A/N:
Thank you missavc34 for another review! I was surprised while reading Malarkey's book that many of the men had started contemplating shooting themselves to get out – and this was all before Bastogne. Malarkey said considering it got worse when they were in Bastogne, and I don't blame them. I'm glad you enjoyed the little "background" on Malark (I read that in the book, too). They do know each other very well, but Marie is still too chicken to tell Malarkey, and vise-versa, but maybe it'll happen soon :p
Wow! Thank you kEs-2717 for the follow, favorite, and the review! It really made my day! :D I'm glad you're looking forward to what happens next!
I'll be gone for a few days, so here's a quick update before I'll have to leave. The story will be shifting back to the TV series soon! Sorry for this kind of being a filler chapter, I needed it to set course for what's coming next. Thank you everyone for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!
"The Island", Holland
October 2nd, 1944
Easy Company was transported to "The Island" by truck in the dead of night. Marie was cramped together with what was left of 2nd platoon as the trucks headed north between Rhine River and Waal River. There was nothing out here except farms that were under sea level, with dikes, and back-road dirt paths. The new objective was to fight the Germans, who were stationed to the east half, across this three-mile stretch of land. Everyone was excited to be off of Hell's Highway and focus on the other upcoming objectives they were going to get. Anything was better than waking up to a constant reminder of their failures of not being able to push back the Germans. Though most knew that nothing had really changed, only that the Germans were growing more and more aggressive – they wanted everything now, and they wouldn't settle for anything less than beating the Americans in Holland for good. The Germans were catching on to their winning streak, so they definitely weren't going down without a fight.
Marie had dozed off, her head leaning against Malarkey's shoulder. Despite the loud, cheery singing that was coming from the other trucks, Marie found herself nodding off as keeping her eyelids open grew almost impossible. The truck hit a bump in the road, sending the soldiers up in the air, then back down on the benches. Marie was jolted awake from the unsettling jerk.
"Ow…" More moaned.
"Damn, do I miss concrete roads." Malarkey reminisced.
Marie sleepily wiped the corner of her mouth. "I was drooling." She muttered aloud, still half-asleep.
"Sexy." Guarnere teased.
Marie stuck her tongue out at him.
"Have a good sleep?" Malarkey asked her with mild amusement.
"It was really light, I didn't dream anything. I think I was only in the 2nd stage of NREM sleep." Marie yawned, rambling on to herself.
"The what of what?" Guarnere questioned, giving her a funny look.
Marie sighed, not wanting to explain. There she goes again, off on on one of her little, random tangents when she didn't mean to. She leaned her head back against the frame of the truck and listened to the singing coming from the other platoon from the truck behind them. They were singing that paratrooper song that had helped them endure Currahee countless times. She started singing along softly to herself.
"We fall upon the risers, we fall upon the grass
We never land on our feet, we always hit our ass
Heidy, deidy, Christ Almighty, who the hell are we?
Zim zam, Goddamn, we're the Airborne Infantry!"
Marie loved singing. Her voice was generic without much range, but singing always made her feel better. There was something about singing with others that brought people together. In desperate times back when her mother used to abuse her, sometimes her only escape was singing. But her favorite voice to listen to was Malarkey's. He was a very talented singer; his years in choir really showed. Though she didn't like admitting it do herself, she found his voice dreamy and captivating.
"Hey, Malark?" She piped up while the thought was still in her head.
"Hmm?"
"Can you sing something to me?" She asked with a sudden surge of boldness. Some of the guys snickered around them. Malarkey cocked an eyebrow at her, silently asking for an explanation. She sighed, wishing that he didn't need her to spell it out for him. "I just love your voice and wanted to do something to pass the time." Marie mumbled, her eyes downcast to the truck floor. He smiled at her, almost looking bashful from her compliment. There was just something soothing about his vocal quality that drew her in. They stared at each other for a minute while he contemplated whether he should or not.
"This is your chance to woo her with a love song." Guarnere chortled, interrupting the two dazed soldiers.
Marie blushed crimson while Malarkey shot him a disapproving look.
"Oh, lighten up, we wouldn't mind the entertainment neither." Guarnere retorted.
"I dunno…" Malarkey pondered, scratching the back of his head.
"C'mon!" Toye pressed.
Marie pouted in feigned exaggeration, making Malarkey roll his eyes. Everyone was daring him to sing because they found it funny, except Marie.
"Oh, all right." He caved. "On two conditions, we're keeping the songs paratrooper related for the morale of the company." He shot Guarnere another look as if to tell him: NO love songs. "And if everyone joins in with me. We'll sing Blood on the Risers." Malarkey decided. Marie grinned, happy that he was going to sing after all.
"Can't you pick something else?" More moaned. "It ain't the happiest song in the world."
"I'm not doing this for you, Alton." Malarkey replied, cocking his head in Marie's direction.
"I don't mind it. I actually like that song." Marie added, smiling sheepishly.
"Our little sweetheart is becoming a real soldier." Guarnere sniffed while pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.
Malarkey counted to three then he started, the others waiting for their part following the cues and rhythm from Malarkey's lead. They sang it on the same scale as the old war anthem: Battle Hymn of the Republic.
"He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright
He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar
You ain't gonna jump no more-"
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
'Is everybody happy?' Cried the sergeant looking up
Our hero feebly answered, 'yes', and then they stood him up
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked
And he ain't gonna jump no more
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop
The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs
And he ain't gonna jump no more
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground
And he ain't gonna jump no more
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
The days he lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind
He thought about the girl back home, the one he left behind
He thought about the medicos and wondered what they'd find
And he ain't gonna jump no more
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled
For it had been a week or more since last a'chute had failed
And he ain't jump not more
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
He hit the ground, the sound was' splat', his blood went spurting high
His comrades they were heard to say, 'a helluva way to die'
He lay there rolling 'round in the welter of his gore
And he ain't gonna jump no more
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more
There was blood upon the riser, there were brains upon the 'chute
Intestines were a-dangling from his paratrooper suit
He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots
And he ain't gonna jump no more!"
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more"
As the song concluded, everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing. The other trucks also joined in the laughter and some cheers. It turned out they were listening to them sing the entire time. Marie could heard someone faintly yell "encore" from the other truck.
"I hate that damn song." More remarked, but he couldn't help but laugh along with the rest of his platoon.
"Thank you." Marie said to Malarkey.
"Anytime." He replied, smiling at her. He stroked her back affectionately until he pulled his hand away so he could fall asleep. His touch gave her butterflies, same with his singing. She found that she couldn't stop smiling the whole rest of the way.
Easy had set up camp on the intersection of a dike right next to a railroad that ran between Driel and Arnhem. The makeshift quarters, which included some actual buildings, were much bigger than Marie expected it to be. The flanks were set up with a 1500 gap on one side, and 1000 on the other side. Everyone hopped off the truck then made their way to wherever they were staying. Marie strode toward her quarters, humming Blood on the Risers the whole way there. Dark and heavy rainclouds were gathering above them in the night sky. Marie could feel the damp chill forming, knowing that it was going to storm again soon. She broke off into a brisk jog to avoid getting stuck out in the storm, squinting her eyes as she tried to locate her quarters in the dark. She eventually spotted the tent she'd be staying in and opened it up to see Emilia unpacking.
"You're staying here, too?" Marie asked, beaming.
"Yeah, it'll be just like old times." Emilia replied, looking equally thrilled.
"So we hurried here just to get set up and rest?"
"It's the Army, you know the motto, 'hurry up and wait.'" Emilia chuckled.
"What do you think of the large gaps in between the stations?" Marie questioned, putting her supplies down. Marie was hoping for a bunk to sleep in, but Easy wasn't in the clear for luxury, yet. But the blankets under a tent were better than sleeping outside in foxholes like they'd been doing the past few weeks.
"Two contact night patrols have to prowl the site each night, joining the other units. It's the only way to make up for the lack of troops. Lew told me that the Germans are controlling that railroad, so we're going to have to stay out of view in the daytime." Emilia informed her, yawning and stretching from fatigue.
"So we'll be doing all the moving around at night?"
Emilia nodded. "I feel sorry for whoever was selected for patrol tonight. They don't get to catch up on sleep." She lay down, getting herself comfortable. "This is a five day mission, then maybe we'll finally get some relief."
Marie sighed, taking off her helmet and laying on her side. "Or we might just have to move out again…"
Emilia nodded, her eyes closed. Rain started to fall outside, hitting their tent. The temperature was already dropping, forcing Marie to curl up to get warm. Emilia slowly opened her eyes, staring up at the top of the giant tent. The sound of the rain hitting the surface was loud and disruptive.
"Oh, Winters is getting promoted to executive officer of the 2nd Battalion." Emilia added with a yawn.
"What?" Marie exclaimed, propping herself up on her elbow.
"Yeah… it's not happening yet, but soon. That's what I heard. No more combat duty for Dick."
Marie couldn't imagine anyone else being Easy's CO, she didn't want anyone else to be their CO. Sobel had been a nightmare, and Meehan had died before he was able to really lead them. Marie didn't want some hoity-toity lieutenant to come in and unravel everything.
"How do you even hear about these things, Em?"
Emilia shrugged. "I work with CP, I hear things before some of the officers even. Most of it is through the grapevine, but the intel I usually gather is accurate. We'll be meeting the new CO in a few days, most likely after this "five day" mission." Emilia seemed completely unfazed at the fact that Winters was going to be replaced. Marie couldn't imagine her not being worried, considering the disasters that happened in the past. The two women lay in silence for a few moments, the raindrops against the tent deafening out any other sounds from the outside. Marie's jovial spirits had disappeared with the news of Winters being replaced.
"Do you know the new CO's name by any chance?"
"Fred Heyliger, I think? I really shouldn't be telling you this."
"Your secret is safe with me."
Emilia smiled. "Oh, there is one thing that I can tell you. Don't worry, it's better news. I got word from Sink that we've inspired other women back in the States to join with the war effort on the front. Apparently more women are joining infantry, and some have started training to be paratroopers. Turns out the publicity about us back home has made us into regular poster children."
Marie's expression remained neutral with the news. Emilia frowned at her friend, puzzled why she didn't seem happier.
"What's up? I thought that would be good news to you."
"I don't know… I just don't want women getting all star-crossed patriotic when they see our pictures, then leave their families to die…" Marie muttered.
Emilia gave her a skeptical look. "Oh, please, Marie. We joined in the front and fought to prove that we belong here. Don't get all depressed on me now. You don't regret joining do you?"
"Of course not. I'm glad, it's just we've lost so many people, Em. And for what? I don't feel like we've done much since D-Day. And with what happened to Jane, Diana and Florence… I don't want any more women going through that." Marie concluded. She couldn't picture herself being plastered on the papers back home as propaganda.
"We're doing more than you think, Hun. Get some sleep, you're getting too negative. Cheer up, everything will be fine."
"I'm sorry-"
"Don't start, it's fine. Get some sleep before you get too mawkish." Emilia turned over, her back facing Marie.
Blood Upon the Risers by Unknown
Sorry that the song took up most of the chapter! (I just really like the song and wanted to type it out)