bob
September 1944
"Here, here...". Skip knocked the butt of his rifle against a book. "Are we all present?"
"Present, Gandalf". Malarkey replied. "Once again, the party finds themselves inside a fucking latrine".
And once again, the party of four took a stall each during their "meeting".
"For secrecy". Skip defended himself. "It's quiet here after lights out".
"Why are we here, Gandalf?" Alex asked through a fond smile. It had been far too long since their last gathering.
"Dwarves, Hobbit...news comes from the east...a meeting takes place at Rivendell".
There was a spell of silence from each stall.
Skip sighed. "Really, guys?"
"Nothing in Aldbourne remotely looks like Rivendell, Skip". Malarkey argued.
Head tilted back to the ceiling, Skip exclaimed, "The manor!" He said, "That's Rivendell".
"2nd Battalion HQ?" Alex questioned. "They're the elves?"
"Yes". Skip confirmed. "I made them the elves".
"But...elves are meant to be beautiful". Nelly pointed out softly.
Alex smiled. "You can't be a Hobbit and an elf, Bilbo".
Nelly blushed with a smile.
Skip and Malarkey snorted and rolled their eyes. "Bilbo and Thorin...". Skip joked, "Who would have thought, huh?"
"Gandalf, please continue". Malarkey said, "For I may vomit".
Chuckling, Skip nodded. "Rodger that, Balin". He said, "I believe the high elf is holding a meeting at Rivendell about our next jump".
"You mean another cancelled one?" Alex mumbled. "It won't come to anything, Gandalf".
"I'm led to believe different, Thorin". He said, "I think it's worth sneaking in".
Malarkey rolled his eyes and broke character. "For God's sake, Skip...really?"
"Who's Skip?"
Malarkey looked to the side and sent Skip's stall a tiny glare. "Gandalf...we can't just sneak in and eavesdrop".
"We can". Skip said, "I have a plan".
"Of course, you do". Malarkey said through a sigh.
Alex smiled. "What is it, Gandy?"
Skip pulled a face at the nickname. But decided not to mention it. "Plan is simple – we climb up the side of the manor and sneak in through a window on the second floor".
"And then what?" Malarkey asked.
"Rumour has it, the manor has a secret room, between the walls. And it leads down the stairs and should take us directly into the dining room. We'll hide in the wall, and we'll hear all that's said".
"And if the rumour turns out to be false?" Alex questioned, "Then what?"
Skip shrugged. "We'll find another way".
About to open his mouth, Malarkey was soon silenced by the sound of water hitting toilet water. An amused grin spread across his face.
Skip didn't sound very happy, "Is someone pissing?"
"Me". Alex replied.
Malarkey and Nelly chuckled.
Skip sighed. "Thorin...I thought we agreed; no using the toilets during the meeting".
"I can't stop now". Alex quietly argued. "And I had to go, so...I went".
Skip eventually huffed out a laugh. He said, "Fair enough – anyway, let's continue".
"I have a question". Malarkey said, "What if we get caught?"
"We won't". Skip sounded confident, "We'll – "
The flushing of the toilet silenced Skip.
"Really?!" Skip exclaimed.
And then Alex opened the stall and walked over to the sinks.
"Thorin". Malarkey said through a laugh, "Come on, man...get back in the stall".
"I have to wash my hands". Alex said while turning on the tap.
Skip continued, "Like I was saying...we won't get caught. We're 'gonna arrive at the manor twenty minutes before the meeting starts".
"How do you know all of this anyway, Skip?" Malarkey asked.
"I overheard Nixon and Winters talking this morning". He said, "Just after breakfast".
Doing as he was told, Alex walked back into the stall. "I like the plan".
"Me too". Nelly said
Malarkey smiled. "You always like Gandalf's plans, Bilbo".
"Except one...". Nelly grumpily reminded them, "The submarines".
The three young men cringed.
"Oh, yeah...". Skip mumbled, "Forgot about that one...".
...
On the 13th of September, the four friends were climbing up the side of the manor to reach the second-story window. That turned out to be the easiest part. They used the vines and drainage pipe to scale the wall and at the top, pulled themselves through a window and landed in one of the bedrooms. Thankfully, they landed in Speirs's bedroom – well, Nelly thought that was a good thing, her friends seemed anxious.
"Well, he won't shoot you!" Malarkey hissed.
Nelly sent him a deadpan stare.
"Come on". Skip whispered, "We need to go this way".
It was like being out in the field again – the four friends treated it as a squad mission. Skip was lead scout and Alex took the rear. Very carefully, Skip opened Speirs's bedroom door and poked his head outside to check if the corridor was clear. When he heard voices, Skip's head came back into the room, and he quietly closed the door. The four of them held their breaths. Chatting men walked by Speirs's bedroom. They walked along to the end of the corridor and started walking down the stairs. Skip opened the door again.
"Let's go". He whispered.
The manor was very impressive. In the second-floor corridor, it was all red and gold. With a red carpet and framed golden paintings. Their boots creaked along the floor – no matter how hard they tried to stay quiet, the floor groaned. Looking over her shoulder, Nelly saw Alex cringe at the sound. Sending him a small smile, Nelly took his hand. Alex still looked anxious. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
"Come on, Alex". Nelly whispered softly, "It's okay".
Opening a door across from them, Skip walked inside first, and the rest quickly followed. It was a library. Alex gently closed the door, while Skip and Malarkey reached one of the tall bookshelves. Nelly stood next to Malarkey and stared up at the bookshelf.
"It should be behind there". Skip whispered, "The secret passageway".
A smile played on Nelly's lips. "This is...cool".
Grinning, Skip looked at her and agreed. "It's so cool".
"So, do we just move it out the way?" Malarkey asked.
"I mean, probably...". Skip sounded disappointed. "I was 'kinda hoping one of those books was like a secret handle or something but that's to cliché".
Malarkey looked amused. "Yeah, we're not in a book".
"If we were in a book, we'd be way cooler". Alex said, "Like, I think they'd make me taller".
"Buddy, five-eight ain't short". Skip said, "Nelly's five feet – on the dot. She's short".
"Actually, no...". Nelly mumbled, "Last physical exam, they measured me at four-eleven".
"Holy shit...". Malarkey snorted. "You really are a Hobbit, huh?"
Rounding the side of the bookshelf, Skip started to pull it forward. "Heavy – need a hand".
So, all four of them began pulling the bookshelf away from the wall.
And as the shelf began moving away from the wall, they all felt a cold draft. Their eyes went wide, and they eagerly pulled the shelf away from the wall. Behind all those books, was a hole. The hole was made out of brick and stone. Inside, it was dark and cobwebbed. Luckily, Skip had his flashlight. Some participants weren't happy about going through a dark passageway – Nelly wasn't happy at all. The place was crawling with spiders. The secret space was wide enough for them to walk comfortably but only in a single file. And their only light came from Skip, who was leading at the front. There was an old, dusty and damp smell. And it was cold.
"Where's that draft coming from?" Alex whispered at the back. "There's no windows".
"Heat can't get trapped in here". Malarkey replied, "It's – "
"haunted". Skip joked, "Don't worry, it's just the trapped spirits".
Huffing out a laugh, Alex rolled his eyes. "Shut up".
"Can we sing a song?" Nelly whispered.
"Are you scared?" Malarkey asked.
"Yeah".
"We can't sing, buddy". Skip told her apologetically. "We'll be too noisy".
"My stomach hurts". Alex complained quietly.
"That's cause you ate a whole packet of fudge, Alex". Malarkey reminded him.
"This is...bad...". Nelly whispered. "I don't like it here".
"Aw, I thought it was cool?" Skip said lightly. "Remember?"
"But...spiders".
"They won't hurt you, Nelly". Malarkey assured her. "But Alex's deadly farts might".
Skip chuckled quietly. "Yeah...we're not in a book at all – I'm pretty sure the main character is a badass and doesn't suffer with gas".
Walking in a gap between the walls, was surreal. The secret passageway even had a set of stairs, which the four friends followed to reach the ground floor of the manor. Making a few right turns and dodging spiders, Skip led his friends toward a cast-iron, vent. They all sat down and looked into the vent, only to find Officers sitting around a long table. It was the dining room. Right where they needed to be.
Major Horton was there to greet the 2nd Battalion officers as they entered. And Nixon was by his side. The four friends couldn't see much from their current position – they were aware of a map but didn't know what country the map was. Once all the Officers were present, Horton closed the door and grabbed a pointer.
"Relax, gentlemen, smoke 'em if you've got 'em". Horton said and then pointed to the map. "This is Operation Market Garden. It's a combined air/ground thrust intended to smash through the German lines and get us into Germany itself, and it's a monster. Four days from now, over one thousand five hundred C-47s and another four hundred fifty-plus gliders will be taking off from twenty-four different airfields. They will drop three entire airborne divisions behind Kraut lines. The British 1st Airborne, the guys who wear those red beanies...".
"Berets". Someone chimed in.
The four friends cast amused smiles at each other.
Horton snorted. "Whatever gets the brass ring". He then tapped the map with his pointer, "Arnhem. There they will seize and hold the bridge over the Rhine. The 82nd is the next in line. They will be dropped around Nijmegen and will take the town and hold the bridges over the Maas River, the Maas-Waal Canal and the Waal River. Our drop area will be here, between the Wilhelmina Canal, the Willems Canal and the Aar River. Our objectives are the six bridges in that area, the Son Bridge, the bridge at the Willems Canal and the four bridges around Veghel at the Aar. We will also liberate Eindhoven itself".
Nelly's eyes widened like plates.
And her three friends looked at her, equally as shocked. Nelly had been to Eindhoven. And the four friends now knew, they were going to Holland.
"Meanwhile". Horton continued. "The British XXX Corps is going to throw everything it has up this road in a rapid rash toward the Rhine. Our job, besides the taking of the bridges – intact I might add – is to hold the road open. That's a fifteen-mile stretch, and if Jerry cuts it anywhere, it screws up the entire operation. The idea is to get to Arnhem and relieve the Brit Paratroopers in two days".
"What's the distance?" Winters asked.
"It's sixty-five miles of two-lane, hard-surfaced road". Horton replied. "And if you're at all familiar with Holland, you know it's wide-open and flat as an ironing board. Like I said, this is a monster".
"What's the opposition?" Another Officer asked.
Horton gestured to Nixon, the Battalions planning officer.
"We're assured by G-2 that the Germans have been seriously hurt by the setbacks of this past summer". Nixon said, "And are unlikely to be able to put up any type of organised resistance. Plus, the Brits tell us that the Germans in this area are poorly trained, second-rate troops, either kids fresh out of Hitler Youth or older men not deemed fit for front-line duty. The consensus is they can be quickly pushed aside".
Some derisive snorts of laughter erupted.
"Whether you believe it or not". Horton said, "Don't count on this one being cancelled. This is the brainchild of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, and you know how he likes to have his ass kissed. So, brief your men, pack your gear and make sure you have adequate ammo and supplies. Tomorrow, we leave for our marshalling area, which is the airfield at Membury. You'll brief your Company's there".
"Let's go". Malarkey whispered.
It was a very quick dash between the walls, up the stairs and back inside the library. They all ran across the corridor and began descending from Speirs's bedroom window. Once their feet hit the ground, Nelly began brushing cobwebs off her jacket and hair. But they didn't wait on the manor grounds for long. With the sound of voices leaving the entrance, the four of them raced toward the driveway and started running back to the village. They didn't stop running until they were outside of Jean's bakery. Leaning against the bakery window, the four of them panted and tried to catch their breath.
"Holy shit...shit, shit...". Skip breathed out. "Fucking Holland? Holy shit...what a twist".
"Well...". Nelly said quietly, "At least I know the area".
Alex frowned at her. "You're okay about going back?"
She nodded. "Yeah...fine".
"You think it is just old men and kids?" Malarkey asked her.
Nelly shook her head. "In Holland? No". She said, "When I was there...it was German infantry soldiers and Nazi Officers". Nelly added, "But...the Nazis won't stick around...not if we're on the way".
"Hitler would've used his best for Normandy". Skip pointed out. "Maybe they will be tired".
Nelly shook her head. "The Germans will do what we did...we got replacements".
"Shit...you're right". Malarkey mumbled. "Why are they lying to us?"
"Holland is a lot closer to Germany than France". Nelly said, "Churchill and all the leaders...they want us to remain hopeful and get into Germany quick. So, they lie...and tell us, it'll be easy and safe".
"How the hell do they expect us to get to Arnhem in two days?" Alex frowned. "We're 'gonna meet some resistance along the way, right?"
"It's like Montgomery had a fucking fever dream when he thought of this". Skip remarked. And he added, "And I ain't kissing his fat ass".
After a short spell of silence, the four of them laughed.