They soon came to a torn up town. Rain began to pour down on all of them. The street roads were now flooded and swamp-like. Buildings had been shattered to bits. It was all that was left of Neuville. It seemed that the civilization had stopped. Donnie moved closer to Miller.
"There's a sniper nest around here somewhere. I don't know the exact location, but it's here."
"How do you know that?"
"Trust me, you don't wanna know."
"No, Donnie, I do."
She looked in to his eyes as she tried to read him. She nodded her head.
"There are other groups like us that we do keep in contact with. The last one that came through here was ambushed by the sniper. Only one got out."
After processing the thought of a massacre, he nodded and turned to his men. "Be on guard men."
They continued to trek through the village, the girls hung toward the back. Donnie stared at the other two.
"Keep your mind sharp and focused. No slip ups, got it?"
"Yes sir," they answered, quite loudly, in unison.
"Now Jo, keep pace with Wade. Montie, stay on Upham's left side."
They nodded in affirmation and jogged to their respective positions. Donnie scoped the area with her darting eyes as she walked. Her mind stayed focused on ways to avoid disaster. A quick movement of feet caused her to whip her head to the source. She gave a head nod toward Caparzo.
"Why do they call you sir?" he asked.
She smirked. "Same reason you call Miller sir."
"You're a man?"
She laughed lightly. "No. He's in command."
He stayed silent. A loud voice reached all of their ears. It was speaking broken English. Donnie looked at Upham to see him mumbling something. The group of eleven jogged and crouched behind a half blown wall. The brunette's head whipped as she heard Miller yell.
"Thunder!"
A tense feeling overcame all of them. The men gripped their rifles while the girls pulled out a knife.
"Flash!"
They all let go of a breath they had been holding. The Captain turned to his men. "Upham, get over there. Reiben, you four, go first."
"Jo, Montie, tread," called Donnie. The six of them ran in front of the rest. Miller nodded for them to follow. A poor looking fellow ended up next to the Captain. His eyes lit up.
"Boy, are you guys a sight for sore eyes. Sergeant Hill, our relief showed up!"
"How many are you?" asked Hill.
Miller frowned. "Eleven. We're aren't your relief. Sorry."
His shoulders sagged. "What do you mean sir?"
"We're here for a Private Ryan."
"Ryan? What for?"
"Is he here?" Miller persisted.
"I don't know. Maybe he's with a mixed unit on the other side of town. It's hard to get to. The Germans punched a hole in our center, cut us right in two. What's his name again?"
"Ryan. James Ryan. He dropped in with the 101st."
The man looked over his shoulder. "Goldman, get me a runner up here. Come on." Miller, his men, and the girls followed the soldier. They were behind another shattered wall. They crouched low. "We got trapped by some intense rifle action from the east ward. They've been reinforcing two regiments all day. The streets have been quiet for around fourty-five minutes."
"Who's that on the loudspeaker?"
The soldier looked at him. "That's 'Dagwood Dusseldorf', our friendly neighborhood morale officer." Sarcasm was quite evident. They listened.
"'The Statue of Liberty is kaput'." Miller shook his head. "That's disconcerting."
The two remained silent. The other men were having smaller discussions. Most were listening to the loudspeaker.
"Your father was circumcised by my Rabi, you prick," yelled Mellish.
Jo glared at him. "Would you shut up! I'm listening here."
"How about, you shut up?"
"Oh I should shut up?"
"I think the both of you should shut up," Donnie whispered with venom. Jo flinched. Miller faced the others.
"Alright men, head to the east and take the long way around. But be careful," he paused, "especially you girls."
"We'll be fine," Montie assured.
The troops headed through deserted streets. Rain still poured down on top of them. It was silent. Montie stood on Upham's left side while Jo stood next to Wade. Donnie kept pace with Jackson. After a few moments of silence, Upham tried starting a conversation.
"Reiben, where's the captain from?"
He smirked. "You figure that out, you got yourself a nice prize."
"Three hundred bucks last I heard. The Company's got a pool. Five bucks gets you in," Jackson chimed in.
Jo looked back. "Shit. I'm in."
Montie chuckled. "So three hundred and five."
"Somebody must know where he's from, what he did for a living," Upham persisted.
Horvath whispered, "I've been with him since Kasserine Pass and I don't have a clue."
The troops fell silent. Donnie fiddled with one of her knives while observing the area. Jackson eyed the knife cautiously. He switched his gaze to the road ahead of him.
"Reiben," Upham started, "so you don't even know where he went to school?"
"Captain didn't go to school. They assembled him at O.C.S out of spare parts and dead G.I.s."
Caparzo moved closer. "You have to pay attention to detail. I know where he's from and exactly what he did."
Jackson took a wide step. "Hey Upham, careful you don't step in the bullshit."
They quickly came upon another broken wall. They crouched low. Reiben, leading them, moved the company behind a gate. Rushed voices reached their ears. The girls quickly armed themselves with their pistols.
"Thunder," Reiben screamed. The voices silenced themselves. "Thunder! Or we will fire on you!"
A distressed woman started speaking in French. Jo listened intently. Her eyes widened.
"Don't shoot, they're French," she spoke.
"It's a family in a blown building," Donnie added as she kept peering up.
Miller spoke, "Upham, tell them to show themselves."
He peered through the gate while speaking, "Montrez-vous! Montrez-vous!"
A man responded. Jo stood up. "They don't have weapons," she said as if trying to explain her standing up. Montie pulled her down.
"Didn't Donnie say no slip ups?"
Jo held her ground. "They aren't armed!"
"It doesn't mean they aren't surrounded!"
Donnie looked at the two. "Stop, both of you. Stay focused."
"Ask them if they know where the Germans are," Mellish suggested.
By this time, the eleven stood in front of the half blown building. Upham continued to ask the man. He wouldn't listen. He kept yelling. Miller looked at him.
"What are they saying," he asked.
"Something about the children." The father walked in front of them and held his daughter over the men. He continued to speak loudly. "He wants us to take the children," Upham translated.
"No, no, no, we can't take the kids," Miller yelled. The man continued to hold the girl out toward them. "We can't take the kids! No!"
Donnie eyed Jo and Montie. "Don't even think about it."
All three whipped their heads back to the situation. All of a sudden, Caparzo started moving toward the girl. He grabbed her waist and took her from her father.
"Are you nuts? Listen to the captain," Horvath nearly screamed.
"Caparzo! Put that kid back," the captain roared. Ignoring him, Caparzo pulled out his rosary and held it in front of the girl. He tried to calm her down. "CAPARZO!"
"Hey Upham, how do you say 'it's okay'?"
Upham froze as he watched Caparzo walk back toward the company. Donnie gazed at him with slight empathy.
"Ce n'est pas grave," the brunette offered. Caparzo began to say it to the girl.
"Put the girl back," everyone else yelled.
"Put her back," Miller screamed.
"I can't. She reminds me of my niece sir."
"Get that kid back up there," he bellowed.
"Captain, the decent thing to do is take her down the road to the next town," Caparzo defended.
"We're not here to do the decent thing!" Miller grabbed the girl from him. "We're here to follow fucking orders!" Caparzo tried to go after the girl, but stopped. He held back his instinct to comfort her. "Someone take this kid," Miller yelled.
Montie, who was still next to Upham, grabbed the girl from the captain. Jo and Donnie had stayed on the other side. All of a sudden, a bullet whizzed through the air. Everyone looked on in horror as Caparzo tried to stagger to safety. The other men hastily took cover. Montie shielded the girl with her body as they took cover. Jo landed next to Miller and quickly pulled out her pistol. Another shot rang out. Caparzo started to fall. In a decisive move, Donnie tackled him in the direction of Wade, coming shy by a few feet. They were safe nonetheless. The space between the medic and the wounded, however, was not safe.
"Damn it! Where'd that come from?" asked Horvath.
"He was on the ground before we heard the shot," Jackson called out. His eyes fixed on a bell tower as he yelled to his superior. "That's where I'd be. I didn't see it, but I could guess. Four hundred fifty yards, Captain, maybe a shade under." He then directed his comments to his comrades. "I wouldn't venture out there, fellas! This sniper's got talent."
The blonde sniper readied his post quickly and efficiently. He closed an eye while looking through the scope.
"Captain," Caparzo called out. Donnie tried her best to calm him. He was resilient.
"Hold on Caparzo," he ordered. "Donnie, how's he lookin?" The brunette gazed at his wounds. One had hit his diaphragm while the other hit his chest. "Donnie!"
"Jo! Stage Echo!"
Miller looked at Jo. "What's that mean?"
"Severe Cap'n. Echo stands for end," she called so only Miller could hear.
"Help me up," Caparzo insisted, "I can walk! I can walk!"
Donnie could hear the anxiety all in his voice. The verdant eyed girl cradled his head.
"Caparzo! Stay still," Wade called out. The medic seemed as if he was battling to go to his friend or not. His eyes connected with the brunette's. "How is he," he called out, "Is he alright?"
"Wade you stay put," ordered Miller.
"Where's he shot Donnie?" he persisted. "I can't see from here."
"You stay there," the Captain screamed.
The brunette looked at Wade. "Diaphragm and chest." He made a motion to move. "Listen to your captain! Tell me what to do!"
"Damn it! Stay down! What's the matter with you," Hill asked as he kept the medic from attempting to move again. "Who's gonna fix you if you get hit?"
"Caparzo don't move," he called out, "Put your head down! Put your head down!"
The brunette looked into his life-retreating eyes. "Sh, listen to Wade, okay." Her attention turned to the medic. "What should I do?"
"Put pressure on the wounds!"
As she did so, Caparzo reached into his jacket and pulled out a letter. Her eyes widened.
"Copy it! Copy it and send it for me," he cried while looking at the boys nearby. He switched his glance to Donnie. "Copy it."
"Carpy, you're gonna send it yourself," Mellish answered. "Put it down!"
He didn't calm down. He took a deep breath. "It's got blood on it. It's-It's-It's to my dad. It's got blood on it."
"Caparzo, just hold on a second longer."
The company became silent. Jackson pulled the trigger as the shot rang out. Mellish grinned.
"We got 'em. We got 'em."
With as much speed as they could muster, everyone, except Montie and the girl, gathered around Caparzo. Donnie moved out of the way for Wade.
"How bad is he?" Mellish questioned worriedly.
"Chest, maybe lung shot," the medic answered.
Montie watched in terror as she felt the girl start to move. She grabbed Caparzo's rosary from her. The child walked back up the rubble toward her parents. Her father picked her up and started speaking to her. She began to slap his face. The blonde woman walked over to Caparzo. Her eyes started to water as she saw him covered with a blanket and lifeless. Her face hardened in defense. Miller came up, grabbed a dog tag and glowered at his men.
"This is why we can't take children." Montie gently sat the rosary in his cold hand. Miller ordered, "Sergeant Horvath, do an ammo check. Upham…canteens. Mellish, check the tower, hustle back here. Right now, go!"
"Jo, with Mellish. Montie, with squad," Donnie muttered in a less authoritative way. "I'll be with Upham, so hand over your canteens."
The girls handed them over into their leader's bloodied hands. For a quick moment, the three stared at each other. Quickly, Donnie left with Upham. Montie walked over and stood next to Wade. Jo hustled over to Mellish with her pistol drawn. He didn't look back.
"I don't need any help," he muttered.
"Well, I've got an order to follow," she said without her usual venom. It surprised him to the point of stopping in his tracks. She halted as well, reaching her hand toward his shoulder.
"You can save your pity for someone else, 'cause I don't need it." He continued on. She snatched her hand back. He heard her quicken her pace.
"You think I'm pitying you? Pity would be saying a stupid phrase like 'I'm sorry for your loss' or 'he's in a better place'. I'm not giving you pity." Her usual venom had returned. Mellish could've sworn he heard regret. She continued. "I liked Caparzo too, ya know. I wish I could've helped him. Shit, I wish I had Jackson's pleasure of killing the bastard with a scope. I wish I could've taken that fucking bullet for him."
"Would you stop?" he asked loudly. "You barely knew him."
Jo maneuvered in front of him. Her brown eyes bore into his.
"That may be true, but I'm not heartless. One thing I do know is he's gone; he left us in the middle of a war. We have to move on. Accept it." She turned her back to him. "Before it kills you too," she whispered.
His eyes widened in shock as the auburn walked away. He couldn't believe her bluntness. He shook his head and followed her into the tower, gun drawn. The pair quickly cleared the tower, in a shared silence, and hustled back to the squad. Donnie handed Jo her canteen. The auburn noticed her hands were clean. She glanced up to see Donnie's face all red from crying. Her gaze connected with Upham: he nodded. The group of now ten continued to walk through the rubble in silence. Donnie was walking with Reiben as she checked the surrounding area. Jo stood next to Wade with a stone face. Montie slowly made her way to Upham's side. He looked at her.
"You're a translator, right?" she asked quietly. He nodded. "What languages?"
"German and French." He noticed her hesitate. "What's on your mind?"
"Well," she lowered her voice even more, "when you guys found us, we were getting rid of Nazis. They were having a conversation, then Donnie gave the signal. We got two in the back. One of the last two egged on Donnie until, well, bang. The last one started to cry. Donnie said 'Feigling', then bang. Any idea what that means?"
Upham frowned. "It means coward."
Her gray eyes widened. "Oh. Thanks."
The blonde watched the back of her friend's head as she walked. Her mind asked why she would call him that. Quickly, she removed the thoughts from her psyche. She had to focus, for now. The search party soon came around the corner.