After two cancelled jumps, passes were put on hold.
They continued with training and had drinks down at the pub on the weekends. Things were fine, if not a little tense from time to time. The call for another jump sat heavily in their minds. It's all they could think about. Some nights, Abbey found it hard to sleep. She'd often go for little walks, just to tire herself out. Her squad got used to this. But the first time it happened, they all went out looking for her and found her wondering around the dark village.
Soon, they stopped worrying.
However.
They wished they hadn't.
Abbey couldn't sleep, it was around midnight.
Putting on her boots and jacket, she walked out of the stables.
It was September, the nights were starting to get cooler.
And on top of that, it was raining.
Abbey didn't mind, the rain wasn't at all that heavy. And she knew these walks did her some good. It gave her a chance to quieten her head and get her tired enough to sleep. So, she took her usual walk away from the stables and headed into the main centre of the village.
Like most nights, it was quiet.
The streets were darkened out, with the threat of a bombing still.
And the everyone was tucked up and sleeping soundly.
Which was what Abbey should have been doing – sleeping.
If only. She would have slept if she could have.
But there was no harm in missing a few hours of sleep.
Abbey walked further into the village, while the rain lightly patted onto the cobbled road. She could hear the rain tap against windows and doors and trickle down from the roofs, creating puddles on the ground. Aldbourne was truly a beautiful place, even when it rained.
But as quick as blinking, the mood changed.
It got colder and a horrible feeling pooled in the pit of her stomach.
"Abbey".
She stood still.
A tiny shiver rolled down her spine.
"You came back".
Slowly, she turned around.
It could have been in her head.
But this was real.
Charlie smiled.
"I came back too, Abbey". He said, "nothing can keep you away from me".
"Your grandad never painted". Abbey whispered.
Charlie chuckled.
"It's been months, Abbey". He murmured, "did you miss me?"
She shook her head.
"No?" Charlie asked softly, "I find that hard to believe-"
"you hurt me". Abbey mumbled.
"You only hurt the ones you love".
She looked down at her boots.
That felt harder than expected.
Because she thought about her parents leaving her.
Charlie closed the distance between them.
"You seem sad, Abbey". He whispered, "maybe I can help you".
He reached out for her arm; Abbey took a step back.
Smiling still, Charlie reached for her again.
"Don't be difficult, Abbey". He chided lightly, "I won't hurt you again".
Abbey looked up, meeting his eyes.
"I hate you". She whispered, "leave me alone".
Charlie continued to smile.
"I don't believe you".
His fingers lightly touched the side of her jaw.
Abbey felt sick.
She pulled a face.
Charlie's fingers then moved down, lightly touching her neck.
Jaw clenching, Abbey grabbed his wrist tightly.
"You are just a man". She mumbled, "and you don't scare me".
"I'm your man-"
"stop lying to yourself". Abbey cut him off.
Charlie licked his lips.
"See? Isn't this fun". He whispered, "but Abbey…please, don't grab me".
"You are a shitty person". Abbey shook her head in disbelief. "And I will hurt you, more than you hurt me".
Charlie huffed softly.
"You won't".
"We're going to die alone". She said, "both of us. No one likes you and people leave me. I won't love you and will continue to hate you. You repulse me. But at least for now, I have friends. And you have no one, Charlie".
His face dropped into a serious expression.
The light had vanished from him.
And he was no longer smiling.
Abbey smiled, "see, Charlie? You're already dead inside. You burned out years ago. You moved here because it's isolated, just like you are. No one knows your name. And when you die, no one is going to give a fuck".
His breathing grew harder.
Charlie's teeth clenched together.
"You, bitch!" He yelled.
She nodded.
"Yes". Abbey mumbled, "it's what I am. No one likes me at all that much, Charlie. But at least they know my name".
Letting out another yell, Charlie's forehead crashed against her nose.
Abbey's head fell back, knocking against the wall.
She stumbled and slid down.
Her eyes were blurry and the whole world started to spin.
Charlie was soon in front of her.
His hands went around her neck.
"Let's see what they think when you die, Abbey".
"I hurt you". She choked out, "I hurt you".
Charlie ended up lifting her up and pinned her against the wall, hands still around her neck. His eyes burned deeply into hers. Abbey's legs dangled, feet hovering above the ground. And she didn't even try to fight back. She let Charlie strangle her, until he grew tired of her not fighting for her life. And soon, he let her go and she fell to the ground.
Abbey gasped and rubbed her red and sore neck.
She coughed a few times, trying to catch her next breath.
Charlie watched her.
Hands balled up into fists.
Abbey had hurt him, just like she said she would.
Breathing heavily, she looked up at him.
"Fuck off". Abbey whispered, "before my friend's skin you alive".
Still angry, Charlie kicked her in the stomach.
Doubling over, she curled into a ball on her side.
Abbey placed her hand on the ground, stopping herself from falling over completely. He winded her but only for a few seconds. And soon, Abbey had managed to stagger back onto her feet. She might have been smaller than Charlie, but she stood tall in front of him.
"You don't deserve anyone". He said, "you're as bad as me".
She let out a light and forced chuckle.
"And they used to call me a freak". She mumbled, with a tiny smile.
Charlie frowned, "what?"
Before he could ask another question, Abbey punched him.
She got him under the chin and his head fell back.
Charlie dropped onto the wet and cold ground.
Before she walked off, Abbey kicked him in the groin.
He moaned weakly and gagged.
"Goodbye, Charlie". Abbey mumbled, "may we never meet again".
She made it back into the stables without Charlie pulling her back to him.
Abbey closed the door and walked into their block.
She sat on the edge of Nelson's bed to take off her boots.
The guy let out a little groan and turned around.
Yawning, he looked into the darkness and made out Abbey.
She kicked her boots under the bed and rubbed her nose.
It wasn't bleeding but it hurt.
"Enjoy your-"
Before Nelson could ask, Abbey gasped and jumped up.
Pulling a face, he sat up and stared at her.
Hand hovering over her ear, Abbey turned around and looked at Nelson.
"You okay, Abbey?" He asked her quietly.
"What's going on?" Liebgott mumbled into his pillow.
Giving her head a shake, Abbey climbed up to the top bunk.
Nelson raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing – apparently". He mumbled.
Liebgott sighed and opened his eyes.
Sitting up a little and resting on his arm, he looked over at Abbey.
"Look at me, real quick".
She continued to stare at the ceiling.
Liebgott sighed again.
"Abbey…I ain't doing this". He mumbled, "it's too late – come on, what's going on?"
Slowly, she turned her head and their eyes met.
"I hurt Charlie".
His eyes widened.
And his stomach bubbled with rage.
"Where the fuck is he? Did he fucking hurt you?!"
Abbey shook her head.
"No. I hurt him".
And she faced the ceiling again, eyes closing.
"Finally". Abbey whispered.
…
"As you can see, this is called Operation Market Garden".
It was the 14th of September, and Easy were currently in the HQ tent, being briefed by Winters and Nixon. They were back in Membury, with the gates locked behind them. And this time, it felt different, it felt final.
Winters continued, "in turns of airborne Divisions, this one's even bigger than Normandy. We're dropping deep into occupied Holland. The allied objective is to take this road here, between Eindhoven and Arnhem. So, the two British Armoured divisions can move it up towards Arnhem. Our job is 'gonna be to liberate Eindhoven. Stay there, wait for the tanks".
Nixon took a step forward, "the entire European advance has been put on hold to alcoate resources for this operation. It's Montgomery's personal plan, we'll be under British Command".
No one liked the idea of that.
Some of the men even groaned.
"The good news is". He added lightly, "if this works, these tanks will be over the Rhine and into Germany. That could end the war and get us home by Christmas".
That seemed to lighten the mood a little.
"It'll be a daytime job". Nixon went on, "intelligence doesn't expect much opposition. They think the Krauts in Holland are mostly kids and old men. And we should take them by surprise".
Nixon gave them a little nod.
"In any case, say goodbye to England, I don't think they're 'gonna call this one off".
Like other times, they had sand tables, maps and recon photos to look at.
Toye went over each part of the objective with his squad, making sure they knew exactly where they were dropping, which bridges they were to cross and what to do once they got inside Eindhoven. Once they got it down, it didn't seem as confusing as before. But it was a lot of information to take in, much more than the Normandy objectives.
They spent hours inside that tent.
Toye eventually got his squad out of the tent for supper.
"You can't learn when you're hungry". He told them. "We'll go back to it after".
Guarnere had a lot to say about the British.
"The soldiers are lions – they fight like us. But they're being led by damned donkeys". He said, "the ranks are handed down like royalty. They're not fucking earned. So, who fucking knows what's leading their army".
This was all said over supper.
"On top of it all, it's a huge fucking risk". Guarnere went on, "everything's been put on hold for this damn mission. Lot of money gone into this too".
Buck sighed, "aren't you a pocket of happiness tonight, Gunro".
The man smirked, "sorry, Buck – just how I feel".
After supper, Abbey headed back inside the HQ tent.
The rest of her squad decided to see a movie or drink at the PX tent.
She didn't fancy doing any of those things.
Her mind was racing again, going one thousand miles per hour. She wasn't scared, maybe a little nervous but not scared. And Abbey was shattered from not sleeping the previous night, but her head was too loud and wouldn't let her shut down for eight or so hours.
Sitting down on the table in the quiet tent, Abbey looked over at the large map.
It was very quiet; she was alone inside the tent.
But it was peaceful.
Her mind drifted further back.
Abbey thought about Toccoa.
She remembered meeting Sobel for the first time and Lorraine showing her the way to 2nd Platoon barracks. Abbey was nervous to meet the men and she didn't want to leave the jeep once they reached camp. They didn't like her; Nelson was always on her back and Abbey didn't belong in the army. No one believed in her, she didn't believe in herself.
Skip and Guarnere were the first to stick up for her.
Abbey would never forget that.
And Diel was the first person to ever make her feel proud of herself.
They didn't know much about her past, but they knew so much about the Abbey she had turned into. The men knew each other inside and out. They had spent years training and went through Normandy together. It was a bond like no other.
And Abbey still couldn't believe she was a part of that.
…
On the 17th of September, everyone was getting ready for the jump.
Gear was packed up; harnesses were being strapped on and weapons were given to them. It was much like last time, they had the same gear, minus the gas masks and a reserve chute. Things were still heavy but not having that reserve cute, made things a whole lot easier all the same. Still, Abbey didn't put on the rest of her heavy gear until she helped Toye out with getting everyone else ready.
Replacements, mostly.
Heffron and Campbell seemed fine; if not eager to go.
The two replacements were lying on the ground in the airfield.
Their equipment was heavy, they had the machine-gun and ammo to carry.
The plane next to them had an interesting name.
"Doris". Written in big red letters on the fuselage.
"Christ, we're 'gonna get blown right out of the sky!" Campbell exclaimed.
"Jim, you always got such kind thoughts?" Heffron mumbled. "Fucking Doris…".
Abbey's lips twitched.
Shaking her head, she crouched beside them and checked over their harness.
Heffron watched her, while she gave his harness a tug.
"You see that, Abbey?"
"Doris". She mumbled, "and yes, that is our plane".
Campbell sighed, "Jesus Christ…what a fucking omen".
"Named after my ex". Heffron added, "hopefully, she goes easy on me this time around".
He chuckled, "yeah…".
Of course, Guarnere laughed when he walked over.
"Babe! I picked this fucking plane, just for you!"
Heffron snorted, shaking his head.
While Campbell laughed, "you're a genius, Sarge".
"Why Doris?" Heffron almost moaned, "why not…Pat or something?"
"Cause God wants us all to laugh". Guarnere said, "and have a good fucking trip".
Abbey got back onto her feet.
"You are both okay". She mumbled.
"Toye's looking for you, nut". The Platoon Sargent told her, "he's with Nelly and Jack".
On her way to find her squad leader, Abbey bumped into Lipton and Popeye.
Seeing Popeye again was a relief. If he spent ninety days away from Easy, he would have been placed into another unit, a random one, where they most needed men. But Popeye had gone AWOL, to stop that from happening. And the guy who gave him a lift into Membury was Sobel.
It was good to see Popeye again. He seemed happy to be back.
"Abbey, where's your gear?"
Buck was soon standing in front of her.
Turning her eyes away from Popeye, she looked up at him.
"I was getting the rest ready, sir".
"Right". He mumbled, "alright – get yourself geared up now, alright? We're heading in soon".
"Okay, sir".
It didn't take long to get ready, Heffron helped with putting on her heavy packs.
And when he let go of her, she almost fell back.
Laughing lightly, Heffron grabbed hold of her webbing.
"How the fuck did you do this last time?"
Abbey shook her head.
"With great difficulty". She mumbled, "are you prepared?"
"Yup".
Heffron and Abbey sat down.
Saving their backs from the heavy gear attached to them.
Jackson and Nelson soon joined them.
And then, came the rest of the squad. All geared up and ready to go.
Toye checked on everyone one last time, before he got himself ready. Buck was inside the plane, organising things in there, while the two squads waited patiently. Like last time, the mortar squad joined them.
"Excited to get inside Doris again, Heff?" Skip teased harmlessly.
Jackson snorted, "oh, you'd bet he is".
"He's been dreaming of this moment". Malarkey added with a grin, "huh, Babe?"
Sighing, Heffron glared at the plane.
"Every single day of my life". He muttered, with a large amount of sarcasm.
Before they knew it, they were boarding the plane.
Like last time, they each pushed and helped each other up.
And once sitting down, Buck went around and made sure everyone was as comfortable as possible, like he had done for them before. Toye was push-man for this jump – which was just as the job title made it out to be; if someone refused to jump, Toye had to push them out.
They weren't given air-sickness tablets.
Abbey thought that was a good idea, everyone was sleeping last time.
The plane engines roared to life.
Here we go again.
