Hell Hath None 8- Oblivion
Don entered the tank again from taking out a Nazi officer on a white horse. He looked at the assistant driver seat where the man they had been working with for the past month had been blown to bits. Idiot kept his hatch open. The man hadn't won his way into their hearts like Jack had, but it still sucked none the less. Don wondered if that seat was cursed.
Grady cursed and hit the tank where it spat out sparks at him as Don settled into his seat. Grady asked if Don got the Nazi. Don responded. Bible was messing with Jack's gold necklace. They had to take down her stuff for the new guy. Sergeant Collier held on to all of her letters and pictures. Bible took the necklace with the Saint Christopher pendant. He took the cross pendant off it and gave it to Gordo. Gordo put it on a small chain and hung it with the Nazi crosses. Gordo was messing with it and holding onto the guy with his other.
Collier yelled at him to leave him be. Grady yelled at Collier, blaming him and yelling at him for ridding them. Grady and Don argued for a bit. Then Don and Gordo got on each other about languages. Don pulled Bible in it.
"I expect all of you to pull your shit together." Don ordered. Bible spoke to him.
"You should stop ragging on everyone. Her number came up. His number came up. Wasn't your fault." Bible said factually. The death o the new guy added to Don's guilt about Jack.
"Didn't do anything for 'em either." Don said. Eventually, Grady fixed the damn thing and they were able to get out of there. They rolled into camp quiet, serious and solemn. The group needed a break but there was no way they would be getting it any time soon. They parked and started fixing up the tank. They put off cleaning up the mess for a while and Don wanted to walk away after they pulled the man's body out of the tank. But he had a job to do. He ordered them around and got them to work. They were all a bit put off by the new guy dying. He was alright, they had liked him.
After he gave the orders, much to Boyd's protesting, he walked off. He could be found crouched down behind a tank of fuel and used a tire to keep himself propped up. He tried to focus on breathing. First what had happened to Jack, now this guy comes in, lasts a month, and gets blown up. He was still messed up about Jack.
Jack. His thoughts drifted to her. He couldn't help the smile on his face when he thought about how she would react if she saw him so messed up about what happened. She'd tell him off, he could practically hear her.
"The fuck are you doing? Get your shit together. It wasn't your fault." She would chew him out and he would let her. Once Collier got himself collected, he stood and walked away. His was caught off guard when a boy ran over to him, claiming to be his new driver.
He flashed back to when he first met Jack. The conversation Don had with Private Ellis was so similar to when he first met her. But while Jack had been firm and determined, this boy looked as if he was gonna shit himself. Eventually he gave up and pointed to the tank. He spoke in a slightly more gentle tone about the tank, told him it was home. As Don walked away, he realized fate a cruel sense of humor and that Norman was going to get a lot of shit for his first name.
Norman walked over awkwardly and tried to introduce himself. He stuck out his hand and told Boyd his name. All three men froze and stared at him. He shifted awkwardly and told them why he was there.
"Who the fuck put you up to this?" Grady spat at him and got off the tank. Boyd stopped him from advancing.
"No one. He's our new replacement. Back off." Bible said. Gordo circled around him and did the same thing he did to Jack about a year ago. This time, he took Norman's bag. Norman asked which way was the front and Boyd damn near chewed him out. Norman yelled at Gordo to leave his stuff alone.
"Where's your smokes?" Gordo asked.
"I don't smoke." He answered. Gordo shook his head in surprise.
"You're a bastard." HE stated. "Crazy ass new driver." Gordo said while he shoved Norman's stuff back in his bag.
"Yeah, he aint the first crazy fucker we have though." Grady said as he leaned back on the tank. Bible nodded.
"You sure your name's Norman?" Boyd asked, catching Norman's attention. He looked at Boyd confused. "You sure you wanna stick with that? If someone told you to say that, you're gonna wanna tell us now, kid." He said.
"My name's Norman." He insisted. Boyd shook his head and asked the kid about tank school. It felt familiar to when he ask Jack, but Jack answered differently. She had more fire to her, more strength. This kid looked like he could be knocked over by a gust of wind. The three men figured they would treat him like they treat every new comer. Where you from? Did you go to tank school? You saved?
"Before you fins Jesus, better come take a look at your seat. Won't be yours for long, but for now" Grady beat on the tank, "This is where you gonna be." He pointed. "Get a bucket of hot water from the kitchen. You gonna wanna get that shit cleaned." Grady said. Norman went away and the three men shared looks.
"You think War Daddy knows?" Gordo asked. Boyd shrugged.
"I don't know. I hope so." Boyd admitted. Grady whistled.
"I do not wanna fuck with them." Grady said before climbing back the tank. "Let the figure it out on their own."He said and sniffed. "They should be back soon, anyway." He added and the men nodded and went about their work. Before long Norman was back and cleaning up his area. He looked around the tank. His seat was empty of any personal items. The only thing on the walls was a crudely scratched out sentence.
Ghost was here. He wondered who ghost was.. Norman ignored it and set to cleaning up the blood. He gagged a bit but pushed on anyway. He reached his limit when he saw the man's face on the floor. HE got out of the tank and threw up everything. Collier turned in his seat and watched him. He did not want to deal with another person throwing up. He didn't mind it so much with Jack, she had a more solid reason in his mind. Plus, she hadn't vomited since the weeks she returned form being prisoner. She was fine after that.
Don didn't know if he could deal with someone who had such a weak stomach. This was Germany. The kid was gonna have to man up. Thunder roared overhead. Or was it bombs? Norman wasn't sure. Don watched his platoon and watched Norman try to cope with what he was seeing. Collier felt for the kid on some levels. He had only been in Germany 8 weeks and then got stuck in his platoon. Someone probably wanted the kid dead if they stuck him in Fury. Don's attention was pulled to the German being escorted through camp. Don recognized him. He was the same son of a bitch Boyd had to pull Jack off of. He was up and at the German.
Norman watched as Boyd went to pull Collier off the German. Gordo stood next to him. They both watched and Norman looked at Gordo funny when he started to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Norman asked confused.
"While ago, Boyd had to pull Ghost off the same Kraut." Gordo said as he leaned against the tank and pulled out a cigarette.
"Who is Ghost? He put his name insi-"Gordo cut him off.
"Her. Ghost is a her." Gordo said. Norman was confused. Gordo told Norman about how Jack was a girl. He began to explain why they gave her that name when Norman asked.
"First day with us, she save Grady's dumb ass from a grenade and gets shrapnel in her side. Same day, we thought she got done in by another fucking grenade." He pulled in on his cigarette and exhaled before continuing. "While later gets taken by fucking Nazi's."
"Is that what happened to her? Why she's gone?" Norman asked. Grady smacked him upside the head as he walked by.
"Shut your fuckin' mouth and listen." He said and walked around to the other side of the tank. Gordo continued. Norman was absorbed in the story about this girl soldier. He wanted to know what happened to her.
"She was gone for two fuckin' months. Army was convince she was dead. Nah, man. She was fine. Shaken up and starved but fine. During her escape she ripped a guy's throat out with her teeth." Gordo pointed to his neck for emphasis. Norman was taken aback. She sounded like a pscyho. "No matter what happened to her, she just wouldn't die or stay down. We figured we'd call her that. You can't kill a ghost, man." He finished and shoved Norman's shoulder before beginning to climb back on the tank. "Get back to cleaning."
"What happened to her?" Norman asked. Gordo paused and looked over his shoulder. "How did she die?" He asked timidly. Gordo smirked at the kid.
"You can't kill no fucking ghost, kid." He smirked and told Norman accusingly. No sooner had Gordo said it than a familiar voice called out to her comrades.
"Hey, assholes!"
Sorry guys I just felt so bad, I had to update again. Plus im not tired. Its like 3:30 right now. In the morning. So I have this chapter up for you guys, I kept it short because I felt bad. Let me know what you think. I love you guys and your reviews are my life. Like thank you guys so much.