Soldier Dogs #5

by Marcus Sutter

  They had been walking for an hour, and Juliette was beginning to sweat with the effort of pulling the prone dog around trees and roots, when they all heard the bark.

  Juliette and Antoine imitated Boss, Buzz, and Delta, raising their heads up and listening to the stillness around them. Had they imagined it? Boss barked . . . and another bark answered her.

  From out in the woods came a howl. The huskies tilted their heads back and answered it, and soon even Tank was howling from his spot on his sled. Watching the majestic dogs, so much like wolves, howling into the forest, was both exciting and a little spooky.

  All at once, Boss, Buzz, and Delta bolted into the forest, disappearing in a flash.

  “Wait!” cried Juliette, reaching out as though she could grab the dogs and stop them. She tried to run after them, but between the snow and cold, her typical speed and nimbleness just wasn’t there. A few yards out, she felt Antoine’s arm wrap around her waist and stop her.

  “We need to go after them,” she cried, struggling against his grip. “They might get lost.”

  “They know what they’re doing,” said Antoine. “Those other dogs might be dangerous. They could be enemy hounds. Besides, we can’t leave Tank alone out here.”

  Juliette wrenched free of his grip and turned to Antoine. She felt sad at how quickly Boss and Delta had disappeared. All of her feelings surged up to the surface as she looked at Antoine’s arrogant face.

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” she said.

  “Tank could die if we leave him out here alone!” said Antoine.

  “Then you stay with him, and I’ll go after them,” she said.

  “What if you get lost out there? Or run into enemy hunting dogs?” he said. “You could get hurt, and then it’d just be me trying to pull Tank on my own!”

  “Oh, shut up,” she snapped. “You think you’re always right, but you’re just a bully whose father buddies up to the Nazis while the rest of us try to survive!”

  She felt bad the minute she said it. She could see on Antoine’s face how the comment had stung him—a wince of pain shot across it, and his eyes glistened with tears. For once, it wasn’t his fault either—she’d just worked herself into a bad mood thinking about the war and the Antoine she used to know. The fiery anger that had just filled her suddenly washed away and was replaced by regret and disappointment with herself.

  “Fine,” he said, turning back toward the way they came. “Go chasing after the dogs. I’m going to stay with Tank and see if I can pull him with only one ski pole.”

  He stormed off toward where they’d left Tank. Juliette felt torn in two—did she chase the dogs and leave Antoine, or help him look after Tank while Boss and Delta ran off to who knows where?

  “Mon dieu.” She sighed and stomped off after Antoine. “Antoine, wait, I’m sorry I—”

  She rounded a tree and froze.

  Antoine stood still a few yards from Tank’s sled. Next to the sled crouched a man in a white uniform and goggles. When he saw Juliette, he rose slowly to his feet. She could see the gun clasped in his one hand.

  After all their effort, they’d been caught.

  Chapter 23

  OUTSIDE HAUTE MONCHENOULE, BELGIUM

  DECEMBER 30, 1944

  11:11 A.M. LOCAL TIME

  Boss, Delta, and Buzz ran through the woods, trying to catch the thin wisps of scent out in the snowy forest.

  It had to be around there somewhere. Boss’s nose didn’t just make things up, it was trained by the army. She raised her head again and barked, and another bark answered them.

  There, closer, off between those two trees.

  The three dogs leapt through the snow, following the echoing noise. Boss’s lungs burned, and she breathed heavily and loudly as she pushed herself farther and farther through the forest.

  Almost . . . there . . .

  They burst into a clearing . . . and there it was! The sled! The other six dogs! The line! The pack!

  For a moment, all of the dogs lost their training and joyously collided with each other. Boss, Delta, Buzz, and their other packmates all leapt in the air and barked excitedly, not caring who heard them.

  The supplies! The sled! Gregor’s mission was still incomplete, but now Boss, Delta, and Buzz were back and ready to help. There was still time, still hope! It wasn’t all human pups and enemy soldiers; now, Gregor could—

  Boss stopped mid-leap and whined. Gregor. Where was Gregor? Had he made it to Lierneux?

  The rest of the pack whined back and looked around. They didn’t know. He’d been here recently. He’d only just left. And now—

  A cry rang out in the forest. Thin, high-pitched. Young.

  Boss and Delta’s eyes locked. The human pups.

  How could they have gotten so distracted?

  The two of them rushed back into the snow, barreling between the trees, hoping to reach the pups before their new hope was totally lost.

  Chapter 24

  OUTSIDE HAUTE MONCHENOULE, BELGIUM

  DECEMBER 30, 1944

  11:12 A.M. LOCAL TIME

  Juliette thought her heart must be pounding loud enough for the strange man to hear. She felt as though this moment, with the three of them standing silently in the snow, lasted for minutes, hours, days. Blood rushed in her ears as she wondered whether the soldier would take them away . . . or just shoot them where they stood.

  There was a rush of wind at their sides as Boss and Delta leapt back through the trees. The two dogs barked as they rushed at the strange new figure.

  The figure raised his hand—and the dogs stopped and sat attentively.

  Juliette’s eyes bulged. What was going on here?

  The new figure laughed from underneath the scarf that covered his mouth. He crouched and opened his arms, and Boss and Delta ran into them, licking him all over his face and nuzzling his neck. He laughed even louder, and softly said their names, “Boss, Delta!”

  “What’s going on?” whispered Juliette from the corner of her mouth.

  “Look,” said Antoine. He pointed to the soldier’s arm, and Juliette saw the same three stars symbol printed there as was stamped on the dogs’ harnesses. An American soldier, then—one of the Allies now entering the Ardennes. “I . . . think he’s their owner.”

  The soldier stepped forward and removed his scarf, revealing a beard flecked white with frost and a big, warm smile. He excitedly asked them something . . .

  In English.

  “Do you speak any English?” asked Antoine.

  “No,” admitted Juliette. “Just French, some Flemish, and some German.”

  “Excuse me, sir,” asked Antoine politely in French, “do you speak French?”

  “Yes,” said the man with a smile. “A little. My mother is was in a Canada, and there is a lot of French in Canada. You have my dogs known! And friend Tank is to hurt but is found you with!”

  “Oof,” mumbled Antoine, “that’s some bad French.”

  “Yes,” said Juliette. “You are Boss and Delta’s person, right? You brought them here.”

  “I did!” said the American. He extended a hand, and Juliette and Antoine each warily shook it. “Gregor Thomas. I to be the . . . how do you say musher in French?”

  “I think I understand,” said Juliette. “You have a sled, yes?”

  “Yes,” he said, “only there’s been a problem. Well, come and see . . .”

  Gregor led them through the forest and to a small clearing where Gregor’s sled, which looked like someone had stopped midway through building a model of a shoe, sat in the snow, piled high with crates. Six huskies were tied to the front, who excitedly barked at Boss and Delta as they trotted over. When Antoine and Juliette dragged Tank over, the dogs all got excited, and actually pulled the sled forward a few feet to sniff around him. He must be their leader, thought Juliette, or something like it.

  Gregor pointed to the one runner on the sled. It was cracked in the center, an accident he related to a huge rock jutting out of the s
now a few feet away.

  “I must make supplies to American soldiers,” he said. “They stand hurt in Lierneux.”

  Juliette’s heart leapt. “We’re going to Lierneux!” she said. “What can we do to help?”

  “Well, my sled made to well must be,” said Gregor.

  “What about the skis?” said Antoine, pointing to the sled they’d constructed for Tank. “Could we tie them on and use them as a makeshift runner?”

  Gregor’s smile shot up again, and he cackled and slapped Antoine on the arm. “Very smart, boy son! Very smart! Here we to go!”

  Juliette and Antoine helped tie the skis to the runner of the sled so they sat beneath the crack. The sled was a little lopsided as a result, but they gave it a practice push and it seemed movable. As they worked, Juliette and Antoine used a mix of French, German, and hand motions to explain to Gregor what they’d been through the past couple of days. The American soldier seemed amazed that two children could escape a burning cabin and rob Nazi troops of their skis.

  They helped Gregor load Tank into the cargo basket of the sled and tie Boss and Delta at the front of the line. Gregor examined Tank’s wound and nodded approvingly at the stitches. Apparently, thought Juliette, Till had known what he was doing. Then they all stood on the foot boards in a line, with Juliette pressed up against the handle, Antoine behind her, and Gregor reaching over them.

  The American whistled and yelled something in English . . . and they were off!

  Chapter 25

  OUTSIDE HAUTE MONCHENOULE, BELGIUM

  DECEMBER 30, 1944

  11:58 A.M. LOCAL TIME

  Boss felt the weight of the entire pack on her harness. She felt the snow billowing up in her face, whipping past her without a hint of another dog’s scent in her nostrils. She saw the entire landscape laid out in front of her, the path between the trees coming to her as if by instinct. She’d always thought taking the front of the line would be terrifying, but now she was taking to it easily.

  Her heart swelled with pride. She couldn’t believe it. She was lead dog.

  At her side, Delta powered forward as well, doing her part to steer and haul the new weight. Boss thought about how only a day ago, she would have been disgusted to have been stationed next to Delta, just a team dog who was too clumsy to pull the sled. How things had changed. Though she missed having Buzz at her side—Buzz was in the back next to Dash, who was too concerned about Tank to lead—Boss was proud to run alongside Delta.

  She forced herself to stop thinking and focus on the task at hand. She had her pack back, she had Gregor and the human pups in tow . . . but they weren’t safe. Not yet. All around her, Boss could hear and smell the enemy. Their guns popped, their soldiers screamed and shouted, their heavy machines rolled across snow in an endless crunch. She caught whiffs and sounds that were promising too—friendly soldiers, friendly machines—but they were still in enemy territory. One wrong move, and Boss could lead the whole pack right into an enemy base.

  Delta barked encouragement to her. Boss nodded and hunkered down, using every muscle in her body as hard as she could. She barked to the rest of the pack and heard them bark back at her.

  They had miles to go. But they would get to Lierneux. They would complete the mission.

  Or die trying.

  Chapter 26

  OUTSIDE LIERNEUX, BELGIUM

  DECEMBER 30, 1944

  12:18 P.M. LOCAL TIME

  Juliette squinted and laughed as the cold wind blew in her face. Skiing had been one thing, but this, riding along with dogs pulling them, was unbelievable. It was as though they were flying over the ground as they zipped through the countryside—until a bump or hill would fling the sled into the air for a moment and make Juliette feel as though her stomach were rising up into her throat.

  She reached into her pocket and squeezed the doll tightly in her hand, hoping to pull some bravery from it. They were almost there. The Germans were still all around them . . . but this was at least faster than walking.

  Behind her, Antoine was completely silent, and she could feel by the stiffness of his arms gripping the handle and his heartbeat through her back that he was scared to death. But Gregor didn’t seem in the least bit worried about their speed, and simply laughed and occasionally called out to the dogs.

  “How far out are we?” called Juliette to Antoine. Antoine said nothing. “Antoine? How far—”

  “Leave me alone,” Antoine said sullenly. Juliette lowered her head and felt a pang of shame come over her. He obviously hadn’t forgotten the things she’d said to him earlier.

  After an hour or so, they left a patch of woods, and Lierneux came into view in the distance, a smattering of farmhouses and spired municipal buildings sprawled out black and gray along the white snow-covered hills.

  “Look!” cried Juliette. “There it is! Lierneux!”

  Smoke drifted lazily from its chimneys, mixing with the overcast sky, and yet to Juliette, the sight of the little burg was more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen. Even this far out, Juliette could hear noises in the distance—engines and motors, the honking of a horn. She hoped that those were Allied vehicles, that the city wasn’t teeming with Germans, and that Mama and Papa had made it there alive.

  As they reached the edge of town, Gregor called out to the dogs and instructed Juliette to press down on the brake pedal at her feet. The dogs slowed to a halt just outside of a tall, pointed church on a corner. No sooner had they gotten off the sled than a huge green transport truck roared out from behind the church and pulled up right in front of the sled, causing the dogs to bark and jump in agitation.

  A soldier in green leapt out of the transport, and Juliette’s heart thudded in her chest . . . until the soldier spoke English, and she saw the letters US on the chest of his uniform. Mama and Papa had been right—Lierneux was safe.

  Gregor laughed, walked over, and spoke to him in English. He gestured to Antoine and Juliette and mentioned their names a few times. The American nodded and yelled something at the transport. More soldiers piled out and began taking the crates from Gregor’s sled and tossing them into the back of their truck. Meanwhile, the American soldier waved the kids toward the church, and in broken French said, “I am believe you are to be the expected.”

  “Oof, I guess they don’t teach French in America,” mumbled Antoine.

  Juliette’s heart was aching to see her family and friends—but she couldn’t just leave her traveling companions. She walked one by one to the dogs and put her arms around their necks, burying her face in each of their fur. She got to Boss last and squeezed the big husky so tight that the dog gave out a little grumble.

  “Goodbye, my friends,” said Juliette, tears pricking her eyes. “Thank you for everything. I’ll see you soon.”

  Inside the church, pews had been cleared away and stacked against the walls to make room for cots. All around stood dozens and dozens of people, many of whom Juliette recognized from Plainevaux. From across the room, Luca Diget waved awkwardly at her.

  Juliette spun, looking around the room. Had they made it? Were they here? Did they—”

  “Juliette!”

  Mama’s voice.

  Juliette turned in time to see Mama and Papa running toward her. Before she even knew what was happening, tears sprang up in Juliette’s eyes, and she sprinted across the room and slammed into their arms so hard she made the wind fly out of Papa. She wept, finally, pouring out all the fear and cold and madness of the past few days.

  “Never run off like that again,” cried her mother through sobs.

  “I’m sorry,” gushed Juliette. “I came here as fast as I could. I was worried you’d come looking for me.” She pulled back and looked into their faces. Even Papa’s cheeks glistened with tears. “What happened? Is everyone okay?”

  “People in town saw smoke rising from the forest and knew something was wrong,” said Mama. “Mr. Marzen came and helped us get safe passage to Lierneux, and then sent out a search party to find y
ou—”

  “Antoine’s father?” asked Juliette. “But . . . I thought he was friends with the Nazis.”

  Papa looked puzzled. “Not at all. He only pretends so he can know what they’re planning and find who in their ranks wants to desert. Antoine’s mother and father have saved us more times than I can remember. They’re out there now, helping the Americans stage their next attack.”

  Juliette looked back across the room. Antoine sat on a cot, his head hung down, looking very alone in the world. Part of her thought she should go over and say sorry when a little form ran across the room and leapt into Antoine’s arms. The sight of her made Juliette’s breath catch, and she sprinted over to greet them.

  “Masha?” she asked.

  The little girl looked up from hugging Antoine and gave Juliette a big smile full of baby teeth. “Juliette!” Masha cried as she hugged her. Juliette squeezed the little girl as hard as she could. Masha pulled back and stared at Juliette with bright, excited eyes.

  “Everyone is talking about you,” she said. “They said you and Antoine escaped a burning building and took out a whole squadron of Germans on skis! One of the soldiers is saying that if you hadn’t helped fix that man’s sled, there’d be no food left here for us. You’re heroes!”

  “I don’t know about that,” said Juliette with a laugh. “But we did get to run with some beautiful dogs. Do you want to come meet them?”

  Masha gasped and nodded. Juliette forced herself to turn to Antoine, smile, and say, “Do you want to come with us?” The boy looked surprised, but then nodded and rose. The three of them ran off together.

  Chapter 27

  LIERNEUX, BELGIUM

  DECEMBER 30, 1944

  6:16 P.M. LOCAL TIME

  That night, the Americans set up a long communal table in one part of the church, and they all ate dinner there together, both the refugees from Plainevaux and the American soldiers helping them. It wasn’t a fancy meal—just onion soup, with bread and cheese—but they were all grateful to eat it and smiled warmly at each other as they passed down plates. Mama and Papa sat on Juliette’s left, while Masha and her family sat on her right.