Three chapters in a row, woo! All the usual disclaimers apply! And forgive me, I don't know the exact locations of each town in Normandy, so if they're wrong I'm so sorry. Please review!
xoxo
Flames danced in front of her very eyes.
Screams were heard all around her and she felt like she was spinning, vertigo throwing her back into the seat so she was unable to move. She felt trapped, watching each of her friends die as they plummeted toward the ground.
Charlotte looked out the window beside her as they approached the earth, the flames licking up her ankles. Just as they were about to hit the ground, she heard her name being called, faintly at first and then louder until it was right next to her ear.
Charlotte jolted awake, a loud gasp escaping her lips. She looked around, each man on her plane still alive. No fire to be seen. She attempted to get her heart rate under control, pressing a hand to her chest as she turned to face the person who had called her name. "Georgie," She whispered, reaching out to hug him. "remind me next time we jump to not take those damn air sickness pills."
George hugged her back tightly, chuckling over the roar of the plane. "And here I thought you were having dirty dreams about me."
Charlotte scoffed, giving him a shove. "In your dreams."
"Well, duh. Every damn night." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, earning another shove from Lottie as she laughed, her dream temporarily forgotten.
"Promise me something, Georgie?" She said after a moment, almost so quiet George wasn't sure she had spoken.
"Anything, princess. You name it." He replied without hesitation, suddenly serious.
"Promise me you'll make it. You'll meet me on the ground, at the meeting point. Promise me." Charlotte held up her pinkie, chewing on her lip nervously. She knew it was an impossible request, one he had no control over. But she had to try, she had to put the thought into the universe and make it so.
"I pinkie promise I will make it, but only if you promise to make it too." Luz held out his own pinkie with a grin, his own silly nature winning over the serious topic.
"Deal. Now you can't go back on a pinkie promise, it's against the rules." Lottie linked their pinkies and squeezed his finger with her own.
"What rules? Who made up these imaginary rules?" Luz squeezed her finger back and laughed, letting go only after she had.
"I don't make the rules, Georgie, I just enforce them." Charlotte shrugged as she grinned up at him, worries forgotten for the moment.
Soon after, the red light lit up the otherwise dark cabin and she stood with the rest of the men, hooking her chute up to the line. She inspected George's equipment, double and triple-checking to make sure his chute was set to go. After hearing the man behind her shout "Six okay!", she tapped George's shoulder and shouted next to his ear, "Five okay!"
Charlotte felt the plane lurch due to anti-aircraft fire and she put her hands out to stabilize herself, gripping onto Luz's shoulders. The light turned green shortly after and she shuffled forward with the rest of the men.
George stepped into the door and turned back to look at Charlotte, mouthing to her "I will see you on the ground." before jumping.
Charlotte followed soon after, with no pause as she jumped out of the door and into the inky black of night. Immediately she felt her leg bag give way and she cursed the heavens. Good thing she hadn't put anything of true importance in there.
The ground came up rapidly and she rolled to a stop at the base of a treeline, haphazardly wrapping up her chute and stuffing it into her pack. Nearby she heard shouting in German, and she ducked down into the overgrowth to hide, hoping they would pass her by.
The two German soldiers moved closer, walking together with their weapons drawn. They were seemingly on patrol, sent out to look for any incapacitated paratroopers. Charlotte silently prayed none of her friends were spotted by other patrols. She cursed under her breath as they approached, running through several different scenarios. She knew they wouldn't miss her, the darkness of night only able to hide so much. Shooting them would only notify any possible German nearby, so stealth was the key.
The two came to a stop, each pulling out a cigarette as they paused. She knew they would continue heading her way in a moment, so she only had one chance, and it was now. The two men were shorter but stocky and strong, so the easiest way to finish this swiftly was to incapacitate them before they noticed she was there.
She pulled her knife from her pack and crept up behind the first man, using the advantage of surprise to pull him down to her level and slice his throat. She felt his blood pour over her fingers and she felt the sudden urge to vomit at the warm liquid rushing through her fingers.
Suddenly as the soldier dropped to the ground the second man spun, raising the butt of his rifle and slamming it into her nose. She cried out then, feeling her own blood rush from her surely broken nose. She ducked the second time he came at her, swinging her knife forehead and cutting his ankles.
The man and her then struggled and for control over his weapon as he collapsed, and she soon ended up on top of him, trying to loosen his grip. Her helmet was knocked off in the process and this made him pause at the sight of her bun, discovering she was a woman. The split second of distraction was enough to wrestle his weapon away from him, but before she could use her own knife he flipped them back over, wrapping his stumpy fingers around her throat. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sudden loss of air entering her lungs and her first instinct was the grasp at his hands, nails digging into his skin. Her knife had been dropped during the scuffle, and her wide eyes tried to spot it through what little moonlight was there.
As the darkness startled to prickle around the outside of her vision, she felt her hands close around the handle of her knife. She thanked whatever God was up there and quickly swung the knife around, jamming the blade into his side. Lottie pulled the knife back and slammed it upwards into his chest cavity, and after a moment his grip loosened and he collapsed. She felt his blood join the first man's and her own, covering her uniform.
Lottie drew in deep, frightened gasps, her throat raw. She pushed the man off of her and sat up, wiping the knife free of blood on the dead man's uniform. Her soldier instincts won out and before she was fully calm she was already searching the two dead men, grabbing whatever papers, cigarettes, and ammo she could. Lottie doubled checked each of their pockets for a luger, keeping Malarkey and Hoobler in mind. A pang hit her heart. Hopefully, they were still alive.
Charlotte grabbed her pack and helmet and headed out toward the main road, grabbing her compass to see what direction she should be headed. Soon after she saw a road sign; Saint-Marie-Du-Mont, 10 kilomètres. She sighed in relief and walked just off the path in the undergrowth. It would take her longer but she knew she would be out of sight.
Soon after she came upon a creek, and she paused to wash the now dried blood off her hands. She couldn't shake the feeling of the dead soldier's warm blood coursing through her fingers. Her hands went from red to pink and finally back to her pale skin tone, but Lottie could still see the blood. She didn't think she'd ever be able to fully clean her hands.
Lottie sat for a moment, rinsing out her mouth, drinking from her canteen, and refilling it. Her eyes and ears perked up at every little sound, the crunching of leaves or the whisper of wind through the trees. Finally, she had her fill, so she stood and continued south in the direction of the rendezvous point.
Charlotte walked for hours, dawn arriving with the sound of the navy cannons that signified the landings had started. She pushed herself to walk faster, needing to reach her men as soon as possible.
Finally she reached what seemed like a farm, deep muddy trenches gouged in the road leading up the several buildings. She heard German voices and nearly crouched again when she discovered they had no weapons. POWs. Thank heavens for that, she had made it.
Charlotte quickened her pace, walking past the POWs and toward several buildings. She paused at the sight of several dead horses set up like a sort of barricade, frowning deeply. Unnecessary deaths, but war was hell.
"Princess! Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Lottie looked up, grinning as Guarnere walked up to her and pulled her close. "Shit, doll, what happened to you?"
"Kraut got me with the butt of his rifle, I'm okay though." Lottie had to clear her throat before speaking, her throat still raw.
"Oh, is that all that happened?" He rolled his eyes, putting his arm over her shoulder. "Let's find the doc."
"No, Bill, I'm fine. I promise. The blood isn't all mine." Charlotte leaned into him anyways, exhausted from her walk and the exertion of the fight.
"Yeah, that makes me feel loads better." Guarnere rolled his eyes.
"Shut up." Lottie followed him regardless, stopping when she saw Winters speaking with Buck.
"Good morning, sirs. Fine day for an invasion, isn't it?" Lottie reached for the cigarette that was quickly offered to her, breathing the nicotine in deeply.
"Morning, princess. You look like shit. Sound like it too." Buck replied with a grin. She rolled her eyes, sighing softly.
"And here I thought I had perfected the art of makeup. How rude."
"Has anyone seen Doc Roe? I think she definitely has a broken nose." Bill called out, and soon the other men flocked over to her.
"Jesus, princess, sounds like someone took a cheese grater to your vocal cords." Liebgott pulled her in for a hug, eyes widening as he took in her appearance.
"I'm fine, really. I promise I am. It looks worse than it actually is." Lottie quickly finished off the cigarette, reaching for her own pack for another.
"Yeah, yeah, shut up. Let's go find the doc." Bill wrapped his arm back around her shoulder, guiding her toward the building that had been designated as the aid station.
"Come find us as soon as she's cleared." Winters called back, and Bill rolled his eyes in reply. Charlotte gave him a thumbs up.
"What the hell is your problem?" Lottie arched her eyebrow, lighting her cigarette as they walked.
"Winters chewed me out. All for killing Germans. Isn't that what we're fucking supposed to do?" Guarnere ground out.
"Bill, I guarantee there is more to that story that you aren't telling me. But, since I am exhausted, I'll let it slide." Charlotte smirked at him. "Have you seen George yet? Or Tab?"
"No, princess, but you know them. Stubborn as mules, they'll turn up. Doc! Princess here needs a makeover." Bill called out as they walked in, and Eugene stood up from where he sat, organizing supplies.
"Cher, what happened to you?" Roe immediately reached forward, removing her helmet and corralling her toward a bed.
"Come find us when you're done." Guarnere looked down at her expectantly and she nodded after a beat. "You owe us a story."
"Well, I am the best at storytelling. Second only to Georgie, of course." A pang hit her chest. George had promised though, he would make it. He had to.
"Alright, cher, enough chit-chat. Let's get you fixed up. Tell me what happened." Gene spoke in his usual calm, reassuring voice, already using a wet rag to clean the blood delicately from her face.
"Uh, well, when I landed I must have stumbled upon a patrol. There were two krauts, and I was able to kill the first one pretty quickly. Slashed his throat." Lottie paused, rubbing her hands on her dirty jacket. She felt the blood again, running through her fingers. She spotted it under her fingernails, and she grabbed the rag from Gene to rub at her fingertips. "Uh, where was I? Right, so the second kraut spotted me, and he hit me with the butt of his rifle. I think I tilted my head back, so the hit wasn't as hard. We wrestled for his weapon, and that's when he started choking me. I was able to stab him before I passed out. Oh, I grabbed some bandages they had too, in their first aid packs." Charlotte handed over the bandages, her fingernails forgotten.
Eugene nodded in thanks, setting the bandages aside. First, he checked her vision, shining a light in her eyes, fingers faintly inspecting the bruise spread across her right cheek. He then moved to her throat, fingers gingerly dancing them along either side of her neck. Charlotte immediately flinched, leaning her head back. "Cher, I need to see what damage he might have caused, will you let me check?"
Charlotte blushed, her reaction embarrassing to her. "Of course, Gene." He went back to softly tapping along her throat, nodding after a moment.
"Your vocal cords sound damaged, but nothing time won't heal. I think your nose is definitely broken, and you have a bruise on your cheek, but no black eye, and it doesn't look like your vision is damaged, so you should still be able to shoot. I'm going to bandage the cut on your nose, give you some aspirin and a new uniform, and you should be good to go. But any headaches, dizziness, or if your voice gets worse, I need you to come and find me. Okay? Don't make me sick the guys on you." Gene already began bandaging her nose, cleaning up the last bit of blood before handing her a clean set of clothes.
"There's a small washbasin in the back, inside the storage closet. You can get cleaned up back then, and then go meet the men." Eugene smiled, brushing her hair from her face affectionately. "I'm glad you're alright, Cher."
"Me too, Gene. Thank you." Charlotte smiled back, grabbing the uniform and walking into the back room.
As much as she would have liked a full shower, Lottie knew she didn't have time for that. She did her best to hurriedly wash up, cleaning the dirt and grime and blood from her body and discarding her blood-encrusted uniform. She changed into the new set, handing her old set to a nearby private before grabbing her pack and her weapon and heading back out to the farm to rejoin her company.
"Lieutenant Winters? I grabbed these papers off the two krauts I killed. I can't read German so I don't know if they hold any value, but here." Lottie called to him as she approached, handing him the papers she had stuffed into her pockets.
"Perfect, Clark, thank you. I'm headed off to meet with Colonel Strayer, I'll show these to him." Winters nodded in appreciation, looking over the papers.
"What about Lieutenant Meehan, sir?" Charlotte asked, seemingly already knowing the answer.
"No one has seen him, or anyone from his plane. I'm sure he'll show up." Winters nodded, and she could tell he didn't really mean it. "It's good to see you." He tapped her on the shoulder before heading off in the direction of Colonel Strayer.
Charlotte collapsed on the side of the hill between Toye and Malarkey, removing her helmet and smoothing her hair back that had been plastered to her forehead. "Boys, I am starving. Who does a lady have to kiss around here to get some food?" Lottie grinned, stretching her legs out in front of her.
Immediately the men spoke up, waving their rations in her face. "Here, now we'll all be expecting that kiss." Malarkey winked, opening the ration and handing it to her.
"Yeah, yeah. We'll see. Maybe once the war is over." Charlotte grinned, dumping whatever was in the packet in her mouth and rinsing it down with water.
"We'll hold you to that, doll." Guarnere called out from his spot, winking at her.
"I'm sure you will, Gonorrhea." Lottie called back to him, leaning back against the soft earth and closing her eyes, and attempting to tune out the laughter and chatter of the men around her. She deserved a few minutes of shut-eye. Visions of Luz danced behind her eyes, and she prayed then to whatever God was up there that he was alright. She prayed for Floyd too, but not in the same way as George. She knew if Tab didn't make it, she could move on. She could survive. She wasn't so sure about losing George, and that scared her to death.