Chapter Seven! Wooo feels like a huge accomplishment to get this far in a story. I've got two other fanfics that I started a while ago but never finished cause I just didn't want to but I love where this story is heading! Thanks for reading and I hope that you all love it! Reviews are the shiz.
Disclaimer: Don't own SPR. Obviously.
Note: So the German that is in this chapter is probably gramatically awful and I apologize. . .I used an online translator. I only speak French and Cherokee and neither would help so forgive me!
Thanks to my lovely readers again, you all are the best, ~xoxx, Carolyn
The stars began to dim as the squad lay there in a small circle, asleep, every one of them seeming on edge. The German squad moved quickly and quietly through the black forest, careful not to wake the sleeping Americans; their commander wasn't in the mood for a pointless confrontation at the moment. The Nazi forces had been pushed back from the coasts of France towards the interior and were falling back towards the town of St. Lȏ, an area that was extremely important to Hitler's war machine.
Brooklyn lay there wrapped in Reiben's arms, a light sleep enveloping her. Jackson studied her face in the steady glow of the moon, noticing small things about her that he hadn't noticed before in the daylight. He loved her, there was no doubting that, but she clearly loved Reiben and seemed totally content with him. He couldn't ruin something for her that was so good; she deserved everything in light of everything she'd been through. He became lost in his thoughts until he heard something as small as the snap of a twig and the brushing of leaves against soles and leather. Without making a sound, he pressed his ear to the ground and closed his eyes. The faint sound of voices that weren't speaking English and the crunch of leaves under heavy boots startled him. Calmly he turned his head, "Captain!" he whispered. Miller opened his eyes and Jackson motioned for him to stay quiet, "German squad, I'd say 15-20 foot patrol passing through the forest. . ."
Miller nodded and spread the word around the small circle.
Reiben gently shook Brooklyn awake, "Baby wake up."
Her eyes slowly opened, "What is i-"She was silenced by the loud screaming of bullets, the definite sound of MP40 machine guns shattering the stillness of the night.
Brooklyn grabbed her pack and BAR, bullets getting closer and closer as she jumped, a bullet striking the dirt next to her.
"Brooklyn come on!" But before she knew it, she was lost in the dark, fear pounding through her heart. Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into the shadows behind a dark building. She was about to scream when a hand covered her mouth,
"Shh, it's me," a Southern accent whispered against her ear.
"Jackson?"
The sounds of MG-42's and KAR 98's came from just inside the town, fear for the rest of the squad throwing her in a tizzy, "Hannah? Where's Hannah?"
"She's ok, she's with everyone else. Reiben's ok too. . ."
She could sense the venom in his voice, "Daniel?"
"Yea?"
"You know I care about you right?"
He looked around the corner, spotting two Nazi's shooting from a boarded up window. He turned back and glanced at her, beginning to load his Springfield, "Yea. . ." He moved quietly to a broken wall, reciting verses as he took out both soldiers. A sudden flurry of German kicked up as other soldiers and officers watched the two fall from the second floor. They scanned buildings, darkened windows, everywhere to see if they could find the source of the fire.
He turned back and set his rifle down, taking her into his arms, his finger tracing her jawline, "Look, I love you Brooklyn, I really do. . . no matter what you choose I'll always care. I want you to be happy and I want you out of this war alive." He looked into her eyes and kissed her long and sweet.
He pulled away and gently rested his forehead against hers; she closed her eyes and breathed him in, her heart seemed to slow as they stood there together. She could still see him the first day they met; those icy blue eyes entranced her more than anything she'd ever seen in her life.
"Come on, let's find the rest of the squad."
She nodded and they peeled away from the building, moving silently through the darkness.
"I'm guessing we should get to where most of the firing is."
"Yea good guess," he laughed.
They moved closer to one of the darkened buildings, the upper floor occupied by two more Nazi soldiers firing an MG-42, the sound of their voices carried through the slats of the boarded windows.
"Jackson, get back to the squad, tell them to try and get over here."
He narrowed his eyes, "What about you?"
She slung her BAR over her shoulder and reached down, drawing a knife from her boot, "I'm going to secure this building making the least amount of noise possible."
"Hell no Brooklyn, there's no way I'm letting you do that."
She rolled her eyes, "Listen, I may be a girl but I'm good at what I do. I've been fighting for a year and I have learned some things . . . trust me."
He stared at her, his eyes hard as stone, "Be careful. I'll be back in ten with everyone else."
She nodded and kissed his cheek, "I'll be ok, promise."
Jackson gave her one last kiss and then turned and was gone.
Brooklyn pushed herself against the wall and looked up at the sky; taking a deep breath, she silently opened the door, her eyes adjusting to the light of the lantern that filled the room. She looked around; pictures of a small family lined the wall, and an old record player sat on a beautifully carved table gathering dust. The house had an eerie feeling to it, as if everyone had just disappeared within a moment, leaving half eaten food on the table, unwashed dishes in the sink, and books opened to a certain page. She thought about it. . . on second thought, they probably had to leave quickly. The Nazi's stormed France in a fury, giving no one any warning about the impending disaster.
She reached the bottom of the stairs, her heart beating rapidly, and step by step, she began to ascend the small staircase.
Jackson threw himself against the wall next to Miller, "Sir! We may have a secure position to use as a base of fire!"
The Captain quit firing his Thompson, "Where's that?"
"Back of town! Big, red brick house!"
"How do you know it's secure Jackson?"
"I just do sir!"
Reiben threw a grenade, "Take that you Kraut bastards!"
He turned to say something to Horvath but stopped when he spotted Hannah practically crawling all over Jackson, "You did what? Are you crazy?"
"She told me to!"
Reiben pushed his way past Mellish, "Where is she?"
"She told me to find you guys and get back to the house she's securing!"
A grenade exploded nearby and they all dropped to the ground.
Miller turned his head, "Jackson! Start moving towards that house!"
"Yes sir! Come on!"
Reiben glared, "If anything happened to her it's on you!"
Brooklyn stood there in the shadows at the top of the stairs, trying her best to understand what the two soldiers were saying. She smiled softly; she never got tired of hearing and learning new languages.
"Ich bin so müde zu kämifen." (I'm so tired of fighting.)
"Ich auch, ich will nur meine mutter und dre gute küche meiner Frau gutter Gesellschaft." (Me too, I just want my mother's good cooking and my wife's good company.)
They both laughed and the other nodded in agreement, clapping his friend on the back.
The one at the window began to tell another story as the other crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, his back to Brooklyn. She silently came up behind him and within a second her hand was over his mouth and the blade was sliding across his throat. Her fingers began to stain as his warm, crimson blood seeped through her fingers from the mortal wound. She cringed and bit her lip; she had never gotten used to killing and she didn't think she ever would.
The other man stopped talking and began to repeat something, "Ralph? Ralph?" Brooklyn took a deep breath and then stalked into the room, blade at the ready. The older soldier turned and his eyes went wide, but Brooklyn was too quick and in a split second he was forever silenced.
She looked out of the boarded window and cupped her eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of her squad as gun fire shattered the silence once again. "Thunder!"
Jackson's voice called out, "Flash!"
"Hurry your asses up!"
Brooklyn began to fire in the direction that opposing fire was coming from, her eyes concentrating on the flashes that filled the darkness. "God what is taking them so long?"
She turned and was immediately stopped by a Nazi officer flanked by six others standing there, a gun pointed at her. "Put your gun down and get up!"
The world suddenly seemed far away, her breathing became heavy and her heartbeat quickened as she slowly put her BAR down. The officer yanked her to her feet, her shoulder making a popping sound, "Ouch!" she hissed.
He forced her down the stairs, her shoulder throbbing as he grabbed her by the back of the neck and pushed her again. She fell to the feet of the other soldiers and looked up into the stone-cold eyes of half a dozen other men. She began to shake as he opened the door and tossed her out into the street.
Captain Miller froze and yelled back, "HAULT!" The entire squad came to a stop, their eyes wide as they watched the man pull Brooklyn to her feet, a gun to her head as she looked up with fear.
Reiben bumped into the Sarge, "What is it Captain?" He stopped. It felt as if he had been struck by a bullet, "Brooklyn . . . N-!"
"Reiben! Stay put!" Miller ordered, Sergeant Horvath holding him back.
"But Captain!"
"I said stay put soldier!"
Hannah's eyes swam with tears as she squeezed Mellish's arm, "Brook," she whispered.
Jackson closed his eyes, his anger boiling deep inside of him; it was his entire fault, he shouldn't have left her.
Miller turned his head towards Upham, "Corporal?"
Upham stepped forward, his eyes studying the soldiers with great interest, "Sir?'
"Translate for me Upham. . .ask them what they want for her."
Horvath's head jerked up, "Sir? You're going to trade something for her? I don't know if that's a good idea."
Miller looked at his friend, "Thank you for your concern Sergeant but I know what I'm doing."
The Sergeant nodded and quieted down, respecting his Captain's decision.
Upham cleared his throat, "Was willst du für sic?" (What do you want for her?)
The Officer glared, "Nichts, was sie gehört uns jetzt."
"Captain, sir, he says, we can give them nothing, she is theirs now. . ." his voice dropped at the end, his eyes plummeting to the ground as he saw Captain Miller grimace.
"Our squad needs her badly, her brother and father are dead and her youngest brother is missing. . .she is all her mother has left." Miller stated calmly.
The Nazi only laughed, "Ich habe keinen Zweifel, aber ihre Beaürfniesse sind nicht meire sorge. . . was für ein land ermöglicht frauen ander front sowiseo zudienen? Nicht sehr veran tworfungsisoll americanischen sehen sie in Saint Lô." (Your needs are none of my concern. . . .it is your fault anyway, what kind of country allows women to serve on the front lines? Very irresponsible American. . .we will see you in Saint Lô.)
He held Brooklyn close and pressed himself against her from behind. She cringed as he kissed her cheek, staring right into Reiben's eyes as he did, a slow smile crossing his face.
Reiben balled his hands into fists. His eyes were on fire, his face turning a dark scarlet red.
Wade stared at her sadly, his eyes full of melancholy; his heart was being ripped apart and there was nothing he could do about it.
Brooklyn was pushed along by another one of the soldiers and the lead officer turned and nodded, disappearing into the darkness.
She looked at Reiben for as long as she could, "I love you," she mouthed before she was shoved.
As soon as they were gone, Reiben exploded, "It's all your fault you son-of a-bitch! You are a fucking bastard Jackson and I hope you go to hell! They'll kill her, you know that?"
Wade stepped in front of him, "Rich- calm down man. We'll find her. . ."
Jackson was speechless, "I'm sorry," his words could barely be heard by anyone.
Reiben took a deep breath, and walked up to him, only inches from his face he cocked his head to the side, "Yea? Well sorry ain't enough bumpkin." For the first time in his life, Richard Reiben didn't have the will to get into a fight.
Captain miller looked around the faces of his men and the more than distraught Hannah, "Looks like the Krauts will be falling back towards Saint Lô and I'm guessing that's where we'll be headed next. We also can't forget our mission, Private Ryan is our first priority. Get some rest."
Horvath nodded, the sadness for their loss hidden in the undertone of his voice, "You heard the Captain, get some sleep!"
Mellish pulled Hannah down with him and held her close, "She'll be ok, she's a strong girl. I promise she'll make it."
Hannah rested her head on his shoulder and cried softly, "I know she's strong but. . .but they're Nazi's. . .God knows what they'll do to her. . ."
He sighed and stroked her hair, "Try and sleep," he murmured.
Jackson lay there staring into a new fire they made inside of a smaller building, for the first time ever, he couldn't sleep. His conscious was no longer clear, if she died it would be his doing and he couldn't figure out what to do. He closed his eyes and began reciting verses, but nothing helped. The girl he loved was gone, and he buried his eyes in the palm of his hands and cried.
Wade fell into a restless sleep, his mind plagued by the thought of his closest friend in this squad somewhere out there with German soldiers, and even worse, he had never told her how he felt.
Reiben was only silent; he didn't sleep but instead lay there staring at the stars, his mind lost to the universe and its secrets. He didn't know what he would do if he didn't see her again; he needed her to know how much he loved her, he needed her to know that he wanted nothing more than to make it out this war alive and take her home to her mother, away from all of the pain and suffering. He wanted to take her back to Brooklyn with him, he wanted her to stay with him and see where he lived before this disastrous war. Richard's hate for Jackson was deep; he was furious with the Southerner and wanted him dead. The only thing stopping him was knowing that Brooklyn would give him hell and never forgive him if he hurt Jackson in any way. He turned over onto his side and closed his eyes, swearing to God he'd find her as he lay there with a breaking heart.
