With the bridges secured, the British tanks crossed them later on in the afternoon.
By nightfall, some of the men decided to stay inside the city to continue the party. Some guys were on watch that night, so couldn't join in on the fun. Because Rory didn't want to head back into Eindhoven, she volunteered to keep watch by one of the bridges. Besides, she needed the distraction. Rory couldn't get what she had witnessed out of her mind.
Feeling a sting on her badly scarred arm.
Rory rubbed it.
Sighing, she leaned against the machine-gun and kept watch.
"Hey, Roo".
Turning around, Rory watched Christenson slide into the outpost.
With a smile, he said;
"I managed to grab a stick of charcoal. I already have one. Would you like it?"
Frowning a little, Rory examined the charcoal in her hand and asked;
"what'd I do with it, Pat?"
He smiled;
"you use it to sketch, kid". He told her, "I usually work best with charcoal. Why don't you give it a try?"
With a sigh, Rory said;
"I'm real busy right now".
Christenson's face lightened with amusement;
"oh, I know you are, Roo. Maybe later on, huh? When you're not too busy".
Giving him a tiny smile, Rory nodded.
She placed the stick of charcoal inside her pocket.
Rory faced the front again.
The city was busy, but Rory couldn't see any threats.
She wasn't busy at all.
Leaning back against the gun, she asked quietly;
"is James okay?"
Christenson nodded;
"he's doing great, Roo". He assured her, "he's relieved that Sargent Toye found you".
Rory frowned a little;
"me too". She whispered.
Christenson looked at the girl;
"you know…was pretty wild out there, huh? Lots to see".
Her frown deepened;
";bout the women?"
He nodded;
"yeah, Roo". He said quietly, "you saw that?"
Rory nodded slowly;
"I got a little scared".
Christenson shrugged;
"we weren't expecting that to happen, Roo".
"Thought Paratroopers weren't meant to be scared".
He chuckled quietly;
"Roo…we're still human, right? I've seen plenty of fellas get scared. Heck, I've even been closed to pissing my pants out in combat".
Rory looked at him;
"you?"
He nodded;
"yeah…that jump into Normandy. Taking Carentan. Those were heart-stopping moments, Roo. It's not so bad having a little bit of fear. Could save your life, make you alert. But too much fear, that'll kill you out here. Heck, having too much fear anywhere will get you killed, Roo. You have to find that balance. It's hard to think straight when you're frozen with fear".
Looking up at him, Rory croaked;
"I know".
Christenson frowned a little;
"yeah…I figured you might know what that's like".
Her eyes moved away from his and landed on her covered arm.
"I don't talk 'bout it". Rory mumbled, "cause it hurts my arm sometimes when I think 'bout it".
Shaking his head, he murmured;
"you don't have to talk about it, Roo".
She could feel a lump in her throat;
"was my fault anyway".
Christenson's face dropped;
"why would you say that?"
Rory shrugged;
"cause…just is. I deserved it".
"Look, I don't know how you got that burn, Roo. But you didn't deserve that".
"Looks messed up, huh?"
"It looks like it used to hurt a lot".
Rory nodded;
"it did".
Christenson was about to respond when the sound of a single gunshot fired out by the bridge. Frowning, Rory took hold of the machine-gun and tried to find where it was coming from. Looking through the sight, she spotted a few Dutchmen, an old lady and a horse and cart. Soon, they could hear them all yelling, particularly the old woman.
Rory looked up at Christenson;
"we should go".
He nodded;
"yeah…stay close, alright?"
Leaving the outpost, the pair of them travelled towards the end of the bridge.
They found out what the Dutchmen had shot.
It was a German soldier. Only, they had shot him in the shoulder.
And the old lady was currently smacking him repeatedly on his wounded shoulder with her bag. The young German was crying out in pain, as well as his horse, who had fallen over. Taking up his rifle, Christenson approached the two Dutchmen;
"what's going on?"
"What does it look like?" He replied, "the Nazi scum came back…we took care of it".
Rory's face scrunched up in anger;
"no, you didn't!" She said, "he's still alive!"
The man pulled a face;
"we want him to suffer…they made us suffer for five years".
Turning away from them, Rory marched over to the old woman.
Grabbing her arm, she pulled her away from the injured German;
"stop!" She yelled, "you're hurting him!"
So, the old woman smacked Rory across the arm.
And she yelped.
She had a brick in her handbag.
Which explained why the German was in so much pain.
The old woman hit her again.
On the same spot.
Rolling his eyes, Christenson jogged over to them;
"Roo". He said, "you shouldn't get involved".
Rory rubbed her sore arm;
"that hurt!"
"Yeah…I can imagine". Christenson mumbled.
One of the Dutchmen laughed;
"you have a Nazi sympathizer, soldier".
Christenson shot him a tiny glare;
"she ain't that…she's new to all this. She's just a kid".
Rory frowned again;
"what does that mean, Pat?"
Shaking his head, Christenson said;
"nothing, Roo. Don't listen, alright? You ain't that".
Rory suddenly felt uncomfortable being around the situation. But as a soldier, she knew she had to stick around until it was resolved. Giving her arm a rub again, she looked up towards the young German soldier. Rubbing her lips together, she said;
"can't we take him as prisoner, Pat?"
"We could". Christenson said, "but we're probably leaving this place tomorrow. Where will we put him, Roo?"
"Can't we lock him up somewhere?"
"We could…but where?"
Frowning, Rory looked away from the German.
And looked up at Christenson;
"he's 'gonna die, ain't he?"
"Yeah, he is". He replied, "we can do it, or we can let the Dutch do it".
She could hear the German crying in pain behind her.
While the horse whinnied in pain from the ground.
Rory looked down at the horse.
Both his legs were broken.
Rubbing her lips together she whispered;
"the horse too?"
Christenson nodded with a frown;
"yeah, kid". He said quietly, "the horse too".
Feeling her bottom lip quiver, Rory got down on her knees beside the horse's head. There, she gently stroked his head. Christenson watched, his frown deepening. Very quietly, he asked her;
"you want me to do it?"
Biting down on her trembling lip, Rory carefully took off her jacket.
And she covered the horse's eyes with it.
Once his eyes were covered, Rory scratched the horse behind his ears.
He had stopped squirming around.
And seemed to calm down slightly.
"Okay, Pat". She croaked softly, "he's ready now".
Taking in a deep and calming breath, Christenson brought out his pistol.
Placing the barrel onto the top of the horse's head.
He pulled the trigger.
Rory flinched and felt tears roll down her cheeks.
Closing her eyes, she then buried her face into the horse's soft neck.
After putting his pistol back, Christenson crouched down next to the girl and placed his arm around her shaking shoulders;
"come on, kid". He mumbled softly, "let's get you back".
Sniffing, Rory pulled her face away from the horse's neck.
She wiped her tears and got onto her feet.
Christenson grabbed her jacket and led her away from the scene, leaving the Dutch to deal with the German.
While they walked away, a single shot was fired from the Dutchman.
And the German went quiet.
…
After very little sleep, Rory once again, woke up early the next morning.
She left the barn, pulling pieces of straw out of her hair, before plopping on her helmet. It was a colder morning, with damp grass and a light layer of fog. Rory could see a few men fast asleep outside of sheds and barns, obviously too drunk to get inside them. Two of them she saw were Jackson and Vernon. Her friends had spent most of the night with a Dutch family, who gave them food and drinks. It went that way for most of the men who weren't on duty last night.
Rory could hear voices talking from inside one of the sheds.
She stopped and listened in.
"We're heading for Helmond, about eight miles east of here. The Dutch underground tells us it's a major German staging area. We're going to find out. Dick, you're point again. You'll have Brit tanks to keep you company".
Just as Captain Hester had said that, Rory heard around six Cromwell tanks rattling loudly from behind her. She watched, while they crossed the bridge and headed into their area. Moving away from the shed, Rory watched the Brits find a spot for their tanks. Some of the crew members got out once their tanks were parked.
"What do you say, lads?" One of the Brits said, "how about some tea?"
Rubbing her lips together, Rory sat herself down on the damp grass and brought out her notebook and the stick of charcoal Christenson gave her last night. Opening her notebook, she found a fresh page and began to sketch one of the tanks, where a few British soldiers sat by the turret, making themselves a hot brew.
When Winters left the shed, Rory was still sketching.
With a small smile, he looked down at the girl.
And his smile brightened when he saw the sketch.
"That's a good, trooper". He said, "we'll need evidence of the British taking their daily tea breaks".
Rory smiled small;
"just helping out, sir".
With a tiny chuckle, Winters then crouched beside her.
Staring at her for a few moments, his eyes soon looked over at the British tanks.
Clearing his throat first, he said;
"Christenson told me what happened…".
Rory frowned and stopped drawing.
Chewing on her bottom lip, she looked up at Winters;
"sorry, sir". She whispered, "I just…maybe I should have let the old woman-"
"no, we're not mad about that". Winters cut her off kindly, "it's different out here, huh?"
Rory nodded;
"yeah, sir". She agreed quietly.
"It's not like back in England, or back home. This is an occupied country, trooper. Some rules don't apply here".
She frowned again;
"like with the women, sir?"
Winters shared her frown;
"you saw that?"
Rory nodded.
He sighed;
"the Dutch believed those women to be bad people, Roo".
"Why, sir?"
Shaking his head, Winters mumbled;
"well…they got friendly with the enemy. Supposedly".
Rubbing her lips together first, Rory then said;
"I didn't like it, sir".
"No, me neither, Roo". Winters said quietly.
Rory looked down at her unfinished sketch.
And whispered;
"it reminded me of what my mom and dad did to me".
Frown deepening, Winters looked back down at her.
Rory felt a shiver roll down her spine.
And a familiar sting on her arm.
She felt her eyes water.
Rory blinked and one tear rolled down her cheek.
She quickly wiped it away.
"It's the grass". She mumbled thickly, "I'm allergic".
With a sad sort of smile, Winters clapped her shoulder;
"hang tough, trooper".
…
Easy climbed aboard six Cromwell tanks that morning.
Toye grabbed Rory by the waist and lifted her up;
"Jesus – take her, Vernon!"
With a laugh, Vernon grabbed Rory's arms and pulled her up.
She soon found herself sitting atop the tank, with a clear view of the flat Dutch countryside.
The tanks roared to life and took off down a road.
Dutch people from Eindhoven waved them off and brought over some food for their travel.
The men soon enjoyed a picnic on the tanks.
With a sunny sky and beautiful scenery around them, it felt as though they were moving away from the war and off to a better world. It gave Rory and most of the replacements, a sense of peacefulness, like nothing would happen during their journey to Helmond. And perhaps the Germans would put up a small fight and things would be over quickly. Rory had it in her head that they'd be fighting off old men and young soldiers. Most of them did.
"Have you had something to eat, champ?" Buck asked Rory, "Malark's got a cookie left".
Looking up at her Lieutenant, her eyes brightened slightly;
"a cookie, sir?"
Grinning, Buck looked over his shoulder;
"Malark, let's have that cookie, huh?"
"Sure thing, boss". Malarkey complied, handing the officer the last cookie.
Soon, Rory had a chocolate chip cookie in her hands. Freshly made by a very generous Dutch woman, who gave Malarkey more than a handful that morning. But just as she was about to take a bite, Rory and the men of Easy, spotted a woman standing on the side of the road.
Her head was shaven.
She wore old and tattered clothes.
And she carried a small baby in her arms, which was wrapped up in blankets.
Frowning, Rory put the cookie in her pocket and started to climb down the side of the tank.
"Hey!" Toye called for her, "where are you going?!"
Jumping down off the tank, Rory approached the woman.
With a tiny smile, she handed her Malarkey's last cookie.
The young woman smiled down at the girl.
"Dank u". She said to Rory quietly, with tears in her eyes.
Giving the woman another small smile, Rory nodded and walked back over to the tank.
She climbed up as far as she could, before Toye reached down and pulled her up the rest of the way. With a sigh, he said;
"don't do that again".
"Sorry, Sarge". Rory mumbled.
Shaking his head, Toye smiled a little;
"you got a big heart, huh? I'll let you off this time".
The peaceful picnic came to a sudden halt, just as they were approaching Nuenen. The tanks spread out into their columns, while Lieutenant Brewer walked away from them and stood in the middle of the road, looking through his binoculars. Because Brewer was out in open, he made the perfect target for the enemy.
"Lieutenant!" Bull yelled.
Brewer turned around to face the Sargent when one single shot fired out and hit Brewer in the neck. The tall Lieutenant fell to the ground, blood spurting out from his neck. Rory's eyes went wide while she watched the officer fall. And after only a few seconds after that happened, she heard her friend shout;
"Sarge!"
A Tiger came racing down the field.
"GET OFF THE TANKS!" Toye screamed, "EVERYONE! OFF THE TANKS! TAKE COVER!"
Very quickly, the men from Easy abandoned ship and dove into a ditch.
They fired out across the field, while the Cromwell tanks swirled their turrets to take down the lone German tank. Shots were fired back towards the men who were hiding in the ditch. Toye had his squad firing out, while he turned to Buck.
"What now?!"
Buck nodded towards the town;
"head for the town, Joe – Gurno! Get those mortars set up once inside!"
"You heard the word!" Toye told his squad, "get a move on!"
Rory thought the man was mental.
Bullets pinged against the grass and their helmets.
All the while the Cromwell's fired out across the field.
The noise was almost deafening.
Rory hadn't heard a noise like it before.
But Toye followed the ditch and raced ahead, with the squad following behind. Rory didn't get very far until she tripped and fell. Getting back onto her feet, she ran up the ditch and onto the road, where she saw Brewer still lying there. Only, he wasn't the only one injured. Another medic lay injured beside him. Getting onto her knees, she crawled over to him;
"Lieutenant?!"
The man was alive but losing a lot of blood.
Rory was about to reach for her medkit when their last medic rushed over.
"DOE! GET OVER HERE!"
Getting back onto her feet, she followed the voice and headed for the village.
Now that she had lost sight of her squad, Rory found herself moving into the village alone.
Following her training, she took cover, while moving further inside the town.
It was quiet.
Rory thought maybe the Germans had left and perhaps they had taken down their only tank.
Following behind her were the six Cromwell tanks.
"Doe!" A voice loudly whispered, "get over here!"
The sleepy town offered many great sources of cover. Shops, low walls, hedges but Rory was standing in the middle of the road, looking as though she had been leading the tanks inside. Moving towards the voice, she soon found herself taking cover behind a brick pillar with Bull.
Giving her a nod, he pointed towards something.
Rory followed his gesture and saw a Tiger, which was hidden and camouflaged.
It was sitting between two buildings, covered in light hay.
Martin and Heffron ran towards the first Cromwell tank to warn them of the Tiger.
The tanks proceeded to move down the road, while Heffron and Martin moved back towards their position. Bull looked towards the hidden Tiger and mumbled;
"what the hell's he doing?"
Rory frowned;
"don't get it, Sarge".
"The Brits should be shooting the Tiger, not going towards it".
"How come they ain't shooting it?"
Bull shook his head;
"I don't know".
Rory followed Bull's stare and watched in horror while the Tiger turret moved.
She then faced the Cromwell tanks.
And saw one of the Brits looking through a pair of binoculars.
"Sarge". Rory whispered, "don't think they can see the Tiger…they're looking for 'um".
Bull sighed;
"well…they're 'bout to see the Tiger real soon, boy".
And they did.
The Tiger shot out and hit one of the Cromwell's.
Rory screamed, while pieces of tank flew in the air.
She ducked behind Bull, who was still watching the Tiger.
"shit". He then cursed.
Turning to face his squad, he yelled;
"fall back! Fall back!"
Bull tried to push Rory away, but it was too late.
A shell hit the building they were next to and the pair of them fell flat on their faces. Bull lost his helmet, while he grabbed Rory by the jacket and hoisted her onto her feet. The sniper from the roof began to shoot at the pair of them. The bullets hit the ground and kicked up the mud.
"RUN!" Bull yelled.
His hand still gripped her jacket, while the pair of them sprinted from harm's way.
One of the Cromwell tanks opened fire once again.
It hit one of their own destroyed tanks, forcing hot shrapnel to pull away from the body. Rory felt something hit the back of her head, which forced her helmet off. She ended up falling onto the ground. Bull picked her up and tossed them both into a ditch, just as something hot and painful cut into the back of his shoulder.
Looking behind him, he soon saw another problem.
A blazed Cromwell tank was following after them, heading directly into the ditch.
Rory was unconscious.
Meaning Bull had to drag them both away.
Crawling while pulling Rory with him, he was racing against a tank.
He thought about leaving the ditch, but they were surrounded by Germans.
Bull had no other choice but to try and outrun the tank.
But the tank ended up falling into the ditch.
Covering both Bull and Rory.
