Remember the Past (Davis/Open)

[Stephen Colly]

Rain poured down in torrents, it was another horrible afternoon. Everyone should have been in doors but not Stephen; he had had enough of being coped up in doors, he had decided to go out into the rain and have some time on his own, away from the other men and their beer and chats.

As he ran, his feet hitting the muddy ground, he thought about his first meeting with Edward McMillan, it was here that he had raced the man and had won by only a few yards, god he missed that man…he kept his head down, the rain falling on to his hair and ran down his back. It would be an unpleasant feeling when he got in but at the moment it didn’t feel too bad, it was quiet a comforting feeling to be honest.
Stephen was used to being out of doors in bad weather, he remembered days back in the fields when he had to plough them in the rain for nearly the whole day, god it had been horrible at the time but it had felt nice when he had got in and realized he had gone quiet a lot in one day…but those were the old days, horses were being replaced by tanks in the army and tractors in the farming world. His father was having none of that however, he would stay in the past for ever it seemed.

The past…so much had happened in the past, the songs that were sung in country pubs, in houses that were long gone, life had changed in every aspect of the world…the world was moving on…
After three laps of running, Stephen stopped, bending over to catch his breath as he stood there, feeling slightly dizzy, he straightened and looked up at the sky, the rain fell on to his face and he gave a soft laugh, it was so refreshing.

[amery]

Amery was walking back from the Briefing room after a briefing for his next outing. He had decided to take a shortcut across the field. It was very muddy but would save him some time. He had just turned the corner when he saw a man running around the track. Amery was wondering why anyone would be running in this weather. The man stopped and bent over.

Amery almost subconsciously had begun walking towards him. He could see that the soldier was not much older than twenty.

'Private,' he began, 'What are you doing out here you'll catch a cold. Come on let's get you inside!' Amery said patting the soldier on the back. Amery began towlak towards the barracks and stopped and looked behind him.

It had been a long time since rain had landed on his face and actually felt refreshing. This was probably the reason the Private was out here Amery guessed.

'On second thoughts, stay out here as long as you want,' Amery paused, 'Do you mind if I sit down?' he said as he gestured towards the bench that he had stopped by.

[Mark Davies]

Warrant Officer Mark Davies marched through the Track N' Field bluntly, impatiently wiping the beads of rain from his forehead. The field was more like a bog fan a training ground; rain had been falling thick and fast for the past few weeks and the men had suffered because of it. Hitler wouldn't put off an invasion just because it was a bit damp, he remembered telling the boys, so get around that track fast before you get a boot up your arse. Mind you, observing the fields that day, he wasn't so sure. It was torrential. A duck could fight a battle in this weather. Men could not.

"Get you gone, Ballard," he said lazily, as he approached the two figures who stood, seemingly oblivious to the downpore. "This is 49th ID territory; we don't want the bloody 3ID sticking their noses in, do we?"

Davies had good reason to both distrust and dislike the 3rd Infantry Division. He had lost a skirmish in Africa once thanks to an American Captain who seemed to be unaware of the differences between his arse and his elbow. As well as this, sneaky dealings had been going on between the two divisions for many months now and already some brave men had left the Polar Bears to fight under the Star-Spangled Banner.

"It's Colly, isn't it?" he said approvingly, turning to see the young private who stood nearby, ignoring Ballard with relish. "How's the leg coming along?"

He vaguely remembered that the boy Colly had recieved a nasty shot to the leg whilst fighting over in France. He frowned. Or was that someone else? Names meant little to Davies. If they could fight and if they could die, he was their friend. If not…they were his enemy. He smiled faintly to himself. You did not want to be Mark Davies’ enemy…

[Stephen Colly]

Stephen heard a sudden, sharp voice behind him and he turned around, about to open his mouth to explain himself when the man who came towards him was a higher ranking officer and was asking him a question. ”Sir.” he saluted; he started to head towards Officer Ballard when the man turned and said that he could stay out here.

”Oh, alright then sir.” Stephen said, he was about to come and sit next to the man when he heard another voice and glanced over to see yet another person, Officer Davis trudging towards them through the rain.

Stephen saluted to the man who was barking at the other officer, saying it was his company’s territory, ”Leg sir?” Stephen said, thinking about what the man had said and then suddenly realized…that had happened ages ago…before McMillan had gone missing….was Davis that stupid? ”Oh the leg, it’s fine thank you sir.” he ran a hand through his hair that was soaking wet.

[amery]

Amery sat down on the bench and the Private was coming to sit down next to him when a voice came from behind. Amery turned his head to see Mark Davis-who he had fought alongside many months ago. He told Amery to go away and then asked the Private about his leg. He mentioned the Private's name-Colly. The name rang a bell but he could not remember his first name or much about him.

'No. I don't think I will,' Amery said as he stodd up and walked towards the officer, 'It's a free country isn't it. I thought that was what we were fighting for anyway. Freedom. We are fighting for freedom. Not for ourselves but for the German civilians, the French, ethe Poles, the Russians in Stalingrad and the Jews from what I've heard are being muredered.'

Amery stepped closer and stood still. He could tell that he had angered the officer and that he was going to pay for it but it felt good. He felt powerful. He looked at Colly, and then at Davies. Their faces were completely different to each others. Colly's eyebrows had raised and there was a look of 'Oh my god di he just do that' on his face. Davies however had a look that was somewhere inbetween sock and anger. Amery braced himslef and prepared for the inevitable argument and possibly a fight.

[Mark Davies]

Davies scratched the back of his neck; he remembered now. Kelly, not Colly, was the lad who had taken a shot to the leg. Then why was this private agreeing with him?

"I don't like yes men, Private," he frowned disapprovingly, before Ballard opened his mouth to spout some gibberish over "freedom,".

Davies sighed and turned to look at his somewhat over-dramatic companion. He didn't know the man well but what he did know he didn't like.

"It's all well and good talking about freedom, Ball-'ard," he growled. "But there is such a thing as private property if you've ever heard of it; this is the 49th ID base and I have the authority to challenge anyone I see fit,"

He rubbed his tired eyes distractedly; hours of staying on guard did that to a man. The Warrant Officer had been the night-watchman of the base for the past two weeks and the only intruders he had discovered was a rat the day before last and this...welll...this specimen. He wasn't sure which one he had held in the lowest regard.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" he barked. "A meeting with the Lieteunant or...what? Did you just fancy a little stroll around our stronghold? Maybe you like watching half-naked men sleep, is that it? Now, show me some papers or bugger off. Then you can have the freedom to get back to the hole you crawled out of,"

The rain continued to pour continuously but Davies payed it no attention; his gaze didn't move from Ballard, staring the man down grimly. He was only vaguely aware of the Private standing ildly by. Glaring at the fellow Warrant Officer, Davies could tell he wouldn't shy away from a fight; a good soldier, it seemed, but not a particularly good friend in any case. He sighed again. He really didn't need this at this time at night...

[Stephen Colly]

The Warrant Officer frowned disapprovingly at Stephen who averted his eyes to the ground, not saying a word as the other Warrant Officer suddenly started talking about “Freedom” and Stephen looked up, shocked as he heard what the man had said. These officers really treated each other kindly…not.

He glanced over at Davis who was rubbing his eyes, he looked tired and made Stephen half jump as he barked at Ballard, he knew that some members from different platoons and companies hated each other but he didn’t realize how much they hated each other and this was a perfect example of two people, arguing over a simple spot of land…it was almost child like but of course, Stephen would not say a word or he would get his head barked off by Davis.

In a strange way, Davis reminded Stephen of Edward McMillan, not in the kindness way but in the way he was built and the way he seemed to stand up for himself…his eyes went back down to the ground, standing completely still, not speaking, just listening.

[Daniel Brennan]

Mod-Post:

CP:
Amery: 4CP

Davies: 4CP

Colly: 5CP


~Dan