A hushed whisper murmured through the empty town, and all was quiet. The perils of the night slowly began to melt away with the rise of the sun. The dominant entity gradually lifting itself back to its thrown in the sky, one by one stars became consumed by the gathering light of the new day. The eastern king had returned to claim victory on this fresh dawn. The city of Renneville was at peace; the actions of the twilight hour had conspired to an end. The skeleton remains of the town lay bare and bleached in the waking sun, the fires in the rubble nothing but a smoulder and a spark. The bodies of those who had fallen to the city still lay scattered in the streets; nothing could be done to alter where they rested. Only two shapes dared to adorn the roads, one single British paratrooper, and his French colleague.
Williams stood and stared at the body of Donahue, immobile and helpless. Annabelle walked up to Williams tenderly; she had checked the area for any remaining German activity, there was none. She hobbled next to him, placed one hand on his shoulder, and said, "Where do we go from here?" Williams dropped his head slightly and sighed, "We'll give Donahue a proper send-off once we get to the church and establish contact with the rest of the lads. Until then, we leave him here." Annabelle slid her hand from Williams' shoulder and slumped down, she began to weep. Williams looked down at her, puzzled, "What's wrong?" She lifted her head, tears staining her gentle face with streaks of guilt, "It's my fault," she bawled, "I let Donahue dieā¦" Williams sat down to comfort her, when she continued her plea, "I wasn't fast enough, I could've taken out that sniper, but he shot me" Williams face stopped all of a sudden. He lowered his eyes to Annabelle's thigh. True to her word, a crimson stain on her leg dripped blood onto the pavement. "Is it bad?" he enquired. She gingerly got up and examined it; the bullet was sunk deep into the flesh in her leg, blood meandering down it. She winced and wiped away the tears from her face. Williams picked her up and swung her arm over his shoulder, "Hope they've got a medic in that bleedin' church"
Williams dragged Annabelle through the streets, a lengthy trail of blood charting their journey. The church stood proud at the far end of the road, looking down back onto the main roads and rural pathways of Normandy. Its architecture was like no other in the town; it stood out like a rose among weeds. At the back of the church rose the bell tower, so high it felt like piercing the clouds and breaking into heaven to meet the lord. Williams pulled Annabelle towards it, "Just a little further," he kept whispering into her ear, "just a little further"
An indistinct cry was heard from the bell tower, and the main doors to the church creaked wide. Williams hauled Annabelle inside and sat down on the tiled floor, he had to rest. It was now that he began to notice his rescuers. All throughout the church, soldiers made themselves known, peeking out behind statues, scampering down stairs, or getting up from kneeling at a pew. One soldier stepped forward to greet Williams; the doors still wide open, letting the morning light to sweep in. He shook Williams hand, "Glad to see another one of our lads made it through the gauntlet. We've been stuck here for days without any sign of reinforcements, or any sign of anyone that is," he chortled slightly at his statement, "Name's Captain Winslow, I took command of these brave chaps when their captain got sniped by those god awful German bastards. The rest of the men here are good fighters, I'm lucky they survived the insertion and the town itself." He realised what he had just been talking about, then suddenly remembered the point of the conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry, and your name is?" Williams straightened himself up, "Private Edward Williams, the lady over there is a French resistance operative, Annabelle" Captain Winslow looked to the near-comatose woman, groaning in agony. "Oh" he replied. Williams continued his recount of events, "I and Sergeant James McIntyre were to rendezvous here with a squad of men, prepared to hold the city. Are you them?" Several soldiers from the back of the church shouted to Williams, "Aye, that's us!" Williams breathed a sigh of relief; things were back on schedule.
It was then that the Captain's name registered with Williams, "Winslow" Williams turned to him and asked, "You weren't part of this unit were you?" Winslow chuckled slightly and responded, "Well, actually no. You see, my squad miss-dropped, I was fortunate enough to find these fellows, so now I'm helping them out." Williams thought of a million things to say, but was silenced by the horror of Donahue's body flashing in his mind. He shook his head and walked with the Captain around the church, "I've found your men" he said. Winslow looked delighted; his eyes sparked and ignited his face with glee. A cheery grin spread across his face, "You have? That's great! How are they? Hope Finlay hasn't been too annoying, oh and Donahue, is he still the scrawny little beggar he was when we dropped in? Oh, I can't wait to see them all again!" Williams took off his helmet and looked ashamed, his eyes traced the ecstatic movements of Winslow until he noticed the way Williams was staring at him. There was no other way to say it, "I'm afraid Donahue and Finlay are dead" Winslow's actions died. He looked to Williams for and explanation, "Finlay was killed trying to eliminate a half-track commander, and Donahue died saving us from the snipers in this very city" Winslow stared into nothingness and sat himself down at a pew, his head in his hands.
Williams put his helmet back on and got back to the matter at hand. He scanned the area then cried out, "Is there a medic in here?" A lowly average-looking young man emerged from the gloom of the church, his child eyes looking up to Williams. Williams approached him, "Can you help my lady friend?" he gestured toward Annabelle who was still in deep agony and pain. The man crept to her and examined her wound. Blood attracted to his fingers and he rolled up his sleeves, "It's pretty bad, but it's nothing I wasn't trained to do" Annabelle whimpered to Williams, "Don't leave, please" tears welling back into her perfect eyes. Williams turned back to her and gripped her hand, "I don't intend to" The medic opened his kit bag and removed an assortment of tools and medicines, firstly he got out a morphine injection and checked to make sure its safety. Williams propped Annabelle against the wall of the church, a station of the cross above their heads, 'Jesus falls a second time'. Williams helped the medic gather his things and kept a hold of Annabelle's hand, her grip squeezing the blood from his knuckles up into his wound, which wept slightly. The medic took the morphine injection and drove it into her leg, the drug gently seeping into her system. He then produced a thin metal instrument and put it into Annabelle's wound, she sobbed a bit more. The medic rummaged around, blood dribbling from the gaping hole in her leg. With a minor clink of metal on metal, the bullet was found and the medic flicked it out into his hand. He peered into the bleeding gap and made his final statement, "Well, we were lucky. That bullet just missed an artery, I'll have her patched up and ready to fight in a day or so" he saw the crude attempt of medicine on Williams arm, "And maybe I could see to that to, looks nasty" Williams turned his injury away from the medic in defence to his request. "Thanks" Williams cheered, the medic smiled to himself and wiped his hands clean of Annabelle's blood, "I'm Private Craig Earnings, nice to meet you Williams"
Williams went to check on his wounded comrade, she had a perfect bandage wrapped tightly around her thigh where she had been hurt; she looked up to Williams and said, "I cannot thank you enough." Williams felt giggly inside but remained calm on his exterior and said, "It's nothing really, you would have done the same for me" She tittered to herself and agreed. Williams looked back outside to see the sun reach a decent place in the sky, "I'd better go and get the others" he said to Annabelle, "you stay here and keep still. I'll be back before you know it." "Wait," she stopped him before he could fully stand up, "I want to tell you something," Williams crouched back down so he was at head height with her. "Yes?" he asked. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him as passionately as she could. Williams fell back, totally surprised by this. He got up and bid her farewell for now. Annabelle watched as the man she loved went once more into the unsure open of the Normandy countryside.
