I rested Kurt on his cot and just sat at the end of the cot and stared at him for a while. I pulled Kurt's things out of my pockets and looked at them also. Then, something had startled me, there was a faint low voice coming from the other side of the barrack.
"Kurt Joachim Smith, one of our units best and most brutal machine gunners."
I slowly turned my head to look at the man on the cot in the far left corner of the room. He had dirty blonde hair with dark eyes. I suspiciously asked him who he was and how he knew Kurt.
"Im Ralph Schäfer, I knew Kurt way before you did. And your name is?"
"Albert Schroeder, I've knew Kurt ever since military training in 1942." I said back to Ralph.
"I will tell you the story, Albert. We first met in primary school at the last year there. We were best friends until our second year of high school. That was when things started to go down hill. Kurt was at the age of liking girls like all of the other men. I was not there quite yet. He then started to leave me out of his conversations and other activities after and during school. Someones he would drag me along with him but that was never no fun. He put me in the place of a third wheel. He started doing everything with the girls until I brought his attention to me a couple weeks before school would end. To this day, I remember the same words he said to me that day."
"If you don't want to be my pal anymore because you just don't like what I do? Then leave, you could have done that a while ago, you know?"
"Those were the last words he said to me and yes, he called me his pal."
Ralph started to walk over to see Kurt's body. He said nothing about him, he just stared at the body. Ralph started to cry a little but no tears came out. Ralph tried opening his mouth to get words out.
"How did he get killed, a sniper.......... or something?" he said
"The only thing I know that he in fact was shot by a sniper in the heart then the head." I said back
That was went Ralph put his hand on the hand print that was made out of dried blood on Kurt's face. He looked back at me then back quickly at Kurt.
"I......I know I still like him, but deep inside of me is where."
I looked around the barrack's room and noticed the bottle of beer on the floor, next to the chair me and Kurt were sitting in. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Ralph was looking at me. he asked me something
"Do you have any of his things, Albert? Is the Mg-42 Kurt's or yours?" he asked
I took the Mg-42 off of my lap and gave it to Ralph. He looked at me surprised. He held it and looked at all of the parts it had. He looked back up and me and said;
"It is his, isn't it?"
I nodded my head. Ralph turned the 42 on its back and noticed the piece of worn tape that was coming off at bit. It said Kurt's name on it, then it said Mg-42. Ralph's eyes moved to the ammunition belt that was hanging loose. Then he looked at the other ammunition belt that was hanging around my neck. I starred back at him, confused. I then pointed to it, he nodded.
"May I.......shoot it?"Ralph asked
I thought about the decision I should make. I wanted to say yes but I did not want to create any attention if there were any enemies near by. I could tell Ralph was anxious to tell me something about it but he could not let it out.
"Its dark and trust me, there will be no one out. Besides, it will only be for a few minutes anyways."
I did not agree with the thought of what he just said. Ralph continued to stare at me until I would answer. I looked back at him and open ed my mouth.
"Fine, for a few minutes before someone could hear or see us."
I handed the Mg-42 over to Ralph and he carried it outside. He rested it on his shoulder and asked where we should shoot it. I told Ralph the perfect spot where, the place I went after Kurt got shot. Ralph then asked why I wanted to go here. I told him it was where I went after Kurt was killed by the Russian sniper this evening. Ralph now seemed to be less excited to shot the 42 from all of the things I told him about.
"In this war, I've never killed anyone yet and I never hope too." Ralph said
"What do you mean you have not killed anyone yet? This is 1944 Soviet Russia we are in and you said that you have never killed anyone? Russia is our biggest enemy, you should know that, right?"
Ralph nodded and looked back down at the machine gun, with his eyes wide open. He now seemed to be mad while he kept looking at me and the gun.
"Can I just shoot it now?" he argued
I sighed and pulled the lever back on the MG. Ralph put his index finger of the trigger and was about to pull it until I stopped him from doing so.