Tim and Justin made their way to the town, following the road they went along in the tall grass, laying low to stay out of sight from the Germans' patrols. Slowly, the two made their way to the edge of the tall grass, about a hundred yards from the nearest building. Waiting patiently in the tall grass, they waited for any signs of civilian or militaristic life.
"You see anything out there?" Justin murmured almost unheard by Tim. "I sure as hell don't. It's a ghost town out there, other than the German patrol we saw earlier." He continued.
Tim thought for a moment before noticing that Justin was right, there wasn't a single soul other than themselves. He found the whole situation unusual, normally there would be an early riser, going for a jog but it was daytime and no one was out and about.
"Let's make our way to the barn on our east," Tim told Justin while pointing at the barn he was talking about. With a nod of his head, Justin followed Tim as he moved towards the edge of the field by the main road. Tim looked around and couldn't see a soul for a mile on end, preparing himself, he looked back at Justin.
"I don't see any signs of life, so how about we cross this road on my signal." He said to Justin, looking back after a nod of agreement from Justin.
With a hand signal, the two rushed over to cross the road, a sudden shout alerted them of a presence. Looking to their left the two could see a young German soldier, standing a yard away from them, looking at them with surprise. Mercilessly, Jim pulled up his rifle, firing two shots before the soldier could react, the first missing the target, while the second hit the soldier in the chest. The poor boy didn't even have a chance before he collapsed on the ground most likely dead.
"Nice shot, Big Tim," Justin said, using Tim's nickname. Before he could say more, however, shouting could be heard "probably Germans hearing the shots," thought Tim.
"Help me move this body before the rest find us," Tim told Justin hurryingly. Justin jogged over to the body, placing the dead Germans gun on his body before grabbing under the armpits. Tim grabbed the legs and the two made their way across the road to the barn they were trying to get to.
Bashing the door open with his foot, the two quickly made their way into the barn. Tim dropped the body quickly before readying his gun and clearing the barn.
The barn itself wasn't that large, it was all enclosed with the only entrance the one they used; there were two different stables, one on each side, large enough for one or two horses each. On their side, there was some hay, a shovel, and a bucket. On the far end, there was a tool bench with some assorted tools.
"Let's move the body to one of the stables and use the hay to cover it up." Suggested Justin.
With a quick yes as a reply, they both moved the body over to the stable on their left. Tim went over to the haystack and used the shovel to move the hay to the body.
After covering the body, the two of them made their way back over to the entrance of the barn. Justin quietly moved the door to peek outside. Looking out, he could see at least six German soldiers looking around for any signs of the noise. Looking back at Tim, he gave six fingers to tell him there were six Germans. Tim nodded and started to check his pack; inside he saw three packs of explosives, some rations, ammo, a lighter, and some rope. He took one of the explosives out and the lighter before closing the pack, putting it around his shoulders, he made his way to the entrance next to Johnny.
"Is the coast clear for us to run?" Tim asked Johnny who nodded his head. Tim comp-templated the plan before he told Johnny the plan, "Okay, here's the plan, I'm going to light the charge on the explosive, you are going to run towards the right while I follow you and we're going to make our way to the buildings."
After he gave Johnny the plan he ran with the explosive in hand and lit the fuse before sprinting towards the door.
"Got it sarge," Johnny responded before opening the door and running out.
The two of them ran towards the right, where they could see some old wooden buildings. Just as they made it to the back wall, the barn exploded, destroying the barn and creating a smoke and dust cloud. They both stood in awe at the destruction before the sound of an alarm got their attention. There was a door in the wall leading into the house they were behind. Tim swiftly kicked the door open and made their way into the house. The house itself was one story, and on the inside, they stood in the kitchen, where they could openly see the living room. The two readied their guns for any sign of hostility in the house. There was a hallway that led to two separate rooms, the closest one had the door open, while the last was shut. Tim stood, back pressed against the wall, and looked back at Johnny with a look telling him that they were about to breach. Johnny gave a subtle nod and Tim quickly turned the corner pointing his gun at any threat.
The inside of the room was clear, with no toys or clothes anywhere in sight.
"Doesn't look like anyone has been here for years," Johnny thought "there aren't any belongings that prove that someone even lived here."
Tim seeing that the room was clear, quietly went back into the hallway, approaching the closed door. Johnny joined him at the door going on the other side. The two looked at each other before nodding, Tim kicked the door, but nothing happened. He tried again and the door moved a little, with a final strike the door flew open, revealing a master bedroom. There were some belongings on the floor, and some on the bed. There was another closed door most likely a closet. Johnny moved over to the closet, he could faintly hear some noise, so he motioned for Tim to join him.
Tim moved closer to Johnny and slowly opened the closet door. Behind that door there was a little girl, she looked to be the age of 6-year-old and stared at them with wide eyes, filled with fear.