Last Man Standing
By Julie Danskin

Author's Note: Hey. Thanks for coming to read my latest story. I hope you like it, and any feedback on it would be greatly appreciated. As you will probably have guessed, this novel is a love story during the First World War, and the tragedies that the British boy endured on the Eastern Front in an attempt to survive and return to his loved one. This story includes violence and strong language, and its actions are fictional even though it is set in a historic background. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter One - Adrian's London

"Your country needs you!"

"What the fuck for?"

Pause.

"Er . . . cannon fodder!"

The psuedo-Lord Kitchener faltered, and Liam Todd resumed as the Fifty- Second Londoners Regiment fell about laughing and cursing at the appearance of their comrade-in-arms. He wore a top hat and a novelty moustache, which he had balanced inexpertly on his upper lip. He had on his soldier's uniform a collection of coloured pieces of paper appearing to be medals, and on his face he wore a goofy grin that signified his acknowledgement of his popularity. It had not been excruciatingly difficult to attain.

Adrian Brooke, however, was somewhat a quieter sort yet still he was regarded as the infamous Liam's dearest friend in the entire world. Adrian returned the sentiment; he had known and admired Liam since he was a child and could not imagine a life without him. And now they were to fight together like brothers! Brothers fighting for a cause worth dying for, but what's more living for and breathing for until the end . . . also bringing home a promised wad of pounds sterling towards better life afterward. Afterward . . . they had said it would not be long. Six weeks at most. Over by Christmas, on any road.

The Huns had their work cut out for them with jagged edges, and everyone knew who would emerge victorious. Even Adrian, the cautious, mysterious one, knew that for once he was on the winning side and contributing towards it; not just cheering on Liam and his other friends at the sidelines of a football game as he had become accustomed to. He was playing a game with no offside rule or substitutes, but it was just a game. That was how Marty had told him to look at it, anyway.

Adrian was jolted back to reality at the thought of his brother, remembering that he had to be home for the last Sunday dinner for a while at least. He turned to Liam, who was now trying to coax Mickey Black into running headfirst into a wall with the stolen top hat on, claiming he wouldn't feel a thing. Mickey, despite being something of an uneducated simpleton, was not a complete fool and could calculate that walls hurt; especially if one were to run into one deliberately.

"Lee . . . Liam!" Adrian called uselessly into the hysterics of his social circle, but of course his best friend failed to adhere to his request. Eventually he attracted his friend's attention, and Liam turned to his with a slightly irritated but still amiable expression on his boyish face the girls so loved.

"Aw Ade, leaving us so soon, mate?" he asked disappointedly, and although there was a joke in his voice his reluctance to see his friend go was genuine. He patted Adrian on the shoulder and grinned wildly, his eyes shining mischievously.

"I can't believe we're finally going tomorrow, Ade!" he hissed excitedly, his whole face lit up like a room on fire. "On our adventure out of this dull city!"

Adrian laughed with him, but sensed Liam's cat-like attention span wavering towards the boys' nearly successful attempts to bribe Mickey into a self- inflicted concussion.

"I know. Let's get tonight over with first though, eh?" Adrian suggested with a smile, and Liam nodded. He cottoned on to Adrian's deliberately enigmatic meaning and winked slyly.

"Don't fret, old boy," he bellowed, and Adrian felt his cheeks burning already, "you might get Ellie Gibson promised to you yet!"

A simultaneous cry of "WAYHEY!" erupted from the rest of the eight boys, and at first Adrian thought it was because they had overheard Liam's teasings - which wasn't difficult - but realised he was flattering himself. Liam couldn't help himself and whipped around to see Mickey ricochet off the hard brick wall and fall flat on his rear. Adrian took his chance and slipped away, so that when Liam turned back to grin gloatingly with a face saying I-told-you-I-could-make-him-do-it-didn't-I? he was not there. It didn't worry Liam; Ade disappeared and appeared unexpectedly all the time. He knew where to meet his friend later, and he knew where he'd be meeting all those girls down by the Thames that night.

Word had it that Elliot Kinneally had managed to round up some naïve foreign girls ripe for the chop. Liam knew he couldn't wait to get into that succulent meat, that was for certain. He just hoped that Adrian would have a night he later regretted, too, instead of remaining the sensible quiet one he chose to be.

Liam, however, knew Adrian better than anyone and had seen his hidden personality that came out on the rarest of occasions but certainly came out if he so wished it. People liked Adrian naturally anyway, but he wasn't confident enough to pull any of the Londoner girls despite his liking to one in particular.

That was the reason why Liam's first priority for tonight was to get Adrian sodding drunk so he wouldn't even know what he was saying to Ellie Gibson.

A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. This was just an introductory chapter, the next one will be more involved and into the plot. All reviews would be greatly appreciated!