...
It was like living in another world, where the wrong people were left in charge, and they turned everything bad. It was dystopian and frightening. And survival wasn't always achievable. They'd taken away freedom and life. They acted as God and decided when someone should die. Things were hard to come by and basic human needs weren't met – water, food, clothing, sleep, hygiene, and medical care. Having had freedom and a choice before, they no longer had that. Their lives were in the enemies' hands. Nora's life was in their hands. Inside the large factory, she worked hard to stay alive. The stress Nora felt day to day was overbearing and had some serious side effects on her health. The enemy watched their workers, their eyes constantly watching. With guns, whips, and other measures of punishment, it was second nature for the workers to feel constant fear. It's what haunted Nora's mind while she slept. Those moments of the utmost terror and trauma raced through her head like a horror movie each night. During the waking hours, it almost didn't feel real for Nora because how could that have been her life…
Staring up at the dark ceiling, Nora wanted to scream and cry out for her mother. It was the end of another nightmare and the start of her nighttime problem. Nora remembered as a small child, when her mother would clean Nora up, hold her, and soothe her back to sleep. Nora missed her mother, every day she missed her. Life hadn't been easy for either of them, but they always had each other. Nora could count on her mother's love and comfort, always. Her mother had a kind heart, she was an angel. Nora felt tears reach her eyes. When she blinked, a few rolled down her cheeks. Nora felt gratitude toward Easy Company and Colonel Sink, they offered her a spot in the Regiment and gave her a rank to keep her safe. But she missed her mother…
Wiping her eyes, Nora sat up and pulled the blanket off her body. Swinging her legs around, Nora sat on the edge of her bed and thought about what she was going to do. She had no other clothes to change into, the best Nora could do was change her sheet and blanket. Running her hands down her face, Nora rose to her feet and began quietly stripping her bed…
However, she soon heard quiet footsteps approaching. Dropping her bedding, Nora turned around and saw a tall figure walking toward her. Through the darkness, Nora could just make out Winters's light hair. Like a deer caught in the headlights, the girl froze. When Winters was standing in front of Nora, it didn't take him very long to figure out what had happened. And he didn't look angry or disgusted, he smiled softly at Nora. Winters brought a sense of safety and comfort. He wasn't going to yell at Nora for something she couldn't control. He only wanted to help. And at his soft smile, Nora unfroze, and her shoulders dropped.
"God, sir…". She whispered. "I'm so sorry, sir".
Winters placed his hand atop Nora's shoulder. "Don't be sorry, Nora". His voice was gentle and warm. "It's going to be okay".
His reassuring words caused tears to refill Nora's eyes. Those were words she had been needing to hear for quite a while now; 'it's going to be okay'. Winters gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Nora swallowed the lump lodged in her throat and stared up at the Lieutenant. She felt saved, she felt safe – safe wasn't a feeling Nora was used to. Her mother made Nora feel safe, even after the most horrible things had happened…her mother was always there to pick up the pieces and put her daughter back together again. And Nora was lucky, because it wasn't just her mother who offered her comfort and safety…
"Let's get you cleaned up". Winters said, "Then how about something warm to drink?"
Nora drew out a shaky breath and gave Winters a faint nod. God, he truly was a great man. And with his hand still on Nora's shoulder, Winters led them out of their room. He located dry clothes for Nora to wear while she dumped her wet sheet and blanket into a basket to get washed. Once the bed was made, the pair headed down into the kitchen, where Winters warmed up some milk in a pot on the stove. Nora sat on a chair at a small, circular table and watched Winters mix honey into the milk.
"Perks of the rank". Winters placed two mugs of warm milk on the table. "We get warm milk whenever we want".
Nora's lips twitched faintly at his comment. Her hands cupped the mug, where they soon grew warm because of the hot milk inside. "Thank you, sir".
"Anytime, Nora". Winters told her softly. He cast her a small frown. The girl still looked a little pale and shaken up, Winters hoped the warm milk would calm her down. He did feel concern over Nora's problem at night. Winters needed her to be mentally well for combat. But he also just wanted Nora to be okay, for her own sake. Colonel Sink only knew so much about Nora, meaning Winters knew next to nothing about the girl. They were aware she was a part for some resistance movement, and she had done a lot of good, but other than that, Nora was a mystery. Winters didn't want to push the girl for answers, he wanted Nora to tell him when she felt ready to do so.
Nora took a small sip of her warm milk. Some colour had returned to her cheeks. She set the mug down and sat in silence for a few moments. Raising her head, Nora stared at Winters and asked him, "Sir, do you know a General Gubbins, sir?"
"No, I don't". Winters replied. "Who is he?"
"He's the commander of the SOE, sir". Nora explained. "Special Operations Executive. It was formed in Britain, sir". She said, "But its members come from all over. It's where I did my airborne training, sir".
A tiny smile settled on Winters's lips. He was impressed. "Interesting. I didn't know that about you, Nora".
She said, "The SOE are there to help form resistance movements against the Nazis in occupied Europe, sir". Nora told him, "I met members of the SOE in Poland, it's how I came about joining them, sir".
"What were they like?" Winters asked before taking a sip from his drink.
"They didn't trust me at first". Nora said, "I had to sit inside a room for several days until they gathered enough details about me, sir". She cast the mug a tiny smile. "I couldn't speak Polish very well; we didn't have a lot of meaningful conversations".
Winters huffed out a faint laugh and asked, "And what happened once you earned their trust?"
"I came into contact with another agent from Britain, sir". Nora said, "And they decided to send me to Britain. Colonel Gubbins said I couldn't go back to Europe with the SOE, sir, because they travel in small numbers. In a smaller group, I'd stand out more, sir. He wanted me to blend in with the crowd".
"It makes sense". Winters said, "And we're glad you're here to help us, Nora".
"Yes, sir…I'm glad to be here too, sir". Nora said through a small smile.
"Can I ask another question, Nora?"
Nora gave him a nod and picked up her mug to take another sip of warm milk…
Winters worded himself carefully. "You said you haven't killed a Nazi yet…I was just wondering if you've ever fired a weapon?"
After swallowing the warm milk, Nora gave him an honest reply. "I have, sir. The SOE trained me".
"I see…". Winters gave her a small smile. "Well, maybe Lieutenant Nixon's right. Maybe you should be with a rifle squad".
Nora admitted, "I'm not very brave, sir".
He cast her a small frown at the confession. "None of us were born soldiers, Nora".
She said, "It was running away that saved me, sir". Nora drew out a quiet sigh and sent Winters an apologetic smile. "I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to fight, sir".
There was a pause of silence, while Winters put words together. "I see a very resilient girl, when I look at you, Nora". He said, "Do you know what resilient means?"
She said, "It has something to do with being brave…".
Winters told her, "It means you can withstand difficult situations. Yes, it is being brave, but you don't need to fire a weapon, to be resilient". He added, "Sometimes running away, is showing some courage, Nora. It takes guts to run away from a bad situation".
"Why, sir?" Nora questioned quietly. "Why is it brave to run away?"
Winters said, "Because you risk getting chased". He sent Nora a soft smile. "I don't know what happened to you, Nora. And I hope one day, you'll maybe share it with me. But if you hadn't run away, you wouldn't be here…and like I said, we're glad to have you".
For the first time in what felt like years, a genuine smile reached Nora's lips at Winters's kind words. And at her smile, Winters smiled back – which only widened Nora's smile. Pressing her lips together to tame the smile, Nora drank more of her warm milk…
"It's good, huh?" Winters gave a gesture toward their mugs.
Nora nodded. "It's great, sir".
…
Despite having a disturbed sleep, both Winters and Nora did well during PT that morning. In fact, Nora did surprisingly well. Having shared just a little bit with Winters, she felt a bit of the weight she was carrying lessen. Nora didn't run at the back during their nine-mile run, she ran right in the middle. Training wasn't much of an issue for Nora. She wasn't as strong as the men, but Nora tried her best. During weapons training, she proved to be a decent shot with a rifle and Nixon, who had been overseeing Easy's weapons training, cast Winters a tight smile. It seemed Nora would make quite the rifleman. If only Colonel Sink would reconsider Nora's role in his Regiment. Winters stood by Nixon's side once the tight smile was shared.
"She's pretty good, Dick…". Nixon said with a sigh. "I'll bet the Brits trained her up".
Winters gave a nod and corrected him, "Actually, it was the SOE".
Nixon's eyebrows raised; he was impressed. "Seriously? Jesus…did Nora tell you that?"
"Last night". Winters confirmed. "There's more to Nora Clopper than meets the eye, Nix".
"Clearly, yeah". Nixon cast Nora a grin, who was now standing up and preparing to fire at a target further away.
Winters remembered that Nora confessed to not feeling brave. It was clear she didn't want to be in a fighting role. Winters told Nixon, "Let's not push her, alright? Let's see what happens".
"Right". Nixon agreed. He crossed his arms over his chest and continued to watch Nora. Another smile met his lips when he spotted Joe Lesniewski moving toward the girl. Nixon said, "Christ – what happened to your guy's face?"
Winters's eyes moved to Nixon's stare. He sighed. "Joe Lesniewski…he arrived at the same time as Nora. I'll bet he's struggling to fit in".
"No shit…". Welsh commented, who was soon standing next to Winters. "I ain't about to start rounding fellas up to confess who punched our new guy in the face, but…". Welsh let out a tiny sigh. "I hate to see the fella alone". Welsh added, "At least he's got Nora".
"She's a good kid". Winters said, "She follows every order to the detail".
"Nora's probably worried about messing up, in case they send her back". Nixon stated. "But yeah, she's a very obedient kid".
Welsh asked his friends, "What's next for our men?"
"Lunch". Winters said, "Then lectures".
"It'll be lunch already?" Welsh snorted. "Christ, the days are going by fast".
"Sir!" An alarmed voice cried. The three Officers looked toward the voice and found one of the men rushing toward them while clutching his thumb. "Sir, it got stuck!"
"Don't panic, Rudolph". Winters told the Private. "Let me take a look".
Rudolph Dittrich had fallen victim to the infamous 'M1 thumb', where the tip of his thumb got caught in his rifle while he was loading it. Many men had suffered from the same fate, but mostly at the beginning of training. Luckily, Rudolph had only nipped the tip of his thumb. There was a bit of bleeding, but nothing too alarming.
"You got lucky, son". Winters cast the Private a reassuring smile. "Go see a medic, just to be sure".
"Thank you, sir". A little embarrassed, Rudolph ducked his head and left the field.
Deep in the field, Nora rose to her feet. Her coveralls were covered in mud and wet grass from lying on her belly to fire. Swatting the grass off her clothes with her hands, Nora looked up at Joe and sent him a tiny smile. Joe's eye was swollen and there was a bruise at the top of his eyebrow. But the man who had punched Joe looked a lot worse.
"Did I ever tell you about Tanforan?" Joe asked Nora.
She gave her head a shake. "No, what's that?"
"Back when I was training in the States, I went to around six different camps. One of them was an internment camp at Tanforan. It was hell, Nora – a fucking shitshow. So many fellas had joined the army, and military camps were full. So, a lot of fellas were sent to internment camps – like the one I was in".
"What's an internment camp, Joe?" Nora asked.
Joe let out a sigh and spoke quietly. "They put a lot of Japanese in them after Pearl Harbour. A lot of people were uncomfortable having the Japanese roaming around…".
Nora's eyebrow softly raised. "But…they've always lived in America?"
Joe gave a nod. "Yeah".
"So, they're American?"
Once again, Joe nodded. "That's right". He said, "They gave us galoshes 'cause when it rained, the place flooded. A lot of fellas got sick because it was freezing. I knew a few guys who died from pneumonia".
Nora let out a tiny sigh and said, "It happens a lot while stationed in bad conditions". She thought the internment camps sounded horrible, and it was a very inhumane way to handle irrational fear. To Nora, the world was a very twisted place. There were no goodies and baddies when it came to war, it wasn't as black and white as the Government painted it toward the public – war was one giant grey area, and the general public should be aware of the truth. But Nora was not brave enough to spread the truth about the evilness of war. However, Nora did end up telling Joe. "Internment camps sound inhumane and wrong, Joe".
"They are". Joe agreed with Nora.
"I'm sorry you had to be in one".
"Don't be". Joe told her quietly with a sad smile. "People are still in them. But they ain't as lucky as me. I could leave. They can't".
Nora knew what that was like. If Joe should feel some sort of guilt for being able to leave such a vile place while others remained there, Nora could empathise with that. "When the war is over, people will feel a lot of guilt". Nora said to Joe quietly. "But you shouldn't be one of them, Joe".
Joe's smile softened at Nora's words. "No?"
She gave her head a shake. "No". Nora confirmed.
Joe gently knocked Nora's helmet, showing her, he appreciated her kind words. After placing his rifle over his shoulder, Joe placed a cigarette between his lips. He lit the cigarette up and took in a drag. Above them, the heavy clouds opened up once again and the men were soon complaining about rain. It rained heavily. Cold, thick, droplets of rain soon soaked their uniforms.
Joe's eyes lowered when rain began to irritate them. He peered down at Nora, who was using her jacket to cover her rifle. Joe sent her a smile. "You're nice, you know that?"
"Nice?" Nora gave a faint shrug. She said, "It's easier to be nice than to be unkind".
"I guess you're right". Joe said, "But sometimes, you've 'gotta be mean to survive".
Nora disagreed. "It's not being mean…it can't be mean when it's survival, Joe".
Joe scratched an itch behind his ear and then flicked away his finished cigarette. "What about Sobel? Do you think that fellas mean?"
Nora gave a shrug. "I haven't really spoken to him. Have you?"
"I'll bet he was horrible to be around at the start". Joe snorted quietly. He admitted, "I haven't had any trouble with the guy yet".
"He's not a good leader in the field, according to George Luz". Nora said, "And if that's the case, then we're in trouble".
Joe had seen George Luz around, seeing as they were in the same Platoon. "Luz seems like a funny guy".
Nora remembered Luz's invitation to go out with him and some of the men on Saturday. She wanted Joe to go with her. It would give Joe the chance to make friends, and Nora wouldn't have to go alone. "George invited me out on Saturday…you'll come with me, right?"
Joe gave a nod and smiled at Nora. "Of course, Nora".