A/N:

Thank you missavc34 for another review! Yeah, preach it girl! I agree with you 100%! I felt annoyed, too, while I was writing that scene with Marie, but I can see a lot of the soldiers continuing to treat her with kid gloves, even if she's been fighting as long as they have. I'm glad you think I'm keeping things realistic; I'm trying to do so the best I can and I'm glad it's paying off :)

Thank you ImaBiteChu for the story follow!

Hey, I hope all the American readers had a good Independence Day weekend! (And I hope all the non-American readers had a great weekend, too) :) As I said in the last chapter, this chapter focuses on the events in Malarkey's book (some dialogue is from his book). I used Google translate and a translator app that I have for the Dutch translations, so I'm sorry if they are not accurate! Thank you all so much for reading!

"Hell's Highway", Holland

September 21 – October 1st 1944

The trip to Veghel was surprisingly more uplifting. With Bull back, everyone's morale had risen back to how it was before Operation Market Garden. Marie strode beside Malarkey, Muck, and Emilia, with a little bounce in her step. It had been a long time since the four of them had been together and just talked. Marie had actually forgotten that they were all headed right into German invested territory. As they chatted like old times, Emilia seemed preoccupied with something, like she was holding back on a topic that she eagerly wanted to discuss.

Marie pulled her aside, hoping that Emilia would feel more comfortable talking to just the two of them.

"What's on your mind?" Marie asked her friend.

"Huh?" Emilia tried to sound confused, but was unconvincing. She bit her lip, knowing Marie knew that something was on her mind. "The officers want to promote me…"

"Really?"

"Yeah… they want me to be promoted to 2nd lieutenant."

"That's fantastic news!" Marie congratulated.

"But I don't think it can be possible. I'm a Technician Rank – 1st Sergeant and Master Sergeant ranks are still ahead of me. I don't think I can skip two ranks, I've never heard of that happening before. Especially with me being a woman, the request is sure to be denied." Emilia sighed.

"You are practically an officer already. You're always in CP helping Winters, Nix, and Welsh. You're our main interpreter, not to mention you're helping map out all the areas! Why would they turn you away?" Marie felt Em was just being coy.

"The same reason Winters didn't let you go on that rescue patrol." Emilia replied flatly.

Marie didn't respond as she analyzed her words, knowing that she was right.

"It doesn't seem right. If I'm made an officer, I'd be completely taken off the line most likely… I'm already rarely out there fighting." Emilia added.

"So?"

"It's not fair. You're out there risking your life everyday, and I'm stuck inside the CP tent." Emilia said, shaking her head.

"Your talents are needed elsewhere is all. We would be so lost without you, Em, I hope you realize that." Marie soothed, patting her friend on the back.

"Hey! What are you girls talking about?" Muck called to them, waving them back into the group.

"Nothing. Just girl stuff." Emilia dismissed, joining Malarkey and Muck again. Marie didn't feel that she got through to Emilia, but she didn't look like she wanted to discuss it any further. Marie had no idea what had gotten into her friend, but she decided not to push it. The four of them walked in silence for a minute, until Emilia brought up something she heard from battalion.

"I'll tell you guys one thing, the Germans have Holland in the palm of their hands right now, and they're not ready to give it back."

Emilia was right. As Easy Company headed north toward Nijmegen and Veghel, the Germans had tried to split up their forces down the highway. The same strategy had been attempted in Nuenen, but hadn't succeeded. Before the chaos, Easy had piled onto trucks and was heading down Hell's Highway without any problems. A group of British tanks needed Easy's help since they were heading north too, so Easy was headed in their direction to lend a hand. Emilia had passed on news from CP about the Dutch underground reporting that there was a panzer attack headed northwest for Uden. Uden was close to Veghel, just north on the same path they'd been going down since the start. As Easy was headed to Uden, a sudden panzer attack started attacking Easy, splitting up the company in two.

Marie dove for cover, joined by Malarkey and Guarnere. There were only eight of them that were stuck in Uden; everyone else was separated from the rest of the company. Winters, Muck, and Toye were still trapped in Veghel; where everyone else was, Marie didn't have a clue. That was about three miles of separation between the mixed units. Marie thought that they were all reliving Brécourt manor again for sure. No one was together or where they were supposed to be. The panzers didn't let up on blasting artillery at the small unit. Everyone struggled to keep their heads down, but staying in one place with a hoard of panzers wouldn't be possible.

The power in the sound alone made Marie fall over. Guarnere joined her; both on their knees, feeling the pounding vibrate through their bodies. The panzers were circling Uden and blasting the hell out of it from all directions. Churches, windmills, and any other building in sight were being destroyed before them. Bullets joined in with the fire, making any sort of retaliation impossible.

"This is nuts!" Malarkey screamed through the deafening artillery of the German tanks. Marie nodded, attempting to pull her helmet down lower so it would cover her ears. Marie thought that she'd definitely go deaf after this fight; the booming sound of the tanks firing was just too much on the eardrums.

"We need to find Fox Company!" Guarnere shouted.

"What? Why?" Marie questioned, ducking every once in a while to keep her head clear.

"The commander of F Company can help us. We have a dilemma here." Guarnere explained. He crawled past them on all fours. "C'mon!" The small unit followed closely behind him. Luckily Fox Company wasn't too far ahead, but he wasn't much help to them. The officer told them to "take cover", and "he'd let them know if they could be of use." Some help he was. Guarnere had no choice but to lead his unit into cover. They ended up in the cellar of a Dutch family's house. Other Dutch families and soldiers were huddled inside, shaking and crying hysterically as the hammering went on outside.

Marie sat on the ground of the cellar beside an old liquor shelf, hugging her knees to her chest. This was the worst fighting they'd seen in Holland yet, and the battle wasn't even over. The sounds of mortar rounds, bullets, and grenades didn't let up outside. Sobbing men, women, and children only added to the horrendousness of what was happening in this once quiet town. The soldiers remained as stoic as they could, but Marie could see their knees shaking like they were going to piss themselves.

"Laat me leven. Laat me leven. Laat me leven." An aging Dutch woman muttered from beside Marie. She watched as the woman held onto a cross tightly, eyes closed, trembling as the compulsively repeated the words again and again. Marie reached for her own cross necklace, and started to utter a prayer as well.

Malarkey sat beside her, his body quaking with fear and adrenaline. He gently touched her shoulder, making Marie jump, startled by his touch. Malarkey opened is mouth to say something, but his words caught. What was he going to ask her? If she was okay? No one was 'okay' right now. Marie felt tears well in her eyes. She fought them back, not wanting to show weakness in front of the civilians or other soldiers, but she couldn't hold them back. She bit back a sob and let the tears rush down her face. Malarkey watched her breakdown, then pulled her into a tight hug, which she returned with desperate fervor. She clung to him for dear life as the attack went on outside. She buried herself in his chest, her tears soaking through his BDU's. Her heart raced in her chest at a dangerous rate; she could feel Malarkey's pumping just as fast within his body. The only thought in her head was death. Fear constricted her breathing as her body panted and trembled unsteadily.

"We gaan om te sterven!" A Dutch man yelled at the top of his lungs. Whatever he said made the children cry even harder. His cries made Marie pull away from Malarkey. She wanted him to comfort her with his words, but the truth was that everything seemed hopeless. Marie had never felt so scared in her life, she was actually terrified at how scared she was.

"I don't want to die here, Don." She stuttered in between her sobs. Malarkey cupped her face, trying to wipe away the tears on her cheek with his thumb.

"Everything will be fine, Marie. Remember? Everything always ends up fine." He tried to reassure her, but his face betrayed his words. She could see in his eyes that he thought they were going to die, too. Him being petrified made her realize that this could be their final moments together, trapped in a cellar in a foreign country, surrounded by strangers.

"This is the end, isn't it? It's only a matter of time before they find us. The rest of the company is probably all wiped out…" Marie rasped. "If the Germans catch us, they're going to-" Marie choked, spittle dripping from her mouth from sobbing.

"What? They'll make us learn our 'Heil Hitlers?'" Malarkey tried to joke, but his voice came out shaky.

"They'll execute us, or worse." Marie wiped her face with her sleeve. She didn't care that it was now covered with snot and tears; she just wanted the firing to stop. Malarkey drew her close, rocking her back and forth, hoping to calm her. If this was going to be their last time alive, Marie thought she should tell him how she feels. As cliché and nauseatingly romantic as it sounded, it seemed like the right thing to do. She didn't want to die without Malarkey knowing how much she cared for him, even if he didn't return her feelings. But she couldn't bring herself to tell him. The fear of dying was still gripping her throat and preventing her from saying anything rational or optimistic. Marie remained still in his arms, not speaking a word as the chaos swirled around them.

"American! American!" An old Dutch man beckoned to the two of them. "Go, help!" He ordered in broken English. He pointed at the cellar door. He wanted to them to be out there defending Uden. "Je moet helpen!"

"Leave them alone. We're not going back out there." Guarnere replied sternly to the man, suddenly appearing at his side. He signaled him away from Marie and Malarkey. The old man immediately clammed up, then left the American soldiers in peace. Guarnere squatted in front of the two of them, eyeing Marie and working his jaw in frustration. Guarnere hated being cooped up in one place, especially when there was a good chance that the men were being slaughtered outside. She was sure that he was disappointed in her because of her reaction.

"Hey." Guarnere barked, clapping Marie on the cheek a few times to get her attention. He didn't do it hard, just enough that she'd direct her attention toward him.

"Bill!" Malarkey snapped, pushing his hand away. He was still holding onto her as Guarnere crouched before them.

"Shut it, Malark. I gotta talk to her." Guarnere answered in a low voice. His eyes darted back to Marie's crying face. "You need to quit yer cryin', and pull yourself together. What if one of the boys needs a medic? Dammit, you're an American soldier in Easy Company! Yer braver than this!"

Marie hastily wiped her eyes, suddenly feeling shameful of all her crying and blubbering. "You're right, I'm sorry, Bill."

Guarnere nodded curtly. "It ain't that bad. Just like the 4th of July out there." He gestured toward the cellar door. On the outside explosions from tank artillery, bullet shells, and mortar rounds were still pounding against everything in the small village. There was so sign of the Germans slowing down their assault. Guarnere briskly shoved a jar of fruit into Marie's hands. Whether this was his form of an apology or reward, Marie wasn't sure. He stood up and went to check on the other soldiers.

Malarkey sighed, scratching his head as he eyed their squad leader, pacing around the cellar. Malarkey looked back at Marie, whom had finally stopped crying. Her eyes were still red-rimmed and puffy, but the tears had stopped flowing for the most part. People around them were still wailing in misery, but the soldiers had seemed to calm down. The longer time stretched on, the safer everyone had started to feel. Marie twisted open the jar of fruit, and started to slowly eat from it.

"We're in for a long day." Malarkey sighed, tiredly covering his face with his hands.

Hours went by, it was now afternoon in Uden. The attack hadn't let up the entire time as everyone in the cellar huddled together and waited. Mostly everyone was quiet now, either drifting off to sleep or their voices were gone from all the screaming and crying. Marie took the time minute by minute, wondering if they were going to get out of this situation alive. There was still a possibility that the Germans would find them; there was also the possibility that the Germans had killed the rest of Easy Company. Not knowing made Marie feel queasy, that along with the tart sweetness of the fruit that she had eaten before.

Marie hadn't measured how much time had gone by, but she knew it had been a few hours. All the emotions had exhausted her, especially since they were all cramped into one room for most of the day. Marie could feel the mental fatigue from the Dutch citizens, and knew that they wouldn't be able to handle much more of this. Hell, even the soldiers of Easy Company wouldn't be able to handle much more of this.

"Hey, you hear that?" Malarkey asked.

Marie listened in. It wasn't really what she heard, more of the lack of what she was straining to hear. The firing had stopped.

Guarnere went over to Malarkey and Marie. "Come with me, Malark and Hun, we're going to do some sightseeing."

The two of them obediently stood up and followed Guarnere up the cellar steps. The Dutch crowd and a few of the soldiers were looking at them with stunned expressions. Everyone was too afraid to go outside, but sitting here for any longer was just as dangerous. The three of them put their helmets on as they approached the door. Guarnere took the handle of the door, then slowly swung it open. They waited a moment before creeping outside. They quickly took cover behind a bush, watching and waiting.

"You don't have to be Einstein to know we are surrounded." Malarkey muttered, mostly to himself. He was right, the Germans were still circled around Uden, even if they weren't firing anymore, they were still present. A round went off in the distance, making the three of them jump. For a horrifying few seconds they thought the heavy fire was going to start all over again.

"We gotta keep moving up." Guarnere whispered to them. Marie and Malarkey nodded, then followed Guarnere and took cover whenever he did. A mortar round went off about a block away, causing them all to duck and remain idle a little longer. The extra caution would save them in the long run, but Marie felt anxious to keep moving.

The three Easy Company soldiers rounded a corner, then stopped dead in their tracks. Before them in the middle of the street, a group of British tanks and their crew were parked. They were all drinking four-o'-clock tea. Drinking tea in the middle of a heavily German occupied village! Marie was completely flabbergasted by the sight. While they were hiding out, the British were drinking tea in the middle of the danger zone. She was sure the Americans looked like complete idiots to them at this moment.

Eventually some British planes came and provided air support. The Beaufort tank busters dove down and targeted the panzers on the perimeter. After the British tanks were done with their tea, they aided with pushing the Germans back, along with some of the 506th infantry. Marie was grateful to be alive, and was starting to feel better that things were finally looking up, but she still had the dreadful feeling that the rest of Easy Company hadn't survived. To everyone's relief, Winters had reunited with them, and found out that he'd been hiding from the German's reign of artillery, too. The rest of Easy Company had made it out without any bad injuries so far, but the emotional and psychological toll had been brutal.

Meeting up with the platoons was even emotional than any other time they all came together. Each platoon thought the other was dead, so the reunion was filled with a lot of embraces and warm greetings. Marie hugged Emilia and Muck like she'd never hugged them before. She was so afraid that she'd lost them, but they all had dodged death that day. Even though the experience was horrific, Easy had grown even closer after the attacks on Uden and Veghel.

A few days had passed when the Germans decided to strike at Veghel again. They attacked down the road, but Easy was fully intact this time. Panzers started approaching them from the east, taking them all off guard. The British tanks were there to assist, but the outcome didn't look too good. Once again, Marie had been split up from her platoon. She dove behind a pine thicket as the artillery reigned down on them. She was at least thankful that all of Easy Company was together this time, and not divided up between two villages, but most of the platoons were all over the place.

"Jesus Christ, am I tired of panzers!" Hoobler groaned from beside Marie. Babe was in cover next to him, chuckling darkly at Hoobler's remark. Web and Liebgott slid in next to them, doing their best to cover themselves with the trunks of the pine trees.

"How the hell are we supposed to fend off tanks with our rifles?" Liebgott shouted over the fire.

"We got the British to help!" Babe interjected, pointing at the tanks dueling in the middle of the road.

"But for how long?" Marie questioned. Without air support, things looked bleak. Movement suddenly was seen coming from the west, drawing everyone's attention away from the panzers. Marie's heart leapt to her throat, fearing that it was more panzers coming in. The turret and barrel of a Tiger tank came into view, but most of it was still hidden from the rest. Marie's stomach dropped, knowing this meant trouble.

"They have an 88 barrel now!" Hoobler exclaimed.

Easy had five Sherman tanks that were being run by the British. Marie saw someone run and inform the British tank commander about the Tiger tank. The tank could be seen from his position. They watched as the commander's tank spun around and pointed its 75 mm canon right at the Tiger tank's turret. One of the Sherman tanks moved up to assist the commander. They waited and waited, but the commander never fired at the Tiger. His tank would've been able to take it out, but instead he just waited there.

"Not this again." Marie moaned, thinking about what happened with the British tank driver in Nuenen.

The five Sherman tanks started to line up and head south. 2nd platoon started to space themselves in between the tanks as the tanks aimed for edge of the trees.

"What the hell is going on?" Liebgott muttered under his breath, irritation rang clear in his tone.

"Hun, ain't you supposed to be down there with them?" Babe asked, cocking his head at 2nd platoon.

"I got separated from them when the panzers started firing." Marie explained. She started to stand up, but Web pulled her back down by her shoulder.

"It's too dangerous, and too late to join them." Web told her, shaking his head. Before Marie could protest, the Tiger tank started firing at the Sherman tanks. The first Sherman tank was destroyed instantly, sending a big chunk of metal flying at Malarkey. It struck him in the side of the leg.

"Malarkey!" Marie yelled. She saw that he was still standing, and it didn't look like the piece had penetrated his skin. It tore his leg pocket, but she didn't see any blood to Marie's relief. Marie watched in horror as the Tiger picked off each Sherman tank with ease and accuracy. The tanks caught on fire, the men still alive and trapped inside. Marie stood up and bolted toward 2nd platoon, knowing it was the right thing to do. She ignored the shouts of protests from the others and went to help her platoon. As she neared the tanks, she could hear the men on the inside of the tanks screaming bloody murder.

"Marie, give me a hand!" Malarkey signaled her over. Toye and Marie boosted Malarkey to the turret of the burning tank so he could climb on it. He was able to get some of the guys out, but they were in a panicked frenzy as Malarkey pulled them out of the flame engulfed tanks. Most were on fire and were already showing signs of severe burn injuries. Marie whipped a blanket out of her pack, and doused out the flames hastily. Malarkey and Toye threw sand on them to help put the fires out with Marie. She pulled the British soldiers aside, trying her best to calm them down. She knew that they were in unbearable pain and traumatized from being set on fire. There was a good chance that most of them wouldn't recover from their burns, but she knew she had to try her best to heal them. Marie glanced around, and spotted Spina near the tree line.

"Ralph!" She shouted, getting his attention. He quickly sprinted to her, knowing instantly that she needed a hand.

Marie took her sulfadiazine ointment out of her pack, along with the wooden applicator and some gauze. She also pulled out the copper sulfate solution and some Foille ointment. She spoke softly to the men as she applied the ointments and solutions, spreading them thickly on their skin with the wooden applicator. She trained herself not to wrinkle her nose at the smell of burning flesh, knowing it would just make the poor British soldiers feel worse. She finished up by loosely tying the gauze onto the burned areas, keeping the ointment in place. Marie used all her solutions and ointments, along with Spina. She moved on to the Foille, which was mostly the same thing, although it could also be used to treat frostbite too. She applied it to the gauze dressing, then wrapped the soldiers up with it.

"Be sure to tell your medic, or nurse, or whomever you're being shipped to after this that these dressings must be changed every forty-eight hours. You could go for seventy-two, but that's pushing it." Marie informed the soldier she was currently patching up.

His weepy eyes acknowledged her words, but he seemed too preoccupied with covering his nose. "What the bloody hell is in that stuff?" He asked, pointing at the tube of Foille. Marie would've laughed at the irony that the soldier was disturbed by how the ointment smelled and not his own skin, but she kept a straight-face and professionally answered his question. It was good to keep soldiers and patients talking and thinking about something other than their wounds.

"Um, benzocaine, calcium soap, calcium iodide, potassium iodide, carbolic acid, oxyquinoline base, vegetable oil, calcium thiosulfate. It's the sulfate that smells bad." Marie answered softly, listing the ingredients in her head.

"Heads up, Hun. The British tank commander got his hands blown off." Spina said to her, cocking his head in his direction. Marie grimaced at the sight, feeling sorry for all of them. Their future definitely didn't look good.

After patching them all up the best they could, the medics went to join the company. They were walking down the road out in the open. Everyone was extra jumpy, but there was some lieutenant, whom Marie couldn't remember his name that lost it. Machine gun fire hit the sandy path of the road, kicking it up all over. The lieutenant dove toward the ground, burying his head in the sand like an ostrich.

"You're supposed to be leadin' the damn platoon!" Guarnere scolded, frustrated with the lieutenant's nerves. After the lieutenant's episode, Winters got him out of there. Everyone took cover from the machine gun fire, while Marie watched Malarkey set up his mortar gear and launch a few rounds at the Germans in position. The machine gun and its shooters had been taken out.

"You got it! Great shot!" Winters complimented. The Tiger tank that took out their Sherman tanks had left. The tank could've stayed there and finish them all off, but instead had pulled away. Marie would later find out the reason from Malarkey. He told her "a Dutch engineer crowned a road for drainage." Marie wished that she could go thank that engineer that had unconsciously saved all their lives. In the meantime, Marie sat in cover, tensely rubbing the burn medicine in between her fingers. She didn't even realize she was doing it, but her nerves watching the Tiger tank move made her lose focus on everything else.

Marie didn't relax until the tank was completely gone. She wished Operation Market Garden was over.