The Shadow of War by Jack Murray (latest ebook reader txt) 📗

boatthey both turned around and looked up. Silhouetted against the smoky sky wereLothar and Sepp. They seemed to be arguing.

-

‘Jump,’shouted Lothar.

‘Ican’t,’ replied Sepp.

‘Whatdo you mean you can’t? The damn ship is about to go.’

‘Ican’t,’ persisted Sepp. Lothar looked at him like he was insane.

Downbelow they could hear the shouts of the other soldiers. The lifeboats werebeginning to move away from the ship. Behind them there was the sound ofpopping was becoming more persistent. The ship listed another couple ofdegrees, the dying screams of the ships structure grew louder.

‘Ican’t swim,’ shouted Sepp. His voice almost shrill with panic.

‘Youhave a life vest, you moron,’ screamed Lothar. ‘Jump.’

Sepplooked down and then back at Lothar. ‘I’ll die.’

‘You’lldie here too.’

Anotherexplosion and the boat listed more. Both boys fell backwards against the cabinwall. The ship was now at a forty degree angle. Gravity pulled both boysbackwards. Lothar felt the panic rising in him also. There was no way theycould get back up to the railings now because the angle was too steep. They hadnothing to hold onto.

Sepplooked at Lothar and realised he was about to condemn his friend to death. Hiseyes filled with tears. They looked at one another, then Lothar turned away.There had to be another way. The idea came to both of them at the same time.

‘Theother side. It’s nearly in the water,’ shouted Lothar.

Thetwo boys moved around to the ship clinging to the walls. The intensity of theheat grew with every step. Another small explosion rocked the boat and thistime it listed even further, so much so they were able to run more freely. Theyreached the other side of the boat a minute later. They were now only a fewfeet off the water, but the ship was in danger of sinking. If it did, theywould go down with it.

‘You’llhave to jump in.’

Sepp’sterror had returned. He shook his head. Lothar looked from Sepp to the fire.The ship was in its death throes. The noise of screaming metal was reaching deafeninglevels. Breathing was almost impossible now. The smoke didn’t so much obscurehis view as blind him. He felt the panic rise in him also.

Allof a sudden, a red hot iron bar fell down, hitting Sepp on the side of thehead.

‘Sepp,’screamed Lothar at his friend.

-

Manfredand Gerhardt sat on the boat yelling in vain to their friends. Two men withoars began to row away from the boat.

‘Whatare you doing?’ screamed Manfred. ‘Our friends arestill on board.’

‘They’re dead men,’ came the reply.

ALieutenant looked at Manfred and said in a tone that brooked no debate, ‘Wemust go. The ship will either explode or sink. Either way we are at risk.’

Manfredknew he was right. He looked at Gerhardt. There was nothing else to say. Theirfriends were going to die while they both sat on the boat and watched. Manfredfelt sick. In fact, he had to fight hard against the nausea he was feeling. Hebegan to cough as the impact of so much smoke inhaled began to tell. He was onthe point of passing out when he heard an explosion from behind.

Heglanced up sharply and saw that the ship was listing at an extraordinary angle.It was moments away from sinking. He could no longer see his friends. Meanwhilethe lifeboat was moving further and further away from the ship towards one ofthe other boats in the convoy. Tears blinded his eyes. He knew it wasn’t fromthe smoke either. He wiped them away with the palm of his hand. The saltwaterbrought its own stinging rebuke and he cursed himself.

Slowlythe boat drew further away. Up ahead they heard yet another muffled explosionand the ship listed onto its side. Then, withshocking rapidity it disappeared under the bubbling water. The surface waslittered with debris.

The lifeboat continued drawing away from the catastrophe as if itwere trying to distance itself from a mistake. Theirs was the only ship thathad sunk. A couple of others were smoking but any damage appeared to belimited. Each ship’s horn blew, almost as an act of defiance. Soon the air wasfilled with the noise of the ships’ shrill sirens and horns.

Manfred looked at Gerhardt. His head hung with sadness but in hiseyes was anger. Manfred felt the anger, too. It began to swell inside him. The hatred felt trapped inside him.He wanted to explode.

‘Whyare those idiots making this noise?’ he snarled to no one in particular.

Noone answered. They were all young men. All in a state of shock. This was theirfirst exposure to war. Further up the boat, he caught the eye of Christian. Hewas crying. Whether this was through fear or the loss of his friends, Manfredknew not.

Thelifeboat pulled up alongside another ship, just as the noise began to abate.They were now at least a kilometre away from the remains of the Aachen.

-

Seppcollapsed to the ground. His head was bloodied. Lothar fell to his knees. Hecould feel movement in his friend’s chest. He was alive. He pulled Sepp towardsthe railings. Climbing over them himself, he pulled Sepp underneath. They bothfell into the water. It was a short drop, no more than a few feet. The coldwater seemed to revive Sepp.

‘Whatthe ....’

‘We’rein the water,’ said Lothar, pointing out the obvious.

Evenin Sepp’s groggy state this much was plain.

‘Ican bloody well see that,’ replied Sepp irritably. His head was pounding andhis panic at being in the water he detested so much was compounded by anotherrealisation.

‘Whereis the lifeboat?’

Lotharwas wondering the same thing at this point. But a bigger problem was quiteliterally in front of them.

‘Move,’ordered Lothar.

‘What?’

‘Move,the damn ship is going to sink. We need to move.’

Seppwas now fully awake to the problem. His head was hurting damnably, and thedeath throes of the ship were doing little to help an already hellishsituation.

‘How?’asked Sepp.

‘Useyour legs to kick. It’s called swimming, you moron.’

Lotharwas already beginning to move. Sepp, seeing no other choice began to kickinstinctively away from the ship. A muffled explosion prompted a renewed energyto his efforts, but he was tiring fast. The cold of the water, the fear and thesoaking clothes acted to slow him down.

Lotharwas cutting through the water easily. He was an experienced swimmer. Within