...
After what felt like hours had passed, Nora opened her eyes and turned onto the other side of the small camping bed. Like always, the oil lamp remained on, but the desk was still occupied by Winters. It seemed Winters was unable to sleep as well. Pulling the blanket off her body, Nora sat up and rested against her elbows. At the sound of a bed creaking, Winters looked over his shoulder and cast the girl a kind smile. Nora managed to smile small back at her Lieutenant. She noticed Winters had a pen between his fingers as if he was in the middle of writing something. Nora briefly wondered if he was writing to DeEtta. If Nora had any family left, she'd surely write out her last letter before combat. Swinging her legs around, Nora pushed her feet inside the pair of brown boots which were planted on the ground close by. After excusing herself, Nora left the tent and headed for the latrines close by…
Shutting herself inside a stall, Nora made use of the facilities. However, after flushing, she heard someone else hastily enter the latrines and slam the door behind them. Nora remained still, he was clearly in a hurry, and she didn't want to embarrass him by announcing her presence. Then came a loud and unexpected bang, to the right side of Nora. Jumping with fright, a tiny exclaim left her lips at the sound. Nora's hand slapped across her mouth, muffling any other sounds. A still silence filled the latrines, where the only sound came from a dripping tap…
"Get 'outta here!" The voice threatened.
But Nora knew that accent. Her hand uncovered her mouth. "Bill?" It was Guarnere.
There was a pause. Guarnere sighed and said, "The hell are you doing here, Nora? This is where the Sergeant's shit".
Nora gave a faint shrug. "Sorry…I didn't know". She must've gotten lost. Feeling an itch grow on the back of her neck, Nora gave it a scratch. She faced the side of the stall that joined with the one Guarnere was in and began to wonder why the young man felt the need to punch a wall. It could have been anxiety or nerves for the upcoming jump into combat. But Nora didn't put him down as the type of guy to feel nervous. Either way, Guarnere didn't want her around. Standing up, Nora unlocked the stall door and left to wash her hands by the sink. Just as Nora was using a paper towel to dry her hands, Guarnere decided to break the silence once more…
"You lost your brother, right?"
Dumping the paper towels into a bin, Nora turned around to face the stall door which hid Guarnere. "Yeah, I did". She replied.
He asked, "How'd he die?"
Nora said, "I haven't told anyone…".
"Mines got shot". Guarnere cut her off. Anger filled his voice like hot venom. "Monte fucking Cassino…". He kicked the stall door harshly, and it trembled. Henry. His older brother Henry. Guarnere sighed shakily, still feeling the effects of anger and bitterness. "Nobody fucking told me".
Nora quietly asked, "How did you find out?"
Guarnere scoffed. "A letter…and it ain't even my fucking letter. Johnny's wife wrote to him and told him…Henry was in the papers".
Nora approached the stall door and sat down on the damp ground in front of it. "Johnny Martin?"
"Yup".
Nora remembered the night Johnny drank an entire bucket of warm beer in Aldbourne and puked his guts up outside the Blue Boar. Guarnere stood next to his sick friend, making sure he didn't fall over in his own vomit. She said, "Johnny didn't want to upset you with bad news, Bill".
"Right". Guarnere muttered bitterly. "But he should've fucking told me…".
Nora sat cross-legged in front of the stall and stared at the silver door. She could only guess Guarnere was upset in there and didn't want to show any weakness in front of Nora. "The news is very bad, and…".
"Just say it's shit, for Christ's sake…". Guarnere said, "It's shit, kid. And that's the end of it".
Nora said, "We learned most of our English through American movies…they never said such words on the big screen, Bill".
"Well, I ain't fucking John Wayne and you ain't in a movie". Guarnere huffed. "It don't feel real, maybe it is just a shitty movie".
Nora remembered having similar feelings when she lost Boris. Nothing felt real. She was in a state of denial for the longest time. Movies often followed the story of revenge and love, and it usually had a happy ending. Nora didn't think she'd get a happy ending because she wasn't out for revenge and there was nobody who loved her. If the war happened to come to an end, there was no one back home waiting for Nora. She said, "It would be easier to be in a movie because we'd get to decide what happens".
"Would you change anything?" Guarnere asked, "Even if it meant you wouldn't end up here?"
Nora answered quickly, "Yeah". However, she soon thought of Lieutenant Winters, the Barnes's, Hoobler, Joe…and how much Nora cared for the people around her. "Or not". Nora corrected herself. She said, "Even you, Bill…I would want to meet. So, I cannot change anything. But I still don't want it to happen".
He asked, "What did happen? What happened to Boris?"
Uncrossing her legs, Nora brought her knees up to her chest. "Will it help you to know?"
Guarnere snorted. "What kind of question is that?" He said, "I ain't sure anything will help right now, kid. Except maybe killing a bunch of fucking Krauts".
There was a short pause. Nora drew out a long sigh and said, "It just happened, I…". Giving her head a faint shake, she soon banged it gently against the stall door. Nora said, "A group of the Gestapo jumped him…and beat him up".
"How many?"
"Six". Nora replied quietly. She huffed out a small and choked laugh. "That's not even the worst part…".
Guarnere asked, "What's the worst part?"
"One of them stood on his head…crushed his skull". Nora's voice quietened further until she was whispering.
"And you saw all that?"
Nora began to nod but soon remembered Guarnere couldn't see her. "Yeah". She replied. "Boris pushed me into an alleyway and told me to hide". Upon feeling tears reach her eyes, Nora's face buried into her knees.
Guarnere muttered, "Those evil bastards…".
"Yeah". Nora's voice sounded thick and brittle. She was doing her best to hold back the tears and remain strong in front of Guarnere. Since joining Easy Company, Nora had done a pretty good job at staying strong and not getting emotional. But Boris…it was hard to talk about Boris…
"Are 'ya in front of the door, kid?" Guarnere gruffly asked.
Clearing her throat, Nora rose to her feet and moved away from the stall door. "Not now".
The lock unclicked and Guarnere soon appeared from behind the door. Scrubbing his cheeks, he moved toward the sink after briefly glancing at Nora. Running the taps, Guarnere scooped some water into his hands and gave his face a quick wash. "Hand me that paper towel, would 'ya?"
Nora dashed toward the paper towels and handed one to Guarnere. With her back pressing against the free sink near Guarnere, she stared out at nothing…
"We'll get our revenge". Guarnere vowed to her.
But Nora gave her head a small shake. "I don't want to get revenge, Bill".
"Why the fuck not?" Guarnere sounded agitated. "It's all we've fucking got now, Nora. You just 'gotta kill as many Krauts as you can…for Boris and Henry".
"That's what you want". Nora said, "But not me…even when it happened, I didn't want…". She felt a lone tear roll down her cheek. "Revenge. I didn't want that". Nora sniffed softly and lowered her eyes to the ground. She quickly wiped the tear off her cheek. Upon hearing Guarnere clear his throat, Nora raised her head to find him wiping his eyes again…
"Fucking Christ…". He mumbled. "We're supposed to be Paratroopers…not a bunch of skirts".
Nora's lips faintly twitched, and she remarked, "Last I checked, I was a skirt".
Guarnere snorted. "Yeah…you don't count, kid. Not out here, 'ya don't". He said, "You're one of us now, kid. Whether you like it or not, you're on our team until the end".
Looking away from Guarnere, Nora felt a tiny smile creep up onto her face. She said, "That sounds fine, Bill".
After making sure his eyes were bone dry, Guarnere turned to fully face Nora. "What happened when the Gestapo left?" He asked.
The smile left Nora's face and a dazed look reached her eyes, as her mind began to replay the vivid memory out in front of her. "I went to him…". Nora said quietly, "He was still breathing, and I tried to save him, but…". Licking her bottom lip, she drew out a sigh and shook her head. "There was blood everywhere…you could see it under the streetlamps". Nora's eyes lowered to the wet, latrine tiles. "I couldn't move Boris; he was too heavy…". She admitted, "I had to just…leave him there".
A tiny frown met Guarnere's face, when he began to feel sympathy toward the girl who had witnessed something so brutal and vicious. "Those…evil bastards". His hand fell upon Nora's shoulder. Guarnere asked, "And your parents?"
Nora said, "The Gestapo took mama away because she was housing a criminal".
"Your brother was a criminal?"
Nora's eyebrows furrowed and she faced Guarnere. "No". Her voice sounded firm, and it had raised significantly. "Boris was not a criminal".
Surprised by the change of voice from the usually mild-mannered girl, Guarnere quickly gave an apology. "Right, sorry – Jesus…". However, the apology didn't sound very sincere. "You preached it sister…I was just asking a damn question…Fucking Christ…".
Nora's angered look dropped, and her features softened. "Sorry". She said, "You're right…but he wasn't…only to the Nazis, was Boris considered a criminal".
Guarnere gave Nora's shoulder a faint squeeze, letting her know there were no hard feelings. He asked, "Where'd they take your mom?"
"I don't know". Nora whispered, which wasn't a complete lie. She didn't know exactly where her mother was. However, Nora could only imagine the horrors her mother was going through if she was still alive…
…..
Nora could have easily refused the position to train with the SOE, thus ejecting her from the war and perhaps a new start to a peaceful life. But there was a part of Nora that still lived in survival mode – she knew there was no normality, not until the war came to an end. Nora left a piece of her soul in Poland and a large chunk of her heart on the streets of Amsterdam. And now, she had many reasons to remain in combat and the American friends she had made, played a huge part in that reason…
There was a lot of silence and shaking hands while the men got ready to clamber aboard the C-47 aircraft. Lieutenant Winters ordered everyone to take one airsickness tablet before the flight and the last one half an hour or so during the flight. In hindsight, the pill didn't seem fitting for a bunch of Paratroopers who had been on a plane countless times by now without having any problems with airsickness. But Nora wasn't thinking straight, and she took the pill with a drink of water. Winters stood before his Platoon and offered them a sincere smile. Nora's head raised upon hearing the Lieutenant begin to speak…
"God Bless you all". He said, "I'll see you in the assembly area". And then, Winters helped every man up onto his feet. Nora noticed Winters shook each man's hand in his Platoon before they were pushed and pulled onto the plane…
When Winters helped Nora onto her feet, she turned her head to look toward the plane next to theirs and spotted Joe Lesniewski. When their eyes met, Joe smiled and gave Nora a salute. She smiled small back at him with a nod of her head. Because Nora was sitting next to Winters, they were the last two to board the plane. With Christenson, who was already on the plane, grabbing a hold of Nora's arm, Winters pushed the girl up from behind. Inside the plane, it was a tight squeeze. Finding a spot on the bench, Nora sat down and tried to get as comfortable as possible. Across from her, she could see Hoobler…
"Ready for this, pal?" Hoobler asked with a faint smile.
Nora nodded and was about to answer but yawned instead. She suddenly felt very tired. Having not slept well the night before, Nora had expected to feel some form of tiredness but not the drowsiness she felt on the plane…
"You took the pill, huh?" Hoobler almost looked amused. He rolled his eyes. "Hell, that shit'll put you to sleep, Nora".
Nora's eyes widened with faint panic. So, the brass decided to drug to Paratroopers to 'relax' them, as they flew across the English Channel. But what good would they be, half asleep? Nora took off one of her gloves and planned on making herself sick, but Hoobler told her…
"Too late now, pal". Reaching across, Hoobler gave Nora's knee a squeeze. "It'll be fine, alright? The effects will wear off by the time we jump".
Giving Nora a curious stare, Winters sat next to the girl. "You alright, Nora?"
Drawing out a small sigh, she nodded and put the glove back on. "Yes, sir".
Leaning back against her heavy pack, Nora could only feel all the gear she had shoved inside – it wasn't the comfiest she had ever felt but it would have to do. There was little room on the bench, men were squished together like sardines, and their legs, knees, arms, and shoulders were touching each other. But no one seemed to care about how uncomfortable they all felt because they were too busy focusing on what lay ahead of them. Nora could only imagine the men were going through the absolute worst-case scenarios. But no one knew what lay ahead, not really. Danger. Danger was ahead of them – that's all they knew. There was a fight to be won, blood to be seen, and probably death. There would be death. People were going to die. Nora felt her chest tighten at the thought of losing a friend. It was frightening to imagine losing someone in war. And that's why the men would pray. Nora thought the men prayed to stay alive, but some prayed for a spot in Heaven should they die. If there was a Heaven, Nora was sure the men had earned their spot already…
When the plane engines roared to life, Nora braced herself for combat. She felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach at the fear of 'what was to come'. Drawing out a long breath, Nora's head tilted upward, where she soon stared at the dark ceiling. When the plane began to reverse out of its spot, Nora's head rolled to the side where she soon looked up at Winters. When he cast her a smile, she unexpectedly yawned. Winters set his hand on Nora's shoulder and squeezed it gently. She felt her eyes growing heavier and heavier, as the seconds went by. Nora yawned and felt her eyes water. Her eyes closed but soon shot open when one of the plane's staff closed the heavy door. At the runway, the plane came to a halt as its engines worked up power and speed. Planes before them had already taken to the night sky…
Nora was staring back up at Winters, hoping to catch his reassuring, friendly smile. If Winters smiled, then she knew everything was going to be okay. And he did smile, Nora felt at ease for a moment, and she even managed to smile small back at him. When Nora opened her mouth to speak, Winters fully expected Nora to admit she was frightened or wishing she wasn't about to jump into combat…
"I'm very tired, sir". Nora admitted instead.
Winters gave her shoulder another squeeze. "Go to sleep, Nora. I'll wake you up".
"Promise, sir?" Nora feared about getting left behind. She was worried no one would wake her up, meaning she'd miss the jump and be left alone on the empty plane…
"Promise". Winters assured the girl.
With a faint nod of her head, Nora's eyes closed. Her body swayed and eventually pressed against Winters's arm, where she soon fell into a deep sleep. A tiny smile met Winters's lips. He placed his arm around Nora, ensuring the girl stayed put and remained comfortable. If all went to plan, Winters would soon have a Platoon of men to lead into battle. And he'd have his shadow, moving right next to him every step of the way…