"FALL BACK!"
Hoosier heard Corrigan yell the order mid sprint. The Japs were hot on their heels. They were starting to overpower them.
"FALL BACK!"
Hoosier fired a couple of rounds before he turned to run back with the rest of his company. Then he saw a flash of blonde running past him. He turned to see an American uniform heading towards the line of fire. He could tell it was Thompson.
No one left behind.
That sentenced that had been drilled into so many of the war films he saw and admired as a kid.
Shit.
He took off running after Thompson. She was fast but he caught up to her. She was bent over Hamilton in third platoon.
"Lieutenant, we gotta go," he said.
"Help me lift him!" She barked.
Hoosier looked over and saw the vacant look in Hamilton's eye.
"Lieutenant."
"SMITH, HELP ME!" She screamed in his face. "We have to get him out!"
"Tommy!"
That seemed to snap her out of it.
"He's gone. C'mon, we got to go!"
He saw Thompson's eyes harden. Then, they started running back the way he came.
They made it three steps before they heard more yelling in Japanese.
"Fuck!" Hoosier cursed.
"This way!"
Thompson grabbed him by the arm and they started running away in the opposite direction.
She was well ahead of him as they ran from the incoming Japs. There were gunshots hitting the trees around him. They sprinted along the side of a small river. They must be much deeper in Japanese territory than they should've been. His feet pounded on the ground.
He turned slightly and shot a couple of round back as he then kept running. For one moment it felt like something bit him on the arm.
"Fuck!"
His pack weighed him down. Thompson stopped abruptly, Hoosier nearly ran into her.
"Shit."
The ground ended and a rather larger waterfall took its place. It was about fifteen feet up.
"Take off your pack," Thompson stated.
"What?"
"Take off your pack. It'll weigh you down."
She was suggesting they jump. There were more gunshots coming closer.
Hoosier shrugged his pack and then tossed it down off the cliff. She tossed off her musette bag.
"Sure as shit hope that water's deep," Hoosier said as they both leapt off the cliff.
His stomach felt like it was up in his chest. While the fall only last a few seconds, to Hoosier it felt longer. It was like the world around him was moving at a snail pace. He could see Lieutenant Eleanor Thompson out of the corner of his eye. If they made it, what would they do next? They would have to find their way back to H 2/1.
As the water got closer, Hoosier took a deep breath. He hit the water and plunged deeply. Around, all he saw was green. He sank to the bottom and when his rear hit the bottom, he pushed himself up off the bed and he swam around. His lungs were screaming for air. He found his pack and rifle. He used his feet to push himself off the ground. When he breached the surface, he took a deep breath.
There was a splash next to him. He looked over to see Thompson's head above water.
"Come on," she urged as they started swimming to the edge.
"Think we lost 'em?" Hoosier asked.
"We just jumped off a fucking cliff. I fucking hope we did," she said.
He was taken aback by the amount of cursing coming out of her mouth.
"You kiss your mama with that mouth?" He asked jokingly.
She glared at him so hard, he wondered for a moment if a look really could kill.
"Fuck you, Smith."
Then she started walking, well more like stomping, into the woods. Hoosier followed her. They had to get well out of sight in order to get their bearings. He slipped the strap of his rifle over his shoulder. It was soaked, which meant it was probably useless. He felt a stinging pain from his arm.
"You're bleeding," she pointed out after she'd turned back around.
"Am I?" He looked down to see the red on his shirt.
"Let me have a look," she ordered.
She led him over to a fallen log. He flinched as she touched around it.
"It's not too bad," she said. "A graze, but it's still bleeding and who the hell knows what sort of bacteria is in that goddamn water."
"Sure got a mouth on you," Hoosier mocked. She never used to curse. She was the girl that put on lipstick after almost getting killed by a Jap. "You might just be a marine after all."
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you," she replied as she kept poking at his wound. Hoosier thought she was getting some sort of twisted pleasure out of it. "It's gonna need stitches. Think we're under good enough cover to do it here?"
Hoosier looked around at the brush wall around them.
"Good as we're gonna get. Do what you gotta do, Doc," he said. They had to get back to H 2/1.
"In the meantime, why don't you figure out where we need to go," she said.
"Aye, ma'am."
He could almost feel her rolling her eyes as she dug through her bag to find the sewing kit. Hoosier smirked. He took out the wet map from his pack and laid it on the ground. He knelt on the ground next to it.
He couldn't pinpoint exactly where they were, but he could get a rough idea based on the direction they ran.
"I need you to stay completely still," Thompson stated. He looked over his shoulder and saw the needle. "Step back from the map, and then don't move."
He figured he ought to listen to the woman with the sharp needle. He moved to sit back on the log. She splashed some of her water on the wound before the needle finally poked through his skin.
"Fuck," Hoosier cursed quietly at the pain.
"It's either I stitch you up or you bleed to death, you choose."
"Can't you be a bit more delicate? I'm not a fuckin' set of curtains," he grunted.
"Oh sure, yeah, let me just cover this pointy fucking needle in silk and feathers. Will that make it any better?" She asked sarcastically.
"None'a this woulda happened if you hadn't gone runnin' like some lunatic," Hoosier grumbled angrily as she put in another stitch.
He smirked triumphantly at her lack of retort. She knew he was right.
"Why did you come after me? You don't even like me," she questioned.
"Who said I didn't?" Hoosier asked.
Out here, she proved herself to be more capable than most. They didn't get along, but Hoosier narrowed that down to her pigheadedness.
He flinched once more at the needle piercing his skin. He swore he saw Thompson smile.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He deduced.
"No," she said as though she was trying to cover it up. "Of course not."
"Uh huh."
"You're all done," she said.
She then wrapped a bandage around it.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" She said in a tone that reminded him very much of what this mother would say when she'd patch up a scraped knee. He'd deny it if anyone ever asked, but he'd cry when his mom used his dad's moonshine to disinfect a cut. It stung.
"We probably outta start moving. Our line's about three miles back that way," Hoosier pointed in the direction they came from.
"Oh yeah, just a waterfall in the way," she replied sarcastically. "Not to mention a forest full of Japs that want nothing more than to kill us."
She sighed. "Let's start walking then."
"Any of you seen Tommy or Hoosier?" Lucky asked when they made it back their base camp.
"I want second platoon on the line! Two on two off!" Runner heard Corrigan order.
"Not since the retreat," Chuckler said.
Shit… did they…
No… Of course they didn't go down. Someone would've realized.
"Lieutenant!" Runner called out when he saw Corrigan stroll by. He stopped in his tracks. "Have you seen Private Smith or Lieutenant Thompson?"
Corrigan shook his head.
"Did anybody see them go down?" He asked. By now, word would have gotten to him.
"No."
He could almost feel the relief wash over him, until he realized that meant his friends were still unaccounted for.
"Sir, they're still out there," Lucky pointed out. "We can't just…"
"Leckie, we need all hands on deck."
"So you're just gonna leave them?!" He snapped back. He stood up and got right in Corrigan's face.
"Stand down, Private or I will have you thrown in the brig," Corrigan threatened.
Lucky held the glare for a beat before backing down.
"Smith and Thompson will turn up," Corrigan assured. "Phillips, you and Stone take over for Reynolds and Samuels at 1800."
"Aye, sir," Phillips said half heartedly.
Corrigan left after that.
"We can't just leave them out there," Lucky declared when Corrigan was out of sight. It wasn't even a question. The three of them had already come up with some half-baked plan before even speaking. They would go look for their friends. Screw what Corrigan said.
"No, we're not," Runner agreed. "Sid, cover for us."
"Why do I gotta stay?" Sidney objected. Of course he wanted to come to.
"Because you gotta be somewhere," Chuckler explained as he put his pack back on. "You don't show up, they'll know."
"What if they ask where you went?" Sid asked. Runner, and Lucky were getting their guns and packs before heading out.
"Send them on a misdirection. We went to the latrine. We went to scavenge for food…" Lucky instructed. "We'll be back come nightfall."
Sid nodded. "I'll cover."
The three of them slunk out of the foxhole and kept an eye out for Corrigan or any of the other officers. Then, they made a break for the woods. Half-baked plan or not, they had to go find their friends.
"We need to take a break," Eleanor stated.
They'd been walking for what felt like forever. She could see the exhaustion in Smith's steps. He did not object to stopping. They took a seat on the nearest fallen log.
"Let me take a look at that," she said pointed to the bandage. They'd been walking a few hours and she would need to check the wound. She took off her bag.
He let her do her job.
"How far are we?" She asked.
"Dunno. I guess probably about an hour walk."
"Weird isn't it?" She asked. "It's too quiet."
"Maybe the Japs've gone to bed," Smith suggested.
"If only."
She felt guilty about the bullet he'd taken to the arm. She felt guilty about getting them in this mess.
"It still looks good," she said.
"Thanks Doc."
"Smith… I'm sorry for getting us into this," she apologized. "I thought… I don't know what I thought."
She thought she could save that soldier, but they were calling for a retreat. She'd heard the call and then the cry for help.
I can get to him.
Of course, she didn't.
Eleanor thought of the little blonde girl waiting back in Chicago.
She'd been so incredibly reckless and stupid.
"I screwed up and now we're stuck out here," she said more to herself.
The tears began to well up in her eyes. How could she gamble her life like that? She'd already done enough of that coming here in the first place.
It felt like the weight that had been constantly on her shoulders for the last five years was crushing her. Her lungs felt heavy as every breath she took was a struggle.
"Hey, are you okay?" Smith seemed to ask through muddled waters.
Momma loves you, Violet.
"To the moon and back."
Her heart began racing as the panic set in. It was like being cornered by that Japanese soldier only worst. This was her own doing. Her own stupidity. She put someone else before Violet. She'd told herself she'd play it as safely as she could, but she'd done something so incredibly stupid.
Slowly, she covered her face with her hands and tried to take deep breaths.
She didn't even hear the routing through her bag. She didn't think of anything outside of her own panic. She couldn't stop thinking about Violet.
She'd left her. What had she been thinking?
"Momma!"
"Thompson…"
She tried to take a deep breath.
"Momma!"
Violet…
"Thompson…"
Reckless. Stupid.
There was someone tapping on her shoulder.
"Tommy!"
She looked up and saw Smith sitting next to her. He was holding something in his hand. Her tube of lipstick.
She took it and held it like it was the only thing keeping her to the ground.
Her heart rate slowly began to steady.
"You okay?" He asked.
She nodded as she took a deep breath. She carefully put the lipstick back in her purse.
"I gotta ask, what is it with the lipstick?" He asked.
"I was a singer," she admitted. "But when I started out in New York, I was a naïve girl and had awful stage fright… I was singing accompany for some band. I was panicking when the lead singer looks at me, all confident, hands me a tube of lipstick and tells me: 'Lipstick can turn you into someone else'. Stuck with me."
"You were a singer?" He asked.
"Yes. A damn good one too," she said.
"Who'da thought? Our nurse was a showgirl," Smith joked.
"Not a showgirl, a lounge singer. Very different."
"Uh-huh. How good could you be if you ended up as a nurse?" Smith asked.
"Performing isn't exactly the most paying and a love for it isn't always enough," she explained through a stiff jaw. "And I'll have you know Benny Goodman thought I was plenty talented."
She got up off the log.
"Are you okay to keep moving?" She asked. "It's starting to get dark."
Smith nodded. Then his expression changed at the little bit of information he'd almost overlooked.
"You met Benny Goodman?" He asked skeptically.
"I was a frequent performer at the Blue Room in New York City," she explained nonchalantly as he put her bag back on. "He came in for a party once."
Perhaps she'd stretched the truth a little. She did perform for Benny Goodman, but she'd been a part of a band. She sang additional harmonies. He thought they were all good. But to a sixteen year old, it was the world. She'd decided that she wanted to go on her own. She packed her bags, and much to the chagrin of Anna, moved to Los Angeles.
They began walking once more.
"Really?" He said in disbelief.
"Smith, the stuff you don't know about me could fill a book," she replied. "And if you ever tell anyone about my past… I will tell them how you bitched and moaned while I stitched you us."
They started in the direction they hoped was back to their friends.
"Don't worry, I ain't gonna tell anyone," he assured. "Maybe we oughta start calling you Nightingale. For the nurse and the bird."
Eleanor rolled her eyes. "I've barely excepted Tommy. No way are you changing that."
"Suit yourself, Nightingale."
"Shut up, Pigeon," she retorted.
Smith snorted. "Pigeon?"
"The most annoying of birds," she retorted. "Much like you, Smith."
"I'm an annoying bird?"
"Well, you keep squawking on like that…" she retorted.
"Why don't you call me Hoosier?" He asked. "You call everyone else by their nicknames."
"Because I didn't think we were friends… but I guess I was wrong about a lot." For the first time, Eleanor saw Smith as a friend. Or an acquaintance.
Oh, can it Eleanor, he's your friend.
"Thank you for not leaving me behind. I was wrong about you."
"Yeah, well, things you don't know about me could fill a book," he said repeating her exact words.
How pretentious they sounded coming from the lips of another.
"All things considered,
Eleanor stopped at the sound of footsteps coming towards them.
He put one finger to her lips as he pulled her down and they each hid behind a tree. Eleanor felt her heart begin to pound. She looked over at Smith. He lifted his rifle. Eleanor took a deep breath.
One…
Two…
She'd tossed her pistol in the water.
The footsteps, at least three sets, came closer.
Smith mouthed 'Stay still'.
She nodded slowly.
Three…
Four…
Smith moved slightly away from the tree. A twig snapped under his foot. The three sets of footsteps stopped.
Eleanor sucked in a breath and he shut his eyes and stepped out from behind the tree with the rifle raised.
She expected a series of gun shots, followed by the collapse of Smith… She didn't expect to hear a code word.
"Lorelai!"
"Jesus Christ, Hoosier, put that thing down."
Chuckler.
Eleanor sighed in relief. She stepped out from behind the tree and saw Chuckler, Lucky, and Runner. Smith was putting the rifle back down. She ran over and hugged Runner.
"I guess we see who the favorite is," Chuckler joked.
Eleanor broke apart from Runner and then playfully punched Chuckler in the shoulder.
"Never thought I'd be so relieved to see you assholes," she said.
"Feeling's mutual," Chuckler teased.
"What the Hell happened to you guys?" Lucky asked.
"It's a long story, but we should get back now. Japs could be anywhere," Smith stated.
Sidney was fidgeting nervously. Chuckler, Lucky, and Runner went after Hoosier and Tommy about two hours ago. He'd managed to deter the Lieutenant Corrigan from questioning where Lucky, Runner, and Chuckler were. He sent his CO to the mess area.
Sidney did not understand why Corrigan just wasn't letting them go look. It was the marine way not to leave any man behind. It was disconcerting to him. If he got lost, would no one be allowed to look for him? Or was it just because it was her? Sidney had seen it. He'd heard it. Corrigan and Tommy didn't get along. He didn't seem to understand why she interacted only with the enlisted men. She didn't get why he didn't interact with them unless to give orders.
"So, Phillips, where are Jurgens, Leckie, and Conley?" Sergeant Stone asked as they stood on the perimeter keeping watch.
"I don't know," Sidney shrugged. He had a harder time lying to Stone.
"They went after Smith and Thompson didn't they?" He deduced.
Sidney nervously bit the inside of his cheek, but that was enough to give him away.
"Jesus Christ, Phillips. Now we've got five missing instead of two," Stone scolded. "Stay here. I gotta go talk to Lieutenant Corrigan."
"But Sarge…"
"You aren't this stupid, Phillips."
"Marine's don't leave anyone behind," Phillips argued. "Ain't that what we were told? But Lieutenant Corrigan was just gonna leave them out there."
"It isn't always that simple," Stone stated.
Phillips could feel his frustration seething.
Before either of them could say anything, they heard a rustling in the bushes. Both Stone and Sidney pointed their rifles towards the noise.
"Lorelai."
They lowered their weapons slightly as Chuckler emerged first. Then Runner, then Hoosier. Tommy and Lucky brought up the rear.
Sidney put his rifle back over his shoulder. The relief washed over him. In a moment, it felt like the weight that had been on him since the retreat had lifted. He walked over to Tommy and hugged her.
"It's good to see you too, Sid," she said.
"You boys are idiots," Stone said to Lucky, Chuckler, and Runner. "I ought to report this to Corrigan."
His three friends paled.
"Now, now, Stone," Tommy spoke up. She said it in a calm voice that Sid didn't know what she was going for. "There's no need for that. If you're going to Corrigan, lead the way. I need to talk to him. Runner, cover for him with Sid here. Lucky, Chuckler, take Hoosier to the aid station. Make sure that arm gets looked at."
"Yes, ma'am," they all said in unison.
"Good. Stone…" she motioned for him to move.
Stone and Tommy walked back deeper into camp. Five minutes back and already pissed off. That was definitely Tommy.
"Did she just call you Hoosier?" Lucky asked.
Hoosier shrugged. "Bein' stuck out in enemy territory bonds people together, I guess."
"I guess so," Lucky replied.
Lucky, Chuckler, and Hoosier headed out towards the aid station leaving behind Sid and Runner.
"I gotta tell you, I do not want to be Lieutenant Corrigan right now," Runner stated.
"That makes two of us."
"I couldn't risk the lives of a dozen men for the lives of two soldiers," Corrigan stated as Eleanor and Stone stepped in.
Corrigan had immediately gone on the defense.
Eleanor tried her best not to laugh. Corrigan was scared of her.
"Why does everyone think I'm going to yell at you?" She asked. "I mean, that is kind of my thing, but I do hate to be thought of as predictable."
It seemed as though the growing tension in the room dissipated.
"Stone, can you give us a moment?" Eleanor asked.
"Aye, ma'am," he said as he stepped out.
Corrigan and Eleanor stood in silence for a beat.
"I've been rather horrible to you, haven't I?" She stated.
"I wouldn't go that far."
"I came here to tell you that I'm fine. I understand why you did what you did… and I lost my gun," she listed.
"Of course you lost it," she heard him mumble under his breath causing her to roll her eyes.
"I also came by to ask you not to be harsh on Conley, Jurgens, and Leckie," she said.
"Why would I?" He asked.
Oh crap… he didn't know. Or if he knew, he was trying to get her to confirm it.
Lie. You're good at that.
"Uh… Phillips mentioned that they snapped at you for not letting them come to find Smith and myself," she said. Runner had mentioned to her as they walked back to camp that Leckie did get vocal with Corrigan.
"Get some chow. I'll talk to someone about getting you another pistol," he said.
Eleanor stopped. "About that… I don't want to give up the red cross."
"What happened today and the Jap almost shooting you should be plenty reason to carry," Corrigan argued.
"That pistol never once left the holster," she stated. "I wouldn't get much use out of it. I'm trained to help. Not to kill."
It felt wrong for her to give up the cross. She thought about the lessons she wanted to teach Violet. She'd done some not so great things in her life. She would not kill. That wasn't in her job description.
"If you give me another one, I'll lose that one too, and the next one, and the next one…"
"Thompson, sometimes I think I've got you all figured out… and then you do this."
"I'm a nurse, Corrigan. Don't forget that."
"Look, sleep on it, and if you haven't changed your mind come morning, I won't request a new one."
"Fine."
Eleanor turned to leave.
"And Thompson…" she stopped in her steps. "I'm glad you're okay."
She gave a genuine smile before leaving the tent.
Longer than my usual chapter, but I felt as though it would be awkward to cut. I have caught up with everything I've written so it may take some time before the next chapter. I hope you liked it. We're getting into Part 2, and I am so excited to be introducing familiar and new characters to Eleanor's story. Let me know what you thought!