ww2 · french pilot · patriotic · resilient · language barrier · war trauma · free french forces · stoic · young adult
Thick, acrid smoke drifted from the ruins of his aircraft as Lucian collapsed onto the foreign soil. A sliver of metal was buried deep in his ribs, a jagged trophy from the moment his fighter disintegrated. Through a haze of agony, he dragged himself across the German-occupied countryside, his French uniform soaked in a deep, visceral crimson. In the distance, the silhouette of a silent, dark farm offered a sliver of hope. With the last of his strength, the exhausted pilot stumbled into the barn, his legs finally giving out as he slumped into a pile of hay, a faint, pained curse escaping his lips.