Neutral

• Fletcher Tyson, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2017

Name: Harbin Lewis
Date: 18 May, 1940
Place: Liège, Belgium.

Not choosing a side was dangerous. Very dangerous. I’m Harbin Lewis, a Belgian boy from the city called Liège. The government are pretending they don't know what's going to happen. It's happened before and it will happen again. The Nazis are going to invade. They need our land to ambush the French. Our city will be one of the first. Most people in the city are preparing for war. They can't afford to leave. Leaving would be useless anyway, you'll probably get as far as Luxembourg or around the French border. Regardless of where you are, you can't avoid the war. We've also built a ‘wall’ around some of the city. It's made out of the lifeless logs that were once trees. We know it won't hold. All of this preparing still won't stop the merciless German infantry from tearing apart the city. Our deer-hunting guns won't match their human killing machines. The army will come soon. Some people are pretending they don't know what's coming, those people will be the first to go. Buzzzz. Ring, ring. They're here. Goodbye.

Name: Jelle Van Dijk
Date: 10 May, 1940
Place: Rotterdam, Holland.

Run! They're coming! Pass me the gun! No, don't wait. GO! Bang! N...n...no. This c...can't be. My last words to my wife of 24 years were, ‘Go!’. Me telling her to leave me to die. I have to fight. For her. I'll fight them for her. They can't do this, Holland is our home, they can't just take it. They've already taken my wife and my only son. I'm 42. I can't find anybody else at this age. I'll go soon anyway. I'm going to fight, fight for my family and my country! Bang! Bang! Oh, gosh dammit! Jammed! Useless gun. Knife, I can fight with a knife. There, an army blade! I need to crawl over to the abandoned bombed-out trench, I hear some running and then I see a German soldier about 15 meters in front of me. I can't tell if he can see me because of my blurry vision. “Dort! Niederländer!” I hear the soldier yell dramatically. I can't understand what he's saying, but I know he's talking about me. Bang! A split second after I hear the shot I feel an intense wave of pain hit me. I look at my shoulder, it's broken, and there is crimson blood emerging from my shoulder rapidly. I can't move. Holland will fall. This is the end. Goodbye.

Name: Pål Engen
Date: 10 June, 1940
Place: Narvik, Norway.

Let me tell you, being a soldier isn't fun. There are no benefits. You have to stand in freezing water and watch your family, your friends and everybody you love get shot and murdered. Welcome to hell. About 90% of Norway has been invaded by the Nazis. Me and my family lived at the capital. But we had to leave to this city, Narvik. The last standing city in Norway. And us soldiers have to stand and fight. A fight we will lose. We're like fish in a barrel getting shot by a bunch of evil Jew haters. We will all die. No...they've arrived. My life has been short. Goodbye.