"So, where you from?' Upham asked, hesitantly.
Roc looked at him and she side-smiled. "Boston."
He sighed with relief. "Well, at least someone here is friendly."
She chuckled. Upham had already asked the other where they were from and they all cussed him out or asked him to "drop dead". He was an obvious idiot, but she had sympathy for him.
"Hey, Up-Ham."
They both turned and saw Reiben. He had dirt on his nose and his hair was a bit of a mess.
"Every time you salute the captain, it makes him a target for the enemy. So knock it off, especially when I'm standing next to him." he said, scoffing.
"Piss off, Reiben. He's doing a little better than you when you first joined this hayride." Rox said, smirking.
Reiben just rolled his eyes and kept walking with the others.
"So, I heard you're writing a book." she said, looking back at Upham.
He nodded. "That I am."
"What's it about?"
"Well, I'm not so sure. It was going to be about the bonds of brotherhood that develop between soldiers at war, but now I'm not so sure." he replied, slightly smiling.
"Why don't you go ask the captain where he's from" Reiben cut in.
"Shut up, Reiben. You're not as funny as you think." Rox said.
"Hey, cool it, will you, Roxy? Jesus, you're always ruining the fun around here." he said, shaking his head.
She punched his arm. "I told you to stop calling me that. You think you're funny?"
"Hey, quit flirting back there." Sarge scolded.
"Your name's Roxy?" Upham asked.
"Roxanne. But, don't ever call me that. Rox is fine, got it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He nervously nodded. "Got it."
He looked at Reiben and back at Rox. Then, he stared at the captain.
"All right, I'll play along. Where's the captain from?" Upham asked.
"You figure that out, you've got yourself a nice prize." Caparzo laughed.
Upham grimaced. "What?"
"Over three hundred bucks, last I heard." Jackson said.
Rox gave him a smile and a small shove. He laughed and shook his head. They walked ahead together, and the captain watched them.
"Somebody must know where he's from and what he did for a living." Upham said, still on the subject.
"Somebody probably does." Sarge said.
"Why don't you just ask him?" Upham insisted.
"The captain prefers not to discuss certain aspects of his life." Jackson said, up ahead.
"I heard they assembled him out of dead GI's. That's a fact." Reiben said, spitting.
Jackson glanced at him. "You got something against the captain?"
"Hell, no. I think he's the best officer in the army." Reiben replied.
He meant it too. They all saw it and nodded in agreement. Upham noticed the captain staring at Rox and Jackson up ahead.
"Don't go too far." he said.
Rox looked back at him. "We won't."
Upham walked beside Sarge, who seemed to be the only one besides Rox who could stand him.
"They a couple?" he asked, motioning his head to Rox and Jackson.
"No, but they sure as hell act like it, huh?" Sarge laughed.
"Where's Jackson from?"
Sarge shrugged. "Forgot. Why? You jealous or something?"
Upham shook his head. "I just noticed them together a few times and noticed how she looks at him."
"Jackson likes her, but he's not sure if he likes her...you know, that much."
"How do you know?"
"What are you? Stupid? He told me."
Upham just nodded. "Oh. Well, how's the captain take it?"
Sarge grabbed Upham's collar and pulled him close to his face. "Imagine the captain doing this to you, only when he does it, you'll probably end up dead."
Upham stared in shock. He swallowed and nodded, understanding the message. Sarge let him go and kept walking. Upham stood for a moment, still shocked. He caught up with Sarge and cleared his throat.
"So, the captain has a...thing for her?"
"Ever since he laid eyes on the girl."
"But, I never would've-"
"Neither did I when I first noticed. It wasn't even anything he said. It was just really cold out one night. We had a fire up and all that crap, and he looked at her, you see. She's shivering like a wimp and he takes off his own jacket and puts it over her shoulders, like nothing. She looks up at him, just shocked out of her mind and thanks him. Then, he says nothing, but stares into her eyes. And, that's how I knew. I just knew he cared about her. He's always asking her to stay close whenever we're out."
"So, just because he lended his jacket, he likes her? Maybe he just wants to protect her since she's the only female out in the group." Upham shrugged.
Sarge shooed him away with his hand. "If you know so much then don't ask questions! Jesus."
"What? What's he saying?" Captain Miller asked Upham.
A man had approached them, his house and family a wreck. They were covered in ash and mud and the children were crying.
"I don't know. Something about taking the children." Upham replied.
The man hands them one of his children, a little girl. She dangles over the ledge of the broken house and cries louder.
"They want us to take them." Upham said.
"What? No, we can't take the children." Miller protests.
The man dropped the girl down gently and she cries. She screams at her father and he cries too.
"They think they'll be safe with us." Upham said, looking at the family.
"It's not safe anywhere! Tell them it's not safe!" Miller ordered. "Caparzo, grab her and put her back up there now!"
Caparzo picked up the girl and carried her down. Miller watched in disbelief and Rox shook her head.
"No, what the hell are you thinking?" she asked.
"She reminds me of my niece, sir." he yelled back at Miller.
"Caparzo, put that kid back! Now!" Miller demanded.
"Captain, the decent thing to do is take her to a nearby town-"
"Forget the decent thing. The decent thing to do is put her back! She's safer here, despite the Hell going on. We can't take her." Rox said.
Sarge agreed. "You hear the captain, Caparzo. Put the kid back!"
Caparzo wouldn't budge. He held the girl like his own child as she kept crying. Her little dress was filthy and her tears kept coming. Rox shushed her gently and tried to calm her down.
Suddenly, they heard shooting and ducked down. Caparzo screamed and fell down to the muddy floor. The girl screamed and ran back to her family in tears. She climbed up and slapped her father on the shoulder, scolding him in French.
"I'm shot!" Caparzo yelled, clutching his leg.
"Where'd it come from?" Jackson yelled, as he took cover behind an old car.
"Jackson, find the shooter now!" Miller ordered as he hid behind a building with Rox.
Jackson grabbed his gun and splashed through the mud. Rox watched him go and prayed he would be safe.
Caparzo was screaming from the pain as Reiben and the other tried to find the shooter.
"We gotta get him out of here." Wade, the medic, said.
"Stay put, Wade!" Miller yelled.
Rox shook her head. "If we leave him there, he'll bleed to death."
"And if we step foot out there, we'll end up like him." Miller replied.
"Hang on, Caparzo. Jesus…" she whispered.