Eighth installment

We were both trying to reload our magazines as quickly as we could and keep our heads down at the same time. The tank shells were now hitting the school where our bunker had been, we had our backs to the wall of the health center and three shells hit it and we heard screams from inside, we peered through the smashed window to see what had happened, we went in and Eric and a couple of the others were bending over Colin, he was one of the students who had become a soldier when the war started, 

"what's happened" I shouted,

"he's taken shrapnel in his stomach, there are bits of his insides everywhere, we have to get him to help" was his reply,

somebody called for help on the radio and a car soon arrived and took Colin away, I can remember hoping against all odds he would be alright. The shells were still hitting the building so we went across the road to our hq and a little bit closer to where our bunker had been. We were spread out everywhere, two of the men decided to go and see if they could knock the tank out, they shouted for me to go with them as covering fire, we took two rocket launchers with us and I hoped that they would be able to hit the tank. They set off in between two houses before I had actually reached them, when I got to them they had gone out of sight, I looked around the corner of one of the buildings and saw chetniks right in front of them,

"stop, chetniks" I shouted,

but to late they had both walked around a shed and straight into machine gun fire, I fired off a magazine in the direction where the shots were coming from, they were both still firing as they fell to the ground, the chetniks were still firing at the bodies as I went for help but help was pinned down on the opposite side of the road and they couldn't get across,from the amount of bullets the bodies there was no chance of them living through it, they were obviously lifeless as I got close to them they were obviously dead, I ran across the road and told Eric what had happened there was no answer as we were trying to dodge the bullets coming from everywhere, we made a run for it back to hq to see our first glimpse of one of our tanks which rolled up fired a couple of rounds off and then drove off the way it had come, they didn't do much basically the same as they had done all day, nothing of significance,we were supposed to have four tanks in the village and they had not been used to assist us when we really needed them. The whole of the unit or what was left of it were now in the bar, nobody had a clue as what to do next then someone said something and they all went to the back of the hq then they all ran across the road to the post office. There was no way we could set the traps off or blow the transporter up as we couldn't get across the road, there was no alternative but to follow the others, Eric and I waited until everyone was across then we set off,then again the mortars started and Eric decided it was better to head across the corn field towards the center of the village which seemed logical. We were half way across when a shot rang out and Eric went down, I went down but that was only instinct, Eric was lying face down and I was about ten meters behind him, 

"are you alright" I asked, 

"yes, but I can't move I've been shot in the back" he replied, 

I tried to move towards him and another shot hit him, I tried again but another shot rang out, 

"there must be a sniper, go for help" he said, 

"but crawl don't make too much movement" he added, 

I took off my bergan because if I was still had it on it would move the corn too much, so I started to crawl, I got almost to the corner of the field when the mortars started dropping all around, I waited as stil as I could be and glanced back at Eric, no movement stood up and ran across the road to the post office where I found George on his own, I told him what had happened but now there was no way back as tanks had moved into the school, he had a rocket launcher and fired, it hit the school, there was no way now that we could reach Eric, he maybe alive but what with the sniper and the tanks there was no way to reach him, I was beginning to get hysterical, 

"we can't leave him there to die, we can't leave him, we have to do something" shouting, 

"come on, we have to go" George said, 

We turned and ran to the railway line with the mortars falling all around and getting closer, we went as quickly as possible to a house where everyone was and went behind, I lent against the table and the tears were starting to form and then I started to cry, I had never felt like this before but what had happened was showing me feelings that I never knew that I had, 

"now is not the time for tear's, have a drink" George told me, 

I took it and drank it, 

"what about Eric, he may be still alive, we have to do something" I kept saying. 

Then a shot hit a pile of wood next to us, it was a sniper probably the same one that had shot Eric, the mortar shells were falling everywhere so I had to try and sort myself out, not only for me but for others. 

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