The sun was beating down on us as we were gathering in the square of Struzelberg, ready to hear the current events that were happening back in America by Nixon. Since leaving the French town that took Jackson's life and raised our own anxieties, we were glad to be had in the warmth of the sun and feel a sense of ease on our shoulders and uniforms. My rib was fully healed at this point, Winters finally giving me permission to go back out as a combat nurse fully once again. I was beyond glad since I missed the thrill of running from place to place without being slow or held back. Even archer seemed a bit chipper since we left the cold behind; he was already bigger and was getting rather smart with what I was teaching him.
I grabbed a seat next to Joe as Doc was on the other side of me, the both of us taking a break to hear the news before we would head back over to the medical jeep and grab our rations. Archer was laying down at my feet, rolling on the pebbled stones with his back. I leaned back in my chair, having my hair up in a ponytail and my helmet resting on the knee as Nixon starting reading off the news in front of us, clearly no interested in what he was reading at the very moment.
"Here." Doc said to he, tossing me an apple and having me grab it in midair. I took a big bite from it, feeling the juices go down my neck a bit and I smiled. I watched as Doc then leaned with a small piece of an apple for Archer, whom wagged his tail and starting eating it.
"Merci." I replied back to him with a smile on my face, having me see him grin too, "Oh wait, is that a smile on Eugene Roe's face! Praise the Lord it is!"
"Pipe down, Marley." He replied in a short tone, but he was still grinning as I shoved him playfully. It was good to see a grin back on his face once more, since most days he wanted to be alone and isolated from the rest of the group.
"The Cooperative for America Remittance to Europe food care had begun assembling food packs to assist those European families in dire need. Presumably all of them. So notes to all your family reminding them to donate what ever they can be much appreciated." Nixon read off his notes from his clipboard, making him sound more like a teacher reading a lecture to a classroom of students that were clearly not interested. But he went on with another lighter subject as his voice went up with optimism.
"I'm sure you'll all be happy to know Oklahoma is still playing on Broadway." Nixon explained aloud, having me hear some of the men agree with him and Luz even laughed, having me watch him sit up and hold the cigarette in his hand as he started to sing.
"Oooooooklahoma where the winds come sweeping down the plain!" He started as the rest of the men joining in with his singing. I sang along as well, having me feel the hint of joy coming from the men.
"And the wavin' wheat, can sure smell sweet, when the wind comes—" Luz motioned with his hand for us to stop as the newest recruit for out Company, O'Keef, sang on.
"—right behind the rain!" He voice was a bit higher than usual, having the rest of us laugh with and at him as he looked rather embarrassed about it.
"O'Keef, are you sitting on your bayonet? Why don't you leave the singing to Luz?" Chistenson suggested in his wicked grin, the others laughing with him.
"Yeah, unless you you wanna do like 'Surrey With the Fringe on Top', O'Keefe." Luz commented in as well. I shook my head with a big grin on my face, looking over at Doc who too looked a bit amused.
"Pauvre petit agneau." I said to him, hearing him chuckle from his spot on my right as I took another bite from my apple.
"Awww, Rita Hayworth's getting married." Nixon explained, having me then hear the collective groans from the men about the news of her.
"Oh, Rita, say it ain't so!" Luz said in a mocking moan. I just rolled my eyes, looking over at Joe who too groaned from the news.
"Since when did you like Hayworth?" I asked him with a coy tone, seeing him laugh in his spot and shrug his shoulders.
"I'm a guy, Marley. Every guy in America loves Rita Hayworth, even in the world. Am I right, Doc?" He asked Doc, looking past me at Doc who just nodded his head once, still staring straight ahead with his intense eyes.
"Yep." he replied with his Cajun accent, having me glare at him for not helping me with the subject as I put my focus back on Joe.
"So you're mad she's married?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow, having me see him now eye me and see where I was going with this playful conversation. He then chuckled, squeezing my hand quickly in his without the rest of the men looking.
"Sure I'm mad, but I have someone else who's better in my mind, right here with me." Joe replied in a softer tone, looking at me up and down and giving me the look that he would give before he would want to kiss me. God, I both hated and loved that look.
"You need to contain yourself with the flrtin', or you'll get yourself hurt." I said in a low tone to him, smiling at him once more before we released our hands and looking ahead at Nixon. One of these days we were going to get into a big load of trouble from these flirtations out in the open with the men around us, and I feared that day would come.
"Wartime News: Resistance in Ruhr's crumbling. It looks like it might be a breakout in Remagen. Apparently the Krauts forgot how to blow up one of their bridges when they headed back over to the Rhine. I guess the boys in the 17th Airborne did okay, after all." Nixon explained to us as we all listened in on the recent events. From what I was hearing, since we came into Germany, things were looking up in our favor and we were slowly having a brighter future in this battle.
"Ah, forget it. We'd be in Berlin by now sir if it was us instead of them, huh?" Luz asked aloud, the rest of us cheering with him with the thought of being dropped in Berlin where the heart of the war was. This was better than what we were going through the past few months, the months of depression and pain as we were merely trying to survive. I didn't know if it was the sunshine that was over our skin and giving us a healthier view on life, or that we were no longer in real constant fear of being hunted down and killed and blaming each other for the agitation, but we were all in a better mood. As Nixon wrapped up the meeting, we all got up and moved out to our respect areas, Doc and I going to the medical jeep to find more supplies. We meet up with Spina there, having me see him already going to get his satchel open. Archer followed behind obediently, trying to untie my shoe laces with his teeth and nipping at me playfully.
"Doc, Red, good to see my Crazy Cajuns." Spina said to the both of us, having me smirk at him.
"Oh, don't tell me you're gonna call us that for now on." I said in a groan to him, having me see him laugh as he grabbed from plasma bottles. I dug into one crate of bandages, grabbing a handful and folding them in the manner that I liked.
"What? It has a ring to it, don't you think?" He asked me, having me pause and look at Doc with an amused face, Doc pausing his own packing and looking at the both of us.
"Why am I being brought into this again?" He asked, clearly annoyed. I chuckled, pointing to Doc as I looked at Spina.
"See? He has spoken." I said back to Spina with a big grin on my face, Spina smiling widely as we were packing some more.
"I'm glad to see that the both of you are doing better since we left that French town." Spina commented as I grabbed some morphine and moved over to the extra towels that were used for wiping off blood.
"Well, we need to get away from the cold I reckoned." I replied to him, seeing him eye me.
"You're not a cold kind of gal I take it?" he asked me in curiosity.
"God no. Spina, I'm from Louisiana. Our definition of cold is a rain storm with a slight breeze." I explained to him.
"She's right." Doc agreed from behind me, having me see Spina look over at Doc and then at me.
"Let's just hope them that we don't have to deal with anything else like that. I can't wait to go home, you know? Back where I'm no longer needin' to play doctor all the time." Spina explained in a huff as he closed up his own satchel.
"And what will you do with your spare time?" I asked him in wonder, having me see him think to himself before answering with a funny tone on his voice.
"Maybe I can take up painting." He said in such an authoritative tone, having me smile at him as he walked off. HIs future was looking bright, and I couldn't help but picture him being a painter beyond the war.
Let him be a painter.
"You ready to head out?" Doc asked me as we both got up on our own jeep, ready to move out into the nest area. We were going to ride together as the rest of the men were going to ride in the bigger vehicles in the back of the group of men. I hopped up with him, moving my hair from my eyes as I saw Nixon and Winters talking together in hushed tones and it looked rather heated. Archer was now sitting next to me on the jeep, too big for my backpack and was looking around at the other soldiers who passed us by. Easy Company knew of Archer by now since he was always next to me, rubbing his ears and playing with him when they had down time. As men walked by out jeep, they rubbed Archer's ears with their fingers, having me hear him bark at them all
"Where are we going exactly?" I asked him, seeing him shrug his shoulders.
"Beats me: another German town I'm guessin'. You'd think after this whole time they would tell us Medics anything." Doc commented to me, having me laugh with him as I then overhead Spiers talking to Perconte after Perconte handed him a lighter for him to use on his cigarette.
"We're going to the Alps."
"The Alps?"
"Yeah."
"That near Berlin, sir?" Perconte asked, still trying to understand that situation at hand.
"No."
"That's in Bavaria. Birthplace of National Socialism." Webster commented to them both as he was walking by, looking just as interested in the conversation as Perconte was with Spiers, though Spiers looked unamused and un-phased.
"No drop in Berlin. Hitler sent to the Waffen SS into the mountains to repel all the invaders. He wants to start a guerrilla war." Spiers explained as he lit the cigarette. Bull was walking by as well, having both Doc and I listen from our spots on the top of the jeep and we listened in as well. It made me think of how we were going to be thrown against the Germans now, going into the Alps and finding them there and no longer steering towards Berlin. What were we going to do in the Alps there? How was this going to plan out? I had more worried and fears in my head as Bull made his comment.
"Invaders. Damn, I like the sound of that."
"Glory, glory what a hell of a way to die. Glory, glory what a hell of a way to die. Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die, he ain't gonna jump no more!" We were all singing together as we were rolling along the countryside, having all of our spirits up high as we sang it for a couple of more lines. I looked at the green around us, having me see the huge contrast of what I was I used to: winter and darkness. This was opposite, warmth and happiness in our veins as we were on our way to the Alps.
After we all sang together, Doc and I settled in our seats and were watching the scenery pass us by. I could hear the soldiers talking to each other about what they did outside the army before and what they were going to do after the war. Archer was on Doc's lap, looking around at the scenery as Doc has one hand on his back to make sure he didn't hop off. Archer was getting close to Doc as well as me, though he was constantly staying close to my heel. Doc was liking him too, though he was more reserved.
"So what about you, Gingembre?" He asked me, having me look over at Doc as I kicked my heels up against the jeep when we were strolling along the countryside, 'What are you thinkin' of doing after we get back to Louisiana?"
"I don't know really," I answered him, thinking about ti myself some more and finding it harder than I thought, "I have only down medicine since I left high school. Maybe I can go travel around America, you know? Like a road trip kind of a thing. I've never seen New York or even Texas for that matter." I would like to see all that America had to offer since all I knew was Louisiana. Just being here in Europe and traveling around was enough for me to want to travel around more. but on America soil more than anything.
"How about you, Doc?" I asked him not wanting to think about my own future at the moment and look over at him see him think to himself before he lit his own cigarette between his teeth.
"I worked with oilers before I was in the war, maybe I'd go back to do that." he said with a shrug of his soldiers, having me raise my eyebrow at him.
"I can't picture that for you, Doc." I replied back to him, seeing him watch me as the smoke he inhaled escaped through his thin lips.
"Why you say that?" He asked me in wonder.
"I don't know, you're more a Doc now than ever before. Maybe you can work in a hospital or something." I suggested to him, seeing him shake his head.
"Well, I'm not like you Marley. I don't live and breathe medicine all the time from my lungs. I'll figure somethin' out when I get there." He explained.
"But you better not forget that we're gonna hang out together after this war, you know? Havin' me show you around New Orleans, and maybe help you meet a nice Cajun girl?" I commented to him with a chuckle, having me see him shake his head and roll his eyes.
"Oh, come on Doc. You're cute enough, and girls would fall for you since you're an army kind of guy, not to mention great with your hands." I teased him, raising my own hands and wiggling my fingers at him in glee.
"Good grief, Marley. You're the sister I wish I never had." He commented to me, having me glare at him playfully.
"You don't mean that at all." I commented back to him, seeing him look back at me with a hint of playfulness in his own eyes.
"Fine, I don't mean it. But I would hope to think that my sister wouldn't be as big of a pain as you."
Doc and I stood outside the building as we saw Germans being filled out from their homes. We were sent to go into the small town and get the citizens out of there. However, that was left to the rest of Easy company as they were going through the apartment complex, yelling at the men to get out and to leave to another building. I still had no real idea why we were needing to have this one apartment building and a couple of others, since I was getting death glares from the citizens as they were being thrown out of their own homes. At this point, my own heart was hurting from what I was seeing: citizens were looking scared out of their minds as they were trying to understand why they had to leave in such a rapid pace.
"This doesn't feel right." I said to Doc under my breath as a group of families were watching us with eyes of death, going out into the streets and being out on their own. Doc shoved his own hands in his pockets as we were then joined by Luz with his radio on his back, rifle at the ready.
"I don't think it's supposed to." Doc commented back to me, having me keep my eyes on the citizens that were still being spilled out onto the streets. Some of them had children, all who were looking to us to see what was going on. I felt even worse since there were kids there, with their parents that seemed to have no answer for their question as to why they were leaving their home.
"How many buildings do they want for us?" I asked Luz, since I figured he would know more than Doc and myself.
"Who knows, I'm just at the radioman these days." He commented back to me in a huff as I saw both Bull and Joe walk out of the building to join us at the front door, having more citizens that were men. The five of those men looked over in my direction, having me hear them say something under their breath for me to hear, but it was only in German so I had no idea what they were saying. But Joe knew, since he immediately looked over at the both of them and had the look of pure anger on his face, as if they insulted his family or his name.
"Halten Sie den Mund , bevor ich dich erschießen zu Boden, Krauts!" Joe barked at them with venom in his voice, having me see the men shuffle off without another comment out of their mouths. Bull eyes him now next to me, having me no wonder what was that all about.
"What did they say, Liebgott?" He asked aloud in wonder. Joe shook his head, still looking a bit bitter from whatever they said.
"They called Marley a amerikanische Hure." he replied in a gruff, having me look a bit taken back from what they did say.
"Am I to realize that the word Hure means Whore?" Luz asked aloud, as if it was the casual question. I shook my head, having me not want to lash out at them but to have a snide comment in return. I was not going to stoop to that level of showing my hate to them since they were merely citizens and they should that odd kind of judgement on me.
"Classy." I said in amusement and in a low toned manner, Bull shaking his head and Luz shrugging as we were then waiting to hear what was next for us to do. Joe was still fuming though, having me walk over to him as the others were talking together about the rest of the night. I gently grabbed his arm, having me see him finally look back at me, the hate was still there.
"Breathe, Joe. I'm not phased by it, just breathe okay?" I asked him in a careful tone, wanting him to calm down from being too hotheaded too soon. He lowered his rifle then, having me grab his hand and hide it from the rest of the boys as we were looking at each other with a glimmer of hope. Joe took out a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to calm down as I squeezed his hand gently, having me see him put the strap of his rifle on his shoulder to have his other hand be free.
"There you go, love." I urged him, seeing him finally look over at me with a small smile on his face, a small smile that showed a small discovery.
"What did you call me?" He asked me, a soft tone rang compared to the brash voice he had a moment before when he spoke German. I just smiled at him, my thumb rubbing against the top of his hand. Who was I to try to hide it anymore from him, since we were close to being done with this war and it was no point of wanting to shield it down.
"You heard me." I replied, having me hear him chuckle.
"You have an odd way with me, Marley." He confessed, reaching out to push some of my red hair from my own eyes. Feeling his skinny fingers against my pale skin gave me shiver in the cool night.
"I can say the same with you, Joe. Come on, let' see what Winters wants to do now." I urged him, having me see the other pile into the building behind each other and Joe and I followed. For a second, I could feel Joe's hand on my lower back as if he was helping me through the door. I did nothing about it, but my heart was telling me to tell him sometime soon.
Tell him that I loved him.
I walked with some of the men on patrol that morning through the woods, having me look up and around in wonder at the tall trees that seemed bare. The sun streamed through the now blooming pine trees as I felt the ground underneath my boots. Archer was back at base with Doc, and I was on a patrol walk since I missed going out and about with the men. It was Luz, Bull, Frank, Christenson and a couple of others, including the new O' Keefe. The silence filled the air, though a bird would chirp here and there.
"O'Keefe?" Bull asked the soldier, who looked a bit off from where I was next to Bull.
"Sarge?!" he said aloud, Bull smirking.
"Why the hell are you so jumpy, boy?" He asked.
"I'm not jumpy, I'm fine."
"Shit, I can hear your heart pounding in Arkansas, boy."
"Jesus Christ, give the kid a break, Bull." Christenson added in.
"Hey George." Perconte said to Luz as I was looking around at the area around me. Something felt off to me, very off. I breathe in deeply, getting a scent of pine trees and nature. But I got another scent from it, something that didn't fit in the setting: Smoke. Why was I smelling smoke, this far away from the base? I made me worry, looking around for any kind of smoke either in the forest or in the air.
"Yeah?" Luz answered.
"Kinda reminds you of Bastogne?" He asked aloud in a wondrous tone as I could breathe in the smoke more as if we were getting closer to the source. Now I was petrified, where was it coming from and why was the scent here.
"Yeah, not that you mention it. Except of course, there's no snow, we got warm grub in our bellies and the trees aren't fuckin' exploding from Kraut artillery. But yeah, Frank, other than that it's a lot like Bastogne." Lux explained, clearly annoyed as Frank had no clue as his sarcasm.
"Right." He said aloud. Luz sighed.
"Bull, smack him for me, please?" Luz asked, having me hear Bull hit Frank on the helmet and Frank grunting.
"Thank you." he thanked, but I had another scent coming through my nostrils. It didn't seem normal, far worse than the smoke. I stopped in my walking, looking high above me past the trees and having me see some small amount of that smoke over the top of the pine trees. The scent was strong now, too strong, and I suddenly realized what it was.
"Stop." I said aloud, having the others stop and look over at me as I felt my heart was about to drop. I knew this smell, I knew it from countless times on victims who were…oh God no. This smell would haunt me every once in awhile when I was younger in medical school, and it was a smell that brought out the worst in people when it came to healing.
"You smell that?" I asked them all, having me see them sniff the air to see what it was. They could tell something was off, having them finally look back at me.
"It's probably a fire, Red." Frank suggested, but I shook my head and walked towards the scent some more. The scent was coming on the right side, bombing over in our direction as I breathed it in again, having me almost go sick.
"Something's not right. That's not a good smell." I explained to him, seeing that he was not following. I hated the smell, it hated it so much because I knew that it meant real trouble. I was used to it by now in my life, but I would never think I would have relive it again in this war.
"What are you talking about, Red?" Luz asked as I looked over to the right again, wondering what was over there to give this scent a huge push. I wished it wasn't what I thought: someone being burned alive.
"That smell only comes from burning flesh. That's a burn smell." I explained slowly, having the rest of the men look at me now with big eyes as I got another whiff from a slight breeze. It was strong on the right side in that direction, having me bolt into a run towards the scent. Someone was in trouble, big trouble from what I was breathing in. The boys followed me, though they were still confused as to what was going on.
"Hang on, Red! Wait for us!" Bull yelled at me as I was bolting faster and faster. They could still be alive, needing someone to help them. But it was all far gone from my mind as I skidded to a haul and looked at what was out in front of us. I was frozen in horror, since what was in front of me was not enough to put into words. The others, finally, caught up with me with rifles at the ready. They too saw what I did, having the group of us look in horror at this scene in front of us. How was this possible, who in their mind did this….but what was it?
"Dear God." I gasped out.
