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Hello everyone! Today we have part 7 of Echoes of Honor! Hope you all enjoy. Be sure to let me know what you thought of it in the comments. 😀
Because there are now so many central characters in Echoes of Honor, I've listed those who are now currently in the story.
- Sophie Hoffman (Age: 17) Sister of Karl Hoffman and technically the MAIN character.
- Karl Hoffman (Age: 20) Brother of Sophie and leader of his own resistance group.
- David Cohen (Age: 18) Young Jewish man. His family was killed by the Germans and he carries around a deep bitterness.
- Philippe (Age: 15) Clown of the group. Kind hearted and encouraging. Sophie and he are good friends.
- Wilhelm Dvorak (Age: 17) Somewhat of a mystery to the others. Wounded by enemy soldiers and now lying ill.
- Petr (Age: 4) A little orphan boy.
~ Echoes of Honor Pt. 7 ~
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
~ SOPHIE ~
Sophie snuggled farther under the thick wool blankets Mrs. Grey had provided for her and Petr. It was still dark out, and she lay trying to remember the directions to the new hideout.
She was frightened. Always before had she had Karl to depend upon. Now she was alone to make her own decisions.
Sitting up, she glanced at Petr who was asleep. How was she supposed to care for a four-year-old boy when she hadn't even been able to protect a baby?
Sophie rubbed her ankle. Mrs. Grey had wrapped it tightly with strips of cloth, but it still hurt. A bulge in her pocket made her uncomfortable, and she pulled out the small Bible given to her. Flipping through it, she felt resentment growing inside. Other than her mother singing a few hymns at bedtime and taking the children to church on holidays, there hadn't been much religion in their home. Sophie didn't know where to start. If there was a God, why was He letting the world fall apart?
Sophie looked at the highlighted and marked pages. This Bible must have meant a lot to someone. Bright ink caught her eye, and she saw something written on the lower hand corner. It seems like the world is coming undone...Why is God letting this happen to me?
Sophie sighed. Whoever was writing this sounded like she felt. I feel powerless to do anything. I have everything I could want, but I feel empty.
Empty. That's what Sophie felt. No matter what she did nothing seemed to fulfill her. She was always scared, unwilling to meet the dangers lurking around her. Who was this person who felt like this?
Petr moved beside her and opened his eyes. She was responsible for this boy now. Slipping the Bible back into her pocket, Sophie promised herself she would read it once they were safe with the others. If there was something that would make her stop being afraid she wanted it.
"I's hungry."
"I know Petr." Sophie brushed leaves from his hair. "Here's a biscuit from Mrs. Grey."
He swallowed it in two bites.
"Where's we going?" He asked.
"To a secret place. My brother is there."
Petr's face fell. "Brudder? Is Woohim your brudder?"
Sophie shook her head. "Karl is my brother. You don't know him."
Petr looked like he might cry. "Woohim left afa the soldiers took mama."
"D-Did, the soldiers, hurt you?" Sophie asked.
"Yes." He hung his head. "Dey hit me. Dey bad men." His lip trembled. This was upsetting him. The last thing Sophie needed was for him to start wailing.
"We are going to walk now." Sophie lifted him to his feet.
"Can I hold your hand? Dah bad men might get me."
"It's alright Petr. Those bad men won't hurt you." She almost added I promise but how could she? No one could tell if they'd live to see the sunset these days.
"You nice Ophie." Petr babbled.
Sophie almost laughed at his pronunciation of her name.
"You're nice too."
He smiled at her.
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~ Wilhelm ~
How could he have been so dumb? Being shot had never been part of his plan. Opening his eyes, Wilhelm looked around. That Karl fellow wasn't here, neither was David, the one that made him uneasy. How much time had passed he didn't know, but his lying here could jeopardize the whole mission.
Painfully, Wilhelm defied what Karl had told him earlier and sat up. His chest felt like it was about to burst. If he didn't get up and move, everything would go wrong with his plans.
"Hey!" A voice cut through the silence. "What are you doing?"
Wilhelm looked and saw Karl.
"G-Getting up." It felt good to speak.
"Nuh-uh." Karl reached forward to push him down.
"Don't try to stop me," Wilhelm said, trying to swing his legs over the bed.
"I can't wait to see you try to stand up."
"Where're my clothes? The ones I'm wearing aren't mine." Wilhelm picked at the buttons.
"We threw your clothes out. They were ruined." Karl replied.
Wilhelm frowned. "They were my only set." He bit his lip, it hurt to sit up for so long.
"What's all the noise about?" Wilhelm saw David bringing wood in the front door. "What are you doing up?" The question sounded like an insult to Wilhelm.
"None of your business." Wilhelm tried to stand up, falling as he did.
"I told you to stay in bed."
"Let him alone Karl. He obviously is too stubborn to let us help him."
"Do you like insulting me?" Wilhelm asked. "The only thing you've done since you met me is be rude."
"Why shouldn't I be rude? I have no idea who you are. Might be a spy for the Germans." David's tone was harsh.
Wilhelm stood up so fast he grew dizzy. He could stand the rude remarks, but with this last one, he had had enough!
"Take that back." Wilhelm's breathing sounded labored.
"Never."
"Wilhelm get back into bed. You were shot in the chest man!" Karl grabbed his arms.
"Let me go!"
"Whoa!" Philippe came running from the other room. "What's going on in here...Wilhelm! You're awake?"
"That's enough!" Karl still struggled to hold onto Wilhelm. "David, go to the corner and cool off. Wilhelm hasn't done anything wrong..."
"Yet," David added.
Wilhelm felt dizzy. He took a step towards David and clattered into the table and chairs. Wilhelm felt like a fool. He should have kept calm.
"Is he okay?" Philippe asked. "He fell kind of hard."
"Philippe, help me get him back into bed. We'll talk about this later David."
Wilhelm lay back on the cot breathing hard. Karl examined his wound while Philippe hovered nearby.
"You were seriously injured, and unless you want something terrible to happen, you need to lie still and rest."
"But I need to get up...I need to talk to you."
"We can talk all you want when you're stronger."
"There isn't time." Wilhelm persisted.
"What do you mean?"
"Things are happening," Wilhelm said quietly. "Things that we can stop."
No sooner had he finished speaking, then the door opened and in walked a girl...A girl Wilhelm thought he had seen before.
Happy Saturday!
Laura G.