Dear bethrodrigues.77, thank you very much for the review! :)
I'm glad that you liked the last chapter. However, I have to say that Jess won't be so careful in this one. You'll find out soon what I mean...
Disclaimer: I do not own Band of Brothers. This is purely of entertainment. It is based on the HBO miniseries and no disrespect is meant towards the real men of Easy Company.
Chapter Fifteen: Hope Is Not Enough
"Okay, Jess, get to that wall over there. Go!"
George didn't have to tell me one more time. Peeling myself off the ground, I dashed out of the blind alley, while rubble cracked under my soles. Meanwhile, I heard gunfire behind me. But, I didn't have time to look back.
I eventually made it to a garden, surrounded by a low stone wall. I plonked myself behind it, almost out of breath. That was when I found out that I wasn't alone.
Shifty Powers stared at me, as if I were the ghost of his great-aunt.
"Holy Christ", he muttered.
The sound of running steps made me turn around. A few moments later, I saw George and Edward appearing behind a corner. They ran across the street and slid to a stop beside me.
"So..." I frowned from the bright sunlight. "Where's the rest of the rescue party?"
To my surprise, Edward just gawked at me. "Rescue?"
"What party?", Shifty asked, "We're here to take over the town!"
All of a sudden, disbelief gave me a hard smack in the head.
"What? You didn't even notice that I was missing?!"
"Well, of course we did!", George exclaimed, "Nixon even organized a..."
He was cut off when gunfire reached my ears again. But, that didn't stop there. The next thing I knew was that rounds zipped right above our heads. All four of us cringed almost in the same time and huddled against the garden wall. With one hand on top of his helmet, George shouted:
"Where the fuck is that coming from?!"
"Uhhh... that way!" Shifty pointed at a building, which was not so far away from our hiding place. "Second floor..." He jerked when a bullet chucked up dust, just a few inches from his boot.
"Can you reach him?", Edward asked.
Instead of an answer, Shifty quickly nodded and adjusted his rifle in his lap. I bit my lip in concern when I heard that short, but familiar click. Since the first time I had heard that sound, it always meant trouble – particularly for me.
"Okay, this is the plan." George's voice suddenly broke the silence between us. "Tip, you take Jess to the Aid station. Shifrt and I'll cover you." After a second or two, he added: "You two better run fast."
I swallowed hard. I had thought that I was safe, after all that had happened. But, I actually got out of one mess and jumped into another one... about ten times worse.
Oh, God... Knocking out a German and escaping a kitchen was one thing. But, running through a town in a middle of a combat... well, that was something else entirely. I might meet my maker before I even see the Aid station.
In the meantime, Edward just nodded. But, I could see that he was almost as worried as I was. I didn't blame him. My heartbeats accelerated as I grasped the hem on his jacket. In the meantime, Shifty raised his rifle, ready to use it. George shuffled his feet, while another bullet chipped the edge of the wall.
"Okay", he almost whispered, "On three. One... two..."
As soon as he gave the sign, both him and Shifty sprung out of cover. A split-second later, Edward stood up, pulling me with him. While shots were being exchanged, I sprinted after him as fast as I could.
If I could describe everything I was with one word, I would choose this – chaos. It was literally everywhere I looked. Men were running down the streets and shouting, bullets tore their way through the air, while dust was chucked up beneath our feet. Somewhere in the distance, I even heard something bursting among the houses.
Jeez, don't think about that now. I forced myself to ignore the things around me and focused on the street in front of me. And I did my best to keep up with Edward's pace. But, that was far from easy. We had to zig-zag all the way down the street, in order not to end up as somebody's target.
As we reached the next street, a silhouette appeared behind a house on our right side. My breath hitched when I saw that it was armed.
"Ed...!"
I gasped when a bullet hit the wall next to my head. That was when Edward turned around. Soon after, I heard a loud bang. And then the German collapsed into dust.
To tell you the truth, I felt something shrivelling inside me. But, I before I managed to say anything, Edward turned left. He aimed and fired a round at a window, taking out a German who was hiding there. Just a moment later, Edward glanced over his shoulder.
"Come on, Jess, this way!"
I didn't have much choice there. Swallowing again – and trying to calm down my heart – I ran after him. At the first crossroads, we turned left again and found ourselves on an old square, riddled with craters.
However, we weren't the only ones there. I saw two Yanks shooting at something in the nearby streets. It didn't last long, when I saw another man, running out of an old house. He was covered in dust, dirt and God knows what else.
"Toye?" I couldn't believe my own eyes. "Toye, is that you?"
His brown eyes bulged the moment he saw me. But, Edward's voice quickly brought him back to this century:
"Joe, what's goin' on?"
"We're clearing out the houses on this side", he replied, "But, there are still Krauts on the north side of town. Lipton..."
Without a single warning, that sound similar to thunder echoed among the houses. Somebody shouted something, but I didn't quite understand what.
That was when hail of bullets appeared out of nowhere.
Before I even knew it, I was running after Edward, with Toye in hot pursuit. I let out a yelp when lead chucked up pieces of concrete around me. With my heart in my throat, I followed Edward to something that used to be a fountain. I hit the ground and crawled behind the ruin, barely missing the rounds.
Holy smoke... I covered my head with my hands as the fire continued. Each shot was so loud, that my ears rang. Not knowing what else to do, I curled on the pavement and prayed not to get hit.
As I was lying, I noticed something with the corner of my eye. Something was moving. I turned my head and saw one of the privates, who was with Toye on the square. He was now dodging bullets and running towards the fountain.
But, one round failed to miss him.
He suddenly dropped on his knees. And then he collapsed on the concrete, just a few steps away from me. What was even worse, he didn't move an inch after that. He remained still, even when the Germans stopped shooting at us.
I forgot to breathe for a moment. I stared at him, with my mouth opened and dread filling me from head to toe. Jesus Christ... he's dead.
I bit my lip harder than ever. To be honest, I didn't know the lad's name. I hadn't even met him before. But, what I saw now was too much.
Oh, shit... All of a sudden, my stomach begun churning. It seemed as if everything I had in it begun running up to my throat. I barely managed to move from Edward, before I bent and threw up on the concrete.
"Jesus...!"
Whoever said that soon placed his hand on my back. I wanted to retch one more time, but all I could do was cough. My stomach was coiling so much now, that I groaned and pressed it with my hands. I tried to take a few deep breaths, but each one of them ended up short and shaky.
"Just take it easy", Edward said in a lower voice. I glanced sideways at him when he added: "You're gonna be okay, Jess."
I don't think so. I would gladly tell that out loud. But, I was too drained to say a single word. Instead, I leaned back and lay my head on the surface of the fountain.
I didn't have a bloody clue what I had done to make to deserve this. But, whatever it was, the lad upstairs must have been really mad at me. While I bit on my lip again, I heard Joe muttering under his breath:
"Damn machine gun..."
"You saw it?", Edward asked quietly.
Toye shook his head. "Nope."
Speaking of the machine gun, I hadn't seen it, either. However, I knew that the bullets came somewhere from the back – possibly from the other side of the square. There were some houses there. But, there were also a lot of windows to check.
Swallowing thickly, I decided to peek behind the fountain, just to get a better look. I moved a bit and leaned sideways.
That was when something zipped past my cheek. It was so close, that I felt its heat against my skin. I jerked back into cover, with my heart thumping like mad. Bloody hell, they're too good...
"Jess, you okay?", Edward asked.
I quickly nodded, although my heart wouldn't agree on it. Leaning on his shoulder, I let out a long, quiet sigh.
Although I had turned my head, I could still see a glimpse of that lad in the corner of my eye. He was lying in the open, as motionless as the houses around him. I closed my eyes for a moment, so that I wouldn't see hin anymore. But, in spite of that, I couldn't get rid of that image inside my head. It kept reminding me that Edward, Joe and I had had more luck that him.
It also reminded me that we would end up just like him, if we didn't do something soon. The ruin we were hiding behind wouldn't last for long under fire.
However, what could possibly be done? The machine gun would aim us as soon as we peered behind the fountain. The three of us were literally trapped.
"What should we do?", I asked quietly.
Joe shrugged. "We can hope."
"Well, hope is not enough now, is it?"
We all winced when more shots rang out. Edward wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer, when small chunks of the fountain whizzed in the air. That was when I noticed something greyish on Edward's hip.
It was his sidearm. My brow furrowed slightly as I watched it. I wasn't an expert in types of weapons, but that thing looked quite familiar.
"Edward, is that a .45?"
He sent me a bit surprised look. "Uh... yeah."
In the next second, I came up with something.
"May I borrow it?", I asked. When his expression turned into bewilderment, I quickly added: "Liebgott taught me how to use it."
"Oh."
After some hesitation, he took the gun out of his holster. And then he handed it to me. As I wrapped my fingers around the handle, the last piece of my plan slid into its place – or maybe I was just slowly going insane. I secretly hope that it wasn't the latter. I felt Edward's gaze on me as I stuck the pistol in my trousers and covered it with my shirt.
"What do you need it for?", Edward asked.
I bit my lip again, before I answered: "For a diversion. Be quick, will you?"
His dark eyes widened in disbelief. "What the...?"
He was in the middle of the sentence, when I pushed myself out of cover.
And then I ran for it.
Joe shouted something. However, his word were soon replaced by a series of ear-shattering bangs. The moment I had gone into sprint, the machine gun begun firing from one of the windows. The rounds went after me, drilling holes in the concrete. I quickly moved to the right and kept running across the square.
Shit, shit, shit... My foot suddenly got caught on something. I tottered, but, thank goodness, I didn't fall. Regaining my balance, I made another swift turn and dashed towards the nearest house.
I was just a step away from it, when I heard a few shots behind me. A second later, the machine gun went quiet. I didn't hear a single shout after that. It didn't last long, when silence surrounded the whole square like an invisible wall.
Barely breathing, I collapsed behind the house. And then I leaned my back against the wall, which was covered in some sort of posters. Struggling to get my breath back, I looked straight down.
I almost expected to see a bullet hole or two. However, I didn't see a single one. The only thing I saw was Eugene's gift. The silvery tags were slightly glimmering as they hung from my neck. I ran my fingers down my shirt, searching for any tears in the olive fabric. After a few seconds, I felt a few of them, but no wounds.
I could hardly believe it. I was all right.
Holy smoke, I'm still alive. With another sigh whooshing between my lips, I turned around. I had just noticed somebody's shadow appearing behind the corner. I wasn't sure if it was Edward or Toye, but I wasn't sure that they would give me a hard time about this.
"Jeez, lads, I thought I was a..."
All of a sudden, I trailed off. The owner of the shadow wasn't any of them.
My eyes soon widened in dread. I could see that he was a German – and that he was aiming at Edward and Toye, who were getting out of their cover.
Bloody hell. My hand quickly went for Edward's gun. I wrenched it below my shirt and aimed at the man in front of me.
I hadn't made a sound. But, for some reason, the German noticed me. He turned around and looked at me in surprise. However, I didn't move my finger from the trigger.
For a moment, I felt a large lump in my throat. I got scared. I didn't want to kill him. The sheer thought of taking somebody's life made my hands shake again. But, that was when I remembered the lad who had died in front of my eyes. I recalled what those two men had done to me in that kitchen. And then, just for a second, my anger overcame my fear.
I pulled the trigger twice.
The gun recoiled in my hand, making me almost drop it. Almost in the same moment, the German crumpled to the ground.
I barely managed to blink, when I heard a familiar shout nearby.
"Jess? Jessica, where the hell are ya?"
"I'm here!"
Shuffling back to my feet, I slowly went behind the corner and into the square. My knees were wobbling a bit as I walked towards Edward and Toye. Actually, every part of me was shuddering a little. I could even feel my heart beating inside my mouth. I hoped that I wouldn't trip and fall now. After a few steps, I raised my head and met with Toye's eyes.
"Are you sure you're not related to Speirs?", he asked.
I felt my brow furrowing. But, I eventually shook my head. "No."
"Good." He glared at me. "Don't do that again, all right?"
The only thing I could do was sigh and shrug. In the meantime, I felt somebody's heavy arm around my shoulders. It didn't take me long to find out that it was Edward's.
"Let's get ya to Doc now", he said.
I nodded. But, before I said a single word, something whizzed in the distance. However, that sound didn't belong to a bullet. It was somehow louder. And longer. To be honest, it sounded like a very, very long whistle. I winced when somebody shouted among the buildings:
"They got us zeroed! Spread it out! SPREAD IT OUT!"
For a second, everything was silent. It seemed as if the earth itself had decided to hold its breath. That was when havoc wreaked. All of a sudden, a wall on the neighbouring house blew up, sending bricks and rubble in all possible directions. A second later, the same happened on the other side of the square. One by one, clouds of dust begun engulfing the streets.
"Go!", Toye shouted, "RUN!"
Biting my lip, I dashed to the nearest street. I had no idea how I managed to reach it without slipping on something and falling flat on my face. However, I did it. As soon as we reached the first houses, I saw Edward making a sudden turn. I went right after him, with my heart almost beating inside my mouth.
Just when I thought that things could get better, they begun falling apart – literally. The windows were being shattered in pieces, while the walls were crumbling. We needed to get out of here and fast.
"Follow me! This way!"
Edward went for the door on our left. It must have been a front of a shop once. But, now, it would be a perfect place to hide. I ran towards him just as he kicked the door open.
That was when the front of the shop blew up.
XXX
The next thing I remembered was pain.
Everything hurt, especially my hand. It was almost burning, making me groan. But, I could barely hear myself. My ears were ringing louder than ever, pushing every other sound away. Wondering what had happened, I somehow cracked one eye open.
Holy mackerel. I was lying in the middle of the street. I saw shards of glass, rubble and chunks of wood everywhere, while dust was falling down on me like snow.
As I tried to move, one sound became slightly louder than the others. It took me a few moments to figure out that somebody was calling my name.
"Jess? Jess!"
I felt somebody's hands grasping me and pulling me out of the debris. And then I saw Toye's worried face above mine. Covered in scratches and dust, he looked more than awful.
"Gotcha, Jess, just hold on."
"Joe, I'm okay", I muttered, while he was picking me up. "I'm..." I yelped when pain went straight through me. I grasped his sleeve and shouted: "Jesus Christ, I'm not okay!"
"You're gonna be all right", he said, with a dead-serious expression. He sat down, so that my head was resting on his thigh. "You're gonna be all right, you hear?"
But, I knew that it wasn't going to be that – I could feel it. I gritted my teeth for a second, trying to ignore the pain. But, it kept returning in waves, making everything worse. My heart was pounding against my ribs so hard, that I thought that it would soon break through them.
"Joe..." I glanced at him, as my eyes widened.
"What?"
"Something's wrong with my leg."
He pursed his lips, before he nodded. "I saw it, Jessie. It ain't that bad."
Not that bad? If my breath wasn't hitching, I would have even sniggered. I didn't dare to look down and check my leg by myself. I was too scared to do it. As I closed my eyes shut, I could have sworn that I heard someone hollering:
"MEDIC!"
To be continued...