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It wasn't a peaceful night for Easy Company. The Germans were loud and apparently, they didn't need sleep. They were drunk and singing. And they ended up firing randomly in the middle of the night, causing mild panic and confusion among Easy Company. Nelly sat in her foxhole with Hughes, and they got soaked with rain because it started to rain sometime after their enemy decided to open fire and attack nothing. Hughes, Nelly soon discovered, wasn't coping well. He was nineteen, missing home and he was miserable. Hughes sat in silence for a while, with clear sadness and discomfort on his face. And then he eventually turned to Nelly.
"I'm sick".
Nelly slowly turned her head to face him.
"Like – I feel sick, Nelly". Hughes explained. "I ain't even sure - my belly...Jesus, it fucking hurts. And my bones are all achy and shit...".
"It's...raining". Nelly mentioned quietly.
"Yeah". Hughes whispered – his voice lowered dramatically. And he leaned back against the sodden mud. "It's raining". Drops of rain rolled down his face. Nelly was wearing her poncho and Hughes didn't put his on.
"Richie...". She said to him quietly. "It's raining...put your rain cover on".
"What's the point?" He mumbled sadly. "I'm already wet".
"There's always a point". Leaning over Hughes, she opened his musette back and took out the teenager's poncho. "Helmet off, please".
Reluctantly, Hughes unstrapped his helmet and took it off his head. Leaning forward a little, he allowed Nelly to pull the poncho over his head. Nelly pulled it down, allowing the long poncho to cover up his body. She smoothed it down as Hughes stuck his helmet back on. Hughes exhaled sharply, almost tearfully. His hand ran under his eyes. Nelly leaned back on her knees and frowned at him.
"We're...foxhole buddies". Nelly took a hold of his arm. "Tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe until the war ends...and I'll look after you. Always".
With a gentle sniff, Hughes looked at her.
Nelly's head tilted to the side in an affectionate manner. "Are you really sick?"
"I don't know...". He admitted quietly. "I feel it".
Crouched in front of their foxhole, Toye greeted the two teenagers' inside. "Kids, how are we doing?"
Nelly gave Hughes's arm a squeeze. "Richie doesn't feel well".
Toye cast a frown toward the boy. "What's wrong?"
Hughes cleared his throat. "Oh – it's nothing, Joe".
"You sure?"
"Yeah".
Nelly pulled a confused face – Hughes didn't sound fine a minute ago. She figured Hughes was trying tough it out in front of Toye. Hughes was still young, after all – he was only nineteen, a whole year older than Nelly. And that's when she faintly noticed the bandage on Toye's hand. Only, it didn't look white and clean. It looked almost yellow. Hand leaving Hughes's arm, Nelly leaned toward her Sergeant, stood up and sniffed his hand.
Eyes widening, Toye pulled his hand back. "Kid, what the fuck – "
"infected". Nelly said to him. "It smells like shit...".
Frowning, Toye looked at his injured hand. And then he looked back at Nelly. "Hell, it's just a scratch, kid. I'm fine".
"Stupid". She mumbled, "Boys are...stupid".
And while Hughes snorted with amusement, Toye's eyebrow raised. "Well, fucking excuse me". He remarked quietly. "For existing".
"You all think...being big tough men is so...important". Nelly said, "It's not – it's stupid".
"Right". Toye said quietly under his breath. And then he told Nelly, "So if I leave for the rear to get this hand checked out...what's 'gonna happen during the attack in the morning?"
"We'll be okay, Joe". Nelly said, "But you won't if you stay".
Toye sighed and pondered her words quietly for a moment. Eventually, he said, "Okay – fine. I'll get this fucking hand checked out". He sounded angry about his decision. "But when I come back, and I find my squad is empty...you're all fucking dead".
"It won't be empty". Nelly promised him.
Toye pointed at her. "It better not be, kid".
Setting him a tight-lipped smile, Nelly gave Toye a wave. "Bye, Joe".
"Jesus fucking Christ...". He muttered under his breath while turning around. "Goddamn out of fucking action for this shit...". He continued to mutter as he walked away and headed for the rear.
Nelly turned around and looked at Hughes.
He grinned up at her. "You're relentless".
Eyebrows twitching, Nelly said, "I wouldn't have done that a year ago...".
Hughes chuckled and agreed, "I know, that's what makes it so funny".
Turning back around, Nelly watched the Sergeant go. She had a naturally guilty mind at best and thought she upset Toye, Nelly still felt bad for getting slightly angry at the man. So, Nelly climbed out of her foxhole and jogged to catch up with her Sergeant. Once by his side, she began her earnest apology.
"Joe, I'm so sorry, I...".
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Toye was puzzled as he frowned down at her.
Nelly continued to apologise, "I just...I'm sorry and...I feel bad for saying those things and – "
"wait, hold on, kid". Toye set his uninjured hand on her shoulder. "You weren't being mean or nothing...you were giving my stubborn ass a kick up the ass". He said, "Sometimes, we all need a kick up the ass, you know?"
With a concentrated frown, Nelly nodded.
Toye smiled and joked lightly, "You're 'gonna give yourself a damn heart-attack worrying over pointless shit like that, kid".
"I just...". She started to say quietly, "I know how it feels to...for a person to say bad things about you and...and I didn't want you to feel bad because of me...I never want that, Joe".
"Come on, kid...you know me". Toye said kindly. "I don't take shit to heart. I knew you were just looking out for the old guys, huh?" He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Tomorrow, you're 'gonna have to look out for the fellas, kid".
"No...I...Leonard can do it, Joe". Nelly softly refused.
"He could". Toye said, "And he'd do a good job. But the thing is, you've got the experience. And I'm not coming home to an empty nest, you understand?"
Nelly frowned softly. "Joe...". She whispered, "I'm eighteen...they're not 'gonna listen to me".
Toye huffed. "The hell they will...you're Nelly Murray. My best kid".
Nelly still didn't look confident at the idea of taking over Toye's squad. But she agreed. Only because she trusted her Sergeant. "Okay".
Squeezing her shoulder again, Toye let her go. "Buck will round you all up before the attack". He said, "You'll get a little briefing of the plan".
"Right". She mumbled while scratching the back of her head.
"Hey". Toye smiled, "Quick worrying over pointless shit, kid. You'll do great".
Setting him a somewhat forced smile, Nelly nodded. "Okay, Joe".
"Good". Toye approved gently. And then said, "I'll see you when I see you, kid. Kick it in the ass for me".
...
As orange rays of light crept up the hill, Nelly found herself walking toward the Sergeants from 2nd Platoon and Buck. They had ten minutes before their scheduled attack on the Germans upon the hill and across the field – it gave Buck enough time to brief his Sergeants on their plan of action and from what he knew, it was fairly straightforward. And as the Lieutenant opened his mouth, Nelly dropped down by the foxhole between Malarkey and Guarnere.
Pulling a face, Guarnere looked at Nelly. "The hell are you doing here, kid?"
"Joe put me in charge". She mumbled – which sounded more like a grumble. It wasn't that she was mad at Toye, she just felt completely out of her comfort zone and often, that made her mad. Letting out a small sigh, Nelly's arms crossed over her chest.
Malarkey joked, "The promotion suites you".
"I'm dead instead". Nelly said, "Dead".
Clearing his throat, Buck began the briefing. "Lieutenant Winters has got the MGs in position already. We're 'gonna move under their fire from here. Malarkey will set up his mortars about seventy-five yards in the rear – your aim, is to take out those MG-42 nests over the hedge".
Malarkey nodded. "Sounds good, Buck".
"I've distanced each MG, so, we're 'gonna split up in our squads and advance forward. Chuck, you're taking the right. Nelly's in the middle. And Guarnere, you take third squad since Elmer's out of action". Buck said, "Clear?"
"You've got it, boss". Came Guarnere's feisty response.
"No bunching up". Buck reminded them. "We should have this shit wrapped up before lunch".
And as that last comment left Buck's mouth, they soon heard a familiar screech in the air. A shell came crashing into American lines, bursting a tree close by. "Take cover!" A voice yelled in the distance. Nelly noticed the Sergeants and Buck didn't take cover, they got up and ran toward their men – meaning, Nelly had to do the same. She wasn't over the moon about that but got up regardless. More and more shells hit their line and they exploded against their hedgerow. The ground started to vibrate and shake from the incoming blasts. Nelly's legs had to somehow carry her toward the squad. Practically crawling all the way there, she rolled into a foxhole and landed across Thomas Burges's lap.
Frowning down at her, Burges's had a tight grip on his helmet, as rock and mud hit the top. Nelly set him a somewhat sheepish smile and pulled herself off the man's lap. Standing up, she peered over the edge of the foxhole. It was hard to see anything beyond the hedgerow. And luckily, the barrage was short. Climbing out of the foxhole, Nelly reached for Burges's hand. He took it and Nelly helped pull him up.
"1st Squad!" Nelly called for them, "With me!"
Now, she had to give them the quickest briefing known to man. And once they had gathered around Nelly, she laid out the simple plan given to her by Buck. They all knew what they were doing – no questions were asked. Nelly took the lead. Stepping in front of the hedgerow, she moved onto her stomach and inched forward. Hughes was on her left, Burges's on her right, while Joachim Melo and Robert Leonard took the rear. Liebgott and Petty fired out their machine gun, offering 1st Squad some much-needed covering fire during their advance.
Slow to begin with, Nelly's pace was careful. The Germans had their own hedgerow to hide behind – finding the enemy was difficult. And though their Squad received flak, Nelly knew their current position was pointless. Looking over her shoulder, she gave the order, "Fall back!"
Burges's sent Nelly a nod and repeated that order until it reached Leonard at the back. So, the Squad turned and crawled back toward the safety of the hedgerow. Nelly had to think of another plan – or another way to reach the enemy. The firefight drove some men confused. Being tired as they were, men began hitting other sections of the 101st. And under the confusion and fire, it caused Fox Company to pull back, leaving Easy's left flank broken and exposed. Unaware of any of that, Easy continued to fire – Nelly was still thinking. And after twenty seconds, Leonard got impatient and decided to take over.
"Let's go back to our original plan!" He called over the intense firefight.
But Nelly stood her ground. "No!" She said, "It's pointless!"
"We were making progress, Nelly!" Leonard argued. "We can't just pull back because you got scared!"
A tense silence filled 1st Squad. Nelly's eyes looked between each man. "You think I'm scared?" She asked them.
No one replied. Their eyes only shifted away awkwardly. Before Nelly could speak, she heard a bit of commotion coming from the left and soon, Nelly spotted a group of men from F Company fleeing to the rear. Lips rubbing together, she faced the Squad again. "Let's go!"
And as Nelly raced toward the left flank, she didn't realise the Squad didn't follow her – not at first, anyway. Leonard was set in his ways, he was going back out and following the original plan however, Hughes took off after Nelly and so did Burges. The rest stayed put. Crouched down at the waist, Nelly ducked under tangled branches, bullets, tree splinters and flying limbs. Upon nearing their exposed flank, Nelly fell onto her belly and crawled the rest of the way. Crawling up a gentle slope, Nelly positioned her rifle on the edge and soon found moving and visible targets.
Hughes and Burges set up close by. And the three of them began firing out onto the enemy. They were close to a gate and at an opening in the hedgerow. Upon seeing the three lone Easy troopers, Smokey set up his machine gun and started firing out with Francis Mellett feeding bullets into the gun. Ducking behind the slope, Nelly fed another clip into her rifle. Winters kept his promise and gave Nelly an M1 Garand after their attack in Carentan. But Nelly kept Dieter's rifle – as a reminder of what happened. Before she looked back over the slope, she spotted two members of the Squad but no one else. Frowning, Nelly took her rifle and looked over the edge again and resumed firing out.
Nelly didn't care that the rest chose not to follow her, she just hoped they were okay. And she couldn't turn back and check on them now – not while she was so close to the enemy. Nelly was thankful for Smokey and Mellett – without their help, they wouldn't have gotten far. In fact, she was pretty sure the three of them would have died. And as Nelly cast the machine-gunners from 3rd Platoon a smile, a mortar dropped ten feet in front of them.
Nelly fell back, Smokey fell back and Strohl dropped. The hot shrapnel cut into Smokey's leg and shoulder and the same mortar wounded Mellett. Nelly could feel a burning pain in her arm. She was bleeding but not too badly – only a tiny bit of shrapnel was stuck in her skin. And just like Smokey and Mellett, Nelly picked herself off from the ground and continued to fire. Letting out a cough, Nelly spat the mud out of her mouth.
"You okay?!" Hughes called over to her with a grimace.
Nodding, Nelly positioned her rifle over the slope. "Fine!"
Moments after picking themselves off the ground, there came a new problem. A loud rumbling could be heard. Frowning, Nelly stopped firing and listened. Soon, they all saw a long turret poke out from the corner of the ridge – the very same ridge they were firing at. A German tank slowly began rolling toward them.
"Oh, shit!" Hughes screamed. "We've 'gotta fall back!"
Nelly turned to frown at him. "No!" She said, "We have to stay here!"
"Nelly, we stay – we die!"
Smokey snorted. "He's getting angsty, kid!" He said to Nelly.
"We won't die!" Nelly yelled to him, "We won't!"
Her voice sounded so confident and believable. And as much as Hughes's gut told him to flee, he stayed. Sending Nelly, a nod, Hughes got back into position. Nelly's eyes wandered toward the tank again. She felt her gut tighten at its massive body, its fierce 75mm gun and its cannons. Poking its deadly prows over the crest of the ridge, it fired right into American lines. And right by Nelly, Hughes, Burges, Smokey and Mellett. They all ducked to save their heads. The shell screamed as it flew overhead and smacked some twenty yards behind them.
Heart in his throat, Hughes rolled over to face Nelly. "Now!"
"No!" Nelly yelled back, "Don't move!"
Unknown to them, Dog's right flank was exposed due to Fox falling back. So, Dog Company fell back. Easy Company had soon found themselves in a very, very tight spot. Seeing that only five troopers were grasping their left flank by the skin of their teeth, Welsh pushed his 1st Platoon toward them. Moving toward Nelly at a crouch, Welsh was soon by her side.
"What've we got?!"
With her hand, Nelly gestured to the tank.
Welsh nodded and smirked. "Yeah! That's a big problem, huh?!"
Following behind 1st, Winters soon joined them to check-in.
"Thank God!" Welsh said, "I'm glad to see you!" Welsh sighed with relief. "We just got here! Nelly and these fellas have been holding the flank!" He said, "But it looks like the Germans are still trying to push through! I wasn't sure if I should pull 'em back or not!"
"We're staying and holding, Harry!" Winters responded. "Keep pouring it on 'em. Don't let them flank us!"
Soon, they all involuntarily ducked as a tank shell exploded nearby. Welsh let out a sigh and turned to face one of his guys. "McGrath! With me!"
"Yes, sir!"
Leaving the slope, Welsh ran toward McGrath, picked up a bazooka and headed for the field. The two ran right out into the open. McGrath ended up carrying the bazooka while Welsh held a satchel containing several rockets. McGrath knelt as Welsh jammed a rocket into the rear of the bazooka. Once loaded, Welsh tapped McGrath on the shoulder and the Private fired out. The rocket streaked at the tank, only to carom harmlessly off. Nelly winced as she watched, and she could feel every muscle in her body tense. Hastily, Welsh began reloading the bazooka.
"You're 'gonna get me killed, Lieutenant!" McGrath yelled.
The tank fired its main gun at the two troopers, but being on higher ground, the gunner couldn't depress the barrel enough and the shell passed overhead, slicing off some saplings.
"Hold your fire until I tell you!" Welsh said to the nervous Private. And he waited, as the tank climbed a small rise, and then said, "Fire!"
The rocket hit the tank's soft underbelly, pierced the thin armour and detonated. The tank exploded in a roar of smoke and flame. Carrying its dead crew, the tank rolled a few feet forward from its own momentum, and then came to a smouldering stop. Nelly smiled. "Yes!" She cheered.
Chuckling quietly, Winters gave her shoulder a clap.
Welsh and McGrath raced back to the cover of the hedgerow. Nelly could only imagine McGrath wanted nothing more than a stiff drink and a cigarette. But they did amazing. The destruction of the tank had a sobering effect on the other German armoured crews, and they halted their tanks in place.
Shortly after that tank was destroyed, Strayer had managed to push Dog and Fox Company's back on the line, although not quite to their original positions. Still, it was enough to secure Easy's flank. So, Nelly, Hughes, Burges, Smokey, Mellett and 1st Platoon left and reached their original positions with Easy Company. Upon reaching where Nelly had left, she found the other chunk of 1st Squad pulling back toward Nelly, Hughes and Burges.
"You fellas missed one hell of a fight". Burges smirked.
Leonard said, "We thought you guys were dead".
A smug smile settled on Hughes's face. "See? She's not scared at all".