A Fallen Fawn (Dieter Rentz)

[Dieter "Iceman" Rentz]

Dieter was standing in the middle of a vast desert, the horizon changing each moment when heat rose up from the sand, making the reality twist and ripple around him. Sweat was dripping down his back and he was squinting, trying to focus his eyes on something that seemed to be approaching him from the distance. The figure was just a black mass and the heat made the image change from that of a person into a camel and then maybe into a Blitz truck. Dieter took a step forward, the golden sand spilling over his boots, as if the desert wanted to devour him.

He could now see that the figure was a person and as the person got nearer, Dieter saw that it was a woman with blonde hair and slim figure. She was waving at him, smiling and yelling something he could not quite make out. It was as if they were words of some foreign language that Dieter did not know, yet he had the feeling he should have understood them. The only thing he could really focus on right now was the fact that the young woman was wearing a white dress, it's thin canvas hugging the feminine form tightly, the hems of the dress flowing in the wind. He felt a drop of sweat make it's way down his cheek and he tried to say something, he had a feeling that the girl would just vanish if he didn't speak soon. The girl laughed at her and stopped some distance away from him, a look of disappointment appearing on her pretty face and then she turned away, starting back towards the direction she had arrived from. Dieter opened his mouth, but no words would come out until the name of the girl suddenly came to his mind. Dieter tried to follow the girl, but the sand held his boots down fast and the only thing he could do was to shout the girl's name in hopes of stopping her. "Lisa!"

Dieter was brought back into reality by a harsh yell and his head jerked up, the man almost fumbling off the chair he had been sleeping on. "Auf Wachen Deutsche Soldat!" said a familiar voice and Dieter blinked his eyes a few times, looking dumbfounded as he could not quite remember where he was and what had happened. Yes, he now remembered he had stayed at the cottage to watch over the girl, who now... was wearing his helmet and pointing the corporal's own rifle at him. The girl was speaking in a firm tone now and telling Dieter that he would take her to Germany, that Dieter would say that he had captured the woman as a partisan and that he should not try doing anything funny.

Although Lisa told Dieter to move, the German still stood at his seat and stared at Lisa, not quite believing what she was saying. With a raise of his eyebrows, a small smile spread first across the corporal's face and then Dieter broke out into a hearty laugh. "Lisa! You scared me for a moment! That's very funny, I like you!" Dieter remarked, his shoulders slumped as he laughed. The man rubbed his eyes with a hand as he laughed, but when he noticed that Lisa was not actually laughing with him, his amusement slowly subsided. The laughter faded away slowly along with Dieter's smile and the man blinked. "What? You are not serious, are you?"

A slow feeling of dread gripped Dieter and he glanced at the rifle, then at Lisa. "Lisa! Bist du noch zu retten? Wie konnte ich Sie nach Deutschland bringen? Ich muss zu meiner Einheit in weniger als einer Woche zurückkehren, ich kann nicht nach Deutschland gehen. Ich gehe nach Afrika! Geh schon, ich lache mehr nicht sogar. Wenn ich dorthin rechtzeitig nicht ankomme, werde ich ein Verräter Deutschlands und ein Fahnenflüchtiger gekennzeichnet! Oh, Gott verdammt!"

Dieter got slowly up from his chair and faced Lisa, his blue eyes squinted slightly as he regarded the girl. "Would you have it in you, to shoot me? Hm?" the man asked, changing into German once again. "Ich half Ihnen! So, zuerst schoss ich Sie, es ist wahr... aber wollen wir schön sein, Sie stahlen mein Motorrad! Außerdem was sind Sie dabei zu tun? Spitzen Sie mein eigenes Gewehr an mir der ganze Weg nach Deutschland an? Halten Sie vielleicht dieses Messer von euch handlich, im Falle dass Sie mich zu Tode stechen wollen? Dann wird die Hälfte des Wehrmacht auf Ihnen sein. Sie sind nicht dabei, es nach Deutschland oder sogar aus dieser Stadt wie das zu machen. Es gibt andere Wege. Wollen Gespräch darüber wir ganz recht..? Sie denken gerade nicht, es sind die Rauschgifte, die Sie betreffen."

As the corporal was talking, he took another careful step towards Lisa and raised his hand slowly, ready to take hold of the barrel of the rifle if Lisa was ready to let him. Dieter's blue eyes met with Lisa's gaze and the corporal raised his eyebrows, pleading for the young woman to give up the weapon. "Lisa... Come on."


Translations:

"Bist du noch zu retten? Wie konnte ich Sie nach Deutschland bringen? Ich muss zu meiner Einheit in weniger als einer Woche zurückkehren, ich kann nicht nach Deutschland gehen. Ich gehe nach Afrika! Geh schon, ich lache mehr nicht sogar. Wenn ich dorthin rechtzeitig nicht ankomme, werde ich ein Verräter Deutschlands und ein Fahnenflüchtiger gekennzeichnet! Oh, Gott verdammt!"
"Are you insane? How could I take you to Germany? I'm due to return to my unit in less than a week, I can't go to Germany. I'm going to Africa! Come on, I'm not even laughing anymore. If I don't arrive there in time, I will be marked a traitor of Germany and a deserter! Oh, god dammit!

"Ich half Ihnen! So, zuerst schoss ich Sie, es ist wahr... aber wollen wir schön sein, Sie stahlen mein Motorrad! Außerdem was sind Sie dabei zu tun? Spitzen Sie mein eigenes Gewehr an mir der ganze Weg nach Deutschland an? Halten Sie vielleicht dieses Messer von euch handlich, im Falle dass Sie mich zu Tode stechen wollen? Dann wird die Hälfte des Wehrmacht auf Ihnen sein. Sie sind nicht dabei, es nach Deutschland oder sogar aus dieser Stadt wie das zu machen. Es gibt andere Wege. Wollen Gespräch darüber wir ganz recht..? Sie denken gerade nicht, es sind die Rauschgifte, die Sie betreffen."
"I helped you! Well, at first I shot you, it's true... but let's be fair, you stole my motorcycle! Besides, what are you going to do? Point my own rifle at me the whole way to Germany? Maybe keep that knife of yours handy in case you want to stab me to death? Then half of the Wehrmacht will be on you. You are not going to make it to Germany or even out of this town like this. There are other ways. Let's talk about this, all right..? You are not thinking straight, it's the drugs affecting you."

[lisawieserman1941]

The blue eyes of her friend were mesmerizing. They paralyzed the American, as her heart was beating well over a rested state. The fact that he was leaving, would only make Lisa more desperate to cling to the company Dieter had offered her, even if it made a bullet complete the connection.

There was no way she could go to Africa. It was a total militarized zone. Even if Lisa could force him some how to that continent with her in tow, she would be treated like a spy, maybe worse than a simple partisan. As an American she would be heavily scrutinized, put into a situation where questions would be bombarded upon her. The 'Sleeping Giant' had yet to enter the war, and spies from her country were no doubt taking inventory of Germany's power, which had yet to enter the world fray against the Germans before the end of 1942, even though Japan and Germany declared war against America a year earlier. As for the European campaign, the landing on the beaches of North Africa would initiate that personal confrontation.

Slowly Lisa let the muzzle of the Mauser dip to the floor, causing friction in the young Corporal's mind of her sanity, be it stemming from the drug or climbing deep from within her subconscious. She stood there staring at him, a soldier of the great German army. She had yet to be battle scarred, having no inkling to what it was like to fight another human being. The thought of him heading back to the sandy battle pressed on her nerves. She did not want to lose another friend, but it was different, he was not a street brawler, but an authentic Deutsche Soldat. Without hesitation the muzzle gravitated deeper, but she did not surrender the weapon.

"Dieter...I could never kill you. I was just hoping there was some way you could get me out of here. I am afraid I might lose my mind and try something dangerous in the wake of your departure. Sabotage has not yet crossed my mind, but it will if America joins the war," Lisa mouthed with sincerity, but at the same time let her guard down. Her hands loosened on the grip of the rifle's rail.

[Dieter "Iceman" Rentz]

The words of the German corporal were clearly affecting Lisa, as the girl let Dieter come slightly more closer and it did not really appear as if she was going to shoot him on the spot. Of course, Dieter had guessed that Lisa wasn't a person who would just shoot someone in such a cold-blooded way, no matter how fiery her nature was. If the situation had been dangerous, then it would have been a different story all together, but they had somewhat befriended and Dieter made sure to stay calm. He did not certainly want to frighten the girl in any way.

It was hard to guess what was going through the girl's mind, but Dieter could only sense desperation and confusion instead of hatred. Dieter smiled carefully at Lisa, just to make sure that the girl would not think that Dieter was planning on attacking her. The young German was now only armed with his combat knife, but he had not made a move to grab it at any point. Actually, such a thought had not even crossed his mind, he could not see himself stabbing a young woman. He wouldn't have had it in him.

Dieter placed his hand on the rifle, but made no attempt to grab it from Lisa. Something in the girl's disposition changed and she suddenly spoke. "Dieter...I could never kill you. I was just hoping there was some way you could get me out of here. I am afraid I might lose my mind and try something dangerous in the wake of your departure. Sabotage has not yet crossed my mind, but it will if America joins the war."

Her words made Dieter's heart sink for a moment. "Try something dangerous? Sabotage? What are you talking about, Lisa? You are just... thinking too much," the man shook his head slightly and noticed that Lisa's hold on the rifle had loosened somewhat. "I can't get you out of here, I'm just a soldier. But I don't want to hear you talking about doing something dangerous," the man added with a sigh. His hand grabbed the rifle slowly, the man easing the weapon away from Lisa carefully. He made sure that the barrel of the rifle stayed pointed down and he moved his other arm around the girl to give her a reassuring hug. The young corporal seemed quite unsure if he would be just scaring Lisa, but he still held his other arm around Lisa and the other held the Gewehr.

He didn't know what to do to help the girl, no matter how much he wanted to see her happier. It was true, he was only a soldier and his life was anything else but under his own control. Most of the things he did were ruled by regulation and orders and he had learned to accept that fact, wondering if he could ever quite live the same way after the war ended. Lisa seemed like a sweet person, someone Dieter might have had fun talking with, maybe driving around on a motorcycle together and having a good laugh. Such things were not possible, however, for Dieter knew that blood, sand, sweat and dust were waiting for him in Africa. He noticed he felt a hint of affection for the girl, although he did not really know her that well. She was a so different, reckless, daring and pretty, all those things at the same time, Dieter hardly could have helped himself from feeling curious about her. "I have to take the motorcycle back soon or I will be in trouble. But..." the corporal tried to find the right words for a moment. "I could write to you from Africa?" he blurted out, feeling silly for suggesting such a thing, as if it would be of any help to the girl at all. "I mean... if that would be ok with you," Dieter was quick to add and he had to smirk slightly at the sight of Lisa still wearing his helmet.

[lisawieserman1941]

Just a soldier...Sabotage...Dangerous..., Lisa pondered on his words, but had already made up her mind. She could not kill...but to blow up bridges, fuel depots, ammunition, or anything to slow the German war effort, would keep them busy and lessen the chance of her fellow Americans from confronting them in occupied France. She had not taken into reflection her life could be extinguished from a hail of lead or the massive conclusion the impact that tanks took toll on their prey. Her mind was racing back and forth from the future to the present in a set loop.

May I write to you? Was an inquest that bothered Lisa. What if he stopped writing? She would expect he would be killed or lay alone in a hospital cot badly wounded. Standing there with Dieter with his arm around her, burrowed through feelings she had long covered but desired and never experienced. Her parents were not the loving types with her. Discipline took over as their prime directive. She was brought up by a nanny who rather sit at her own home than to deal with a crying baby, and the curious adventurous mind that ensued in her later years. Yet here was a Corporal of the Wehrmacht that someday may be her enemy, was supporting her. Why? She had no clue he had affections for her as well, cleverly disguised. But as a soldier, these heart felt emotions could interfere with a man under fire. The wounded often cried.."Mother!"..when facing the reality their life could be pillaged at any given moment as they stayed prone immersed in intense pain encased inside a broken mangled body, sometimes burned beyond recognition, not understanding why fellow soldiers were weeping over them shouting.."Hang in there!" Were they to die without the touch of a woman's embrace? A young life cut short for boys who had grown to become men under the constant strain of combat fire? Some broke, while others hardened removing remorse and mercy from their conscience as the conflict grew to avenge their fallen.

Lisa knew of true account war stories. Something she did not share with Dieter. One of her friends back at New York had a father who witnessed the atrocities of WW1, yet escaped the war with mental scars rather than physical. Others had to contend with both. Her friend said it distanced his father as he shared his life's stories with fellow brethren living in dirty trenches trying to usher the guts to storm 'No Man's Land,' the neutral space between enemies and the invitation to ones demise. Often the memories made him break down before his son as he relived the war. He told his son if he was to be drafted, an untold dark reality would befall him as well. He added it was literally 'Hell on Earth.'

If it called for her introduction into the Resistance she heard about, then the American, barely out of her teens, would become another of its fearless fighting members.

Switching the rifle to safety, lowering it slowly to the floor, Lisa met the striking blue eyes of the handsome young man who just hours ago was a stranger. Sliding her arm about his side as well, she blinked once, with her own eyes connecting with him as she she spoke in a soft tone..

"Do know this, young Corporal. For if you wrote me and the Americans joined the war, it would look bad for you. And not receiving an expected letter would reduce me to a panic state with anxiety as its tail. I care about you, Dieter, more than I have any boy or man. It seems this war has graduated us from the innocence of a stolen childhood to adults facing death's aperture. There is no in between. I am aware of what war can do to a mind and body. As you make your voyage back to your unit...Remember these words...Don't let it eat your soul."

Lisa then walked away from Dieter in a noted limp and waved her hand. "Do what you must my friend, as I will do what will be expected of me. We are not so different. War dictates our destiny."

Lisa then threw Dieter his helmet and donned a beret type cap she obtained from under the desk. She pulled her long locks under it and stared without a hint of emotion at Dieter. He had his answer. She was not afraid to die for her country and its allies as he would for the Fatherland. Honor marched over fear until that final second of mortality.

[Dieter "Iceman" Rentz]

It seemed as if a lot of things were running through Lisa's mind when Dieter spoke to her and to be perfectly honest, Dieter wasn't any better off himself either. He was crazy for even getting himself mixed up in such events in the first place, it wasn't his duty really to help civilians. And certainly not ones that had tried to steal property belonging to the Wehrmacht. He had already been through a lot in the war, but so far it had failed to make his nature too hardened. He still liked to have fun, to have a laugh with his friends and joke around, but such moments seemed far too rare these days. Many good men had already fallen and the young corporal had slowly learned to accept the fact, getting over these losses didn't take as long time as it had used to. He had to keep focused on the war at hand, to continue doing what he had been trained to do. If he gave up on the fight, all those fine German men would have died in vain. Lamenting over their deaths would do Germany no good.

Lisa looked Dieter in the eyes after she seemed to be done with her thinking, she had obviously reached a some kind of decision. Dieter was worried that he had said something wrong and offended the young woman and the feeling just become more cumbersome when Lisa told him that he should not write to her. Her words made Dieter frown and he was going to object, but the girl went on to tell him that he cared for him and all the irritated words died before they found their way out of his mouth.

"Remember these words...Don't let it eat your soul," Lisa said in a soft voice and Dieter just stared at her for a moment. The young, pretty woman was looking very serious now and she moved away from him. "Do what you must my friend, as I will do what will be expected of me. We are not so different. War dictates our destiny."

Dieter grabbed the helmet Lisa threw at him and blinked slowly, the thoughts the young woman had just gone through must have been some grave ones indeed as her expression had grown entirely emotionless. Feeling and quite likely also looking like a dog who had been told to go home by his master, Dieter glanced down at the helmet in his hand. "Maybe. It's not an option for me, I must fight for Germany. But you can still get away from here, Lisa," Dieter looked at Lisa from under his eyebrows. He could already see that she was determined on doing something, even taking part in the war if needed. Dieter had not gotten to know Lisa too well over such a short time, but he knew her well enough to know that arguing with her wouldn't get him anywhere. With a sigh, he planted the helmet on his head and went to gather his belongings, his backpack and rifle, before turning to regard Lisa again. "Keep safe, Lisa. I also do... care for you. Maybe we will see again. Who knows?" he added with a weak smile. He already knew they would most likely ever see again. He would be in Africa and by the time he would be assigned to some other front or the war ended, Lisa might be in USA or who knew where else.

Feeling melancholy and strangely ill, Dieter slung the rifle on his shoulder and stared at Lisa for a few moments, as if he was trying to imprint her image in his mind. Many things were running around inside his head, things that he did not know how to say in English and even more things that he just generally didn't know how to say. Dieter's eyes stayed on Lisa for a moment, but then the man clicked the heels of his boots and brought a hand up at his brow to give the girl a salute, flashing a grin at Lisa one more time. For a few fleeting seconds the man seemed like the person he most likely normally was, carefree and always ready to smile. "I'll see you around, Lisa."

With these simple words, Dieter trudged out of the cabin as fast and orderly as he could. He regretted not asking for her full name, he wasn't sure if she had told it to him earlier and now it was too late to ask. He sat on the motorcycle and figured that he would still have time and go ask for her name and address, but he didn't have the guts to do that. With a tired sigh, he kicked the motorcycle alive and wondered if the higher-ups would notice he was just slightly late with the delivery.

Glancing at the cabin, Dieter realized he was leaving a friend behind, although they had not known each other for a very long time. He quickly decided it was better to not think about it too much, he had the upcoming battles to worry about. Maybe the knowledge that there was someone out there thinking of him would give him the strength to carry on in the middle of the dust and heat of Africa. His head full of dark thoughts, the German corporal steered the bike away from the cabin, leaving only a fleeting cloud of dust billowing behind.

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Pos:

Wow...just...yeah wow!

Wiserman - 20CP

Rentz - 20CP

Highest issued Neutral I've ever closed, well done, both of you. I've closed battles with combatants recieving less.

-JT