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A few hours after the German OP was destroyed, the enemy decided to hit a house over the river. Nelly was not too far from the house when it got hit. The shell went through the front door. The house shook and trembled, and part of it collapsed inside. Nelly assumed the ground floor ceiling collapsed, seeing as the shell exploded inside the house's front entrance. It wasn't a big deal; the house was empty. Or so she thought. Just a minute after the shell exploded, a group of men from 3rd Platoon raced toward the house and began shifting brick and debris out of the way.
Crossing the road, Nelly went over to see what was going on.
Paul Rodgers told her, "Bill's down there".
Bill Kiehn.
With a nod, Nelly rolled up her sleeves and helped clear away the rubble. There was so much too clear. They'd need a crane to get Bill out of there quickly. More and more men came over to help. And they eventually discovered a tunnel the collapsed ceiling had created, which looked to go straight down into the cellar. According to Rodgers, Bill was down in the cellar – he had been taking a nap. Skinny tried to squeeze into the tunnel but he was too big. And then Popeye gave it a go, but it was too tight for him.
Eyes soon turned to Nelly – the smallest Paratrooper in Easy Company and perhaps the entire 101st Airborne Division.
Taking off her jacket and helmet, Nelly decided to give it a try. She just fit. Not much else was said – they all mentally agreed that Nelly would travel along the small tunnel and reach their friend. Trouble was, even the tunnel was a painfully tight fit for Nelly. On her stomach, she used her elbows and knees to shimmy along the sharp and stony ground.
It was frightfully dark – Nelly couldn't see a thing. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to her dark surroundings and once they did, she could only see brown dust and chalk.
There was hardly enough air in the tunnel. Nelly was breathing in dust and only dust. And after a little while, the dust started to fill her lungs and scratch her throat. Nelly began coughing, her sounds were drowned in the thick and enclosed silence – no one could hear or see her now and she couldn't hear anything other than her coughs and heartbeat.
Nelly remembered hearing stories of cave explorers. She remembered Malarkey telling her about a man who would explore tiny keyholes in caves – a sometimes tight tunnel within a cave. The man's family would prepare themselves each time he went exploring, that he would never return. And Nelly would shudder at the thought of exploring small tunnels inside caves. Now, on her solo rescue mission, she felt like that crazy man who explored caves.
The entire ground floor had collapsed. There was so much rubble closing in around Nelly. And the tunnel was only getting narrower. Before her, she could only see dust, chalk and the very small opening her body was supposed to squeeze through. The fear of getting stuck didn't cross Nelly's mind. She wasn't feeling frightened or panicked, yet. Nelly was still feeling determined to reach Bill Kiehn before it was too late. If she was beginning to struggle for breath, Bill must have been close to not breathing at all. And picturing the man wounded and scared, helped Nelly get through that tight opening.
It wasn't easy.
There was no air, Nelly was beginning to sweat. Sharp rocks and bits of wood cut into her arms, legs and elbows. She felt warm blood ooze out of shallow cuts. And with all the dust she had to inhale, it hurt her throat and dried out her mouth – she soon felt extremely thirsty. But there was no turning back now – even if she wanted to, Nelly couldn't shimmy back. Still, she wasn't scared. But Nelly was beginning to feel a little stupid. No one knew when the tunnel ended or if it even reached the cellar. The tunnel could lead to a dead end, and she'd be just as stuck as Bill.
When Nelly tried to move forward, she found that she couldn't – it had nothing to do with how tight the opening was, she discovered her trousers were caught on something. Nelly could feel whatever had a hold of her fatigues, pull back as she tried to push forward. A brief surge of panic pumped through her veins. Nelly stilled and stopped trying to go forward. Licking her cracked and dry lips, she took a moment to think of her next move. A big part of her wanted to scream and cry – while another part of her needed to remain calm. Nelly listened to the calm side of her brain, the rational side.
"You're…okay". She said to herself in a hoarse whisper.
That rational side of her brain told Nelly to shimmy back and allow what had a hold of her, to release its grip on her trousers. Nelly followed her own instructions. As she wriggled back, she felt her shirt pull up and sharp pieces of rock scratch into her exposed skin. But Nelly didn't feel the pain, her adrenaline was too high.
After moving back a few inches, she moved forward.
And got stuck.
Still, Nelly remained calm. "Okay…old girl…let's try again". She told herself.
But once again, Nelly was faced with the same problem.
"Okay…fuck". There was a slight edge to her voice.
She couldn't reach behind her and free herself – the tunnel was too small.
Nelly was left with one more option – her only option.
Pulling her hands back with great effort, Nelly reached her belt and unfastened it. Then, using the rocks, Nelly dug her heel behind them and forced her feet out of her boots. When she moved forward, she was free. However, without her trousers. Now, Nelly was forced to travel the rest of the tunnel in her shirt, socks and long underwear. But it was better than being stuck.
Her efforts of freeing herself worked but came at a cost.
Nelly disturbed and angered the debris, wood and rocks around her – everything started to groan and shake. Nelly felt things tremble on the top of her head, on her legs and arms – even below her. Fearing a second collapse, she tried to shimmy faster.
Now, she felt a sense of panic and urgency.
Bits of rock began pulling away from the tunnel it had created.
Her fear was being buried alive.
Behind her, Nelly heard a crack as rocks, debris and wood came down like hail. It completely swallowed up the top half of the tunnel. Nelly had relied on the tunnel as a way out, she was hoping to find a wide enough space to turn and head back the way she came. But now her only means out was covered entirely of rubble.
It suddenly dawned on her that she could very well die.
Nelly had stilled, while the rocks and debris behind her came tumbling down. More dust and chalk filled the tunnel – causing Nelly to cough and choke. Through tearful eyes, she continued to shimmy forward. That was all she could do now, continue forward. Even if it led to nothing, she had no other choice but to go forward.
It reminded her of what Bilbo said in The Hobbit;
"Go back? No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!"
It brought Nelly a small amount of comfort. Whenever she thought of The Hobbit, she thought of Malarkey, Skip and Alex. And with her friends on her mind, nothing was impossible. Even if the tunnel was tight and her chances of surviving were slim, there was still room for hope.
Hope was pointless without some risk. And Nelly was taking the greatest risk of all – her life.
Hands out in front of her, Nelly soon came to discover a dead end. And for a brief moment, she thought that was it – that was the end of her adventures. But Nelly pushed against the rocks and debris, and it opened up. Hands and fingers digging into crumbled plaster, she dragged herself across the sharp ground and pulled her body through the tight opening she had created. It took a lot of energy to drag herself across and it was painful. Nelly wasn't sure what was on the other side, but she soon found out.
Nelly fell into a small clearing. She had reached the basement. Most of the cellar was covered in rocks, debris, wood and plaster – there were mountains of it and Nelly couldn't see a way out or Bill Kiehn. Socked feet pressing against glass and sharp pieces of stone, Nelly was on her feet – she could stand, albeit bent at the waist. Above her and around her, was the collapsed ceiling.
She was just thankful to be out of that tunnel now.
Now came the hard part – finding Bill.
Using what energy, she had left, Nelly began to shift rocks and stones out of the way. She could only assume the men above her were doing the same. Nelly was hoping they'd create another exit, so she could get out with Bill – hopefully. She could imagine Speirs and the anger and worry he'd feel, knowing his little cousin was trapped under a destroyed ceiling. Nelly would feel the same if the roles were reversed.
Nelly coughed – a lot. There was no fresh air to breathe in, just dust. And every so often, a loose rock would fall and hit Nelly on the head or the side of her face. She was in a lot of pain. And the little energy she had left, was beginning to dwindle. Nelly didn't feel like a rescuer, she felt like an idiot. Shifting heavy rocks and pieces of cement with grunts, Nelly felt ready to collapse, just as the ceiling had done.
Falling onto her knees with a sigh of defeat, Nelly felt ready to call it quits.
But then she saw something poking out between rocks.
It was a hand.
An almost tearful noise sounded out of Nelly's mouth as she took a hold of the hand – Bill's hand – she had him.
...
Bill Kiehn was stuck between piles of wood, rock and plaster. Nelly had no other choice but to shift what she could away and create a wide enough opening to pull Bill out. And quickly – he had been trapped under all the rubble for too long. Nelly worked hard and fast to clear all the rocks and debris away from his face. And once she had his head, Nelly saw his pale and chalky face staring back at her.
Nelly smoothed the chalk from his eyes. And then she hovered her hand by his mouth, to check for breath. She felt nothing. Nelly cleared more rubble away from his body. Taking a hold of his arm, she began to pull and slide his body out from under what had him trapped. With a thump, he fell into the small opening. And Nelly slumped beside him.
Pinching his nose and tilting his head up, Nelly began rescue breaths. She blew three long puffs of air into Bill's mouth and then started chest compressions. The men were taught basic first aid while stationed in Camp Mackall. Bill's body was beyond saving, his bones were crushed, and he wasn't breathing but Nelly had to try to keep him alive. She needed to get him out. Bill required immediate medical attention and water. Nelly had very little energy left, and she didn't have a lot of breaths of her own to save him.
Scratching the top of her head, she looked above her.
Nelly couldn't see much of anything – just cement, plaster and rocks.
And of course, that small mountain made up of the destroyed ceiling.
An idea popped into her head.
Unfastening Bill's belt, she carefully placed it behind his back and then fastened it up around her waist – Nelly was going to carry him up that small mountain of rock and save him. She was exhausted but she was going to try. And even if Bill wasn't breathing and his bones were broken, Nelly wouldn't leave Bill's body behind.
Of course, dragging a deadweight was taxing. Nelly whimpered, grunted and moaned toward the mountain of rubble. Her hands and fingers dragged her body and Bill's forward. And once reaching the foot of the small mountain, Nelly pulled herself and Bill up by using thick pieces of cement and stone. Nelly couldn't have been more than seventy pounds – Bill was double that or probably more. She really felt his weight and a lot of the time, he threatened to drag them back down the small mountain.
Her only source of encouragement came from the voices inside her head. And they must have been on strike or sleeping because Nelly didn't hear anything.
"Almost…there…Bill". She struggled to say.
But then the inevitable happened – the rocks pulled out from under her, and they slid down the small mountain of rubble. Nelly lay on her side for a moment and contemplated just giving up – she didn't think she had the energy to do all that again.
"Sorry…Bill". Nelly whispered, "I don't think I can".
Bill's back was pressed against hers.
They both lay on their sides.
Having not breathed in fresh air for almost an hour, Nelly's eyes threatened to close. Her body wanted to slip into a blissful state of unconsciousness. She yawned. And licked her cracked and dry lips. Letting out a shallow breath, Nelly closed her eyes. Just for a moment. She just needed to rest.
"The road goes ever on and on".
Nelly felt her lips faintly twitch when she remembered that line from The Hobbit.
She thought of her friends again.
Malarkey would miss her terribly. Nelly was glad she wouldn't be around to see his heartbreak. He had suffered so much – everyone had. She didn't think Speirs would cope too well without her. God, Nelly wished more than anything Speirs was with her. In that time of need, all Nelly wanted was her big cousin. But Speirs was probably somewhere above the ground, helping the weary men shift rocks, cement and debris to reach the two troopers trapped underneath.
"Bill…". Nelly whispered faintly, "I'm a bit…tired".
It hadn't been a very good day for Nelly.
Jackson was dead.
Cobb punched her.
And now she was trapped with Bill.
Drawing out another shallow and crackly breath, Nelly opened her eyes. She glanced up at the small mountain of rubble. They were so close. She was sure they'd reach the surface at the top. With a mental nod to herself, Nelly's hands tightly grabbed at the cement, and she dragged her body and Bill toward the foot of the rubble mountain.
"I think…". Nelly whispered, "We'll try…again".
She was either a hopeful fool or too stubborn for death – whichever reason, Nelly was going to get them out from under the destroyed cellar. That mountain of rubble was her Everest. Nelly remembered learning about Everest from Skip – the unclimbable mountain. It was the tallest mountain in the world. As far as the world was concerned, no one had reached the summit of Mount Everest.
But Nelly was determined to summit her own Everest.
Bare legs and exposed skin scrapping across sharp pieces of rock, cement, glass and whatever else made up that mountain, Nelly pushed on with Bill secured around her waist. A few times her socked feet slipped against rocks, and she'd fall into the mountain, but she never slid down to the bottom again.
Nelly refused for that to happen a second time.
There was so much pain in her body – not only was she covered in shallow cuts, but her lungs and throat burned, and every muscle ached. She could ignore that pain if it brought her to the top quicker. And as they neared the top, Nelly felt like crying.
Just a few more pushes and she'd be there.
Just a little bit more effort.
She summited.
Head tilted toward the top, Nelly saw nothing but wood, rocks and debris.
Hand balling into a fist, she punched through what was before her.
And that was when Nelly felt it – air.
A beautiful gust of cold wind soothed her aching hand.
Nelly almost smiled – she made it.