Catch Up (Nathan)

[Stephen Colly]

The dimly lit lights of the street lamps flickered on and off and finally went out. It was the nightly black-out in process, houses around the little Hangleton street were taping up their windows with black tape to hide the lights from within in case any German gits decided to bomb this sleepy village on their way to London.

The boy-soldier now walked in the darkness, putting one foot in front of the other as he stared at the pavement. He could just about see the dim lights of the pub up the street and was making his way there to meet up with one Nathan Whyte.

Stephen hadn’t seen Nathan since the interrogation with Brentwood a few weeks back. He hadn’t spoken properly to the man for what seemed like a year but was only about 5 months or so and he missed it. Nathan had been a really nice friend to Stephen, he had reassured him with Edward’s supposed death and they had always kept in firm contact but with everything going on they hadn’t been able to meet in person for some time.

In a matter of seconds Stephen had reached the door which had just swung open, nearly flattening him to the wall as a man and a woman came out, the man dressed in uniform, the woman – a waitress. They pushed each other to the wall and began kissing. Not to invade on their privacy and to be honest Stephen found it sickening; he pushed away from the wall and through the door quickly.

The pub, like always, was crowded. Stephen made his way towards the bar, pushing people lightly out of his way. He couldn’t seen Nathan anywhere, must not be here yet. He climbed onto a bar stool and waited for the chubby bar-man to come up to him and ask what he wanted.

”Just a beer.” Stephen said quickly.

”Look a bit young for that…” the bar-man joked, Stephen gave him a glare and the man’s face fell and hurried away. Why did everyone think he was too young for anything? He was a Corporal in the best army in the world, what was young about that? However, Stephen had a feeling that it was because he was emotionally unstable that might effect it and he did look young….

[Nathan Whyte]

The bus juttered along the road, the driver straining out the window to see by the tiny light he was allowed at night. The hard seat Nathan was sat on barely softened the bumps of the road as the large vehicle began slowing to a stop in the village. It was nice to be out of uniform, sitting in a polo shirt and creased trousers with a white turtleneck jumper over it.

As teh vehicle stopped, Nathan stood up and began walking down. He nodded a thanks to the driver and climbed out in to the chilly night. He'd visited the village briefly before and tried to remember where the pub was. Letting his feet lead him, he slipped his hands in to his pocket, tapping his wallet and moving his shiny leather shoes over the ground.

Finally, the swingingsign of the pub appeared in front of him and he opened the door. It was quite warm in side, but he recognised the back of Colly at the bar. He walked over, pulling out the next stool. "Hello, lad," he muttered warmly as he sat down, waving slightly for the bartender to come over, and pulled his wallet out. "Just a pint of the brown stuff, mate," he said, letting his Kiwi accent twang out. "How are you doing there?"

[Stephen Colly]

Stephen was staring at the polished wood on the bar, listening to the idle chit-chat that was going on around him. The soft mummer of voices calmed him slightly. He heard a soft, New Zealand accent drift into his right ear and Stephen saw Nathan coming up to see him, sitting on the stall beside his own.

”Hello Nathan!” he said, very happy that the Kiwi had come as he had started to think that he wouldn’t turn up but good old Nathan had kept his promise and had turned up so all was good.

The bar-man came back, complete with both glasses for the two. Nathan spoke to Stephen who turned to listen and smiled slightly.

”I’ve been alright I guess, most of the time I’ve sort of been in a daydream but I was always like that sort of so…yeah, alright…how about you? Keeping well?” his Devonshire accent was very pronounced and he seemed to speak more with it then he usually had done.

”I’m glad you could come, ever since that Brentwood meeting…I have just needed someone to talk to…” he admitted looking down into his glass and taking a sip from it.

[Nathan Whyte]

The drinks arrived quickly and soon Nathan was settled on to the soft leather of the seat. He gratefully raised the glass and took a draught before placing the glass down on the small leather mat in front of him.

"I've been keeping well, yeah mate. Yourself?" He listend to the Corporal's accent, he liked the huge variety of them throughout the country. He sat and listened as the meeting with Brentwood was mentioned, and he bit his lip at the thought of it. "Yeah, I know what you're on about. That was pretty big wasn't it? What Brentwood is suggesting we do is, well, it's massive."

He shook his head. "It's pretty crazy, isn't it. Edward is alive, he's out there, but he's fighting for the enemy. every time I attack somebody in my planes, I have to think 'Is that Ed? Am I killing my friend? Really makes you think about what we're doing. But we need to do it, don't we?" He stopped, letting out a 'hmm' before raising his drink again. It was a scary idea really. Edward has been a great friend, and he didn't like the idea that he could be killing him. Chances were, he wasn't but still, it hammered it home, almost as much as when his brother had died a few months back.

[Stephen Colly]

”I didn’t get what he was saying, does he mean that we’re –“ he lowered his voice and leant in to Nathan a bit so no one else could hear, they probably didn’t want to hear and weren’t interested but just in case…” – going to try and find him? He could be anywhere!” he leant back with a quizzical expression on his face as he thought of the whole idea that Brentwood had set up or was planning to set up.

Taking a sip, he listened to Nathan as he spoke. Listening to the accent of the man, it made Stephen think about how much this war had brought him new friends, him and Nathan wouldn’t have been friends at all if they had just met in the street, Nathan would have never come over to England…he might have…but anyway, Stephen would have never gone over to New Zealand either…

”Yeah, pretty crazy indeed.” Stephen nodded and looked over at Nathan, ”I’m scared for him Nathan, I know that he will be fine but…there was something in him when we met…he was just different, it was like he was speaking another language in what he was saying, saying that Germany should win and that us Allies have been in this war for far too long…but I don’t see how he can think that!” The boy just stared into his glass, ”He killed an entire family and left them in the farmhouse, I went in after he had left and found the entire family just slaughtered…I understand now why he did but at the time I was so angry and upset with Edward for killing children and the wife…” he shook his head, ”Suppose that’s war for you isn’t it….? Can’t trust no-one.”

[Nathan Whyte]

"Find McMillan? I think so. He's a big risk to the Allies, not only being such a good fighter, but he knows so much about how we work, and we need to assume he's happily told Hitler everything. With him alive and in Germany, he's too big a risk."

He let Colly talk a bit before responding. "That's the scariest thing about this. Ed is such a good fighter, he won't be taken home easily. But he has a point. Germany is such a strong country, they're economy is so much stronger, they've got all the technology months before us. They're determined too, but we can beat them. It won't be easy, but we'll beat them." He nodded, absorbed in his knowledge they'll beat them. Every soldier, airman and seaman needed to have that mindset if they would do it, there needed to be total commitment.

But then his face turned in to horror as Colly recalled the incident with the French farmhouse. "Children..." Surely not. Edward wouldn't go that low, would he? It wasn't right, it was immoral , it was just horrible. He shook his head, having a drink. "You're absoloutly sure he killed those children? It just doesn't seem like Ed. I mean, going to the Axis is one thing, but killing children. I mean..." He trailed off, refusing to believe it.

[Stephen Colly]

”But Ed wouldn’t happily go and tell Hitler…he knows that if he did that he could get all of his friends…old friends killed…” Stephen leant forward, putting a fist on the top of the counter to make his point.

Shaking his head, he looked down at his hand and slowly ran a hand through his hair, leaning away from Nathan. It just didn’t seem right, Edward just…why the hell would he do all of this? It was just so wrong and Stephen hadn’t got a straight answer from Edward when they had met, or one that he could understand.

”So, I have basically just condemned him to death by telling Brentwood.” Stephen now said through gritted teeth, his eyes staying low. ”Fucking…fucking idiot! Why…why just do that to your best mate…?” he said angrily, banging his fist on the desk, ”He obviously did not realize what he was doing…” he ran another hand through his hair and gripped on to his drink. A few people had stared around when they had heard the hand bang down on the wood.

Nathan spoke up and Stephen nodded slowly, ”Yes. Edward did kill them. I saw their little bodies on the floor, one….” he paused and gulped, ”One of the children, a girl, h-had her back broken, one of the boys had been sliced in two like bread...and the other boy had been left to bleed to death...the wife as well had been killed...” He trailed off, staring into space for a second.
”The father died right there in my arms, Ed hadn’t even KILLED HIM PROPERLY!” Stephen half shouted, his eyes now wet with tears glaring up at Nathan suddenly.

[Nathan Whyte]

"Stephen, no, you did the right thing. McMillan was like a brother to Brentwood, the last thing he wants is for Ed to be dead. He'll go out and make sure Ed is captured, that he's put somewhere safe and out of the way." He gave a small encouraging smile. It's what he wanted to believe at least.

But then Stephen exploded, talking about the father at the farm. Nathan had an aghast face, but took control quickly, standing up and gently lifting Stepgen from his seat, and guiding him outside before awkward questions were asked. "Come on mate, let's just step outside."

A damp mist was descending outside, and Nathan enjoyed the coolness and the gently air movement compared to the stuffiness inside. The sky was almost perfectly black, cloud cover had descended and no lights were allowed. He heard a plane engine over head, but it took him half a moment to recognise it as a Hurricane, not a Jerry machine. "Let's talk about something else, eh? How's that Joey of yours, do you get to see him much anymore?"

[Stephen Colly]

Nathan’s voice rang in his ears, the man was trying to comfort him –

"Stephen, no, you did the right thing. McMillan was like a brother to Brentwood, the last thing he wants is for Ed to be dead. He'll go out and make sure Ed is captured, that he's put somewhere safe and out of the way."

The encouraging smile! Stephen just sat there, feeling numb at the thought. Nathan took control quickly it seemed and gentle lifted the boy off his seat and pushing him swiftly but gently towards the door.

Stephen stepped outside into the almost darkness. No stars could be seen, no moon, nothing…Jesus, the world was descending into a pit of hell…A sound caught Stephen’s attention, an aeroplane flying up in the sky, he looked up and saw nothing…

”Let’s talk about something else, eh? How’s that Joey of yours, do you get to see him much anymore?”

Nathan’s soothing voice floated into his head and Stephen turned to see his friend looking at him. ”He’s fine, at home now.” the boy’s voice was a mono-tone.

He lent against the brick wall of the pub and took out a cigarette, flicking the lighter and lighting it and letting it smoke for a minute before taking a drag. ”Want one?” he asked, waving the packet in Nathan’s face. A cigarette always did the trick…He blew the smoke into the air, watching it whirl away into the darkness. ”Fucking army.”

[Nathan Whyte]

Colly seemed almost numb as he was brough outside, and Nathan was worried slightly. He wasn't the jolly lad that was known for lighting up the barracks. The answer to his question was flat, quite sad, really. He Nathan just let out a long breath through his nose.

The pair moved away from the door slightly, leaning against the wall of the pub. A packet of cigarettes were pulled out, and Nathan took an involountary step sideways. "Rather not, mate, I hate those shitty things." He slipped his hands in to his pockets, and let out a whistling sound.

He was at a loss, his usual chatty seld not sure what to say. Colly wasn't making things easy, having descended in to a moody slump. He wanted to drag the conversation away from Edward. Something opposite to Edward. A woman.

"So, found a lucky girl yet, Stephen? I'm sure they're all chasing after you when you get off the barracks." It was an ancient piece, and he half expected it to blow up in his face as he said it.

[Stephen Colly]

Stephen’s hands were getting slightly cold from the mist so he stuck on into his pocket, the other grasping the cigarette more. Nathan didn’t smoke? Stephen had never known that, actually Stephen didn’t know much about the Kiwi so thought that that would be an interesting topic of conversation to start off with but Nathan picked up on something else – women. Not them…

”So, found a lucky girl yet, Stephen? I’m sure they’re all chasing after you when you get off the barracks.”

Nathan obviously didn’t know about Stephen’s sexuality yet and he wasn’t too sure if he should tell his friend.

”No, no I haven’t.” Stephen said bluntly, throwing the cigarette to the ground and stamping on it, ”What about you?” he asked, turning to Nathan and putting his other hand that had been holding the cigarette into his pocket. ”You got a girl yet? Or someone you like?”

[Nathan Whyte]

Perhaps not the best topic. Colly responded with another flat answer, bluntly with a "no." What was with this boy? He seemed to have turned in to a right moody git since the last time they had met. Some of it seemed fair enough, he would have had a hell of a lot going on recently, but still, this was borderline just plain rude.

After throwing a cigarette to th eground, at least Colly decided to throw in an effort to carry the conversation on. "You got a girl yet?"

"Well, kinda yes, kinda no. There is this one girl, a fiery little Irish lass who's a volounteer. I've been meaning to catch up with her, I just haven't been able to find the time, y'know?" He was at a loss here, not sure what to say next. This "happy" evening was turning in to a bit of a flop, really. He looked up to see another bus come to a halt ahead of them. The ticket collecter swung out to see if anybody wanted to hop on, but Nathan shook his head. As quickly as it appeared, it left, leaving behind an acrid cloud of exhaust smoke. Nathan coughed slightly on it, noting how differently it smelled to the exhaust fumes of a plane.

"I'm sure you know this place better than me, Stephen. Is there anywhere around here you want to go instead of just standing here?" The cold wasn't bothering him much, he was used to having a frigid wind wrapping around him in his plane cockpit, and he could quite comfortably stand here, but that wasn't to say he particularly wanted to. It wasn't serving much to add for a conversation, really, and to be honest anything could help here. Hell, he even half hoped the Germans flew over. At least they'd be doing something then.

[Stephen Colly]

Stephen stared at the ground, lost in his own thoughts until Nathan answered his question.

"Well, kinda yes, kinda no. There is this one girl, a fiery little Irish lass who's a volounteer. I've been meaning to catch up with her, I just haven't been able to find the time, y'know?"

His head shot up, looking over at the Kiwi – ”I think I know that girl, well at least I may know her, Niamh isn’t it…Niamh Dunlevy…isn’t that her name?”

A bus swung into view, the ticketmaster looked at the two men but before Stephen could do anything Nathan had done it for him and the bus was on its way.

”Look Nath –“ Stephen said turning to the man before he could say anything, ”I’m sorry for being like this, I really am and I don’t…I don’t mean to, just a lot has happened y’know?” he stepped a little closer, ”Can we just go for a walk? I just need to get a few things off my mind.” he jerked his head down the street as if indicating that that was where he wanted to go to.

[Nathan Whyte]

"Niamh? You know her?" He gave a cheeky little smile to the Corporal.

”I’m sorry for being like this, I really am and I don’t…I don’t mean to, just a lot has happened y’know?” Nathan just nodded. A lot had happened, that was for sure. He gave another smile before carefully placing his words. "I understand mate, you don't need to apologise. Life can be so quiet, so routine and boring and then so much happens we just don't know how to deal with it."

Stephen asked to go for a walk, and Nathan made a right turn in the direction Colly had indicated, and began taking steps over the paved path. He let Stephen come up alongside him and they began moving down together."These things you want to get off your mind...Do you want to talk to me about them? I know how much it can help to be able to talk." He looked away from Stephen's face to have a look at the town around them. It seemed quite idyllic, centered around a main road. Either side of them were sem-detatched houses leading in groups towards a alrge park. The brick wall around it had obviously once had iron ornaments and gating on it, but the war need said they had to go. Now they would have been melted down and would be serving a couple of soldiers very well. A group of trees were gently swaying in the wind, andabove the lake he could see a concentration of fog. It all seemed so quiet and calm, as if the conflict had skipped over the town. If only more of the world could be like that.

[Stephen Colly]

”Niamh? You know her?”

Stephen nodded, ”We both love horses, I helped her horse, she helped mine. So you two like each other? Are you a couple or…?” he trailed off, he was happy for Nathan, really happy for his friend to be with someone who was Stephen’s friend…Niamh hadn’t said anything to him about Nathan probably because she hadn’t known that the Kiwi and the Devonshire lad were friends. What a small world this one was…

Nathan spoke again, saying he understood and no need to apologise. Stephen nodded thoughtfully and fell into step with his friend as they walked down the darkened street.

“These things you want to get off your mind...Do you want to talk to me about them? I know how much it can help to be able to talk."

Stephen glanced down at the pavement, stuffing his hands into his pockets as they walked along. Yes, he needed to talk to Nathan about…about his feelings.

”Well yeah…I wanna talk to you about…about something.” he was finding it very hard to talk of a sudden, as if someone had grabbed his throat and was clutching it so the air couldn’t get out.

”You know….you know…” he fumbled for words, taking another deep breath and looking at Nathan out of the corner of his eye, ”You know how you love Niamh, or you like her at least…a man loving a woman…” he blinked, took another deep breath and continued, ”Would you say that it was wrong…wrong and bad and that someone should be killed for loving a man back…?” he paused, ”If…if…that lover was of the same gender? Or if it was a woman loving another woman....?” he trailed off biting his lip and felt the hand clutch tighter…he couldn’t finish his sentence.