Amy knew she had to find Malarkey. Joe Toye, Bill Guarnere and Buck Compton had been some of Don's closes friends. She found him in a foxhole with Rod Bain. Bain nodded and climbed out when Amy motioned for him to take a walk she needed to talk to Don alone.
"Hey Malark" Amy greeted Malarkey and sat down beside him. Don's beard had grown quite a bit and she thought he looked like one of the merry men from Robin Hood.
Malarkey didn't answer the Lieutenant, he was thinking about his options. One shot... that's all it would take. One shot and he could be out of there. Accidents happened all the time, so why not now, why not here, it could just as well be him than someone else.
"What are you thinking Don?" Amy asked the quiet Sergeant. Winters had promoted him to staff sergeant after Guarnere was wounded.
"Just…how…hell everybody finds a way out of here, intentionally or not. Hoobler shoots himself in the leg. Toye and Bill, gets blown to bits and Buck…well I guess he got blown to bits as well just in a different way" Malarkey looked at his hands they were shaking.
Amy pulled out her P38 and handed it to Malarkey "You are right... one shot Malark, it's all it takes"
Malarkey just handed the gun back, he thought he had been tough growing up in Astoria, gotten tougher on Currahee, on the road to Atlanta lugging the sixty-five pound mortar all the way.
"I just. I just thought I was tougher than this…LT…I thought we were tougher than this. Jumping in to Normandy in the dark, you surviving getting captured and then surviving Holland for seventy day, I Dunno"
"Look Don, we just have to stuff all that pain in the musette bag and keep walking…maybe the Lucky SOB's are the ones that are gone. We lost a lot of Toccoa men since those days in Georgia, but we push one Don…we push on, just hang tough" Amy patted Malarkey on the bag and walked towards the CP.
Amy was almost at the CP when a barrage started. She dived into the nearest foxhole; she landed on top of Lipton and Mia. They watched as Luz snaked his way towards the foxhole Muck and Penkala shared, a shell hit dead ringer in the foxhole and Muck and Penkala were gone.
Luz got his feet and Jumped in with Mia, Lip and Amy "Muck and Penkala…Muck and Penkala, they are dead"
They all sat still and waited for the Germans to cease-fire. Amy ran back to the foxhole and jumped in with Don, she knew Roe would be there in no time to tell Don about what happened to his two best friends.
Roe dug his hands deeper into his pockets, stopped on the edge of the foxhole, and crouched down "Malark, I'm sorry, but it's Skip" he said, "He is dead Penkala too"
Amy could tell Malarkey went completely numb and she put her arms around Malarkey
"How did…it..Happen" Malarkeys voice was nothing but a whisper
"Bout a 100 yard down the line. A major shelling. Muck and Penkala were caught out in the open, and then finally found a hole. Luz had been running around during the blitz too. Muck and Penkala yelled for him to get in their foxhole" Roe paused and looked at Amy, she nodded and Roe continued, "Luz is down in the snow, snaking his way toward them and-boom-direct hit on the foxhole. Shell found them as if it had eyes"
Roe handed Malarkey the cross of some broken rosary "He would want you to have it" Roe said and then disappeared
Amy sat for while with Don who just stared at the cross. She climbed out of the foxhole and came back a while later "Malarkey, Uh winters wants to know if you want to come and spend a couple of days with him at HQ. Help out there, be a runner"
She hoped Malarkey would take the offer, just a few hours away from the front line could alter a mans depressed mind.
Malarkey just shook his head "No…I…I'm gonna stay the guys need me"
Amy gave him a little smile and walked back to CP, she respected Don's choice, it was the right one.
...
Easy was through playing games with the Germans in Foy. The other companies in regiment had tried to attack Foy and had been forced to retreate. The Germans was bringing up truck and Tanks. Winters figured it was now or never and the company swept the woods left and right. It was time to head straight into Foy.
Two thing about the attack worried Amy. She was sitting in a foxhole with Lipton, talking about the attack "First we have to charge across an open field of snow, against an enemy that's entrenched with buildings and trees, secondly fucking foxhole Norman is going to lead the attack, that fucker got no combat experience, he is going to get us all killed"
Lipton knew she was right and he knew he had to talk to Winters. Lipton waited a few hours before he headed towards CP. He meet Mia on the way, she hollered for him to stop
"Hey C where are you headed?" Mia asked him
"CP, I need to talk to Winters…Dike…he is not really all there" Lipton looked at Mia for conformation, he knew he was doing the right thing, he just needed Mia to know it to.
"Yeah…you should, but C don't get your hopes up" Mia kissed him on the cheek.
Lipton carried on. When he arrived at the CP he noticed Lane and Nixon was pouring over some maps and Katie was sitting quiet in a corner mumbling something that sounded like freaking moron.
Winters walked by and looked at Lipton who was smoking, a habit he had picked up after the shelling that killed Muck and Penkala. Mia had told him it was a nasty habit, but it helped him calm down.
"Lip…I didn't figure you for a smoking man" Winters said and walked back into the CP
"Neither did I" Lip mumbled while he tried to put the cigarette out.
Winters handed a piece of paper to a runner "D. Company, Lieutenant Speirs, Patrol order"
Winters crouched down and looked at a cup with coffee in it on a small fire "So"
Lip stood behind him "We have been watching Foy, not much activity"
Winters picked up the cup and stood up "Want a coffee"
Lipton shook his head "No thank you sir"
Winters sat down besides Katie and gave her small smile; Katie just scowled at him and turned her head.
"How is Easy status?" Winters asked
"The men are good, they are prepared…I am going to be leading second platoon tomorrow, they are probably the weakest after losing, Toye and Guarnere, Muck and Penkala, But all in all I have every confidence in the men sir" Lipton said
"Good..Good" Winters took a sip of his hot coffee
Lipton hesitated and drew in a deep breath " But on the other hand I have no confidence in our CO, Sir"
Katie looked at Winters "Told you so" she mumbled
"Lieutenant Dike is an Empty uniform Captain, he is just…he is not there, Sir" Lipton waited for Winters to respond
"Well he is gonna be there tomorrow" Winters said with a stern voice, he knew Lip was right, he just couldn't let a sergeant question his decisions
"Yes sir, I understand he is going to be there physically, But tomorrow is going to be the real deal and he is going to have to lead those men. He going to have to make decisions Sir and I..I got to tell you sir I think he going to get a lot of Easy company men killed" Lipton hoped he got he message across, but he knew Winters couldn't replace Dike, he was a favor to someone up at division.
"Thank you, that will be all first sergeant" Winters looked at Katie "Guess someone shares your concern"
"Guess so, you know Dick, you should make Speirs head of Easy, bet he could take the town with less casualties than most men here" Katie knew that Speirs was a great combat leader.
…
Winters was feeding Dike Instructions like a coach to a rookie quarterback. He told he was relying on him to get it done.
3rd and 2nd platoon moved out. Covering fire opened. A smoke barrage was laid down in front of the buildings the Germans used for defensive positions. They headed across the field. 3rd went in on a frontal attack and were in an orchard about a hundred yards from the buildings when the smoke lifted, they were taking heavy fire and had lots of casualties. 2nd flanked in from west.
Dike yelled for Amy to keep it tight and Keep moving were heard from Lipton.
Dike got confused when he couldn't find Foley and his platoon. He yelled for Easy company to hold up and soon the attack was falling apart; Amy was stuck with Dike behind a haystack. Dike had frozen and flat out refused to lead the charge.
"Does he know Hay isn't bullet proof?" Luz mumbled
Lipton stopped 2nd platoon and Dike ordered Luz to get him Foley on the horn.
From the rear Winters was going nuts yelling and screaming for them to move on. Dike ordered the men to fall back and then Froze, sitting still, not making any decisions. The men were running left and right and Amy, shames, Foley and Lipton tried to keep them together.
They were screaming at Dike, Who kept saying "I don't know…I don't know…I don't Know"
Winters was trying to get Dike on the phone, it was chaos. Winters watched what was going on in front of him and finally he had enough
Winters was running towards the battle before him eager to get Easy to safety "You got to keep moving, keep moving forward" he yelled
"Dick get back here" Katie shouted
"Dick, Dick, Captain Winters, you do not go out there, you are the battalion commander, get back here, now Dick I understand your attachment to Easy Company…" Sink shouted at Winters
Dick just blazed past him "Speirs, get yourself on over here, get down there and relief Dike and take that attack down on in"
…..
Amy turned her head and saw her future husband run thru the field, he jumped over an exploding mortar and ran down to Dike and told him he was relieved.
"First sergeant Lipton, What do we got?" Speirs screamed
"Sir most of the company are spread out here" Lipton pointed towards the town "First platoon tried an in and around, they pinned down by a sniper, I believe he is in the bombed out building here" Lipton pointed to a building with a caved in roof.
"Ok I want mortars and Garnate launchers on that building until its gone, when its gone I want 1st to go straight in. Forget going around, everybody follow me" Speirs got up and sprinted towards town
Luz looked at her and Amy just smiled "That's my man" she smiled and followed the new CO to Foy.
Lipton and Speirs had taken cover behind a bombed out building "What do you see Lipton"
"Infantry, a lot of infantry" Lip told him
"I Company is supposed to be on the other side of town, can you see them?" Speirs asked Lip
No, Sir, I am afraid they are gonna slip away, if we don't connect with them" Lip said
"Right, wait here" Speirs ran, towards a small wall and jump over it, he connected with I and came right back.
Amy looked at him; she knew Speirs had guts, but man that was hot.
….
The attack was over, and the whole regiment was celebrating, when a shoot rang out and a man fell down.
The men all took cover and suddenly the whole town was quiet.
Lane, Lipton, Amy and Shifty took cover behind a building. Lipton quickly spotted the sniper. Amy and Lane looked at each other and nodded, "Building on the right, second floor don't miss Shifty" Amy said and took off running to the right and Lane went to the left, Shifty got the sniper
Amy smiled until she felt a slap on the back of her head, Katie looked at her " What the hell is wrong with you, Speirs is about to bust a vein?" Katie told Amy and pointed towards a pissed off Speirs.
Easy took Noville and the Rachamps. In Rachamps, the company spend the night in the convent.
Speirs walked over and Pulled Amy behind a building "I can't even…"
Amy kissed Speirs "You don't have to, I been through hell and back in that forest. At one point I thought I was going to die in a foxhole in a frozen hell, but you know what Ron? Seeing Malarkey push through after Mucks death and seeing you run through town, gave me back the confidence I lost somewhere in Normandy, when those Germans punched the living daylight out of me. I won't…I can't go back to being half living and half dead I am going to push through and hang tough, get used to it"
Amy turned and walked away, finding Luz. Speirs looked at the happy reunion between the two friends. Amy smiled and laughed at something Luz said. Speirs knew right there and then Amy was going to be all right and she could survive anything.