Oh my! Thank you so much for the reviews, especially after only the introduction! I appreciate it so much. I look forward to shaping Evelyn, but as what is usual, she will most likely shape herself. I also look forward to seeing what she brings.
Camp Toccoa, Georgia
December 1942
"Name!" screamed Sobel, standing in Evelyn's face. She might be tall for a girl, but Sobel still towered over her. She tried not to shrink further. Instead, she raised her chin in defiance.
"Cassidy, D. Evelyn, sir!" She cocked her rifle and held it out for inspection.
Sobel sneered at her, ignoring the weapon. "You're pathetic, private. Your presence in this company is a filthy wound waiting to fester and infect my men." He stepped up to her closer, leering. Evelyn looked through him. "What the hell are you doing here, Cassidy?"
"To serve my country, sir! Same as everyone else!" she shouted. As always, she thought to herself, trying hard not to roll her eyes. He had asked the same question to her every day since her arrival in June. Some of the soldiers teased her relentlessly about it; some in humor, others in malice.
Sobel sneered again. "Just give up, private. You'll never become a paratrooper. Just do us all a favor and wash out now and go home like the other two."
A few of the men snickered at this. Her fellow female soldiers hardly lasted a month or two before they gave up. But they didn't go before making sure she knew that they believed in her. It was a small comfort though; they were long gone and now she was surrounded by only men in Easy company.
There were nine companies of the 506th regiment. Each company was assigned three women soldiers per the United States Army as a revolutionary test, whether the officers liked it or not. Including Evelyn, fourteen remained.
After Sobel finally tired of her, the soldiers moved to their daily cycle of training. Although Evelyn hadn't won over everyone just yet, she had made a few friends.
Luz came up, jogging alongside her as they made their way up Currahee. He gave her a wink. "How's my favorite medic this fine morning?"
Evelyn grinned but rolled her eyes. "You mean medical assistant. You forget, George, as progressive as the Army likes to think it has become allowing women to fight on the frontlines, they won't grant me the title of a combat medic."
Luz snorted. "Screw the Army. Roe says you're medic, so that means you're a medic. Doc's orders, sweetheart."
She chuckled, unable to help falling for his charm. He and Roe were her closest friends, but she was beginning to crack a few other tough nuts. "Whatever you say, George."
"I love when you say that."
After running up the mountain, Easy started their rotation with the other companies on the obstacle course, training rings, and artillery fields. As they made their way towards the ropes course, a tiny figure caught her eye across the camp.
With a smile, Evelyn waved to her friend from Dog company. Seeing her among the men, Adrianna waved back a moment before Lieutenant Speirs, her commanding officer, walked by, his expression deadly.
Evelyn winced, quickly tucking her hand away. Jeez, hope he didn't see that. Her friend was already known as her company's troublemaker, her sharp tongue being the main culprit. She'd been trying and failing as of late to remain out of the spotlight, but somehow Speirs was always nearby.
Easy lined up to begin the obstacle course after waiting for Fox company to finish. Evelyn stepped up to the starting line, bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation.
"You tryin' to distract me, doll? We're on the same team, ain't fair," said Guarnere behind her, his eyes appraising her long and now tan legs.
Evelyn looked over her shoulder and grinned. "Just trying to motivate you, Bill. Is it working?"
"Do I get a feel if we beat them?"
"I'll answer that after we win."
Along with Guarnere and Evelyn, they were paired up with Malarkey, Shifty, Liebgott and Grant. Luz and five other soldiers were lined up next to them. He gave her a wink, which she returned.
Lieutenant Winters stepped up with a hand raised. The other hand held a stopwatch. The corner of his mouth twitched up a moment before he yelled, "Go!"
Immediately they began sprinting towards the high knees. Evelyn moved through easily with the others. Guarnere tripped up once near the end and cursed, but with a helping hand from her, they were off again, on the heels of the other team.
Next was a rope swing. Evelyn landed a little short and got her feet caught in the mud, along with Shifty, but the others helped pulled them out. After that, they dug down deep under barbed wire. Evelyn looked to her side briefly. They were winning.
At the end, the final obstacle, the six of them went after the log wall just moments before the other team arrived. Liebgott and Evelyn stood against the wall on their sides, holding out their hands to help the other men go up and over two by two.
"Joe!" she yelled after he helped Malarkey go over. She held out her threaded hands for his boot. He stepped up before stepping next onto her shoulder, causing her to grunt with his weight.
Finally, Evelyn pushed his boot up to go over the wall. She looked up and saw a hand dangling there, waiting for her to grab it. Jumping with all her might, her fingers brushed his before he pulled his hand away again. With a smirk, he disappeared again over the other side of the wall.
Evelyn saw red and began cursing him relentlessly even as she began to back up and run at the wall, trying to gain enough traction with her boots to make it up. Fucking Liebgott. From the corner of her eye, she watched the other team complete the course. It took her several more tries until she finally got up high enough to grab the top log. With a cry of effort, she pulled herself up and over before jumping down.
With her eyes locked on Liebgott and a glare made especially for him with the deepest loathing, she ran across the finish line before bending at the waist to catch her breath.
Guarnere came up and clapped her on the back. "What happened, doll? We almost had it."
Evelyn lifted her eyes to glare at Liebgott again, who only continued to smirk. "Sorry. I came up short."
Guarnere offered her his canteen, which she thankfully took. "No matter." He gave her a wink. "You can just motivate me again tomorrow."
She couldn't help but look away from Liebgott and grin. "Don't look now, but I think I'm starting to grow on you, Guarnere."
He cackled and threw an arm around her shoulders as they began walking towards the shooting range next. "In those PT shorts? Woman, you can grow on me any way of the week."
Even after a long day of physical training, it was Friday. For any other company, that meant a trip to the bar to celebrate the coming of the weekend. For Easy company, it meant a twelve mile march in full gear. Friday was easily the least favorite day of the week.
Although it was wintertime, the air had been incredibly dry. Evelyn tried to make sure that she drank as much water as possible during the day, knowing Sobel wouldn't allow any during the nighttime activity. Despite countless evidence of the harmful effects of dehydration, their commanding officer was adamant - no one could touch their canteens.
After six months of this Friday night torture and watching soldier after soldier either collapse after the march or go against orders and drink anyway, Evelyn took matters into her own hands. Not like I'm a real medic anyway. What are they going to do? Kick me out of the aid station? she thought viciously. She had had enough.
Before lining up with everyone else, she made her way back to her bunk while the rest tried to sneak in an extra drink before Sobel arrived. Kneeling, she dug around in her trunk before finding what she was looking for.
Taking the two small rubber bladders, she moved quickly to the pitcher in the corner and filled each with water about halfway,. This allowed the containers to remain soft. After sealing each, she looked over her shoulder before stuffing one next to each of her breasts, secured by the underwire of her bra. A quick once over, and she was outside again, moments before Sobel arrived.
"Drink from your canteen, and you will march the entire twelve miles immediately," he said, just loud enough to vibrate through the crowd. And then with a wave of his hand, Winters led the soldiers out. Sobel, as always, stayed behind.
The air tonight was particularly dry and harsh. The cold wind seemed to parch the throats of every man within a few miles. By mile eight, Evelyn noticed Christenson playing with the cap of his canteen, a sure sign he was going to drink from it.
She hurried her walk until she was at his side. After a moment, she hissed, "Pat."
Christenson looked at her from the side, already grimacing. "I can't help it, Evie. I'm dying here." The march always affected him more than others.
Evelyn nodded. "I know. It's OK."
His eyes widened while he watched her reach down under the collar of her jacket and shirt and pull out one of two water bladders. She watched to make sure Winters' back was to them, not because she thought the officer would tell Sobel, but because she didn't want him to also get in trouble if she was caught. She handed it to Christenson. "Take a few sips from this instead."
He took it silently and unscrewed the small cap. The water immediately took effect and the flushed color in his face seemed to fade. He handed it back to her. "God, you're an angel."
Evelyn chuckled before placing the bladder back in her bra. "Nah, just a wannabe medic."
Word quickly passed through that she had a secret stash of water. Whenever someone was in need of it, another soldier caught her eye. Luz had just looked over to her and nodded that she was needed.
She jogged up to him, Perconte and Liebgott. Luz immediately looked at her chest, chuckling. "Knew something didn't look quite right."
"You mean that there's actually a rack there tonight?" added Liebgott, thick sarcasm laced in his voice.
She rolled her eyes hard as she quickly removed one bladder before handing it to Perconte. "Here you go, Frank."
Perconte gratefully took a gulp of water before handing it back to her. With a smile, he said, "Thanks, Evie. Where did you get those things anyway?"
"Probably swiped them."
Ignoring Liebgott, Evelyn grinned. "My brother sent them to me after he got to the pacific. Thought I'd get a kick out of them."
Perconte grinned back. "Well, tell him thank you for me."
"I will. He'll be so proud they were used over here too. Especially in defiance of an ass clown of a CO."
The four of them marched silently for awhile. Only a few more miles were left. Knowing this and the fact that no one would need to redo the trip, the soldiers were reenergized. They chatted happily.
Popeye had just finished stopping by for a drink when Liebgott broke the silence. "What the hell are you doin' here, Cassidy, if you're willing to risk gettin' kicked out?"
Evelyn turned to look at him for the first time since the obstacle course. She met his eyes and smiled. "Same as you, Joe. Guess I just care for my friends."
"I ain't your friend."
She snorted. "That's for damn sure." Perconte and Luz chuckled. Even though this behavior between the two of them held its usual bite, somehow the pair kept them entertained rather than annoyed by the constant torment they had for one another.
Once Easy had returned to the camp and each and every one of them overturned completely full canteens, Sobel was actually livid. He usually had the pleasure of sending at least one soldier back to redo the march. As always when he didn't have the answers, he turned to Evelyn.
"Private Cassidy," he yelled. "Did you drink from your canteen?"
"No, sir!"
"Did you complete the march?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Are you going to become a paratrooper of Each company?"
Evelyn flicked her eyes up to meet his, knowing where this was going, but replied in a shout anyway, "YES, SIR!"
A grin twitched on Sobel's lips. "Wrong, Cassidy. You will never be a paratrooper of my company. For lying, you will repeat the march immediately. Fill up your canteen again; you will not drink from it."
She didn't need to see the gapes of the men beside her to know they were there. She had saved several of their asses, and they knew it. "Yes, sir," she growled. And with an about face, she began the march again towards the water pump, alone.
Behind her, she heard Sobel yell at Luz, Perconte, Popeye and a few others for moving to join her. He ordered them to the showers instead.
With her head held high, but with empty water bladders still hidden under her clothes, Evelyn continued to march.
They were waiting for her when she returned about four hours later. The sky had begun to pinken. Sobel didn't even stay up, something which made Evelyn even angrier. Winters was sitting with Luz, Perconte and Guarnere. They stood when they saw her. They tried to help take her gear off, but she shrugged them off.
"I'm fine, guys." She held out her canteen to pour, but Winters waved it away.
He gave her a grin. "If one drop is missing, private, I'd be shocked. I wouldn't cross you, that's for sure." And with another grin, he left them.
Evelyn had to smile. Winters had a way of motivating each and every one of his soldiers individually; he didn't treat her any differently from any of the men, but he knew what type of motivation she needed. He was her favorite CO by far.
She walked into the barracks with her friends and made her way to her bunk. Everyone was asleep, save for Liebgott, who was sitting up across from her and smoking.
He raised an eyebrow. "Still upright, then?"
She gave him a smirk. "And give you the satisfaction of me washing out, Liebgott? Hell no." He smirked back, watching her as she dropped her gear.
The first time Evelyn stripped down in front of the men, she at least had the cushion of the other two women inside the barracks. Nonetheless, the men were shocked, even though she never took off her bra or underwear in front of them. Most of them got over it after several weeks, but some still ogled. To put it bluntly, Evelyn didn't give a shit. She wasn't about to hide under her blankets every time she needed to change.
She had just pulled her disgusting tshirt from her body when she felt eyes on her. Twisting behind her, Liebgott was still up and smoking. He didn't look away. She turned back, digging into her stuff for a clean shirt. "I'd ask if you see something you like, Lieb, but we both know you'll deny it."
"Ain't nothin' to like, Cassidy. If I didn't know you were a broad - and the only evidence so far being that you annoy me to death - I wouldn't be able to tell. Maybe a bit of ass, to be fair, but ain't nothin' upstairs," he drawled, puffing on the cigarette.
Evelyn pulled on her tshirt before climbing into bed. Her muscles screamed at her, but she wasn't about to show Liebgott that she was in pain. "Too bad, Liebgott," she said. She couldn't help the sigh of contentment as her body began to relax into the mattress. "You will never know what you're missing."