CHAPTER 7.
The ground was wet beneath my muddy shoes and the leaves stuck to the drying dirt around the edges, making it difficult to walk without being heard. It had gotten hot very quickly after we left the French base so I had shed the heavy jacket and was now stuck in the itchy uniform walking in the middle of Buttz and Rachtman as we crept through the woods. Luckily my hair hadn't fallen out of the army hat so nobody knew I was a girl. My collar was still turned up so it hid any flu away hair that I had. Rachtman held up his hand and we dropped to the ground and shifted until we could peer around out covers, listening as the mud moved underneath us and the birds soared overhead. I pushed my hat above my eyes and peered through the leaves trying to spot something…anything…There.
A flash of light.
POP-POP-POP-POP-POP.
The gun in my hands rang out as a tree ten feet in front of me burst and a yell could be heard by the enemy. Another gun fired behind me and that was met with equal enemy fire from behind another tree. We had found them. I fired more shots as our men rushed forward a little bit and blew chunks of dirt into the air along with bits of trees.
"FIRE! FIRE!"
We got up and sprayed the bullets around us in a wide line, knowing that at least two enemies were here and we were bound to at least hit something.
"Halten! HOLD!"
We stopped and waited as the silence echoed all around us. Three soldiers moved forward at the flick of Rachtman's wrist as we searched for the bodies and marched forward. Buttz nudged me forward as I bent to pick up a long metal chain that had some sort of metal plate attached. I stuffed it in my pocket and pulled my gun up again and walked shakily through the woods until we came to a clearing. Ahead of us was what looked to be the remains of where a creek should be it even had a brick wall to keep mudslides from happening. I stopped at the top of the small hill land looked down at the black hole that was an arch underneath one wall. It shouldn't be this easy.
"Something's not right." Buttz muttered as he stopped next to me, I nodded as one soldier peered into the dark hole and threw a rock in there, it echoed.
"Down!" Kliefer hissed as he pressed himself behind a tree next to us, I dropped to my knees behind a bush and pointed my gun everywhere. I looked to a far tree and caught a glimpse of an elbow; I looked down the muzzle and shut one eye, trying to focus. If he'd just move a small bit more I could blow off that elbow. I pressed slowly on the trigger…just a bit more…
Suddenly there were shots fired by the hole and I turned to see a soldier get pulled into the cave by a tanned and dirty hand. Another soldier yelled and followed after him firing his gun wildly.
Then silence.
There was no sound after the third bullet ricocheted off the walls and buried itself deep within the mud. My own gun fell from my fingers and I crawled onto my knees to peer closer. I jumped and let out a yelp as a guttural bloody scream echoed all around us. A loud crunch followed soon after and a high pitched scream followed soon after. My palms began to sweat as I dropped back to my stomach, the last soldier that was left out of the three walked forward and lifted his gun up shakily; his entire body trembled in fright.
"Major?"
A sleek black gun was pulled came up from the darkness and pressed against his forehead. His head exploded into a million pieces and he dropped to the ground headless.
"GO!GO!" Rachtman yelled to the rest of the army, our soldiers rushed out from behind their hiding places as our enemies came out from theirs like swarms of bees. They began to shoot everywhere and I was forced to duck behind a tree as a bullet flew over my shoulder and nicked the heel of my boot. I clutched the gun to my chest as my heart sped up, making me pant and gasp for breath.
"Wir gehen um zurück! We'll go around back!" Buttz yelled to me, grabbing me and dragging me through the bushes before letting go and ducking underneath a log.
I dashed behind a tree and fired haphazardly over my shoulder as I tried to free the grenades from my belt. Buttz was happily firing round after round as he moved from hiding place to hiding place. I clutched the grenade in my hand and threw it to my left around the tree as I grabbed another one and threw it to my right. I bolted forward to not feel the after blast and instead got my foot caught on an uprooted tree stump. My ankle rolled and I was forced to throw my gun to the side so it wouldn't pierce through my neck and kill me. The tree behind me groaned and bent forward as the two grenades went off. Buttz yelled to me and pulled me up, he was grinning. He yelled something but I couldn't hear a word he said, my ears were ringing. He patted my shoulder and took off as I reached for my gun…it wasn't there.
Cursing, I got up anyways and took out the smaller gun I kept in my shoe and ducked under the cover of some leaves as a German soldier screamed bloody murder down below. I closed my eyes and ducked my head before I looked to the scene before me. I didn't like this. Maybe it was the fact that reality was finally hitting me like a fucking freight train but I didn't like it. I opened my eyes and tucked my hair back into my cap as the scene before was laid out. German suits were sprawled in the ditch as Basterd men sat on them and scalped them. I turned away and felt for the small necklace I was wearing beneath the itchy clothing frantically and was relieved to find the cool metal there. Dieter oh please, find my body.
I heard a crack then a loud booming laugh sounded all around me. Tears slipped through my eyes as all the adrenalin flowed out of my body like a landslide. I'd return to Dieter, I had to. I let go of the necklace and tucked it back into my uniform before I turned back around and, keeping an eye on the scene before me, I pushed off the ground and tripped as I turned away and ran.
I fell flat on my back as the butt of a gun slammed into my jaw. I stared up dizzily into the dark hole of a muzzle as a dark haired man with piercing blue eyes looked down to me. His high cheekbones were splattered with blood. I froze and looked to him, I was done for.
"Get up, hands on your head."
I shakily got to my feet and followed his orders, he had the gun after all and I was intent on returning to Dieter in one piece. He jabbed the gun hard in my ribs and pushed me roughly into the clearing where everyone could see us. I looked up from beneath my hat to find a pale faced Buttz coming down the hill with his hands on his head, Rachtman followed close behind with Kliefer stumbling into him. The blue eyed one that had gotten me looked strangely familiar. I began to march down the muddy path and tried not to notice how many German bodies lay in piles of blood around me. Men were bent over the still bleeding one with knifes and were just poking them for fun, trying to make them bleed even more. Sick.
I paused for a second to look down at a soldier whose brain was slowly leaking out of his head before the blue eyed man muttered something and kicked me in the knees, nearly making me fall. I cursed and kept going until I was side by side with Buttz. They forced us on our knees as one man with a bigger gun stood guard behind us. My throat kept restricting as my heart sped up; the tears fell faster and faster as the Basterds around us stood along the walls and trees everywhere to watch whatever was going to happen. Like we were a dinner and a show. I seared Dieter's face into my memory as the Basterds finally quieted down. I opened my eyes as Hellstrom's laugh and voice filled my mind, hopefully, he'd find bits of me at all.
"Bring that Sergeant over here." A southern voice drawled near the opening of that death hole, Rachtman stood up with pride and walked down to where the southern man sat on a rock messing with a small box in his hands. The southern man gestured to the dirt and Rachtman sat down with his back straighter than a toothpick. They exchanged words with Rachtman glancing around then nodding his head. The southern man seemed proud as a whoop of joy sounded behind us and he produced a map and put it between them.
"You probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business; we in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, business is a-boomin'." The southern man drawled happily as he snorted from the snuff box and wiped his nose. I shuddered, we were so dead now, "Up that road piece, there's a orchard. Now, besides you, we know there's another kraut patrol fuckin' around here somewhere. Now, if that patrol were to have any crack shots, that orchard would be a goddamn sniper's delight. So if you ever want to eat a sauerkraut sandwich again, you gotta show me on this here map where they are, you gotta tell me how many there are, and you gotta tell me what kinda artillery they're carrying with 'em.
Hellstrom's necklace burned on my flesh as Rachtman stared at the man in disbelief.
"You can't expect me to divulge information that would put German lives in danger."
"Well now, Werner, that's where you're wrong, because that's exactly what I expect. I need to know about Germans hidin' in trees, and you need to tell me. And you need to tell me right now. Now, take your finger and point out on this map where this party's being held, how many's coming, and what they brought to play with."
"I respectfully refuse, sir."
Sergeant Rachtman wasn't very popular amongst talk but he was one of the best and most prideful Germans I had ever met and he took his ranks very seriously. I watched as the southern man rolled up a map and stuffed it into his breast pocket. There was a few loud taps from somewhere and I looked up before realizing that they had come from the hole.
"You hear that?" the south man asked, "That's Sgt. Donny Donowitz. But you might know him better by his nickname: the Bear Jew. Now, if you heard of Aldo the Apache, you gotta have heard of the Bear Jew.
"I've heard of the Bear Jew."
"Really? What'd you hear?"
"He beats German soldiers with a club."
"He bashes their brains in with a baseball bat is what he does." The southern man squinted and leaned back slightly, smiling crookedly, "Now, Werner, I'm gonna ask you one last goddamn time, and if you still "respectfully refuse", I'm callin' the Bear Jew over, and he's gonna take that big bat of his, and he's gonna beat your ass to death with it. Now, take your wiener schnitzel-lickin' finger and point out on this map what I want to know."
Buttz and I tensed at the name, mother fucking of god…we were truly dead now. The southern man, Aldo the Apache, leaned in close to Rachtman who only looked up with a clear face and shook his head. The man got up and leaned back on his rock where I had first seen him. Something buzzed in my brain but I pushed it away.
"Fuck you…and your Jew dogs!"
Aldo sighed angrily then shrugged as he got up smirking.
"Actually, Werner, we're all real tickled to hear you say that. Frankly, watchin' Donny beat Nazis to death is the closest we ever get to goin' to the movies. Donny!"
"Yeah?"
"Got us a German here wants to die for his country. Oblige him."
TAK.
TAK.
TAK.
TAK.
A large man came out in a dirty wife beater wielding a dented slugger. This was indeed, the Bear Jew. He had dark hair and heavy eyebrows matched with blazing dark brown eyes hungry for German blood. He swaggered out of that cave with his slugger resting on his well muscled and bloodied shoulders. He stopped before Rachtman as the cheering around us grew louder and louder. He poked Rachtman with his bat and frowned angrily.
"Did you get that for killing Jews?"
"Bravery."
The bat came down heavily across Rachtman's skull and he fell to the ground quivering and twitching. I watched, horrified as the Bear Jew smiled and continued bashing his face and body in with brute strength. The happy yells and bloodthirsty cries echoed through my ears and erased Dieter's low and beautiful voice. They cheered the beast on and I let out a hoarse cry of fear which was easily drowned out.
"Man, if I were you I'd be shittin' my pants." The man behind us snickered. Tears fell onto the dirt as Donny finished beating the Sergeant's head in and spread his arms out as blood soaked his bat.
"Teddy fuckin' Williams knocks it out of the park! Fenway Park on its feet for Teddy fuckin' Ballgame! He went yardo on that on, out to fuckin' Lansdowne Street! YOU!"
He pointed the weapon at Kliefer and Kliefer stuttered before getting up and making a mad dash for the trees. I flinched and dropped my head to the ground as a gun fired behind me, Kliefer went down with blood spurting out his back. The southern leader closed his snuff box.
"Damnit Hirschebrg."
"Get the fuck up! You're on deck!" Buttz was forced up by Donny and dragged over to where Aldo sat, waiting patiently with a satisfied smirk on his face. Hirschberg forced me down again and I felt something inside my head snap. A wave of relief and tension mixed with anger flooded through my mind. My head began to beat like a drum exactly like that wracking pain I had encountered when I met that Utivich man in France. I cowered in on myself as the poundings spread; it made my eyes feel like they were going to pop out. I groaned and moved my hands to press at the sides of my face. A white hot rush of sadness broke through me as thousands of faces went across my memory. I looked up with wide eyes as Buttz was forced to his knees in front of a map, I knew these men. At least…I felt like I knew them. I looked all around me; the entire forest was swimming before my eyes.
Buttz bent over, pointing to a point on the map then another point. Aldo smiled to himself and gestured to another spot before turning to another Basterd behind him who jumped down and translated the German to Aldo. Aldo nodded and took out his knife as Buttz got up and leaned back as Aldo leaned into him, the knife inches from his face.
"And I'm gonna give you something you can never take off," Aldo turned and faced me, "Hirschberg get the smaller man over here."
"Get up fuckin' Kraut." Hirschberg bumped me in the shoulder and I tumbled down the path and collapsed next to Aldo's feet as Donny wrestled Buttz into the ground and pointed a gun at his head as Aldo stooped over him and brought the knife down. I closed my eyes as Hirschberg laughed cruelly.
"Shit." I hissed as the poundings in my head grew louder, Hellstrom's voice broke through and I relaxed again, drowning out Buttz's muffled screams of pain.
"You know, you're getting' pretty good at that Lieutenant." Donny whistled as Aldo pulled away and peered down at the nearly unconscious Sergeant.
"You know how you get to Carnegie Hall don't you? Practice." Aldo scoffed then got up, wiping the Nazi blood off on the tip of his knife. He peered down at me as I locked my fingers together behind my head, "I don't know what we're gonna do with you small fry, but I'm not very sure we need ya."
I let more tears spill out as I squeezed my eyes shut. Oh god, Dieter please find me.
"Donny, take 'im out."
"Gladly." Donny walked up to me and brought his bat down next to my hat's tip and lifted it up slowly.
I tensed as Hirschberg knocked my hands away. I could feel my hair fall free from its tight bun inside the hat. No, they couldn't know.
My hair fell down to my shoulders and flowed in the gentle wind as the hat was knocked to the ground and rolled away into Rachtman's bloody body. A sudden hush fell over everyone as my brown hair shone in the sunlight. My bangs came over my eyes and obscured my vision partially as Donny dropped his bat to the ground and stared wide eyed at me. I balled my fists at my sides as Aldo bent down to me and lightly brushed the hair away from my face, looking straight into my face.
"Rhiannon."
"Wenn Ihr mich umbringen tun schon meine Loyalitäten liegen mit der deutschen Armee. If your going to kill me. Do it already, my loyalties lie with the German army." I took a deep breath, "Wenn Sie mich töten wird Sturmbannführer Dieter Hellstrom fangen Sie und hängen Sie von Ihrem Hals. If you kill me Sturmbannführer Dieter Hellstrom will catch you and hang you from your feet until you die."
Aldo whistled long and got up, looking around him at his small army that was watching so intently.
"I don't know much German, but I'm damn sure I heard you were loyal to those sonovabitches were tryin' to kill. Hey Wicki."
"Ja." The man that had interpreted, Wicki, came over as I was pulled to my feet by Aldo. He was unshaven but looked relatively decent for being out here like all the other men.
"This here is Corporal Wilhelm Wicki. He's an Austrian Jew." Aldo eyed me as Wicki pulled a cigarette from his pocket, "Hey Utivich?"
"Yes sir."
"What did ya say the other day when you and Donowitz re-found her?"
"She didn't recognize us." The blue eyed man stepped forward into my line of vision along with a taller, muscular blonde man, "I doubt she does now. She was with that famous Zuller guy."
"They brainwash her then?" Aldo scoffed then looked back to Wicki, "She stuck in German?"
"Shoudn't be. Rhiannon." Wicki nudged me lightly as he lifted me up. I clutched Dieter's necklace in my hand on instinct as he moved to push the hairs away from my face, "Sie kennen uns? Sie sprechen Englisch? You know us? You speak English?"
I nodded.
"The Basterds."
"Wer sind wir? Beschreiben Sie, was Sie Gehört haben. In Englisch. Who are we? Describe us; what you've heard, in English."
"The Basterds. Jewish men who slaughter Germans and who only want fame for your damn pitiful lives."
"Damn." Donny looked at me with disbelief, "the girl's like a fuckin' fire crackah...still."
"…Erinnerst du dich uns? Haben wir bekannt vorlommen? …Do you remember us? Do we seem familiar?"
I closed my mouth and folded my arms.
"No use refusing." Aldo chided, "Whether you remember or not, you're not going back to your fuckin' Kraut friends."
"You seem familiar." I nodded, knowing it was true. They were all too familiar to me and I don't know why. I had an odd urge to just reach out…and hug them or somehow touch their bare skin.
"She's fine." Wicki nodded to Aldo as he crushed his cigarette, "Smithson is right, she doesn't seem to remember us though."
"Hey Stiglitz!" Aldo called to the blonde who was painfully obviously German. The Stiglitz man looked at me with icy blue eyes and I frowned as I felt this odd twinge in my heart, "See what you can get from her. C'mon boys! Got a new patrol to kill. Move him out of here."
Buttz groaned on the ground as Hirschberg and Utivich pushed him to his feet, our eyes locked and I could feel a strange connection with him.
Warn them. Tell Dieter.
…I will.
Buttz's eyes flashed and he nodded as he was led away. Stiglitz looked down to me as the rest of the Basterds grunted and dispersed among the trench. I flinched as Stiglitz stepped forward and brished some hair from my shoulder.
"Sie kennen mich nicht . You don't know me."
"ich weiẞ nicht, jemand von euch, nur mich töten und tun uns beide einen Gefallen. I don't know any of you. Just kill me, do us both a favor."
"Kein Ensatz. Du weiẞ zu viel…Und Sie wissen, wo wir hin sind. Lösen Sie ware nu rein Schmerz im Arsch sein. No use, you know to much…and you know where we're heading. Releasing you would only be a pain in the ass."
"Ich erinnnere mich nicht ein Wort…und ich weiẞ nicht. I don't remember a word…and I know nothing."
"Dieter Hellstrom ihnen sagen, das zu sagen? Dieter Hellstrom tell you to say that?" he gripped my shoulder as we walked after his leader and comrades with Wicki trailing behind us softly.
I looked back once more before we were engulfed in the trees. I should've left something behind; I had to get the message out somehow. I looked back to Hugo as the trees and leaves covered my vision and noticed the small insignia on his jacket.
"Sie in der Deutschen Armee waren? You were in the German army." I stated, he grimaced, "Sie in der De Deutschen Armee waren? …you were in the German army and you are now with the Basterds…you're Hugo Stiglitz aren't you?"
Hugo stropped moving and stared down to me as Wicki stopped behind us, not even trying to cover up his serious eavesdropping, I remember this Stiglitz. He was big in the papers and Dieter had mentioned his name once or twice. He used to work and fight with Stiglitz.
"Sie sind Hugo Stiglitz. You are Hugo Stiglitz."
His lips curled up into a weird twisted sneer as he shouldered his gun to his side.
"You killed Gestapo Majors, many of them were respected and well known throughout Europe."
"When did you hear about that?" Wicki questioned, walking up besides us. I blinked.
"It happened a long time ago but you were famous for it." I hissed. This man before me was the single man that Dieter hated the most out of any German or French man alive, "You betrayed your country."
Hugo kept looking down at me with that cold sneer as he quirked an eyebrow at me before he turned to where the rest of the Basterds had stopped.
"Wir brauchen, um etwas zu prüfen. We need to check something." He muttered to Wicki who only nodded and turned to Aldo as the Lieutenant came down to us.
"What is it?"
"Need to check something." Wicki shifted his weight to one foot as he stood behind me to make sure I wouldn't bolt.
"Back." Hugo turned to me and shifted his gun again so it rested on his back, I stepped into Wicki.
"Don't you fucking touch me."
"Hold 'er down." Aldo nodded to Wicki. His arms locked around me and I bucked against the restrainging hold, letting out stream after streams of curses. Aldo sighed and unsheathed his knife and held it close to my eyes, "Now you need to stop movin' Rhia, I don't care if you used to be one of us or not but I got no mind tellin' Donny over there to come and beat your head into the ground. You struggle anymore and I will, understood?"
"…yes."
"Turn around."
Wicki gently turned me until my face was pressed into his chest and his tight grip turned gentle. His thumb rubbed circles into my tense neck and I couldn't help but relax into it his other hand gripped my hip and pressed down on the pressure point, making sure I wouldn't fight him again.
I felt the sharp tip of Aldo's knife dig into my shirt and skin then a long tear reached my ears and my sweaty back was met with a cold blast of wind. With Wicki rubbing on my neck and the cool blast of air I let out a soft sigh and Aldo chuckled at that before his hand descended on my back. He let out another one of those long whistles.
"Girl's been through hell. How many marks you see Smithson?"
There was a brief gap of silence as the blue eyed man stared at my back as Hugo's rough hand traced each and every mar that was crossed on my back. I sighed again and relaxed a bit more…this felt so…right. Being here with them, it felt like home. Wicki pulled me closer and I allowed my arms to wrap around his waist slowly, the man was like a furnace.
"I count more than thirty, but I doubt that's how many there really are. See those? They overlap others and possibly overlap already healed ones." Utivich's hand ghosted over my shoulder blades, his touch was more timid and gentle, "this is why she can't remember, too much pain I'm guessing."
"She can't remember because of Dieter Hellstrom."
I looked up from Wicki's chest to Hugo as he stared angrily at my back.
"Who's that?"
"Gestapo." He replied back easily as Wicki's hand moved to bunching up my hair and slightly massaging my temples, "She has his chain."
I stilled as Wicki's hand stopped moving and moved to my neck where my chain was resting comfortably. I pulled back but he had already ripped it off and handed it to Aldo.
"No!"
"Calm down." Aldo waved to me as I pulled away from Wicki and stepped forward. I was stopped by a dented bat hitting my collarbone lightly, I followed the bat's figure to see Donny holding it out and stopping me from getting nearer to his Lieutenant. Wicki's hand gripped my arms as Aldo held up the necklace to the sunlight to see it better.
"What's the symbol? Can't see it clearly…"
"Third Reich bird." Utivich piped up as he stood next to Donny and peered at the necklace too.
My skin burned from where the necklace had been ripped from and I felt suddenly empty. It was the only thing from Dieter that I had left. I felt something jab my hip and I reached into my pocket and came in contact with that metal plate I had found earlier. I turned to Donny and looked at the similar metal plates he wore on his chest. Aldo watched the bird twinkle in the sunlight. I held up the metal plate, just out of Donny's reach.
"Hey, that's mine."
"Give me the necklace back." I offered as Donny recognized the thing in my hand. Aldo lowered the necklace and looked to me, "…now. And I'll give this back."
"What are you going to do? Your Gestapo boyfriend isn't here." Hugo spat out viciously.
"No, but he can sure as hell find you, along with Landa."
"She figured out how to bargain…didn't know that was in ya." Aldo laughed awkwardly and threw me the necklace which I easily caught. Hugo snarled and turned away, shoving past the rest of the men with a hard shove to the shoulder. I threw the plate at Donny and fastened the necklace back on my neck, I felt like I could breath again, "All right. Anyone have an extra shirt? We gotta move out. Hey Stiglitz-"
"Fuck off." The German growled, Aldo just shrugged, probably used to the man's bipolar attitude.
I blinked as Aldo turned around and fetched a dirty shirt from his pack, holding out to me then giving it to Wicki who put it over my right shoulder. I grabbed the shirt and hissed in pain as my finger scraped against a cut. I peeled back my torn shirt and inspected what had hurt me; a tiny flesh wound scar.
Aldo watched me closely before turning around and leading the small army again, I blinked again. Why the hell did I have the urge to call him dad? Wicki nudged me forward and I went after them, quickly stripping out of my shirt and putting his comfortable one on. I punshed on the scar and something flittered across my mind, making me stumble backwards into Wicki.
Aldo the Apache…daughter…stolen…daughter…
"You all right?"
I shook my head as Wicki steadied me back on my feet, Aldo and the others were already a ways ahead but Wicki didn't seem to mind. I nodded and moved forward in a daze, rubbing my scar softly. I wasn't stupid, that was a memory…of something. I closed my eyes for a second I think I had been in a barn? On fire? No, I'd be dead, that couldn't be right…
"You know, this may be all strange for you since you do not remember us but you lived with us."
"I highly doubt it."
"Then how did 've know your name? You were posing as a male soldier nobody knew." Wicki chuckled, that heavy German accent leaked through and I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips.
"Perhaps I was in the papers."
"I don't think so." He gave a quiet laugh as we caught up with the other Basterds. I spotted Hugo instantly; Wicki noticed that, "You loved him, you know."
"Your leader…?"
"Hugo." He replied, I folded my arms and stepped over a stump, "Along with Donny, Utivich…pretty much everyone."
"I don't remember any of you men."
"Ever heard of a blackout?"
"A what?" I turned to look at him as he came up besides me, his shoulder brushing mine.
"It's when something…bad…happens to a person. That person's mind wipes it out of their memory for a long while. Building a wall in the brain if you can picture it. Utivich says it can be caused by large amounts of pain being repeated," he tapped my scarred back, "like those."
I nodded, that explained a lot actually.
"And if this wall breaks?"
"You remember…usually after sleep, supposed to come in short doses…we think you may have that."
"Nothing's ever happened to me…" I hissed weakly as I traced Hugo's tense back with my eyes, "Besides even if I was with you guys, I think I'd be able to remember it."
"Whatever you say." He laughed, letting silence fall around us. Hugo's tnese back flexed as he shifted his bag onto his other shoulder. I ducked underneath a low branch as Wicki lit up a cigarette and took a long, slow drag.
"So let's say that everything you men have been telling me is true…that I know you. What am-was-I like?"
"What were you like?" Wicki's eyes glazed over for a second, "You were unbeleivebly quiet when we first found you, barely spoke a word of English. Donny and Hugo found you first but you stuck to Hugo because he was even quieter than you and spoke German like me as well. I think you learned English through Donny since he never quit talking to you."
He chuckled at a memory.
"After a while you weren't as clingy to Hugo and eventually ventured out with Aldo and the rest of us to various places. Aldo laid down the ropes and soon enough you were cutting a Nazi's scalp…messily, but cutting it."
He grew silent as we continued walking through the dirt, save for the crunching of leaves and Donny's talking about some baseball team to Utivich. I rubbed my shoulder as another image went through his mind.
"They never let me out of their sight."
"…so you do remember." Wicki crushed his cigarette, "What else can you remember?"
"…nothing else." I lied as we trudged on; I lifted my boot and kicked a rock aside.
The silence was comfortable.
I dropped down to the ground besides Donny as he cleaned his bat, some sweat trickled down his temple slowly as the heat beat down on us repeatedly. He nodded, acknowledging my presence but keeping his attention on his beloved slugger. His fingernails dug into the wood and scraped dried dirt and blood from the cracks and dents in the brown wood; he worked slowly, savoring every nick in it that the bat had to offer. The bat was his trophy. I emptied some rocks out of my shoes as I leaned against his leg, come to think of it, Donny was our trophy. Without Donny we probably wouldn't be as big as we were now.
Omar and Kagan were arguing over something as they drew something on a piece of paper, Utivich and Zimmerman were cleaning guns because it was a Tuesday so it was their day. Wicki was teaching Hugo English underneath the shade of a large tree while Aldo was talking to the rest of our troop about what he went through to get here to France, a story I had heard many times. There were no enemies out here but we were still quite a ways away from where we wanted to be so we had a small sliver of relaxation, a rare opportunity. The war was yet right now it was so peaceful and beautiful. I could see a clear blue sky through the trees, no gunfire could be heard. There was no paranoia in the air.
"What ya' thinkin' 'bout?" Donny asked as we shifted, I leaned against him back to chest. His hand twirled in my curly hair as his other arm rested over my shoulder, bent slightly so he could reach my other shoulder. His arm burned against my neck but it felt nice.
"It doesn't seem like we're fighting a war at all today."
"We'll be at it in a few days." He rested his chin on my head, "Guarantee it."
"Doesn't mean we can't enjoy it. You've never cleaned your bat like that…why now all of a sudden do you clean it?"
I leaned back again as Donny wiped the sweat from his brow then broke out into a lopsided grin.
"All right." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and I smiled, closing my eyes as his laugh went through my entire body. His bare arms encircled me as he proceeded to go on about baseball and some guy named Teddy Williams.
My eyes flashed open and my heart beat into the night...just a dream..