The Clouds Have Tears 2

"If you'll weigh everyone down, it's best you just stay behind and let the rest of us do our job." Hilbert said in a dull tone.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to help." Eugene mumbled under his breath.

"If you did then Franz would still be alive." Hilbert added.

"Hilbert, I think he's heard enough." Phillip stated before getting between the two.

Hilbert let out a silent sigh before walking outside in the rain. Phillip comforted Eugene and they helped the other three soldiers they were with. Eugene patched up Phillip and the rest before walking back to the building where Richard was stationed. The rain continued to pour heavily and the ground they stood on became muddy. The field on the other side of the border, filled with craters, and the craters filled with water. Everyone ran indoors in search of shelter from the cold.

"Eugene! We need your help!" A medic shouted.

"On my way!" Eugene exclaimed as he ran towards them.

The other medics were putting the wounded on stretchers and Eugene gladly assisted them. Eugene quickly realized that some of the wounded soldiers are from Richard's squad and his heart began to beat faster. He tried to calm down and focus on the task at hand but he couldn't stop worrying. He tried to take his mind off of it for a bit but he grew more worried for Richard.

"Hugo called for reinforcements! We need to put more men in the town hall!" Edward shouted.

"Call off all the other units and follow the captain. Eugene, take your squad and come with me." Tristan ordered.

"Is Richard with Hugo? Do we have news of their situation?" Eugene frantically asked.

"We don't know, the only message that got through is that they need reinforcements. Now let's go before we're too late." Tristan added before wearing the radio on his back.

Eugene wore his coat then his helmet before following Tristan and the others. The rain only got worse and thunder rang out along with the gunfire and explosions. They ran in the streets, ducking now and then when they hear the whistling of a falling mortar shell. Once they neared the town hall, they could see Hugo and the others exchanging fire with enemy soldiers.

"Five of you come with me and the rest go help Hugo." Tristan ordered.

"Corporal, can you cover us? We're gonna cross through the park so it'll be quicker." Eugene stated.

"Sure, we'll try to keep their heads down. You guys get going." Tristan replied before running to the enemy's flank.

Eugene and the others ran and didn't look back as they ducked under enemy fire. Upon reaching the town hall, the other medics helped Eugene gather the wounded while the rest climbed up to the roof to help Hugo and the others. Eugene hurried to the roof in search of Richard but he was nowhere to be found.

"Sir! Where's the captain?" Eugene asked Hugo.

"Captain Hetfield? He went with Teresa and Johann." Hugo answered.

"Where can I find them?" Eugene asked once more.

"They flanked south with five other people. You should stay here and help, we need more ammo." Hugo replied before pointing to the small boxes of bullets.

Eugene grabbed three boxes and carried them over to the others. They heard whistling from overhead, a mortar landed just a meter away from the machine gun team and killed them. Hugo ordered Eugene to get on the machine gun and suppress the enemies but Eugene hesitated. He swore to never take a life but his hands were already soaked in blood. The blood of those he couldn't save. He knew they wouldn't forgive him but he had to fight like everyone else.

"Eugene! Get on that gun or we'll get overrun!" Hugo shouted.

"Yes sir!" Eugene replied before running to the machine gun.

He squeezed the trigger and the recoil almost knocked him off his feet. One of the medics Eugene came with arrived at the rooftop and ran towards him. He was a combat medic so he had trained with guns before being deployed. He assisted Eugene with the machine gun, acting as his loader and spotter.

"They're moving up on our right flank." Karl stated.

"Got it." Eugene replied before adjusting the barrel towards the right.

The enemies had no choice but to duck down as Eugene focused his fire towards them. Now that they were closer, Hugo began throwing grenades. The enemies had no choice but to run out of cover to get away from the blast radius of the grenades. This made them an easy target for Eugene and the others.

"They're dispersing, keep shooting!" Hugo exclaimed.

"Tristan and the others are pushing them away from our left flank. We got this Eugene." Karl stated before patting Eugene's back.

Eugene nodded and continued shooting the retreating enemies. He kept count in his head of how many he's killed already. He stained his hands with even more blood, he could barely keep it together. He couldn't hesitate again or more of his friends would die because of him.

"Cease fire! Cease Fire! That's the captain and Johan right there. Seems like they took some prisoners." Hugo exclaimed before waving his arm.

"We did Eugene. Now let's go downstairs and help transport our wounded." Karl stated.

Now that it was only the sound of the rain, Eugene could hear his heart beating wildly. He felt scared and invigorated, it was his first time killing thirty-two men. He couldn't get it out of his head even as he helped put the wounded on stretchers. He heard voices whispering in his head that he was a murderer.

"I killed them..." Eugene mumbled under his breath.

"You're here?" Richard asked as he ran up to Eugene.

"I came with them when I heard that you and the others were in trouble. I was scared you would get hurt." Eugene said with teary eyes.

Richard froze for a moment then embraced him tightly. Eugene was taken by surprise, his tears poured as heavy as the rain. Richard took Eugene's helmet off and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead.

"From now on, I'll stay by your side...always." Richard said softly.

"Yes, sir." Eugene replied before wiping his tears and smiling warmly.