We spent the night in hastily dug foxholes outside of Eindhoven. After I finished my rounds, I ended up in a foxhole with Liebgott and Luz. We all pulled out the jars of treats we had received and we shared the sweet food inside. The preserved pears I had been given were soaked in honey, ginger, and whiskey. We ate only a quarter of the pears before I put the jar away, saving the rest for later.
Morning came far too early. It seemed that I only just fallen asleep when the sunlight came streaming into the foxhole. Luz shook my shoulder roughly, "C'mon, Di, wake up."
"I am awake!" I objected, blinking the last of the sleep away. My eyes drooped though. Luz saw and nudged me again.
"You sure? Because you're looking like you're dead," He said. I raised an eyebrow at him and managed to drag myself out of the foxhole.
"You sure know how to charm me, Luz," I said tiredly. Luz huffed with amusement.
"I try to," He said before heading off in the direction of the rest of the company. Liebgott glanced between us for a brief moment before falling into step beside me. Tanks were lined up on the road leading away from Eindhoven, and several of the men were climbing on top of them for a ride to the next destination. Liebgott and I glanced at each other once before we hurried over.
I walked over to where Muck was already perched on the side of the tank. With some help from Liebgott and Muck, I managed to get up on the side. Liebgott hoisted himself up right as the tank started to move out. Those who didn't get on in time had to walk alongside the tanks. I sighed quietly and stretched a bit; after a night sleeping in a foxhole, it felt good to be able to sit down and relax for a little while.
We weren't moving for very long before Liebgott nudged my arm roughly. I glanced at him before following his gaze farther down the road. My hair stood up on my arms.
The woman had a severe disheveled look about her. Her clothes were torn and hanging off of her in loose rags. Her hair had been shaven, just like those women from the day before. Blond tufts still stuck up on one side and near the top of her head. There were light bruises on her face and her lip was spilt. She also had a thin baby cradled in her arms.
The baby looked to be a few months old; around the time that the Germans came and went.
Perconte jumped off of the tank, a parcel of rations in his hand. "Perconte," I said, pulling out one of my jars of preserved fruit from my bag. I tossed him the jar, still unopened. Perconte nodded at me and approached the woman. With a nod, he handed both the rations and the jar to her. Her eyes filled with tears and she gave Perconte a small smile. I wasn't able to see his face, but I did see him nod back at her.
We continued our way to the town of Nuenen. The ride there was quiet enough, that is until an explosion occurred at the beginning of the line. "Shit!" Liebgott cried, launching himself off of the tank. I followed suit and managed to tighten my helmet so that it didn't fall off again. Our tanks began to return fire to the German artillery going off not far away.
"Take cover!" Bull screamed. I followed the sound of his voice and dove into a long ditch. Others were with me and they quickly set up machine guns to return fire. It wasn't long before I heard a scream for help. I blindly charged in the direction of the screams and found myself facing a man who had had several bullets go straight through him. I patched him up quickly before running towards the next man.
Several minutes went by until I heard a very familiar voice cry out in pain. I stared over to see Buck writhing around on the grass. I bolted to him and saw the dark red stain on his butt.
"Not another one," I hissed quietly. Buck laughed painfully.
"Sorry, Di," He said. I tried to get him on his feet, but he immediately crashed back to the ground. Somewhere behind us, I heard Winters screaming out for us all to retreat. Buck groaned in pain. "Just leave me, McCall. That's an order."
I frowned at him, not willing to leave him behind for a second. Malarkey, Muck, and Guarnere were running away from the town nearby. I whistled at them, getting their attention. The three men saw me with Buck and turned tail to come back to us.
"What happened?" Guarnere asked, having to scream over the sound of battle.
"He got shot; now he can't walk!" I shouted back. Muck and Malarkey disappeared for a brief moment before returning with a broken door. The three men pulled Buck onto the door and started to drag him away. I stayed with them for a few moments before I heard another cry for help.
"Go on, Di!" Malarkey shouted at me. "We'll get him somewhere safe!" I nodded in gratitude at them and dashed off to where I was needed.
A/N: Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologize for neglecting to post anything. Writer's block is a bitch and my next semester started, so I lost track of time. I actually had part of this chapter written before going on that unscheduled hiatus, and that forced me to come back and edit it slightly so that the document wouldn't get deleted. Well, I've reread this story, and I'm going to try and update more often. I don't know if it'll be as often as I used to update, but I'll try.
Another reason I came back is because I heard the song "Flares" by The Script. It seems to fit the theme of this story and the Band of Brothers series as a whole, so when I heard it, it reminded me of Diana and caused me to come back here.
I hope you all enjoy this update and once again, I'm sorry for not updating.
-Katie