Billions of stars shone in the night sky as the tanks continued to head west. Small explosions from flak guns were visible in the moonlight sky. There were giant flashes in the distance from many night battles that were going on. It was actually a beautiful site to see.
Ernst had fallen asleep on Albert's lap as the tank continued to move. Thoughts ran through Albert's mind, one hit him hard. He had forgotten all about it. Charlotte, they had left Charlotte behind. They were miles from her.
"Charlotte! We left Charlotte!" yelled Albert as he woke up Ernst.
Tears formed in Albert's eyes as he covered his mouth with his hands. Ernst looked at Albert, wondering why he was crying. Wilhelm also looked at Albert.
"I'm sorry, I feel like it's my fault for bringing you here." Wilhelm said.
"No, it's not yours. It's mine." said Albert as he turned away from Wilhelm and Ernst who had woken up.
Albert remembered the first time he met her, the first time they kissed and when she came into his room after his dream. Now, all of that was gone. He could never see her ever again.
"Albert, this is a war. You will always lose someone you love." said Wilhelm as he patted Albert on the back. "You could even forget about her in a couple of days because of all of the fighting ahead of us and other thoughts that fill your head."
Albert raised his head to the sky and starred at all the stars. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and prayed for Charlotte, hoping she stays safe and healthy. There was a shooting star that passed through the explosions of the flak guns.
"Halt!" yelled Otto as he popped out of the hatch.
The tanks stopped moving and the rest of the commanders popped out of their hatches also.
"We will stop here for now and we will continue at 05:00 which is in about..........6 hours!"
All of the tank engines stopped and the crews all came out of the hatches around the tank. They sat on top of their tanks relaxing and looking up at the stars. Albert jumped off the tank and took a small walk around the valley they were in. He sat on a rock and stared into the mountain-filled distance. The moon shone brightly on the mountain tops.
Albert got up from the rock and continued wandering through the valley. The sound of trucks was close. Headlights from a couple of trucks were visible through the thick bushes next to a road. Albert's heart dropped as the trucks came closer. He did not have a chance to run in case they were Russians. He dropped himself on the moist grass and ducked his head down, hoping no one would see him.
"Albert!"yelled Wilhelm.
Albert could not respond and he told Wilhelm to shut up in his mind. The trucks came closer but the voices of the soldiers were not clear. He still had no idea if they were German or Russian.
"Was ist das?" one of the soldiers said.
"Panzers!" yelled another.
Albert sighed in relief and stood up, knowing they were German. He scared some of the German soldiers, who aimed their rifles at him. The officer put his hand on the soldier's rifle and slowly pushed it down. He looked at the young soldier and said something to him.
"It's ok, he's on our side, Hermann."
The officer walked over to Albert and asked him multiple questions. He got out a fountain pen and a piece of old lined paper from his breast pocket.
"Give me your name, ID number, and where you're from, solider. You seem very familiar to me." the officer stated.
"Albert Schroeder, 148629, from Hindenburg StraÃe, Berlin, sir."
"Albert Schroder, I know you. Are you a friend of Kurt Smith and was your commanding officer named Hans Düssel? Were you a part of the 78th Infantry division of the Wehrmacht?"
"Yes sir. How do you know me?"
"Remember, Albert, your military training back in the early years of the war? I was your old drill instructor, Otto WeiÃ."
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"Up, down, up, down, up down, and stop!" yelled Sergeant Weiàas we did our pull-ups on an old metal bar. "To Attention and formation!"
We all rushed into a straight line, with our hands to our side and straight posture. Weià walked in front of us, slowly, observing every little bit of us. My white Hitler Youth training uniform was soaking with sweat which gave it a yellowish glow.
"Karl!" yelled Weià as he jabbed his finger into Karl's chest. "Why didn't you give me forty pull-ups? That was only twenty! Now sprint around the camp, until you vomit!"
"But, sir I......"
"GO!"
Everyone watched as Karl sprinted around the barracks, already out of breath. All of us were nervous around WeiÃ, all the time. When one person messesd up, all of us messed up. He makes us run around the barracks, up the mountain to the North, or do 100 push-ups or pull-ups. Lucky, for some reason, that was not the case when Karl did not obey the orders given this time.
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That was the best memory of Sergeant Weià Albert could remember. He had not seen him in over three years and did not miss any part of him. Weià continued to stare at Albert, remembering every part of him.
"Albert!" yelled Wilhelm again.
"It's ok, Wilhelm, just a German patrol!" said Albert.
"Who's that and where's Kurt?" asked WeiÃ.
"That is Wilhelm Müller, a Panzer commander I ran across. He's bringing me and one other soldier along with him as we retreat. Kurt is........um no longer here. He was shot in the chest a couple of nights ago. I tried to save him but it was too late."
WeiÃ's eyes widened and he looked down at his boots.
"Kurt was a good man and I mean very good. He was so fit to be a soldier, he was my favorite. That's too bad. I remember when I first met him, how young he was and how his bright blue eyes always lit up with his joyful smile. Good man. He was your best friend, correct?"
I nodded my head and looked back at the group of Panzers.
"Well, I will wish you luck on this war. I'm headed back to Poland." said Weià as he shook Albert's hand and walked away.
"Come on, lets go!" he yelled to the drivers of the transport trucks.
Albert watched as they drove down the dirt road, never to meet up again during this war.