William was not tired, the whole night he had stared at the ceiling of the dark coloured tent, tensing whenever another explosion echoed in the far distance.

What really unnerved him, was actually the silence. Numerous scenarios ran across his mind, were the Nazis coming, creeping in the dense forest while the camp was asleep? He knew there was patrol on all the sides with heavy weapons, but he was on edge nevertheless. He dozed off at times, but Johns soft snores seemed to be too loud. The commotion around the tents, the soft footsteps whenever someone walked past their tent had William hold his breath every time.

What if he was going to die there, like one of those lonely men who no one was ever going to miss? The sort of man whose bones would be buried into the strange soils and never to be found again?

Blue eyes wide as saucers, William left the tent in the early morning hours, leaving his new unit asleep as be crept outside, making sure to pull the dark coloured military coat closer to his shivering body. The forest was covered in fog, making William even more paranoid then he thought was possible.

He sighed in relief the moment he had pulled out the chain with the key to his home. It gave him a little peace, knowing that wherever he went, it would still be attached to him. And if he was to die in that day or the next one, his home would be right there, chained to his heart.

He squeezes his eyes shut, gripping the key as he placed a kiss upon the flat metal.

"It is good to have faith." a quiet, smooth voice startled him, making him drop the key as it fell onto his chest silently. He whipped around, wide blue eyes meeting the warm, dark ones of Elliot Mayer. "Sorry for startling you, it wasn't my intention." he said, stepping next to William who was tucking the key under his coat and shirt, he didn't want to lose it.

"It's fine, what got you up so early?" he asked instead, changing the subject as he clasped his clammy hands behind his back. He could see a flash of understanding in Elliot's dark eyes, but before he could get annoyed, Elliot averted his gaze. "I don't sleep much anyway, but you didn't sleep at all, did you?" William shook his head, not trusting his voice as he turned towards the forest.

No bombs had gone off in a while, he wondered why.

"You should have. But come on, let's get some breakfast, I have a feeling we're going to have a busy day today because Captain is still nowhere to be seen." Elliot said, gesturing towers the middle of the camp where the larger tents stood. William nodded, only then realising how empty his stomach really was.

"Have you been here long?" he stepped beside Elliot, walking beside him as they quietly manoeuvred around the tents filled with sleeping soldiers. "Yes, since the beginning, really. All of us have, except John. He and his twin brother appeared around a year ago." will quirked his eyebrow, looking so surprised he almost stumbled into someone's tent if it wasn't for Elliot's firm grip pulling him away. "I-I was not expecting that." the older man only hummed in response.

"But where is he? Can I meet him?" he asked curiously, eyeing the food tent with hunger in his eyes. "Only in heaven, boy." was Elliot's sad reply, making Will blink away the sympathy and fear.

This was real. He was no longer in Brooklyn. People died out here, and then they'd be replaced.

They ate over a small conversation and William didn't even find Elliot's calm demeanour agitating. He has often found them boring, but in that moments Elliot was the one filling him in with everything. 

When the sky got brighter, William noticed the commotion coming closer to them. Soldiers were coming near the medic tents as fast as they could. He could hear the whimpers of pain, groans and gurgling sounds that once again made him slightly hunch over and lose all colour on his cheeks. He made an attempt to go and help the soldiers soaked with mud and blood, some of them were being dragged over, they had lost limbs or bandaged with rags to stop deep wounds. Without being able to do anything, Will felt his feet moving towards his comrades, but he was suddenly pulled back by Elliot. He looked at the man quizzically, noticing everyone else scurry over to the tired ghosts of war. 

"We have to get back to our tent, get ready. I have a feeling we'll go out today. Come on, they've got their help." Elliot said, tugging the green looking boy away from the bloody sight. 

He could hear the nurses barking out commands to fetch stretchers, water or help someone walk over. Elliot stayed calm through all of this while he kept gently pulling Will away from the commotion.

When they got back, they saw that the rest had woken as well, all except John whose snores were still coming from the tent. “How many?” Pappy asked Elliot without turning towards them. “Around fifty.” the older man shook his head, craning his head towards the grey skies as Elliot made quiet conversation with Theo who was tying his boots.

William felt slightly uncomfortable, he felt as if he was intruding their normal, daily routine. But he was going to learn their routine and become a part of it.

Of course, he liked to work alone, because he had never worked in a team or unit. But he was willing to try and fit into their group as well as be could. He was decent at figuring people out.

Suddenly all three of them straightened up and saluted towards Will, making him frown in confusion as he scratched the back of his bead, his blond hair messy and sticking out in did places. He froze when someone cleared their throat behind him, making him mumble incoherent words as he stumbled next to Elliot who gave him unimpressed stare. “Captain.”

Williams breath hitched as his eyes met the ones of Michael Carter. He hoped the man didn't recognise him. After all, he had been soaking wet when they had met. “Who is this, Hoare?” Captain Carter asked, no emotion on his face as all four soldiers stood before him. Pappy cleared his throat before clasping his hands behind his back. “Will Rogers, sir. He is here to replace Isaac.” the name Isaac seemed to be hard to say for the sturdy soldier.

William put two and two together, immediately feeling sick after he realized who he was replacing. Isaac must have been Johns twin brother, it made Will guilty for some reason, he felt as though he had new and much larger shies to fill now.

Captain Carter blinked, looking down at Will briefly. The man was quite tall and intimidating, making the youngest boy in the whole camp lower his blue eyes towards the wet ground. “Prepare, we leave as soon as the others are ready. And for heaven's sake, wake Johnathan, I could hear his snoring to the other side of the camp.” he said with, Will could swear he saw the Captain's lips turn upwards slightly.

“Dismissed. Hoare, a word?” he said with a strong voice, briefly glancing towards uneasy Will again. William turned away, gulping as he entered the tent. He halted, tilting his head when watched as Theo bent over John, briefly staring down at the curly-haired man who was drooling all over the floor. A sudden slap rang in William's ears, making him jump.

John pushed himself up, eyes wide as he started up at Theo who was smiling smugly. “We need to get moving in a few. Stop wasting the day.” he said with a monotonous voice as he stepped over John, brushing past startled William before striking outside to join the others there. John yawned and git ready, mumbling incoherent words under his breath.

A large hand on his shoulder made William rigid for a second, before he glanced over his shoulder, ignoring the way John had fallen on his bum after trying to get his boots on.

“We need to talk.”

He stepped outside into the cool weather with Captain Carter whose eyes were hard when the rested on Will. He motioned for Will to follow him. The walk was quiet and he had absolutely no guts to start up the conversation with his new Captain. His breakfast was doing flips in his stomach, sensing the worst when they came to a stop. They were out of everyone's hearing range.

“What do you think you are doing here?” he asked quietly, William forced himself to stand still and not move his limbs in signs of stress. He was obviously caught, he didn't want ti to seem as if he was scared. “I am fighting for justice, sir.” Michael shook his head, his lips in a thin line.

“How did you get here, William?” he rephrased the question, confusion flashing in his sky coloured eyes. William could see the paleness of his face, and the way his eyes seemed to be sunken in. Captain's hair was neatly pushed back, he looked presentable, but this place seemed to turn men into skeletons, Will thought.

“I enlisted, sir, like everyone else here.” it was the truth, sort of. Right?

Captains brow arched, before he briefly glanced towards the camp, noting the number of men getting ready to leave. “Stop with the lies, boy. Tell me the truth, how did you enlist? Despite your looks, you are roughly underage. And don't tell me another one of your lies, Rogers. My sister told me everything about you, that included your age as well. So, William, how did you enlist when you're underage?” Now William had reason to bonder which was easier, running into the cold hands of Nazis or facing the prison.

“I lied in the enlistment form! Oh please, sir, don't tell anyone! I'm as good of a soldier as everyone else! Honest!” he blurted out, almost reaching for Michales front coat to shake the man in desperation.

He was too young to go to prison!

Michaels attention was pulled away by the shout from the group, letting him know they had to get moving. “Come on, kid. We have to go. This conversation is far from over. But because of my sister, I will keep my silence. But mark my words, you'll be out of this place as soon as possible. This is no place for children, William. And I intend to keep you away from war. Okay? Now come along, you must stick close to me until I get you on the first truck that heads back home.” his tone was final as the turned around, not allowing Will to answer.

William was not going home, not until the war was over.

But was it really ever going to end for him?

***
дикий солдат 🤔😉😏😏

Anyways, what do you guys thought about the chapter? I mean, cap Carter is there mah wattpadians! The big brother brr

Also, where is everyone from? I'm always wondering that x)

Skål!