy has had a bloody dream when he is a child.

Perhaps it is because of his father's influence that he chooses to carry a weapon today, become a soldier, and die on the battlefield.

However, in reality, the real war is not a child's petty fight, every day people are sacrificed, killed, starved to death, sick to death, and even self-ending like just now......

A strong wind was blowing around, and a lonely banner on the high ground was hunting.

"Charlie, you have to understand that being a soldier is not about being a hero, but about saving. Charlie didn't know why a familiar voice echoed in his mind, and he couldn't remember who said it, "Save your compatriots around you, even save the enemy, save yourself......"

- Click!

Without warning, the flagpole snapped, fell off the high slope, and rolled to Charlie's feet.

He stared blankly at the flagpole under his feet, and the people around him were also stunned, and the surroundings were surprisingly quiet, no gunshots, no cannons, no one spoke, and all Charlie could hear was his own violent heartbeat.

"Flagpole...... Broken. Victor broke the silence.

A huge black shadow appeared on the ground, and the roar of the mechanical turbine deceleration suddenly resounded in the sky. When they looked up, they saw a stunningly large zeppelin, and they took advantage of the darkness and haze to sneak over the position, and the side of the airship was faintly painted with the German Black Hawk logo.

Finally, someone in the stunned crowd ripped out his throat and shouted, "Run!"

A poison gas bomb fell from the airship, and it was too late to catch up, and the exploding shell sprayed green deadly gas in an instant, and Charlie immediately pushed Victor hard, and the two fell down the hill together, leaving a deep wake on the meadow.

The heart-rending screams of their companions were heard overhead, and the sound of gunfire was heard in the woods on the other side. Bullets clanged against the steel plates, and the shells rained down on the French positions like meteor showers!

"Victor, fast forward to the trenches!"

As they finished speaking, a shell landed beside them, and the blast wave of the explosion tossed the dirt, and the two men were almost pushed into the trench.

German and French planes cut through the sky, raining machine gun bullets on the ground, and Charlie was in danger of being shot and killed if he looked up slightly!

It seemed that only the two of them were left in the trench, and the huge front line suddenly fell into a dead silence, and only a dozen meters away could one or two companions hiding behind the fortifications and constantly crossing each other.

What about the others, who fled, were wounded, and died......

"Charlie, I'm so scared. Victor grabbed Charlie's hand, "I don't want to die, I want to go home, who can save us......"

Charlie didn't say a word, the shouts of the two armies around him almost drowned out Victor's voice, and the screams and cries for help from time to time made Charlie's legs and feet sore, and now he finally understood why the major smiled intriguingly at him, because, this is hell, and the people who go to the front line in Verdun are tantamount to getting into a meat grinder, and the major wants him to die!

"Tell me, we can go home, Charlie, please. "Victor hoped that Charlie would give him an affirmative answer, however.

Charlie coldly removed his hand, "Coward, I'm ashamed of you. ”

"Charlie, you promised!"

"Yes. He picked up his rifle and stared at him solemnly, "I will fight my companions all the way back to Lorraine and tell that man that I am a real soldier and that he is not worthy." ”

"No, you should forgive him, you should go back alive, he's your only dad!" Victor took Charlie's hand again, he didn't want his best friend to die, "You can't go out, you're going to die, stay here, if you die, how can we go back?!"

"Get out!" Charlie finally couldn't help yelling, shook off his hand hard, and pushed him away hard, "I don't want to see ...... again"

There was a thunderous gunfire all around, the withered yellow grass trembled slightly, and Charlie's voice suddenly stuck in his throat and became indistinct, like a choked sound.

"Go back for me, please. Victor knelt down and gave him a faint, bitter smile, "Promise me...... Go back to Lorraine. "A line of blood flowed from the corners of Victor's mouth, and a dozen large bullet holes appeared in his chest," Charlie ...... Rescue ...... Yourself. ”

"Victor. The shouts in Charlie's ears disappeared, leaving only the machine gun that shot Victor roaring in the battlefield, "I promise you, stand up, no kidding, stand up quickly......"

"Thank you. Victor looked at him and stopped talking, his eyes gradually dimming. That coward...... It's quiet, and you can't hear him shouting "scared" and "go home" anymore?

"Victor. Charlie called, only to feel that everything in front of him was black and white, and inexplicable panic was brewing in his chest, "Victor, no." His voice slowly began to spiral out of control, "No Victor! Victor! Victor! Victor......"

Everyone died, and he was the only one left. Why, exactly, is there a war...... In the end, why did you become a soldier! This world, who will save this world!

Charlie gently closed Victor's eyes, picked up the gun, loaded it, and walked out of the trench. He burst into tears, cried for the first time, why, he would have a German father, as if in his body he had the blood of the executioner who killed his companions, a deep sense of guilt......

He would go back to Lorraine, and he would never forgive that man and that man's kingdom. He's going to drive the Germans out of France, out of Lorraine!

But when Charlie stepped into the wilderness, he found that the gunfire gradually became quieter, and there were few people on the German position, countless people were lying in the grass pile, and the machine gunner who killed Victor also fell in front of the machine gun.

Truly and alone.

Until, a blind German soldier, who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, without any weapon in his hand, stumbled out of the woods not far away, and repeatedly called: "Where are you...... It's so dark here, why don't you answer me, hey......"

Charlie raised his gun and aimed it at him, and then the German stepped on the body of his companion again, and one stumbled and fell to the ground, "I want to go home...... Who can save me. ”

Charlie's father was German, and he understood these words, and Charlie sympathized with him, but who sympathized with his dead friends?

Charlie once again aimed at the Germans on the ground, and he closed his eyes, after all, he still couldn't bear to treat such a poor man.

Just as he was about to shoot, the German lightly touched Charlie's leg, he cried, and finally hugged both hands, "Great, there are still people alive, I thought everyone was dead...... Do you know how scared I am, it's great to meet you......"

Charlie only felt that his heart was soft, and he couldn't do anything, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make up his mind, so he was so deadlocked.

"I can't see anything, friend, can you lend me your hand?"

Charlie didn't say a word, and the man stood up again by his hand, with a smile of joy on his face. Would he still be able to smile like that if he could see his French military uniform?

An armored car drove over from a distant wheat field and flattened the ears of wheat, but Charlie stared blankly at the sky. The German gave him a hug, and a few tears fell on his shoulder, "It's our armored car!" I hear it, we can go home, friend, it's great." "I was born in Lorraine, where there are a lot of French, but I'm a native German, and my parents are from Berlin, what about you?"

"I ......," Charlie subconsciously said in German, which he hadn't spoken in more than ten years, "and my home is there...... Lorraine. ”

The armored car stopped, and the eerie muzzle of the gun was quietly aimed at the two men who were hugging each other.

Suddenly several gunshots rang out in the solidified air, and all sounds died down after that.

There was a lot of blood on the German's chest, staining Charlie's military uniform red, and Charlie's eyes were wide open, but his mouth could not make a sound. There was a sharp tearing pain in his abdomen, Charlie could no longer stand on his feet, the gun fell silently to the ground, and he fell down with the Germans.

Before losing consciousness, Charlie heard the dying whispers of the Germans: "Why is this happening...... Who can save us ......"