# A Thin Line - Part Three: In War

Author: RandallShepherd
Tags: Action, Base camp, Character Development, Clean, Fiction, Fox, Friendship, Love, Military, Wolf, World war 2

#3 of A Thin Line

The third part of my multi part collection of short stories put together to be a long story... if that makes sense.
This part was originally much longer, but decided to split up the action into a separate part in an effort not to give too much away too soon. Gust cuz I'm like that. Haha
I have some artwork coming along with this, so check it out :)
PS. This is a work of fiction. If something seems historically inaccurate, I'm sorry.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It has been six months since Damien left home.&nbsp; He was deployed to the front lines in Germany a couple months after the initial invasion of Normandy.&nbsp; Base camp was a busy place, home to constant noise of vehicles, planes, people talking, people yelling, cursing and complaints about the food.&nbsp; He shared a bunk with a guy he had met back in the States.&nbsp; They both grew up in New York, just Damien was from rural, upper New York and this other guy was from the city.&nbsp; His name is Micah Stolas, a black and white fox who was assigned to the same squad Damien was.&nbsp; Damien stood slightly taller than him; he was about six foot, two and Micah about five foot, ten.&nbsp; Micah originally wanted to work on tanks and jeeps instead of risking his life on the front lines, but not everyone gets what they want.&nbsp; He was denied the opportunity and instead was stuffed into our squad as an infantry man.&nbsp; Although he was disappointed, he still enjoyed working on and cleaning guns.&nbsp; Anything that included taking things apart and putting things back together, and even improving them in the process, fascinated Micah and he took pride in his talent.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I wanted to be an engineer," said Micah back during training, "but I just couldn't bring myself to suffer through college.&nbsp; You see, in college, they can teach you the basics, they can teach you what is already known.&nbsp; You know what they can't teach you?&nbsp; How to innovate; how to come up with new and intuitive ideas.&nbsp; That's all up to you.&nbsp; There was nothing they could teach me that I didn't already know, so I dropped out, determined to figure things out on my own."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He joined the army to help pay off student loans for an education he did not receive.&nbsp; Cole never had the opportunity to go to college, his family was simply too poor, it just want an option.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Damien sat on his bunk with a piece of paper on one hand and a pen in the other.&nbsp; The blank piece of paper was the canvas for a letter, but it was yet to be decided on whom the letter should be addressed to.&nbsp; He was being sent out later that day with the rest of his section to help capture small town that, otherwise, would be considered extremely remote and non-important.&nbsp; But in actuality, this town consisted of a crossroads that the Germans were using to move armaments and troops to feed their defensive line.&nbsp; The town was believed to be well defended and probably would not fall easily.&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He had finally given up on writing a letter to either his parents or his girlfriend.&nbsp; The words and thoughts were not flowing and he could not bring himself to write an empty and meaningless letter.&nbsp; Stepping outside the tent, he decided to walk around base.&nbsp; He knew that by the next day, he could be in the heat of combat.&nbsp; How could he relax with that weight on his shoulders?&nbsp; This would not be his first taste of action, but it doesn't get any easier, even with experience.

Damien spotted a crowd forming in front of an airplane down towards the runway that was on base.&nbsp; In the heart of the crowd stood two men, one was Micah and the other was someone Damien did not recognize.&nbsp; He was a big, tall character with brown fur and long, unnaturally blue hair.&nbsp; Micah was deep inside the plane's engine, tinkering around with things Damien himself would not even dare to touch.&nbsp; By eavesdropping on some people's conversations, it became clear that the man with the curiously colored hair was working on the airplane and failed to get the engine working properly.&nbsp; Micah, being a bit of a show-off, yelled from across the runway that the mechanic made an error while assembling the engine.&nbsp; The wolf insisted that everything was checking out and that Micah was full of shit.&nbsp; Micah, of course being a natural at anything mechanical related and being pretty good at making people do what he wants them to do, he made a bet that he could get the engine running on his first try.&nbsp; The wolf felt pretty confident that whatever the problem was with the engine was something that was far from a user error, so he took the bet figuring it would be an easy hundred dollars.&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Micah was visibly working hard to get the thing running.&nbsp; After a couple minutes passed, Micah closed up the engine, and said, "That should do it."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The wolf was still pretty skeptical.&nbsp; He had looked over the engine multiple times himself over the course of hours, and here is a fox, a private, a fucking new guy, trying to out-do a trained military mechanic with years of experience working on engines.&nbsp; Surly enough, when Micah gave the pilot sitting in the cockpit to give it a try, the engine sputtered to life with almost no effort.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I'll be damned." Said the wolf.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "That's how we do it in New- fucking- York!" said Micah.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An exchange of money took place between Micah and the wolf, along with a few other unlucky gamblers in the surrounding crowd.&nbsp; After Micah shook hands with the wolf, the crowd dispersed and Micah made eye contact with Damien and waved at him with his hand full of cash.&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Getting a little cocky there, huh?" commented Damien to Micah as they approached each other.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Well, maybe.&nbsp; Sigmund's a good guy, he just overlooks small details."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Sigmund?" asked Damien.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yeah, Sigmund Phenex."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Do you two know each other?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "No, not really.&nbsp; I met him the other day in the mess hall.&nbsp; He's from Cali."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "He's a long way from California."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "We're all a long way from home.&nbsp; Hey, Germany isn't too similar to New York, right?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "New York City, maybe.&nbsp; The fields feel like home to me."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We began walking around aimlessly.&nbsp; Micah continued, "That kid's been through a lot in his short time here.&nbsp; He lost his brother a couple days ago."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Damn."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "That's putting it lightly.&nbsp; He's handling it really well, though.&nbsp; If he's feeling anything, he's doing a great job at hiding it."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Does that make you feel bad about taking his money?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Micah laughed, "Yeah, right."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Micah didn't have any siblings.&nbsp; He grew up poor, just like Damien.&nbsp; But life was harder for him out on the streets of the big city than for Damien in the country.&nbsp; He'd rarely talk about his home life. &nbsp;It was kind of a touchy subject that Damien tried his best to avoid.&nbsp; For Damien, he did have a brother once, but it didn't last long.&nbsp; The poor guy didn't even survive his first hour.&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Later, Damien found himself in the back of a rickety truck being sent out on their nighttime assault on a small village.&nbsp; The darkness and quiet of the night was comforting to Damien.&nbsp; In a way, it reminded him of home.&nbsp; It was cool, quiet, not much around; though he knew this would be the calm before the storm.&nbsp; The other men in the truck with him were not speaking.&nbsp; The guy sitting to his immediate right was holding a cigarette in one hand and a small photo in the other.&nbsp; The light was dim but the photo showed a woman holding an infant.&nbsp; Damien didn't know why, but he felt compelled to ask, "Is that your family?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The guy didn't speak at first, only took a puff of his cigarette.&nbsp; He eventually spoke up, "Yeah.&nbsp; You wanna see?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He handed the small picture to Damien.&nbsp; The two looked happy.&nbsp; The woman depicted kind of reminded Damien of his girlfriend, Alice.&nbsp;

"Cute kid." Damien said.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The man said, "Thanks.&nbsp; His birthday was last week, and I wasn't there."&nbsp; The silhouette of the man inhaled another lungful of his cigarette and slowly exhaled.&nbsp; "It hard not being there for your kid, you know?&nbsp; You have any kids?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "No... I don't.&nbsp; My girl and I haven't even considered it yet."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Smart thinking in a way.&nbsp; A kid shouldn't grow up without his father.&nbsp; A father should always be there."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Micah was sitting across from Damien.&nbsp; Micah was looking at the floor, almost like he was transfixed on something that wasn't there.&nbsp; Damien tried to make eye contact with him, just to see if anything was the matter, but Micah just looked away.&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The truck hit a bump, causing everyone in the back to sway around a bit.&nbsp; The sky was clear.&nbsp; The stars were so beautiful here, it's a shame that such violence was bound to take place.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An M1 Garand was resting on the floor in front of Damien, the barrel was in his left hand.&nbsp; The ammunition was heavy, but he was used to it at this point.&nbsp; The helmets were uncomfortable but everyone wore them.&nbsp; If there was even the slightest chance that a shitty helmet could keep you alive, any rational person would wear it.&nbsp; Damien watched as the man next to him tucked the photograph into his chest pocket and stomped out his cigarette on the wooden floor of the truck.&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A state of unrest overcame the people in the truck as the commander announced in a hushed tone, "Approaching target."&nbsp;

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/3egMQoPn
Part of the series A Thin Line
Previous: https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/788782-a-thin-line-part-two-love.md
Next: https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/806141-a-thin-line-part-four-the-village.md