Snippet #1967737

Abegail stepped out of the van and stretched her arms a bit. Every part of her was knotted and tensed but simple stretchng wasn't enough to alleviate it. There was too much unknown in their future. She followed as Walter began to head down the to the main road into Linz. Gunter followed as well.

Abegail was thankful she wasn't carrying a gun but the sight of the boy with them put her on edge. It seemed so wrong for a child to have to act so grown up. It was a shock to her system. At his age she was running wild in the pastures of her family's farm in Ireland, not fighting a war or comforting adults. Abegail softened as she remembered the way the boy had patted her arm when she was distressed about not having money. He was far more hardened than she was and again that saddened her.

"What has he seen and been through to be so..." Abegail shook her head. She knew enough that in the brief time she had known him the boy had seen more than many adults ever would.

"Oh, Walter...Walter wait..." Abegail realized that Gunter was covered in stains. Blood, Albert's blood. "He is covered in blood, we can't just go walking into town with him like that." Abegail waited for Walter to stop in his trek to the main road. She bit her lip, brushing her hair from her face and considered the problem. "One shirt, we just need a new shirt for him."

Abegail looked down. She too had stains. Her pants, from where she had knelt next to the dying man while she held his hand, showed remnants of his life. "And a pair of pants." Abegail gave Walter an apologetic look. She knew he wanted to get moving to push on and into Linz but a man travelling with a blood stained woman and boy was sure to provoke interest that they did not want or need.

Falling in beside Walter she listened to his plan as she considered what to do about their clothes. It was fortunate that the Nazi's had been moved. With the war over and Hitler dead she had heard many stories of troops being moved into areas where they could be disbanded or reassigned with a new goal. Abegail wasn't sure exactly how it was all working out between the allied forces and Germany, she kept up on the basics of the current news while her mind immersed itself in the past.

Abegail winced. Plans were never that simple and Walter knew that. He had to know deep down in his gut that they have never had anythign go easy and just when they thought they could breathe again Niclas showed up or they ended up in a cave or being shot at....

"Walter, I think that will work for a basic plan but we canna just waltz into Linz, covered in blood, steal the flag and think we will be scott free. Even if the rest were tha simple the blood is goin' ta make the people here nervous." It was making Abegail a little nervous and with her mind preoccupied and her fears getting the better of her, her accent began to slip again.

"We need ta steal or barrow some clothes."

Abegail watched as houses started to appear on the edges of Linz. She spotted people's laundry, last loads attempting to dry in the fading daylight. Indicating with her head towards one house Abegail crept up and crouched into some underbrush a few metres from the house.

"So...beg, borrow or steal?"