Disclaimer: This is a story of fiction, and in no way intended to disrespect the real men of Easy Company. This story was written based on the actors portrayals from the HBO mini-series. I own nothing except my Original Character, Adaline.
"The Gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal; because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again."
-Home "The Iliad"
The fear of death has been prevalent since man first walked this earth, but it's not just the fear of death itself, but of what's waiting on the other side after one has taken their final breath in this mortal world. For ancient Romans and Greeks, they didn't fear death; they openly embraced it with welcoming arms. To them, what they truly feared was the legacy they left behind; would they be remembered for their courageous actions, or would their names fade into nothingness like a dimly lit candle on a stormy night?
To mortals, death is a mysterious and elusive creature that plagues their thoughts while confounding them. It boggles the mind so as to keep anyone from attempting to understand its uncharted territories until the day Fate intervenes and decides that you have a date with the Grim Reaper.
For Adaline, she had experienced more death in her short life than one would experience if they lived to a ripe old age. When she thought about death, which was probably more than what any person would deem acceptable, she often thought back on her brothers. She wondered if it would've made any bit of difference had they known what awaited them on December 7th as they shipped out to Hawaii. Would they have tried to do more than they had to not only spare their own fates but the fates of countless others?
Adaline once heard a rumor that right before you die, your entire life supposedly flashes before your eyes. At first, she scoffed at the ridiculous notion, but then her thoughts drifted to her parents...and it made her wonder if they had experienced such a thing before the collision with an oncoming vehicle that took them much too soon from this earth. She'd even heard rumors from those who claimed to have had a brush with death, experiencing a similar phenomenon. Now that was something she found to be a little farfetched, especially given the fact that she'd had a near death experience of her own. She was in the backseat when her parents crashed, and she didn't have her life flash before her eyes.
As she got older, Adaline chose a career that placed her on the frontline against the war on Death. She knew the moment she decided to become a surgeon, she was signing herself up for a never-ending battle that she might sometimes lose. Even with that knowledge firmly etched into her subconscious, she still refused to give up until her patient's last breath had long passed. She was the one who refused to surrender, resolving to be a force of nature until she had exhausted any and all possible avenues; only then would she ever wave the white flag and admit defeat.
Even now as she hunched over one of the boys who'd collapsed in the middle of the chaotic street in Carentan; with debris cluttering the streets as bullets pinged dangerously close by her, she didn't flinch or bat an eyelash. The loud bangs from the endless grenades and enemy mortars reverberated and shook the tiny country town; even then, she still refused to leave and seek cover.
To anyone who truly knew Adaline knew that she was a person who didn't fear death; with that kind of mentality, especially for a woman...many found that to be a little...insane, especially given the fact that she was currently neck deep in the middle of a god damn war. At that moment, Adaline didn't care if anyone thought her to be reckless because she didn't give a second thought towards her own well-being, her main concern lay with the young soldier before her, whose life she currently held in the palm of her bloodied hands, working tirelessly to get him stable enough to be transferred to the aid station.
As she moved to stand up and prepare to move the wounded paratrooper, her attention was momentarily distracted by Lipton's frantic voice drawing closer towards them; calling out orders for the boys to spread out. Looking up towards him, neither one noticed the enemy artillery that bore straight towards them. In a 'blink and you missed it' moment, Adaline suddenly found herself airborne, flying across the street as if she'd developed some of kind superpower. Colliding harshly against the opposing stone structure, her shoulder, and back bearing the brunt of the impact, the pain temporarily disorienting her.
Rapidly blinking, Adaline groaned, wincing sharply as she pushed herself to sit up, using the wall as support while she tried to gather her bearings. In the distance, she could hear the frantic shouts from the men, their screams laced heavily with concern and fear of what they might discover once they got to her. Out of the corner of her eye, Adaline caught sight of a shadowed figure moving swiftly through the thick dust cloud. Panic rushing through her veins like ice; she instinctively reached for her sidearm, drawing it in preparation. It wasn't until she heard that familiar Cajun drawl call out her name, that she allowed herself to relax somewhat.
Just as she was about to retort with a wiseass comment about the whole ordeal, it quickly died before reaching her lips as an unfamiliar feeling made her stomach clench tightly. The distraught and disconcerting look on Roe's usually schooled features unnerved her greatly as her eyes slowly followed his line of sight. Adaline inhaled sharply as she finally took note that the leg of her once tan BDUs was not only torn but stained crimson.
'Is this what fear feels like?'