by Steve Korte
He reached out his hand to her and stepped onto the ship’s boarding ramp.
“You still coming?” he asked.
Diana nodded firmly. She and her companions quickly boarded the ship.
As the ship pulled out of port, Steve and Diana stood on the deck and surveyed the crowded docks. They saw nurses wearing soiled and bloody uniforms. The nurses were tending to dozens of wounded soldiers who had been carried on stretchers off the ship. The groans of the injured soldiers filled the air. Diana reached over to grasp Steve’s arm. Both stood mute, watching the scene below them. They were headed to where the injured soldiers had come from.
Diana tried to sleep during the fourteen-hour journey to Belgium, but each time she closed her eyes she found herself thinking about the wounded soldiers in Dover. She anxiously ran her hand along the hilt of her sword. How soon would she be able to put it to use?
After the ship docked in Belgium, Diana and her companions waited on the deck as the soldiers disembarked. Diana’s eyes widened as she saw horses in gas masks being led down the ramp.
“The gas will kill everyone, everything,” she said to Steve. “What kind of weapon kills innocents?”
“In this war? Every kind,” said Steve. “Come on. It’s about an hour’s hike to reach Chief.”
They walked into a wooded area not far from the dock and made their way down a winding path through the forest. Diana inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of the rustling trees. With her sharp eyes, she spotted birds nestled in the branches and woodland animals peeping from their hiding places.
As nighttime approached, the four companions stepped cautiously out of the dark woods and into a clearing where a small campfire was burning. A tall man was standing in front of the fire, dropping logs into it. His back was to Steve and the others.
“You’re late,” said the tall man without turning around.
“Chief!” said Steve with relief.
The tall man turned around to face the four of them. He was a Native American, and his dark eyes sparkled in the glow of the campfire. His long black hair was pulled back tightly behind his head, and a small, bright feather was tucked into the headband of his hat.
“It’s good to see you,” said Sammy.
“Aye,” agreed Charlie.
Chief looked at Diana and asked, “Who is this?”
Diana stepped forward and reached out her hand. Chief responded by solemnly grasping her wrist in a manner similar to the Amazons on Themyscira.
In his native tongue, Chief said, “Niitangio, Napi.”
Diana responded in the same Native American language, “I am Diana.”
Chief laughed and asked, “Where did you find her?”
“She found me,” Steve admitted.
Diana began to explain, “I plucked him from the sea when he—”
“It’s a long story,” interrupted Steve.
Diana glanced behind Chief and noticed a huge pile of packages on the ground. A few guns were scattered on top of the packages. She turned to Steve with a puzzled look on her face.
“British tea for the Germans,” Steve said. “German spirits for the British. Edgar Rice Burroughs novels for both sides.”
“And guns,” said Charlie happily, as he reached forward to grab a rifle. He caressed the rifle tenderly against his chin.
Steve removed a map from his jacket and said, “Ludendorff was last seen at the Front near the Somme. The Front is about three miles away. Chief will get us there.”
“Then it’s another day to safely cross it,” said Chief.
“As soon as we have daylight, we move,” said Steve. “I’ll take first watch.”
Charlie held up a hand in protest as he sat down next to the fire.
“No need,” he said. “I’ll take it. I never sleep on the job!”
One hour later, Charlie was fast asleep, curled into a ball next to the fire. Steve and Sammy slumbered on the ground not far away. Diana and Chief sat by the fire, as Chief reached forward to heat a can of food. The booming sound of guns and heavy artillery could be heard in the distance.
Diana looked up and said, “Strange thunder.”
“German seventy-sevens,” said Chief.
Diana looked confused, so he explained, “Guns. Big ones. That’s the Front out there. The evening hate.”
Chief handed her a can of heated beans. She dipped a fork into it and tasted the beans. A pained look filled her face. This was not as tasty as ice cream.
Diana discreetly placed the can of beans on the ground and watched Chief as he counted a large stack of money.
“So . . . ,” she began cautiously, “who do you fight for in this war?”
Chief stuffed the money in his pocket and said, “I don’t fight.”
Diana frowned and said, “You’re here for the profit then?”
“Nowhere better to be,” replied Chief with a smile.
“Nowhere better to be than a war you don’t take a side in?” challenged Diana.
Chief slowly turned to face Diana and said, “I have nowhere else and no side left. The last war took everything from my people. We have nothing left. At least here, I’m free.”
“Who took that from your people?” Diana asked indignantly.
Chief pointed in the direction of the sleeping Steve Trevor and said simply, “His people.”
Diana had no response to this. She sat quietly next to the campfire and stared at Steve in the flickering light of the flames.
Hours later, she was still lost in her thoughts when Steve began to stir. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and looked up to see Diana watching him.
“You’re going to get cold,” said Steve, as he offered her a blanket. “Here.”
“I’m not cold,” protested Diana, as Steve reached over to wrap the blanket around her shoulders. The warmth of the soft fabric caused her eyes to droop. She looked up at Steve and smiled at him. Minutes later, she was fast asleep.
THIRTEEN
Just miles away from Diana and her companions, a top-secret command station had been built in the middle of the Belgian battlefield. The German war council was meeting inside the building. That night, General Ludendorff paced around the room, angrily waving his arms. A tall man with close-cropped gray hair, his cheeks were flushed with rage. He turned to face his superior officer, Commander Von Hindenburg, who silently glared at Ludendorff. A half-dozen German officers watched nervously in the background.
“We can easily win this war still,” shouted Ludendorff. “If only you had faith in me!”
“But we don’t have faith in you,” said Von Hindenburg. “We have no choice but to retreat. There are shortages of food, medicine, and ammunition. Every hour we delay costs thousands of German lives.”
“One attack and the war is ours,” said Ludendorff. “As we speak, my chemist, Doctor Maru, and her team are—”
“We stand against you and your witch, Ludendorff!” barked Von Hindenburg. “Enough!”
Ludendorff stormed out of the building and slammed the door behind him. He walked up to a woman who was standing near the entrance. It was Doctor Maru, and her large, dark eyes widened with apprehension as he approached her. Ludendorff paused to gaze at Maru for a moment. He studied the three interlocking metal plates that covered the lower part of her face. Although the metal plates were flesh-colored, they gave her face a grotesque robotic look. Maru quickly tugged at her coat collar with one hand in a futile attempt to hide her scars. She held a small metal canister in her other hand.
Ludendorff glanced down at the canister and smiled. He then reached back to open the door to the building.
“Do it,” he said to Maru.
She quickly tossed the canister into the room. She then watched with surprise as Ludendorff reached over to grab a gas mask. He threw the mask into the room and then slammed the door shut and locked it.
“That gas mask won’t help,” said Maru.
“Yes, but they don’t know that,” said Ludendorff.
A h
issing sound of leaking gas could be heard within the building. Seconds later, Ludendorff smiled as he listened to the anguished screams of the men and the sound of their hands beating against the locked door.
Soon, it grew silent. Ludendorff took Maru by the arm and led her away.
“It’s time to stage our demonstration for the kaiser,” he said.
The next morning, as the sun began to rise in the gray skies over Belgium, Diana and her companions made their way carefully down a country road. Chief was in the lead, and his eyes busily scanned the ground.
“You’ll want to walk behind me,” he said to Diana.
“And why is that?” she asked.
Chief gestured for Sammy to hand him a can. Chief then hurled the can into the middle of the road ahead of them.
BOOM!
The can detonated a land mine, causing an instant explosion.
“That’s why,” said Chief, as he resumed walking.
Diana fell in line behind him.
Two hours later, the gray skies darkened and rain began to fall. The road quickly turned to mud, causing Chief and his companions to slow their pace. Suddenly, the sound of bullets ricocheted above their heads. Diana and the others dropped to the muddy ground and crawled on their hands and knees to a nearby hole carved in the mud. They moved through the hole and entered a deep trench. British soldiers and frightened Belgian residents were crowded next to them within the trench.
“Where are we?” asked Diana.
“You wanted me to take you to the war,” said Steve. “This is it. The front lines.”
Diana was puzzled.
“But where are the Germans?” she asked.
Charlie pointed toward one end of the trench and said, “Couple hundred yards that way. In a trench like this one.”
Diana frowned as she turned to view the seemingly endless line of British soldiers who were trudging wearily through the trench. The faces of the soldiers were filled with fear and fatigue.
Diana turned to a Belgian woman who was standing near her. The woman was young, and she was clutching her infant daughter close to her. Both mother and daughter were shivering, whether from fright or the cold Diana couldn’t tell. Diana reached into Steve’s duffel bag and removed the blanket. She offered it to the woman and child.
In a weary voice, the woman spoke to Diana in Dutch.
“The Germans took everything . . . homes and food,” she said. “Our people who couldn’t escape, the Germans took as slaves.”
“Where did this happen?” Diana asked.
The woman pointed helplessly beyond the trench.
Diana turned to Steve and said, “We need to help these people.”
“We need to stay on mission,” replied Steve.
Chief nodded in agreement and said, “And there’s no safe crossing ahead for at least a day.”
“But these people are dying,” Diana protested. “They have nothing to eat. And in the village . . . enslaved, she said! Women. Children.”
She paused to look at her companions and asked, “Is there truly not one among you with honor?”
Steve turned to Diana and angrily said, “Thousands of men die on this line every day! So if you’re looking for honor in this mess, you won’t find any. I told you this war is—”
“Unlike any other,” Diana interrupted. “So what? So we should do nothing?”
“We can’t save every person in this war,” said Steve.
“We can try!” Diana argued.
“We would die trying, Diana,” said Steve. “There’s a trench full of MG-08 machine guns and heavy artillery on the other side aimed at every square inch of this one. Between them: no-man’s-land. It’ll take this entire army six months to gain even an inch. Besides, it’s not what we came here to do.”
Diana stepped away from the group and began to climb up the side of the trench.
“No, but it’s what I’m going to do,” she said, as she jumped over the top of the trench and stood at the edge of the muddy battlefield.
“Diana! No!” yelled Steve.
Diana unsheathed her sword and held it aloft. The golden lasso at her side began to glow. She took a step forward.
Suddenly, a German soldier reached over the top of a trench. He pointed his gun directly at Diana and fired. At the sound of the explosion, Diana quickly lifted her left arm. The bullet bounced harmlessly off the silver bracelet around her wrist. The German soldier fired again, this time a fast succession of bullets. Diana used her bracelets to knock away each bullet.
Back in the British soldiers’ trench, Charlie poked his head over the top. His mouth fell open in astonishment.
“How did she do that?” he marveled.
Bullets were flying from dozens of German soldiers, but Diana easily swatted each bullet away as she walked across the battlefield. Her pace began to quicken. Soon, she started to run past the astonished German soldiers. Their bullets ricocheted harmlessly into the air.
Steve turned to his companions and called out, “She’s drawing their fire! Let’s go!”
With a yell, Steve and his companions jumped out of the trench and ran toward the Germans.
As the bullets continued to fly, a group of German soldiers scrambled to lift a heavy mortar. They pointed it directly at Diana.
BOOM!
Four explosive mortar shells soared through the air. Diana planted her feet firmly in the ground and lifted her shield.
KER-BLAM!
The mortar shells collided against Diana’s shield and broke into tiny fragments. Diana was unharmed.
The British soldiers gave a loud cheer. Inspired by Diana’s bravery, they surged over the top of their trench and joined the battle.
A German soldier pointed a machine gun at Diana and began to fire. Then a second machine gun opened fire on her. She crouched down to her knees and raised her bracelets to deflect the steady barrage of bullets. She realized with dismay that the combined fire of the two machine guns was slowing her progress into the battlefield.
As the bullets continued to soar, she heard a sound behind her. She turned her head and smiled. Steve and his friends, joined by the British soldiers, were charging forward toward her. Steve and Charlie aimed their rifles and took out a half-dozen German soldiers. Sammy grabbed a grenade from Chief and tossed it into the German trench. The exploding grenade destroyed one of the machine guns.
The second machine gun continued to fire at Diana. She started to run toward it and took a flying leap. She soared through the air and landed with a crash on top of a group of astonished German soldiers in their trench. Diana lifted her shield and then smashed it into the machine gun. The weapon crumbled into pieces.
Steve’s team and the British forces followed Diana into the trench and quickly overpowered the German soldiers.
Steve turned to savor the moment of victory with Diana, but she was already climbing out of the trench. She began to run toward the nearby village of Veld, where the sound of German gunfire could be heard.
“We’re not finished yet,” she called out.
Steve and his team ran after her, stumbling down the muddy road.
Diana and her companions paused at the edge of the village. They crouched down as bullets flew over their heads.
“I’ll go ahead,” she said.
Before anyone could respond, Diana unsheathed her sword and ran toward the gunfire.
Steve lifted his rifle and fired. He motioned for the team to follow Diana.
“Go!” he shouted, as they scrambled after her.
Diana ran into the middle of the village and took a flying leap through the window of a building. Shards of glass crashed inside the room as Diana landed in the middle of a group of armed German soldiers. They immediately started to fire at Diana, as she kicked over a table and tossed it against two of the soldiers. As she deflected bullets with her bracelets, she cut one soldier with her sword. She then slammed her fists into two other soldiers. She used her shield to knock another soldier through the
open window.
Steve and his team were standing in the street outside the building, and they watched with amazement as the German soldier landed on the ground in front of them. Seconds later, another dazed German soldier came flying through the window.
Chief handed Steve a grenade, and Steve tossed it behind a wall where a group of German soldiers were firing their guns. The exploding grenade instantly ended the German gunfire.
Diana crashed through the wooden door of the building. She ran down the street and jumped onto a stone wall. She then leaped onto a nearby rooftop. German soldiers surrounded the building and started firing on her from all sides. She deflected the bullets with her bracelets and gestured toward the front door of the building below her.
Steve and his companions looked over to see an anguished group of people inside the building, locked behind two wooden doors. They were people from the town of Veld, and they were crying out for help.
Steve threw two hand grenades, taking out a few of the German soldiers who were firing at Diana. His companions rushed forward to break open the wooden doors and free the townspeople.
Two German soldiers climbed onto the roof next to Diana, and she spun around to grab hold of them and slam their heads together. She then lifted both soldiers and tossed them aside.
More German soldiers continued to pour into Veld, and Diana looked up with alarm to see one soldier climbing a tall bell tower in the center of town. Steve looked up to follow her gaze and saw the man reach the top of the tower. Seconds later, a steady barrage of bullets shot out of the tower.
Diana ran down to join her companions.
“Charlie,” Steve called out. “Sniper in the bell tower!”
Charlie pulled out his rifle and pointed it toward the tower. He squinted through the scope and fired. The bullet missed its target and instead ricocheted off the side of the bell inside the tower. The sniper instantly turned to face Steve and his companions and began firing at them.
“You never miss,” said Sammy, as he and the others scrambled for cover.
“Bloody scope,” muttered Charlie. “Lens is cracked.”
“Is there a way inside the tower?” asked Diana.
“There is,” Steve said, “if you jump!”
