And You Hunt On Hallowed Ground [Open]

[Stephen Colly]

He could tell the girl was exhausted. She tried in vain to push him away from her but he held on. He didn’t blame her for being tired and upset, she had been through a lot judging by her injuries and as Henry translated what she was saying to him, he understood even more. He guessed that “they” were the Germans...so she’d been in Germany?! What?! When?! How?! He frowned and gripped her tightly; feeling her sob into his shirt and feeling it become already moister.

He had no idea who “Herr Claude” was. Henry didn’t either as he frowned at the name. Whoever he was, he had been kind to the girl and was now in Germany and not with her. Hearing Henry say that they had hurt him, made Stephen feel sorry for this man...but then again, he’d heard many things the Germans had done...and anyway, Edward McMillan was a German so they couldn’t be all bad surly?

And then she hugged him, something she had not done in a long while. He hugged her back, clinging on to her tightly and kissing the top of her head. ”Oh Adelheid...” he muttered and rocked her back and forth. ”Calm down....calm down...” he muttered in soothing tones to her. He glanced at Henry who stretched out a hand. ”Come on, lets get her home.”[/i] he muttered. Stephen carefully took his hand, picking Adelheid up lightly as he did so. He now had her in his arms; the poor girl was a wreck.

”Adelheid....home now.” he muttered softly, hearing Henry’s deep tones translate into German behind him.

[Heidi]

++++++++++++++++++

She was clever. It wasn't that hard to get out of the house again.

She had been running, the cloudy and starry sky above her, the sloppy dirt below. The knife in her hands was frighteningly firm, its sharp, filed tip glinting in the moonlight. Running with a knife - how unlike her. Where she was going, however, it was needed. Her grandmother would hopefully understand.

Onkel Stephen and his friend were staying somewhere in town. She was so angry with them that she thought she might hit one of them - however, Henry understood German. She had told them about Herr Claude, and how he was still in Germany, and how he was Jewish and in danger. Even if Adelheid was on bad terms with the Not-Nazis, perhaps Onkel Stephen could help her friend. Especially with Doctor Strumfelder still somewhere in Germany, Adelheid didn't want Herr Claude there longer than he had to be!

The path into Beddgelert was covered in forests. Trees criss-crossing every which-way, Adelheid found herself nervously looking to and fro. Mist swirled across the bare deciduous and fluffy conifers, the entire landscape dark and surreal. Like the foggy, foreboding setting out of a storybook about boogeymen, the land seemed to close in on Adelheid, hooting owls and scuttling creatures making her flinch. Thankfully, she was in Beddgelert with little more than her fears harassing her, the inviting lights of the town in her beeline. Her Onkel Stephen could always walk her back through the forest, right?

[Stephen Colly]

The tale the girl told of this Claude person was horrific. A Jew in Nazi-Germany...that was worse than being a homosexual like him and Henry. Maybe, if Stephen remembered, he would say something to his superiors but he wasn’t on the best of terms with them at the moment...they didn’t seem to like him much. None of his men did really as well, he was a Sergeant and only really was superior to a few but they still didn’t like him...maybe it was because they knew things...

They had dropped the girl off at the Bevan's. They had thanked the two for getting their grandchild back to them and had said they'd look after her. The two boys had left them and were heading back to where they were staying for a couple of days.

"Stephen."[/i] The two had walked in silence down the road and Henry had finally spoken his name. "Can you tell me more about her?"[/i]

!Oh, seriously just I will tell you later...I don't even know really..." he shrugged and quickened his pace. The road was long, no one was about in front of them but Stephen sensed a few people behind them and glanced back - a group of boys had appeared from no-where, he couldn't tell how old they all were from this distance. He turned back and shrugged his shoulders, touching Henry's shoulder and nodding his head backwards. Henry turned around and Stephen heard a shout from one of the boys - "Hey....Hey! Oi!"

[Heidi]

The mist seemed to tighten around her as she went. Shadows played along her vision, frightening her and beckoning her. The night was cold, torn edges of rain clouds beginning to seep in again, the infamous wet weather of Wales threatening to come back. Adelheid didn't want to risk catching cold, so she quickened her pace as she made the last few metres towards the village -

They hadn't reached the village yet. There were a little ways back, with a crowd of young lads behind them. Someone seemed to be yelling; Adelheid quickly darted behind a tree. Small hands pressed against the bark, her body squeezed to fit behind the trunk as much as possible, she peeked her head out. With her black hair and light skin, she hoped she'd blend into the snowy, sparse tree line without issue. The boys walked closer to Onkel Stephen and Henry.

Meanwhile, as Adelheid had been walking up the path, something four-legged and furry had been quietly trailing her. Its black-and-white fur swaying with movement, claws padding quietly across the path, the beast had slipped out behind her from the house. Strange, seeing as how Adelheid had made sure that the family dog was locked in the bathroom. If Luger could fall for it, couldn't the other mutt have?

The collie stopped, sitting on its haunches. Peering through the bush, it saw that Adelheid was not too far from it. With a thoughtful look, it turned its eyes towards Stephen and Henry, almost seeming to frown. A barely-audible growl rose in its throat, and there was something more human to its eyes for a second. Its muscles tensed, as if ready to spring.

[Stephen Colly]

”Who the fuck do they think they are?” Henry muttered as the two kept on walking, ignoring the lads. Stephen shrugged his shoulders, not replying. They’d just keep walking to the village, get away from this people and be together again. But the lads would not rest.

”Oi! We’ve seen you two.”

Stephen’s stomach turned....no....surely not. He glanced at Henry who was staring straight ahead at the road, his jaw muscles clenched. Stephen glanced back and saw one of the boys leer at him, smirking and pointing and making sexual gestures in a horrid way.

”Keep moving.” he could see Henry wanting to turn around and beat the lot of them up, but that would not work. He had heard stories of people beating the “queers” of the communities and they had not been good. They kept on walking a few more paces until WHACK. Something hard had hit Stephen on the back of the neck, a stone...?! Another hit Henry and he yelped slightly, the two both turned to the lads and glared at them. They were laughing....and were picking stones from the ground....

[Heidi]

Translations:

"...WEIBCHEN!" = "B******!"

"VERLASSEN MEIN ONKEL STEPHEN ALLEIN!" = "LEAVE MY ONKEL STEPHEN ALONE!"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Adelheid could barely understand a word being said. The boys near Stephen and Henry were leering, making crude gestures, laughing and cackling and throwing stones. Throwing stones?! Just what did these boys think they were, better than Onkel Stephen! Her hand clenched around the knife, eyes hard and hot with anger. Far behind her, the dog let out a low warning growl, inaudible to the humans far in front of it.

One of the boys approached Stephen, trying to shove the young soldier back. Adelheid gave a tiny gasp, instantly reminded of Herr Claude. Why were they laughing? What had Stephen and Henry done so wrong? Onkel Stephen had left her behind, yes...but he didn't mean to be - what the?! One of the boys was trying to hit him!

The dog growled more loudly, but still was unheard. Adelheid's heart sped, and all she could think about was Herr Claude. Doctor Strumfelder, vicious as ever, towering over him and her in her thoughts and memories. That overbearing, one-eyed monster that seemed like something out of a bad nightmare...she could see him now, in the faces of the bastards that dared to hurt her Onkel Stephen. Furious, she stormed out of the bushes, stomping forward with an angry glare.

"HEY! WEIBCHEN!" she shouted, managing to remember an English greeting some of the Not-Nazi soldiers had taught her. "VERLASSEN MEIN ONKEL STEPHEN ALLEIN!"

The boys stared for a moment, then laughed at her, somewhat bewildered. Adelheid couldn't understand what they were saying, but it made her angry. Not an annoyed angry, like if someone swiped the last strudel at the bakery, or the kind of angry one got when someone else broke something of theirs. No, this was a protective, righteous indignation - how dare they not take her seriously! How dare they! She was just trying to be nice, not them!

[Stephen Colly]

This was ridiculous.... Did these boys know what they were dealing with? Two fully-trained soldiers of the British Army and its Empire?! Obviously not. Henry grabbed the boy who approached him, a sudden fury welling up in him....he had given up trying to walk and ignore them...”Who the hell do you think you are?”[/i] he spat at the boy, his eyes suddenly full of anger. ”You are insulting a member of the British Army. I’ve seen boys younger than you fight and die in this war.” he pushed the boy away from him and stepped automatically back as that said boy laughed drily after recovering from the words Henry had said. Stephen had automatically stepped away from the boy who had shoved him, he had no weapon apart from his fists to attack these boys....oh dear.

A sound from the bushes caused the slight hullabaloo to stop and Stephen glanced up to see....the girl again!? She had run out and shouted something in German, and a bit of English – the “hey.” He heard the boys laugh at this. ”Adelheid!” Stephen shouted, in a slightly annoyed/surprised tone. ”Umm...what....err....” he couldn’t think of what to say to her that she’d understand any of...

He saw the boys turn to him again. ”Just fuck off out of here you lot.”[/i] Henry growled.

[Heidi]

The boys weren't listening to Stephen and Henry. They laughed at him, then at her...this was ridiculous! It sounded like they were scolded, but oh no, they weren't going to be nice! Adelheid's eyes narrowed, her glare hateful, her scowl fierce.

After what had happened to Herr Claude, no one that she remotely cared about was ever going to be hurt again.

One of the boys stepped forward, pulling his arm back - his last mistake. Before he could even swing, there was a ferocious battle cry from the little girl, her eyes wide in a frenzy. The glint of the knife in her hand was evident for a second, and then, there was a squelch and a ruffle as it pierced flesh and fabric. Her target screamed, stumbling, and blood stained her scarred little hands. With a couple of pulls, she yanked it out, teeth bared and her eyes searching for the next sucker.

Now, the lads who were laughing before were pretty shocked to see a German-speaking child with a knife. One of them kicked at her, aiming for her bad side; Adelheid quickly dodged and cut him too. As he pulled back, she opened her mouth wide and dove at whoever was nearest to Stephen and Henry. Her little teeth bit down on a trouser leg, and another one of the group was yelping. She aimed the blade again, aiming for the boy's knee, but her hand was caught and held. In an attempt to dislodge her, her prey was shaking his leg frantically, trying to twist the knife from her hand. He was succeeding, but Adelheid refused to let go. Instead, she balled her free hand into a fist, and with all her might, tried to smack it into her target's groin.

The others, meanwhile, had quickly got over being startled. While some stayed back to help their friends, the others dove on Adelheid like wild dogs, kicking and trying to pull her off. Within minutes she was dislodged, the knife wrenched from her grasp, the girl flailing and screaming as she was hefted into the air.

[Stephen Colly]

OOC – I am so sorry it’s taken me so long to reply but here it is.

What was the girl doing?! She had a knife on her?! The two soldiers watched for a fraction of a second before realising that this was not going to turn out to be a “shake hands and move along” event. The girl was wild, she was attacking one of the boys with a knife, stabbing him and the crimson blood was every where. The boy fell away from her, injured beyond repair almost. The other lads were shocked – rightly so and started to have a go at her as she did at them.

Henry meanwhile had been grabbing at the boys, shaking them and telling them to leave if they didn’t want to get killed – some of the cowards ran off, scared of what might happen. Stephen had produced a gun from his pocket, his hands trembling as he watched as Adelheid was hefted into the air. ”You drop her now.” he shouted, pointing his gun at the boys who had held of her. They all turned and their eyes widened as they saw the barrel of the gun. Immediately, they dropped the girl, kicking her for good measure and then backed off, eyes looking at eyes in fear. Henry meanwhile was kneeling down at the injured boy, he would live but the injuries would probably be there for life.

The boys were terrified, shouting and screaming at the three. They approached their friend, taking hold of him and carrying him away, half running. Stephen lowered his gun and placed it back in his pocket. ”We better get her out of here.” He said, glancing over at Henry who had stood up, dusted himself off and was watching as the boys ran away. ”They’ll tell their parents or whoever what happened...Jesus....”[/i] he looked over at the girl, she was covered in blood and dust. ”Adelheid...”[/i] he approached her, touching her head lightly. He spoke to her in German, quickly and swiftly, saying that it was kind of her to help them but violence hadn’t been the answer. ”I’ve also told her she must come with us.”[/i] he muttered.

”Henry....I....but....where? Where do we take her?” Stephen looked bewildered, ”Look, I go back to the front in a few days. You do as well and then what would we do...? I know we can’t leave her here...” he looked over at Adelheid while he was talking, feeling slightly at a lost of what to do...she couldn’t stay here or she’d be killed surely...? But then again this was where she was living with the Bevans...

[Heidi]

One minute, she was in the air, and the next, she had been thrown to the ground and kicked. The girl was only winded compared to her onkel's attackers; they were screaming, crying, and running for their lives. A small girl, no more than eleven in age, had carved up legs like fish. There was blood everywhere, staining her hands, some of her skirt and shirt, and of course, the knife on her hand. She panted, angry, staring at the retreating figures in the darkness.

...What had just happened?!

She looked quickly at the knife in her hand, horrified. She flinched back at someone's touch, scrambling backwards and holding the bloodied knife in front of her. Adelheid was close to hyperventilating, panicking, a million things swirling around in her head like a storm. She had attacked a boy, her onkels had seen, and she hadn't felt remorse. There was only a hot, blinding anger, leading now towards a terrible twisting in her stomach. She...she only wanted to stop them from hurting him -

It was obvious she couldn't stay. If she did, the Not-Nazis would surely put her in jail, or worse. In seconds, she was on her feet, sprinting into the woods as fast as she could, knife still in hand. From the other side of the road, something black and white shot out in a blur, crashing through trees and bushes like an animal on the hunt. However, to Stephen and Henry, they might hear and see nothing, and only Adelheid seemed to be aware that something was following behind her. She turned her head back to see what the noise was....

ADELHEID!

The voice boomed like thunder in her head. It wasn't her own voice, and it was something familiar, but angry. Scared further out of her wits by the mental boom, she only ran faster, deeper into the forest and the Welsh night.

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

The following CP has been issued:

Adelheid - 13

Colly - 12

-JT