Almost as if by luck, a soldier came up and started telling Miller that he knew Ryan and had a pretty vague idea as to where he might be. Rox joined the rest of the men, sitting beside Jackson. He spit on the ground and lit a cigar.
"You see the girl they got here?" he asked.
She glanced at him. blankly. "Girl? No, where?"
"She was with Wade back up where they got the wounded. She got her leg blown off or something." he replied, blowing smoke from his mouth.
She stood up and looked out across the field. She squinted and saw Wade with a few other medics. Jackson saw her tension and patted her leg from where he sat.
"Rox, sit. She's gone."
Rox remained standing and grimaced. "Where was she stationed? Who was her captain? Where'd she go now?"
Jackson bit his lip. "Look, Rox, I'm sorry. I meant that she's dead."
Rox wiped her forehead and slowly sat back down. Jackson regretted bringing up the subject and looked away, towards Reiben and Mellish.
"You get her name?" she asked.
Jackson reached into his jacket and tossed her a dog-tag. Rox gasped and glanced down at it. She read the name aloud and Jackson smiled.
"Earnest, Mariah."
"I don't know if it's true, but one of her guys thought she said something about visiting Boston every year."
Rox's eyes lit up. "Boston..."
To think that this woman had visited where she was from brought her great joy, for some reason. She put the dog-tag on proudly. Gently, she placed a hand on Jackson's shoulder and thanked him.
"I knew you'd go nuts for it." he chuckled.
With a smirk, she said, "Yeah, well, I forgive you about the whole dog-tag thing, big pushover."
Miller approached them and the men, ordering them to pack up and keep moving.
The group continued across the grassy field as they past a few cows. Reiben lit a cigar but Rox snatched it from him.
"What the he-"
"Shut up." she hissed.
Miller overheard them and walked to her side. He followed her gaze and saw a large radar not far ahead. There were Germans there.
"Duck down." Miller ordered, quietly.
"Can I have that back?" Reiben asked Rox, angrily.
"You light this up and they'll see the smoke, you moron." she snapped.
All the men crowded behind a few trees and bushes as the captain took out a pair of binoculars. Rox squinted as she also tried to see.
"What do you see, Cap?" Sarge whispered as he sat by him.
"Machine gun. Probably MG42." Captain Miller replied.
"Jesus." Mellish breathed, shaking his head.
They all sat in the grass, exhausted. Jackson chewed gum as he sat by Upham and Fish. Wade stayed by Rox and Sarge as Miller began giving orders.
"I say we detour, quick and quiet, they won't even know we were here." Reiben said, rubbing his nose.
Upham, Fish, and Jackson nodded in agreement and glanced at Miller. He ignored them as he began to remove his jacket. Reiben knew that look on his face.
"So, captain, what I'm trying to say is: Why don't we just go around the thing?" he asked.
"I hear what you're saying," Miller sighed. "But, we can't go around it."
Jackson twisted his jaw and nodded. "I'm with Reiben on this one, sir."
Rox looked at him in disbelief. "Well, that's a surprise."
"I'm with Jackson, sir. We can still go around the thing and complete our mission." Fish spoke up. "I mean, this isn't our mission, right, sir?"
Miller looked up at him, panting. "That's what you wanna d, Mellish? Just leave it here so it can ambush the next company that comes along."
Fish closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, sir. What I'm trying to say is...it seems like an unnecessary risk, given our objective."
Miller stared at him, deeply. "Our objective is to win the war."
Everyone was silent for a moment and Fish lowered his eyes.
Reiben spoke up again. "Sir, I just...I just don't have a good feeling about this one."
He was serious. They all heard the concerned tone in his voice. Miller looked at all of them, as if he was waiting for some support.
"When was the last time you felt good about anything." he mumbled, heading off.
They all looked at each other and got up to follow across the grass. Quietly, they hurried and glanced at the radar, making sure no one saw them. Miller crouched dow and the other did the same. Jackson spit out his gum and paid close attention.
"Alright, three runners with suppressing fire. Mellish, you hook the right. I'll go up the middle." Miller panted, quietly. "Who's going left?"
Silence.
Miller glanced at each of them and a few looked away. He grimaced at that. "Who's going left?"
More silence and awkward stares. Reiben spit and wiped his mouth. Miller looked at Sarge, but he looked away.
"I'll do it."
They all glanced at Rox as she spit in the grass. Jackson looked at her. "No, I'll do it. I'll go left."
Miller looked between each of them and shook his head. "Can you decide, please? You know what? Screw it. Rox said she'd go, Jackson."
"Cap, she's running-"
"Can it, Jackson." Rox spat.
"Alright. Upham, switch off with Jackson. He's going to need that gun." Miller ordered, pointing at Upham.
Upham adjusted his helmet and nodded. He and Jackson switched guns and crouched back into their spots.
"We advance and keep pressure on them." Miller continued. "I think we should be able to hit them from grenade range."
Sarge swallowed and stared at Miller. "Maybe I should go up the middle, sir."
Miller placed a grenade in his pocket. "The way you run, I don't think so."
Rox glanced at Sarge and back to Miller. "Maybe he could just come left behind me. And, maybe, Jackson can cover us."
Miller glanced at her, irritated. "Maybe you should shut up."
Upham and Sarge stared at him with shock. Rox put a serious face and reloaded her gun. Miller looked at each of them carefully and nodded.
"Let's go."
They all took a deep breath and hurried towards the radar. Ahead were piled of debris and dead cows lying on the ground. Shots were fired and the fighting began. Upham stumbled behind a cow and ducked. Sarge fired as he ran up the hill. Rox fired with Jackson behind, covering her.
Several explosions were heard and smoke was everywhere along with debris.
"Rox, get down!" Jackson yelled as he dragged her to the ground.
She screamed as an explosion occurred right behind them. She covered her head with both hands and quickly got back to her feet.
"Come on, move!" she yelled.
Reiben shot one man down and ducked behind the pile of dirt and ashes. He was breathing heavily as Rox and Jackson hid with him. They panted aloud and glanced over the dirt once in a while.
"Where the hell is Upham? He get shot?" Reiben asked, quietly.
"I thought he was with you." Jackson replied, sniffing.
Rox reached into her pocket and pulled the ring off a grenade. "Steady."
She tossed it over and covered her ears. Suddenly, it was thrown back a few feet from them Reiben gasped and swore aloud. Jackson shielded Rox from the debris as the grenade went off. Reiben covered his ears and glanced at Jackson.
"You okay?" he asked.
Jackson nodded as the madness quieted down. Rox looked over the dirt as she heard Miller's voice.
"Upham! Get the kit and get up here!"
They spotted Upham carrying to backpacks up the hill. Rox glanced at Jackson, worried. "Who's hit?"
"Come on." he replied, rushing up the hill.
Reiben and Rox followed as they saw the rest of the group circled around someone. She heard Wade mumbling words and panicking. Fish held his face in his hands and spoke calmly. Miller watched as Sarge opened a gauze and grabbed morphine.
"H-How's it look? How's it look? Oh, Jesus..." Wade mumbled.
Rox stared in pure horror as blood seemed to pump from Wade's chest. It slowly rose from his mouth, gargling his voice.
"Wade, you're going to be fine, okay?" Fish asked.
"Put legs...put my legs up. Wade kept repeating.
They began wiping the wound as Upham glanced around, keeping guard. Rox just stood as she saw them treating the wound.
"I got him, I got him." Sarge said, wiping the blood.
"Upham, give me a canteen." Fish said, sharply.
Upham gave it to him and he poured the water over the wound. Rox and Miller made eye contact, and he shook his head.
"Don't watch this." he mouthed.
But, she couldn't look away. Wade kept mumbling and gasping for breath. "How's it look? How's it..?"
"Wade, you're gonna be okay." Miller said, looking down at him.
"Put some pressure on it. Easy, easy, easy." Jackson said.
Wade began coughing up blood.
"Put some damn pressure on it." Reiben said, placing his hand over the wound.
They all placed their hands on Wade's chest as he kept coughing, bitterly. Rox felt a tear go down her cheek as they all pressed down on his chest.
Uphan slowly knelt down and spoke softly. "What can we do, Wade? How can we fix you?"
"What can we do, Wade? Tell us what to do." Miller said, nodding.
Fish wiped the blood from Wade's mouth and gently shushed him as his breathing increased.
"I c-could use a little...more morphine." he said, trembling.
Jackson glanced at the captain and whispered, "More morphine, sir..."
Miller stared at Wade and slowly nodded. He glanced at Sarge and said, "Give it to him."
Sarge slowly obeyed and stabbed Wade's leg with a small needle. Wade started shaking and crying. "I don't...I don't wanna die."
Fish gently shushed him. "It's okay, Wade. I got you."
"It's okay." Reiben said, quietly.
They all stared in silence as Wade kept breathing and sniffing. Upham turned and looked at Rox. He put a hand on her shoulder, slowly pushing her away.
"Rox, come on. You don't need to see this." he mumbled.
She stood firmly where she was, shaking her head. "I gotta."
Wade started to calm down and glance at the gray sky. It wasn't even clear or blue, but it seemed to catch his attention. Fish looked up as well along with Reiben.
"Mama..? Mama..." Wade whimpered.
Rox shut her and and pursed her lips. Upham shushed her and wrapped his arms around her. Finally, he stopped mumbling and breathing. The men were silent, keeping their hands pressed onto his chest. Wade mouth hung open as Fish hung his head. Captain Miller reached into Wade's front pocket and pulled out Caparzo's letter that he had copied.
He rose to his feet and walked off a few feet away. Reiben hurried up and ran towards a man he saw. He raised his gun and whacked the man's helmet off. Jackson ran up the hill to help hold the German down.
Rox pulled away from Upham, drying her tears. He said nothing as she walked away and climbed over a piece of broken cement. She crouched down and held her knees close to her chest.
She shut her eyes, remembering Wade's eyes in her mind. Tears came pouring down her cheeks and she tried to cover her mouth to cry in silence. A sniff and a shift of dirt made her look up. She sat up and saw Miller putting Caparzo's letter in his jacket. He brought his fist to his mouth and started to cry.
Rox sat back down and wiped her cheeks, angrily. Miller's cries weren't loud, but she heard them.
"...it seems like an unnecessary risk, given our objective, sir,"
"I don't have a good feeling about this one, sir."
She heard Miller get to his feet and she did the same. She rose faster than she expected and she made eye contact with Miller. He stared at her and wiped his nose. She stared into his blue eyes as he motioned for her to come. He held out his hand and lifted her chin.
"I'm glad...you were there. That you...you saw.." he whispered.
She nodded. "I am too."
Without another word, they walked back to the men and the German they had captured. He and Upham were sitting together as they approached. The German quickly picked up a shovel he was using and continued digging Wade's grave. All the men surrounded the grave as Reiben and Fish aimed their guns at him.
"Please..." the German pleaded. "I like America. Fancy shamncy! Go fly a kite!"
He yelled as he continued digging. The men stared at him coldly, ignoring his words. He glanced at Rox as she knelt down to yank the shovel away. He grabbed her jacket collar and began to plead in German. Miller tensed as Reiben aimed his gun.
"Hey!" he barked.
"Please...please, girl, I like America!" the German begged.
She scolded him in German and Upham raised his eyebrows. "You understand him?"
"Thank two weeks of being a POW with a German for that. And, my high school teacher." she spat.
The German began petting her cheek with his dirty hand and pleading with her again and again. He fingers went over her lips and Miller lost it. He grabbed the back of the man's collar and dragged him away from her. Upham followed and stared at the man.
"He says he's sorry about Wade, sir." he said, calmly.
Miller ignored him and dragged him away. Upham and the rest of them followed.
"Captain! Cap, this isn't right. You know this." Upham repeated.
Rox followed behind Upham. "He surrendered. This isn't right."
Miller ignored them and tied a blindfold around the man's eyes. Rox shook her head as Miller aimed his gun at the German.
"He surrendered, John."
Captain Miller paused and looked at her. Upham looked at her in shock, as did Jackson and Sarge. Reiben and Fish shook their head in disagreement.
"Tell him...to march 1,000 steps in that direction and turn himself in. We'll be gone by then." Miller said.
Reiben scoffed and turned away. Upham thanked him and translated the message to the German.
"You gotta be kidding me. We're lettin' him go?" Reiben asked.
"He's a POW, Reiben. We can't take him with us." Miller replied.
They all watched as Upham led the man away. Rox wiped her forehead from sweat and glanced at Miller. Reiben placed his gun over his shoulder, shaking his head.
"Captain...you just let the enemy go." he said.
Miller stared as the German walked off and Upham stared. Fish shook his head as he also watched.
"This is such bull-"
"You think you're the only one who thinks that?" Reiben asked him.
"You got that right." Jackson agreed.
Upham shook his head. "You think this is bull? That's what you think?"
"Upham, shut your mouth." Reiben said.
"It's against the goddamn rules!" Upham snapped.
"Yeah? Well, the goddamn rules just walked off with your new friend."
Upham turned as he took one final look at the German. Reiben glanced back Miller, shaking his head. "But, I guess that was the, uh, decent thing to do, huh, Cap?"
Miller ignored him. "Get your gear."
He walked to the side and removed his helmet, catching his breath. Sarge gave Reiben the men a look as they didn't move an inch.
"Gear up. The captain just gave you an order." he said, strictly.
"Yeah, like the one he gave when we marched up this death trap." Reiben spat.
"You are way out of line." Rox said.
Reiben ignored her and approached Miller. "Yes, sir. That was one hell of call, taking this nest. I bet Mama Ryan's really happy that little Jimmy's life is more important than two of our guys!"
His voice slowly raised and Rox slapped his shoulder hard. "You better shut the hell up!"
He pushed her. "I do whatever the hell I want, sweetheart!"
"Yeah? You think that's what makes you a man?"
He nodded. "A man's worth a hell of a lot more than you think, honey."
"I'll bet they are. But, you aren't even a man, so why do the math?"
His face hardened and he grabbed her shoulders."What the hell did you say?"
Jackson tensed up and yelled, "Hey!"
"Let go of me, you coward." she spat.
Reiben began to shake her as he spoke. "Shut up. Just shut up for one goddamn second!"
She spit in his face and he drew back. "Son of a.."
He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her to the ground. Sarge charged towards them as Reiben held her down. He laid her on her stomach and held his hand against her cheek.
"Say something else, I dare you!" he barked.
She panted. "Reiben, get-!"
His hand went over her mouth. "Shut up!"
Sarge grabbed him and threw him off of her. "Get off me!"
"Reiben, get up and gear up." Sarge said, calmly.
Reiben stood and looked Sarge in the eye as they stood face-to-face. He glanced at Miller and Rox as she got up.
"I'm done with this mission." Reiben whispered, bitterly.
Sarge looked at Miller and ran after Reiben. "Hey! Hey! Don't walk away from your captain. Reiben, get back in line!"
Reiben grabbed his backpack without any care in the world. "No, sir. I'll spend the rest of my life in a stockade if I have to, but I'm done with this."
Sarge reached back and pulled out a handgun. "I'm not gonna ask you again."
Upham stood in-between them and looked at Sarge. "Sir...sir, please."
Reiben didn't even bat an eyelash. "You gonna shoot me over Ryan?"
Sarge smiled. "No, I'm gonna shoot you because I don't like you."
Upham looked at Miller. "Sir!"
Jackson shook his head and pointed at Reiben. "Hey, if he wants to go, let him go."
Upham rushed over to Miller and began pleading with him. "Sir, are you gonna let this happen? Are you seeing this?"
Rox stared at Miller, shaking her head. "You're just gonna stand there?"
Upham rushed over to Miller, desperately. "Sir, listen to me. Ryan's dead, sir."
"Shut up, Fish. You don't know that." Rox snapped.
"I know he's dead. I can feel it! I have a sixth sense that tells me these things." Fish assured her.
"You don't have any feelings, Fish." she scoffed.
Miller watched all the voices get louder and all the men argue. Rox walked up to him and spoke gently.
"John, listen to me. You have to stop this. You hear me?" she asked.
When he gave her no response, she groaned aloud and marched towards Reiben and Sarge, angrily. Upham continued reasoning with him as Fish kept blabbing.
"You can't kill that damn guy but you can kill me?" Reiben asked Sarge.
"Yeah. He's better than you." Sarge chuckled.
"Well, then, why don't you just do it, Sarge? Put one in my leg!"
"I'm gonna shoot you in the goddamn mouth!"
"Well, put your money where your mouth is and do it!"
"Captain, listen do this!"
"Hey, shut up! You hear me?"
"Would you boys stop it? You're just making this bigger than it needs to be, you got that?"
"Sarge, just let him go! He's nothing here and all he does is run his mouth!"
"No one ask you! You don't even-"
"No, you don't even listen to the words coming out of your own mouth!"
"You don't know when to shut up, do you?"
"Pull the trigger, Sarge! Do it! I swear to God!"
"Captain, please!"
Miller glanced at Sarge and spoke aloud. "Hey, Sarge? What's the pull on me up to?"
Sarge stared at him, blankly.
"What is it? Three hundred dollars?" Miller asked, glancing at Upham and Rox. "I'm a schoolteacher. I teach English Composition."
Rox and Jackson looked at each other and back at the captain. "These past eleven years, I've been in Pennsylvania. Teaching at a high school for eleven years. Sometimes, I see that I've changed so much. I wonder if...anyone will recognize me when I get back."
Jackson put his gun away as he listened. Rox closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.
"Ryan...uh, I don't know anything about Ryan. I don't care. It means nothing to me, it's just a name. But, if finding him gets me back home..."
He glanced at Rox and sighed. "...if it gets me home...with you, Roxanne Mitchell, as my wife, then...then, that's my mission."
Rox's jaw hung open as Jackson looked at her and Miller. Miller just nodded and said, "Yes, I mean that. Every damn word."
He turned and walked over to Reiben. "You wanna leave, Reiben? Alright, alright. I won't stop you."
Reiben stared at the ground.
"I'll put in the paperwork. Just know that every man I kill, the farther away from home I feel."
He walked up the hill to Wade's body. Slowly, he bent down and grunted as he dragged it towards the grave. Jackson walked up to help, along with Sarge and Upham. Fish stared at Rox, shaking his head and smiling. They both walked up and helped bury Wade.
Reiben shook his head and sighed through his nose. He walked up and grabbed the shovel to started putting the dirt over the body. They worked together in silence as the sun was setting. The sky was a dull yellow and a small breeze blew against their faces.