Copyright: 12/2012
Fan-Fiction based on TV Show Combat! Copyright Selmur Production, Inc, ABC, Image Productions etc.
Disclaimer: Combat! and its characters do not belong to me, this WWII story is a piece of fan-fiction and I am not being compensated in any tangible way for this story.
SCARED SENSELESS
He was scared, more scared than he'd ever been. Sweat broke out on his upper lip. All he wanted to do was run from this place but where would he go? They would find him, he was sure of that. Sarge and the rest of the guys would be ashamed of him. Boy, could he use a bottle of Cognac right now. Maybe just a few sips, it would settle his nerves.
Kirby slumped down into a creaky old chair. If he could just calm down. He took several deep breaths to settle his nerves and to think more clearly. It helped a little, but the same thing kept running through his mind, how and why did it happen to him?
Kirby leaned the chair back until it rested against the wall. He closed his eyes as he tried to remember.
It was mid November and the squad was in Belgium near the Luxembourg border. If it was possible, the weather was even more bleak and colder than before. The ground was so hard that the men could barely carve out a hole big enough to be considered a foxhole.
Everything was in short supply. The men had finally received the winter coats that had been promised to them weeks before. They also got some new blankets which had to be shared with another squad mate. So there they were, Kirby and Caje, sharing a foxhole, with one new and one ratty old blanket trying their best to keep warm.
"I can't take much more of this Kirby, I'm from the South; my blood is just too thin for this kinda weather!"
Kirby undid his coat a little and slipped out a small bottle. "Here Caje, drink this; there ain't much left, it'll warm ya up a bit."
"Thanks." Caje took a couple of swallows and handed it back to Kirby. "There's enough here for both of us."
Kirby took a sip and shivered. "Man, this makes me think of bein' home in Chicago, when the wind and the sleet comes blowin' off the lake. The sleet will smack you so hard you think your face is gonna fall off. But that ain't what's botherin' me right now, my feet are so cold they feel like they are frozen in blocks of ice! I just wish we would get those galoshes they also promised us."
They could see the Sarge stopping and speaking to the other men. As he walked up to their foxhole, they knew it wasn't just a social call.
"Ok you guys up and at em'. The lieutenant got a message from S2. They want us to get a closer look at what we are up against. So we're gonna just take a look around the near the forest and report our findings."
"I can tell ya without leavin' this foxhole what's out there Sarge. There's a bunch of Krauts just waitin' for us to make a move."
"Kirby stop the complainin' and get your ass movin'."
"You know Sarge, we'll follow you anywhere. I know you don't wanna hear this but I gotta agree with Kirby this time. I have a feelin' the Krauts are gonna open up on us as soon as we start movin' towards those woods."
"Orders are orders, Caje so let's go!"
Saunders knew his men were tired, cold and hungry but they still had a job to do.
The men gathered up the rifles and crawled out of their foxholes. As they walked down the road they spotted a Sherman tank on fire. The acrid smell of the smoke hung in the air. They knew that a German tank or a Panzerfaust had probably taken out the smaller tank.
Sarge decided to get off the road. There was a large field that they needed to cross. Sarge began to send the men over the open area in spaced intervals. Kirby and Sarge were the last to cross over. As the squad made it to the edge of the forest the men could hear the whistle of the 88's as they started pouring in. The men fell and slid on the icy ground, each man hoping that nothing would hit them.
As the bombs hit the trees, some of the limbs became missiles, angrily flying towards the men. Saunders and Kirby heard a shriek as one of the limbs found their mark. The man was screaming for help. They lifted their heads looking for the injured man.
"Sarge I can't see nothin', we gotta find him. He sounds like he's in a lot of pain."
Kirby started to rise. Saunders pulled him back down. "Wait, we gotta wait. If you start runnin' around tryin' to find who's injured, you're gonna end up hurt as well."
It felt like the 88's went on forever but after ten minutes everything became quiet again. Sarge tapped Kirby on the back. The smoke was so thick that the two men could hardly see their hand in front of their face. "Come on Kirby, let's go. We gotta be careful, stay right behind me. I don't know how close the Krauts are."
It would have been suicide if the two men called out to the others. All they could do was slowly walk hoping that they would find the injured soldier.
As the smoke started to dissipate, they could hear someone softly crying. They followed the sound. They could also hear others walking as the ice crunched under their boots. Sarge made a motion for Kirby to get down. With their rifles at the ready the two men waited.
The men who were also following the sound stopped. Caje had a feeling that it was probably one of their own but he wasn't sure. He signaled to the other man to wait as he went forward to investigate. Caje crawled inch by inch until he was almost on top of the Sarge and Kirby.
He was almost ecstatic when he saw the two men. Kirby and Saunders stood up when they saw it was Caje.
"Gee Sarge it's good to see you."
Kirby smiled as he feigned insult; "Hey what about me, Caje?"
"I knew you'd be alright Kirby," said Caje as he clapped Kirby on his back. "It would take more than 88's to do you in."
The Sarge interrupted their reunion, "Caje do you know who's hurt?"
"No, we've been followin' his cry for help. Littlejohn is waitin' for me." It's gotta be Billy. The way he was screamin' it's gotta be pretty bad."
"Ok, let's go back and get Littlejohn."
The men walked back to find Littlejohn. He had taken cover behind a fallen fir tree.
Littlejohn stood up from his hiding place. He broke into a smile that seemed to be a mile wide. "Gee, I'm glad Caje found you guys," he exclaimed.
"Come on Littlejohn we gotta find whoever is hit."
Littlejohn realized that it had to be Billy. He started running haphazardly. Sarge ran and stood in front of him. Littlejohn wanted to shove him out of the way but he came to his senses. "Sarge we gotta find him, he needs us."
"And we will, but we can't call out, so we need to listen."
The men became silent as they tried to hear Billy. All of a sudden they heard him cry out.
The men knew he had to be close by. They kept listening as they walked towards the muffled crying.
As more smoke disappeared, they could see that Doc was already working on Billy.
The crunching of the ice became louder. The men were surprised when Doc picked up a rifle and aimed it at them. That's when they realized it was Billy. "I thought you guys would never get here. Doc caught a bunch of shrapnel in his legs and on his back; I need more bandages. He's bleedin' pretty bad!"
The men pulled out their sulfa and bandages and handed them to Billy.
Kirby knelt down next to Doc. "Just take it easy, you're gonna be fine Doc, it's our turn to take care of you."
Kirby stood up and walked up to Saunders. "Doc's pretty bad off, we gotta get him back Sarge."
"I know Kirby but we've got to finish the recon. We'll leave someone behind to take care of Doc. When we're done will come back and carry him home."
Kirby was getting angrier by the minute. "Sarge we all know what's out there and if they get a chance they're gonna kill us all!"
Saunders was as conflicted as Kirby but he knew that they had a job to do. "Kirby I'm tired of you mouthin' off all the time; just shut up and do your job."
Kirby gripped his B.A.R. until his knuckles were white. He knew he had to walk away before he said or did something he'd live to regret.
Sarge motioned to Littlejohn. "Stay here and take care of Doc. Billy your comin' with us."
"Sarge how come you want to take Billy instead of me?"
Saunders got close to Littlejohn and whispered, "If somethin' happens, you'll be able to get him back."
Understanding came into Littlejohn's face. He looked so forlorn as if all the hope he had inside of him had disappeared.
The remainder of the squad quickly picked up their gear and began walking further into the forest.
The squad's senses were on high alert. Their heads kept twisting from side to side as they walked in silence. As they walked among the trees they came upon a large logging road. The men could hear the unmistakable grinding sound of a German tank.
Sarge yelled for the men to follow him down into a large ravine. The men slid down and hid as best they could and prayed that the tank had not seen them. Unfortunately their prayers went unanswered.
The tank stopped and turned it's turret towards the ravine. Kirby and Billy pushed themselves into the snow hoping that the tank gunner wouldn't see them. A whooshing sound went over their heads. There was a huge explosion two hundred yards behind them. The tank's barrel was lowered once more and the whooshing of the shells flew over their heads. The tank again missed its mark.
All of a sudden the squad heard an explosion from above. They could hear men screaming. Saunders and the rest of the men slowly stood up to see that the tank was on fire.
They climbed out of the ravine just in time to see the most beautiful sight they had ever seen. Three Sherman tanks were crossing the open area. The men ran up to the tanks cheering them. The tanks stopped and one of the hatch covers opened.
Sarge climbed up on the tank and extended his hand. "Thanks a lot you just saved our bacon!"
The tank commander laughed. "We should be thanking you. When he turned and started firing at you, that gave us the chance we needed. We were able to get a off a lucky shot. We hit that tank in its most vulnerable spot. The space between the tank and the track is not that thick."
"Where are you guys goin'?"
"We were to check and see what we were up against."
"Well Sarge, we've been playin' hide and seek all mornin' long, tryin' to get off a good shot before he could pinpoint us and fire accurately. I can tell you that it was just that one tank and two squads that are out here. One squad ran off when the tank got hit."
Sarge turned to his men and smiled. "We got the information, let's go pick up Littlejohn and Doc and get the hell outta here and go home!"
"Sergeant would you like a ride?"
"Thanks but we gotta go pick up one of my guys who's taking care of our medic, he's badly injured."
"Come on everybody get on board, just point the way."
Sarge gave him the directions. Littlejohn heard the tanks and picked up Doc and hid behind some bushes.
Sarge and the men jumped down from the tank. "Littlejohn, where are you?"
Littlejohn popped up his head to see the Sarge and the squad. "Hey guys!"
"Come on, we're goin' home. Billy, pick up Littlejohn's gear."
Littlejohn picked up Doc like a baby and gently placed him on the tank. The men began climbing on top of the tanks.
A shot rang out and the men saw Kirby fall to the ground. The men saw the German soldier as he tried to run for cover. Sarge pulled his Thompson off his shoulder and fired a short blast. The soldier turned and tried to fire again but he was dead before he hit the ground.
Caje and Billy picked up Kirby. He had been hit in the chest. They were all out of bandages but Billy kept yelling at the men for something, anything they could use for bandages. The men inside the Sherman tanks collected what they had and gave them to Billy.
Once Kirby was placed on the tank, they all began to move out.
The men were back to their lines in no time. Saunders went to see Hanley to report his findings.
Littlejohn, Caje and Billy carried Doc and Kirby to Battalion Aid. The doctors and the nurses went into overtime. Both men needed an operation to remove the shrapnel and the bullet.
After he was done with his report, Sarge ran over to the aid tent. Even though the nurses had told the men it would be sometime before they knew anything, the men would not leave.
Time dragged on until a doctor came out to speak to the Sarge. "Your men must have been born under some very lucky stars, Sergeant. Your medic will be alright. He lost a lot of blood but the shrapnel missed his vital organs. He needs rest. Regarding Private Kirby, I had to remove the bullet, it penetrated the lung. We had to place a tube in his chest in order to drain the blood. So he'll be out of it for a few weeks. Both your medic and Private Kirby will be sent to the 93rd Evac Hospital."
The doctor seemed to be able to read their minds. "You boys can see them tomorrow; right now they need their rest."
The men came back the next day and found Doc awake. They were like a bunch of kids who hadn't seen their best friend all summer long. Kirby was still sleeping and the nurses made sure he stayed that way. After they visited with Doc, they quietly stood by Kirby's bed. When the nurse told them it was time to leave, each man patted his arm or shoulder as they left.
Kirby opened his eyes and slowly looked around, everything was bleary. He recognized the smell at once; he knew he was in a hospital. He tried to call out but his voice was raspy.
As he became more lucid, he saw her. Her smile could have lit up all of Paris. She didn't seem to walk but glide across the floor. She stopped at the side of his bed. "Welcome back Private Kirby. Would you care for some water?" Kirby nodded as she held the glass for him. "Take small sips otherwise you may start choking. Are you feeling better?"
As he nodded again, he couldn't help but smile back at her. She was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. He must be hallucinating he thought, her eyes seemed to sparkle. How beautiful they were; brown with little flecks of gold.
Kirby's voice was just above a whisper. "You know my name, can you tell me yours?"
She sat down on his bed and gently touched his hand and smiled again. "My name's Lt. Jenkins."
"You can call me Kirby, everybody does. What can I call you?"
As she stood up, her eyes twinkled and her smile became mischievous. "You may call me Lt. Jenkins."
In those few moments he knew this was the girl of he had been waiting for all of his life.
Kirby's eyes were still closed when Caje walked into the room. "Kirby are you feelin' alright? Everybody's ready and they're waitin'."
"I'm fine, guess we better go."
Kirby righted himself on the chair. His legs were wobbly as he stood up.
Caje walked over to his best friend and grabbed his arm. "Everything's gonna be fine, you'll see."
The two men walked into the larger room and stood near the front. Kirby glanced towards the back and he saw her. He began to feel better as she walked towards him.
As she stood next to him he placed her small hand inside his. She looked into his eyes and gave him her special smile and a wink.
"After this you may call me Mrs. Kirby."
THE END