AN: Here we go again, pals!
August 1941.
Getting on the train, Dick Winters took the empty seat beside a sleeping young woman. Careful not to wake her, he first placed his bag on the overhead compartment before quietly sitting himself down next to her. From the window, he could see his little sister, parents, and Aunt Lottie waving at him. It was only polite to wave back. Eyes focused on his family's tearful faces, Winters smiled and waved. The train rumbled below him, and the engines worked up steam before it slowly moved along the tracks. He continued to wave until his family disappeared.
With a tiny sigh, he lowered his arm.
And soon jerked forward when the train came to a sudden stop. Hands thumping against the seat in front of him, Winters looked around, slightly concerned by the halt in their journey to Camp Croft, South Carolina. A few moments later, a sweaty and breathless man entered his train cart and dropped on the seat across from him. Once the panting man was seated, the train picked up steam and moved again. Winters watched the man, with a raised eyebrow and an amused look. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, the man looked at Winters;
"damn near missed this train".
Winters huffed out a tiny laugh;
"how'd you get it to stop?"
"I waved and yelled…probably looked like some looney".
"What made you late?"
"My wife". He said, "she didn't want me leaving".
"Gosh, I didn't think married men were allowed to enlist".
He shrugged;
"I'd rather not wait until my name was pulled out for a draft".
Smiling, Winters held out his hand;
"Dick Winters".
The man shook it;
"Triesta Trenta. Call me Trent".
"Good to meet you, Trent".
"Likewise".
When the handshake ended, Trent noticed the girl sleeping next to Winters. With a confused look, he asked;
"why is there a girl on a troop train?"
"It's a mystery to me". Winters said, "I got on at Lancaster, like you".
"Should we wake her and find out?"
"God no…never wake someone up from a deep sleep". Winters said, "I thought you were married?"
Trent chuckled;
"Dorothy sometimes wakes me up in the middle of the night. Whatever worries she has, she likes to share them when I'm sleeping".
"Well, I'd rather not wake this girl up". Winters smiled, "she probably won't appreciate it".
"Yeah, she does look tired". Trent agreed, "maybe she got on at New York".
Winters hummed;
"maybe".
"So, Lancaster, huh?" Trent asked, "what'd you do there, Dick?"
"College before this". Winters said, "and I worked at Edison Electric. I was in the maintenance crew, my dad supervised us. I used to paint the tall metal towers".
"I know where that is". Trent said, "yeah…I worked in the garage down the road from there".
"That's where our car gets its tyres".
Trent smirked;
"probably changed them a few times, Dick".
"Small world, huh?"
"Small indeed". Trent said, "you got a girl back in Lancaster?"
Winters shook his head;
"no…work and study took up most of my time".
"All work and no play, huh?" Trent simpered, "well, there ain't much money going for us now, pal".
Winters sighed;
"yeah…I'm not looking forward to the pay-cut each month".
"It's only a year top". Trent reminded him, "then we're free of duty".
"Yeah, I guess". Winters mumbled softly, "maybe I'll do something with my degree".
"I was hoping to save for a house". Trent said, "me and Dorothy are trying to start a family, you know. But at the moment, we're renting this tiny apartment above the hardware store".
"Downtown?"
"Yeah". Trent confirmed, "it's no place to raise a kid".
"I'm sure something will come up". Winters shrugged, "you've got time to save".
"I hate leaving her". He sighed, "but I just 'wanna get this over with".
"Agreed". Winters mumbled, "the quicker this year ends, the better".
"I'm hoping America stay 'outta this conflict in Europe".
"God, I feel bad for them". Winters said quietly, "all those bombings. The Germans sound like a bunch of mean sonofabitches".
"Yeah, they do". Trent nodded eagerly, "those Nazis, huh?"
"They sound like awful people". He murmured, "and their power-hungry leader Hitler".
Shaking his head, Trent said;
"I hope they get rid of him before they start threatening America".
"Did you hear the Germans started attacking Russia?"
"Yeah…what a plot twist, huh?" Trent mumbled, "I thought they were hand-in-hand in all of this. They invaded Poland together".
"I'm sure the Russian's will push Germany back".
"I hope they do". Trent said, "Allies are screwed if they don't".
"Yeah, but which side will the Soviets take in the end?"
"Hopefully the British". Trent mumbled, "from the looks of it, they ain't doing so good".
Before Winters could say anything, the girl beside him shifted. Looking down at her, he noticed her eyes were still closed. The blanket wrapped around her slip off her shoulders, exposing a very deep and painful-looking scar. It looked like an old burn wound. Winters felt a tiny shiver roll down his spine when he saw it.
Trent looked at them, curiously;
"she up?"
Shaking his head, Winters faced him;
"still sleeping".
Trent sighed;
"I'm getting impatient".
Winters snorted;
"she might not tell us". He pointed out, "and she doesn't have to".
"True". He sounded disappointed, "but I feel we have to right to know because she's on a troop train, heading for Camp Croft. And last I checked; girls can't enlist".
"Unless they changed the rules". Winters joked, "and we didn't hear about it".
Trent looked amused;
"well, if they did, they kept that pretty quiet, huh?"
"I'm sure she has a good reason".
Trent looked a little worried;
"the men won't like it, Dick". He said quietly, "and she looks so small sleeping there".
With a tiny frown, Winters decided;
"we'll keep an eye on her. Keep her close by".
Trent nodded;
"deal. I sure as hell don't 'wanna hurt her".
"God, no". Winters said, "and I wouldn't like to see the men being mean towards her".
"Yeah, we'll keep her under our wing". Trent mumbled, "but who knows, Dick…she could be a mean sonofabitch, huh?"
…
Two hours later and Trent had fallen asleep. Winters was left to his own thoughts, where he decided to jot them down in a journal his Aunt Lottie had gifted him before boarding the train to Croft. He wrote about Trent almost missing the train and the mysterious girl sleeping next to him. She had dark brown hair and pale skin with dark freckles. Winters was curious to know what colour of eyes she had. When he grew bored of writing down his thoughts, Winters closed his journal and looked towards the girl.
Only to have her stare back at him.
Her eyes were a very light blue.
Blinking a few times, Winters's lips soon created the smallest of smiles;
"hello". He greeted politely, "I'm – uh – I'm Dick Winters".
At first, her eyes looked sharp and almost worried.
But after Winters started speaking, they softened ever so slightly.
He held out his hand.
She took it and shook his hand;
"Meredith". Came a soft Scottish accent, "Meredith Kerr".
"Meredith?" Winters repeated back softly.
"Call me Meri"
"If you insist".
Meredith nodded;
"yeah, that would be great".
With a tiny huff, Winters said;
"you're Scottish, Meri?"
"I am, yeah". Meredith confirmed.
"I'm sorry – it's just – well, I've never met anyone from Scotland before".
She shrugged;
"never met a Yank before coming over here". Meredith mumbled, "yous seem nice".
"Thank you". Winters found himself smiling, "glad we're a friendly bunch".
Looking down, Meredith noticed they had stopped shaking hands.
Now, they were just holding hands.
Raising her eyebrow, she slowly pulled her hand away from his gentle hold. Winters blushed and quickly apologised;
"pardon me, Meri…I suppose I was in a state of shock, is all".
Meredith's lips twitched;
"yous really are a friendly bunch, eh?"
With a smile and a slightly breathless laugh, Winters nodded;
"I guess we are".
"Where are we now?"
"Uh…Maryland, I think". Winters looked over her head and out the window, "yeah…still in Maryland, by the looks of it".
"Your country's massive". She said, "been on this train for hours…we close to Croft?"
Winters shook his head;
"no…no, we've still got seven or so hours left-"
"Jesus". Meredith sighed, "I got on at New York, eh? Been here for hours".
"Yeah, it can take a while". Winters empathised with her discomfort, "however, we've got plenty of time to get to know one another".
Eyebrows twitching, she looked up at him;
"fair enough…so, where're you from, Dick?"
"Lancaster, Pennsylvania". He replied, "you?"
Clearing her throat, Meredith grabbed the ends of her blanket and pulled it up;
"well, I was born in Scotland, right?"
Winters nodded;
"explains the accent".
A tiny smirk reached her lips;
"anyway…when I was twelve, we moved to Iceland. My mum's Icelandic and her parents died and left her some land and a house. We decided to move there. This little place called Dalvik".
Winters raised both eyebrows;
"Iceland?"
Meredith nodded;
"yup…the tiny country surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean".
"What's it like there? Besides from freezing?"
Her smirk widened;
"besides from freezing? Well…it's beautiful, Dick. What can I say? Beautiful place".
A soft smile settled on his lips;
"I can imagine…with the Northern Lights, right?"
She nodded;
"it's like a magic trick in the sky". She said, "takes a long time to get used to the cold, mind but you just sort of…warm-up to it, I suppose".
Winters chuckled;
"is that even possible?"
Shaking her head, Meredith smiled small;
"maybe we all lost our minds".
"So…what did you do in Iceland?"
"Fishing, mostly". Meredith replied quietly, "dad has a fishing boat. We'd go out most days. Catch a bucket of fish, sell some of the fish and eat the rest for dinner".
"I like to fish". He said, "it's relaxing".
"Yeah, it can be". She mused, "but it changes quick, eh? When you see a whale. Those things can take a whole boat down".
Winters huffed;
"gosh, must be frightening seeing a whale".
"That was a big fear of mine…getting capsized by a whale". Meredith admitted, "but I 'dunno, I just sort of fell in love with them one day".
"So, your dad's a fisherman?"
Meredith nodded;
"yeah…what's your dad do?"
"He works with an electric company, Edison Electric. Ever heard of it?"
She shook her head;
"no, sorry".
"It's okay". Winters said, "you're not from here…well, it's his job to supervise the maintenance crew. Which I was a part of".
"But now you're here". Meredith noted, "an enlisted soldier, eh?"
Winters cleared his throat;
"yeah – speaking of…you know you're on a troop train, right?"
Faking surprise, Meredith whispered;
"shite…got myself on the wrong train…again?"
Winters smiled;
"I'm sorry, Meri. It's a little strange, that's all".
Shaking her head, she assured him;
"I get it". Meredith mumbled, "but there is a reason for me being here…don't worry about it, eh? I'll be alright".
"You will?" He asked, "I'm not sure how the rest of the men will react".
Shrugging, she said lightly;
"probably not well, Dick…but it is what it is, eh? I'll just put my foot in the door and see what happens".
"I was curious to know what type of person I was 'gonna meet when you woke up". Winters said, with a tiny smile, "the guy across from us, Trent, was thinking you'd be some mean sonofabitch".
Her eyes lightened with amusement;
"nah…I'm not like that". She said, "in fact, I used to get told off for being so calm".
"You did?"
"Oh, yeah…but it came in handy". Meredith said, "you know, once you join the army and all. They expect you to remain calm in scary situations-"
"army?" Winters cut her off, "you're already in the army?"
She nodded;
"yeah…part of the reason I'm here, actually". Meredith half smiled, "to keep an eye on you lot".
"So…you're a spy?"
"No, not a spy". Meredith said, "I'd be a terrible spy".
Winters looked confused;
"so, why are you keeping an eye on us?"
With a shrug, she mumbled;
"in case yous get involved in this war, Dick. They were keen to send someone over who's already seen it".
His eyes widened a little;
"you?"
Meredith nodded;
"yup – me". She simpered, "I'm not much but…maybe I could help a little".
"You were fighting the Germans?"
"Ah, I can't say much". Meredith said, "I don't know you, Dick. How can I trust you?"
His lips twitched;
"true".
Nodding, Meredith soon told him quietly;
"but yeah, there were Germans involved".
Licking his bottom lip, Winters gestured to her shoulder;
"is that where the scar came from?"
She pulled down the blanket, revealing the scar on her shoulder;
"nah…I was a stupid kid". Meredith mumbled, "managed to pour boiling water over me when mum was making a cup of tea".
Winters hissed through his teeth, showing discomfort;
"yikes".
Nodding, she pulled up the blanket again;
"was a sore one. Three operations later, they patched me up just fine".
"Are you cold?" Winters asked, nodding towards the blanket, "only, it's summer".
With a tiny smile, Meredith shrugged;
"I like being warm".
"But you're from Iceland". Winters smiled, "I thought you'd hate the warmth".
"I appreciate the warm now, Dick. Now more than ever".
"She's awake!" A voice exclaimed.
Winters turned to Trent;
"she is".
With a little frown, Meredith leaned forwards and caught sight of Trent.
Giving the man a little wave, she greeted him;
"hello".
"She speaks too!" Trent grinned, "and she ain't American".
"She's called Meri". Winters told him, "and she's here to keep an eye on us".
"Spy?"
"No". Both Winters and Meredith replied.
The excitement left Trent's eyes;
"oh…so, they just felt like sending a Scottish girl over to the States?"
Meredith shrugged;
"maybe…".
Trent smiled;
"mysterious, huh?"
"Nah…they wanted someone with some experience to train with you lot". Meredith explained.
"So, they picked you?"
"They did". She confirmed, "little old me, eh?"
Trent looked at Winters;
"is Meri a mean sonofabitch?"
Winters chuckled;
"certainly not".