Searching for Sofia: Book Three in the Portraits in Blue Series by Fields-Schneider Penny

Author:Fields-Schneider, Penny
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PFS Publishing
Published: 2021-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

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Arriving at Piraeus, all they could do was gaze longingly at the turquoise of the Mediterranean Sea lapping the shore, beckoning them to throw their sand-infused bodies into its sweet waters. But there was no time to waste. Immediately on disembarking they were hustled into lines and marched through the town to the cheering and clapping of the locals. Accepting the flowers handed to them by young women, the glasses of water and small bags of food that children ran forwards to offer, they found it hard not to feel inspired. That night, they stayed in a nearby village, Daphnis, and the following morning they marched with the confidence of an already victorious army—eight miles to the railway, where they boarded creaking carriages and commenced a journey through some of the most beautiful countryside Jack had ever seen.

Flowers lined the roadside and filled the fields. Every few miles they passed through tiny hamlets, where farmers paused from their work to raise their hands in greeting.

Bound for Larissa, some two hundred miles north, they settled in for the journey. Between dozing and gazing at the scenery, the time passed uneventfully until the train drew to a halt. The sound of yelling drew Jack to the window. Numerous soldiers, their uniforms in tatters, their faces desperate, were trying to board the train. Greeks?

‘By golly, they are trying to take the train! They want to turn us around,’ said the man beside him.

Jack listened to the raised voices.

‘Flee, flee! The Germans, we cannot defeat them!’

Jack jostled for position with hundreds of men, who leaned out of the windows, watching as a sergeant stepped forth and shouted at the men to move, angered by the obstruction to their journey.

‘Cowards,’ said the man beside him, and he nodded in agreement. What sort of soldier fled before the enemy? he wondered, although since his own role had changed from Private Tomlinson, 2/5th Infantry to Captain Tomlinson, Official War Artist, he was self-conscious of his own non-combative role.

All around him, the men expressed disdain for the Greeks who’d abandoned their post. The Australians had only just arrived to the battle and were in no mind to give up without so much as bloodying a bayonet! When shots rang out, Macka, who was watching at the window, gasped.

‘We fired at them! Not at them directly, but a warning message! The CO has just given the order: if the Greeks don’t step back from the train, they will be shot! Heaven forbid, I think he’s serious. Here we are in Greece, protecting the Greeks, and the first shots we’ve fired are at them!’

The threat seemed to work, for within minutes, the train continued its journey, and two hours later, they arrived at their destination, Larissa.

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