Just gonna explain a few things, so this Author's note is kinda importante.
So, this is kind of AU. None of these events happened among the story line of Band of Brothers, and I find that if I'm going to be honest, my story wouldn't really fit into the whole plot of BoB. So, I present you my altered version from here on in. The town Nat lives in is in fact Carentan, which means the men have been there for about a week. So instead of our boys arriving, the Germans will be.
But, this battle is not going to follow the original plot of the HBO series. In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that a lot of this story will have element from the series but not follow it directly.
This is gunna be weird, but bear with me? I'm along for the ride as well.
The Fear
"In the face of death. You run like you have never run before." –Unknown
"Nat! No! Get back here!"
And she ran.
Panic flooded her veins, her hearing was gone, and tunnel vision kicked in. Nat was running away from Luz now, over the hill. She knew the shooting was coming from there. She ran anyway. Her parents. Her papa. Her mama. The need for safety amongst her home was pushing her now. She had lost her breath long ago.
She needed to find them.
Her legs kicked under her, spreading and eating up the ground as fast as she could. Her breath was shallow, her muscles crying out in pain as she pushed herself farther and farther. She could hear the Germans more now, and Luz less. Her friend was chasing after her, swearing, threatening her.
She was at the top of the hill now, and she could just see the dirt road ahead. Just as she got to the top of the hill, her heart stopped.
She froze.
Everything slowed down.
"Move!"
Someone tackled her into one of the shops as the deafening fire from the Panzer tank went off. The door broke under the weight of the two persons, falling to the wooden floor with a slam. Nat scrambled away from the door as the rumbling of the treads neared the shop. The tank was growing closer, as were the Germans moving on foot. The man who tackled her rolled off of her, adjusting his helmet and fixing his weapon. Nat swallowed.
It was Edward Heffron.
"C'mon sweetcheeks, we gotta move," he hauled her to her feet as the bullets whizzed by outside. The duo stumbled through the shop that Natalie recognized to be the local Tailor's store. Dresses had been lined up neatly in the front shop window, but now, only shattered bits of glass and knocked over mannequins remained.
Nat looked back once. This was enough time for her to nervously trip over her feet and fall to the floor hard. Her head hit the wood and she cried out, quickly hurrying to get back on her feet. Babe pulled her up again.
"C'mon! The krauts will be here-"
BOOM
The shop shook and glass broke. But, it didn't matter. Nat's hearing was gone. The tank was outside the shop now, with Germans flooding in through the front door behind them. They weaved through they shop together, her hand clasped in Babe's. He kicked down the back door and ushered Nat out, firing a round back into the shop at the enemy.
"Edward! They are coming!" Her voice was weak, and she stood in shock as more of the men were rounding the back of the shop.
He was back beside her now, clutching the frightened woman's hand. He led her back to the street, where the two peeped out from behind one of the houses. They saw their friends, Babe's brothers in arms. Nat saw George, screaming into a radio, as he huddled close to a truck for cover.
"On the count of three, I want you to run as fast as you can," he screamed, attempting to be heard over the kraut arterially. Nat shook her head violently, it still pounding from her fall earlier.
"I cannot. No. I will not," She sputtered, tears forming in her eyes, "They will shoot me."
Babe shook his head, "No. I'll count. They won't. I promise."
He took her by the shoulders now, facing her towards the road. Nat was protesting, stepping back and shying away from him. He grabbed her again, harder.
"One."
ZWIP, CRACK.
"Non, monsieur."
BOOM.
"Two."
SNAP, CRACK.
"Monsieur, please. Non. Do not make me-"
"Three!"
ZWIP, ZWIP, ZWIP, CRACK.
And she ran.
She ran faster than she ever has in her life. She ran with the hounds of hell nipping at her heels. Her feet slapped against the ground hard. Her hair flew into her face. Her breath was gone. It felt like she had been running for miles. Time was slowed. She could hear the bullets hitting the ground behind her. She ran so fast, she fell over herself as she tried to stop. Her knees hit the ground, and her dress tore.
She was safe.
She was in the doorway of the Boire de Minuit.
Luz made eye contact with her, his upper lip twitching slightly from across the road. She saw it. She knew he was angry with her. She hadn't known him for more than a week and she knew he was angry. The next thing she saw was the pure look of fear in his eyes. His hand griping the radio to his ear was shaking.
Nat stepped out from the doorway of the bar, only to be sent tripping back in when a stray bullet hit the ground infront of her.
"Nat, don't you fucking dare move! Don't. Stay there!"
Luz was screaming now, his hands waving frantically at her. Nat was shaking now, her chest sobbing in a panicked rush. She whipped her face, pulling her hand away to find a slick red substance coating her palm. She touched her forhead once more, pulling away to find more blood covering her face.
"Nat, look at me. You'll be okay! Just don't move!"
She nodded and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.
It wasn't working.
She watched Luz and the other soldiers communicate with one another, moving back and forth between buildings and other forms of cover. She spotted Edward Heffron, and almost smiled. He was firing back at the Germans now, covered by a military jeep. His back slammed against the vehicle as he reloaded frantically.
The tank was rolling down the hill now, and it was coming dangerously close to where Babe was.
Natalie clambered onto her two feet, throwing her hair out of her face, realization donning on her.
"George! The tank! The others are in the way!"
Luz snapped his helmeted head to where she was pointing, spotting Babe as he braced himself against the jeep, trying not to be shot by one of the approaching Germans. His brown eyes widened, before he stood up and waved at Babe. His arms flapped through the air as his radio dragged behind him.
"Babe! The tank!" he bellowed, "Move!"
Babe did not see him or hear him, yet continued to shoot down Germans. The man beside him, Bill Guarnere was yet to spot Luz either. Natalie stepped out this time, popping her head from around the corner.
"You need to move!"
"Babe! Bill!"
"Please, Monsieurs! The tank will crush you!"
Nat made eye contact with Luz as she stepped out from behind the Bar's cover. Bill was reloading now, and as Nat flagged him down, Luz screamed his warning as more of the men joined in motioning them to move. The two, now aware of the proximity of the tank, flew from their cover, ducking into an alleyway between two buildings.
The tank stopped.
"C'mon, men, let's move!"
A man, tall and slender was now ushering men out from behind trucks and across the street into homes and shops. The man along with a few others crammed into the Boire de Minuit, weapons being reloaded. Luz, following Liebgott, trailed into the bar with his Company. Nat recognized a lot of the men, feeling much safer than before.
Luz squeezed her arm, her eyes darting across her forehead, "You alright?"
"I'm fine," she smiled, nodding as he fixed his helmet.
"Don't you dare do that again," he hissed, "You coulda' gotten ki-"
"GRENADE!"
Nat turned her head, her eyes spotting Germans who had now taken position across from the bar. She heard the pink of the grenade on the glass front window, and before she knew it, there was a deafening explosion.
She was thrown into darkness, pain taking over her senses.
