...
Nora woke up without Winters's assistance just as the plane was traveling across the English Channel. It took a few attempts to open her heavy, drowsy eyes. Nora's head felt full of thick fog and her mouth felt dry and uncomfortable. Dizzy and slightly queasy, Nora slowly pulled herself away from Winters's side. Through the dim orange light inside the plane, she caught Hoobler's eyes staring at her waking state. Nora's lips twitched, creating a faint smile. The men were quiet, but Hoobler smiled, acting as though it was just another training exercise. Upon feeling a hand on her shoulder, Nora's head turned to the side, and she looked up…
"Okay?!" Winters asked, through the loud rubble of the engines.
Nora gave a nod. "Yes, sir!" She tried to yell, but her voice was still in the process of waking up. Knowing Winters hadn't heard her voice, Nora gave him a thumbs-up. He smiled at the gesture.
"We're halfway across the Channel!" Winters reported. "We shouldn't be long now, Nora!"
They probably only had another half hour left inside the plane. Nora didn't sleep for long. She reached for her belt and pulled out her canteen. Taking a drink, she soothed the feeling of her mouth being uncomfortably dry. Nora swirled the water inside her mouth before swallowing the cool liquid. With her canteen back in its spot, she leaned against her pack. Around her, she caught men praying, saving their last cigarette or staring out into nothing. Some men confidently smoked, knowing it wouldn't be their last smoke. Nora didn't smoke and she didn't pray, so, she reflected on training and thought about all those field manuals Winters had her study. She really did feel thankful toward Winters for pushing her to study and train hard. It was the hardest she had ever studied. Not even during school, did Nora study so hard…
…Her eyes were drawn to the top of the plane, upon hearing loud booms. They had reached the shoreline of France, and it seemed the Germans had come to meet them. Nora's heart began to pound loudly, as adrenaline pumped through her veins. Breathing a little harder than usual now, she soon noticed the inside of the plane beginning to light up, when shells from outside began to explode and hit other planes. Feeling her body shake, Nora almost lost balance and tumbled to the floor. It was frighteningly loud outside and bright. Looking toward the opening, she could see the sky turning a tarrying orange colour as planes erupted into flames. The victims inside the flaming planes were most likely dead now. And, not wanting his men to die sitting, Winters got up and ordered for everyone to stand-up and hook-up. Grabbing her hook, Nora struggled to get onto her feet. Behind her, Christenson hooked Nora's clip onto the static line above them because her hands couldn't do the job, they were shaking too much…
The nerves got the better of Nora. Bending at the waist, she retched and vomited on the floor. While hunched over and spitting, Nora felt a clap on the back of her neck. Raising her head, she saw Winters giving her a tense but kind smile. If he smiled, it was going to be okay – Nora had to remind herself. Using the back of her sleeve, she wiped her mouth and straightened herself up. Winters's hand left the back of her neck to check the lights. The light was still red, they didn't have the clearance to jump. But something hit the side of the plane, causing it to weave to the right sharply. Losing her footing, Nora crashed into the benches, along with a few others. And while the men tried to gather themselves, Winters looked over his shoulder to check the light, praying it would turn green soon. The outside was no better than the inside, but at least they had a chance of survival if they jumped…
…Once back on her feet and in the centre of the plane, Nora's eyes looked out toward the opening where she spotted a flaming plane speeding to the ground. Her breathing picked up again, and her hands gripped her line tightly. It didn't feel real. So many terrible things were happening all around her, it almost felt as though Nora's mind had left her body. And with her soul staring down at her body, she went into autopilot. The light turned green…
"Let's go!" Winters roared above the chaos before jumping out of the opening.
And without much thought, Nora jumped after him. As soon as the prop blast pulled Nora up, she came back into her body. Tracer bullets flew up, left, and right – trying their very best to hit Nora and her friends. And when she looked down, Nora could see flames, trees, and flooded fields. The tops of buildings were to her right, which she avoided by pulling the risers. She didn't have much airtime, because they had jumped from as a little as five hundred feet. Naturally, Nora hit the ground hard. But she landed, she was alive – that's all that mattered. Rolling onto her side a sigh of relief left Nora's mouth…
"Flash!" A voice whispered.
Nora quickly began sitting herself up. "Thunder, sir". It was Winters. She could tell by his voice. And her Lieutenant, staying low, moved toward Nora, where he helped take off her helmet, chute and lifejacket.
"You okay?" Winters quietly asked.
Nora gave a nod. "Are you, sir?"
"I lost my damn leg bag". He didn't sound impressed. "I only have a knife".
"I lost my rifle, sir". Nora said, "Otherwise, you would have it".
"You got a knife?"
Nora nodded and reached for the knife tucked into the top of her boot. "Yes, sir".
Winters told her, "Keep it with you, alright? You might need it". Setting Nora's helmet atop her head, he then looked around him. "My bag landed somewhere by those trees. I'd like to get it".
"Okay, sir…".
However, another body soon landed close by. Thankfully, the trooper was alive and unharmed. Both Nora and Winters began moving toward the frantic man, who was hastily taking off his chute. It seemed the man was nervous, as he didn't answer their secret question…
"I say flash, you say thunder". Winters reminded him.
"Yes, sir – thunder, sir".
Through what little light they had from the moon, Nora caught his face when he looked up. It was John Hall, from the 506th basketball team. As far as Nora was aware, Hall was in Able Company – meaning, one of them were in the wrong position. Nora looked at Winters and asked him, "Where are we, sir?"
"Not in our drop zone". Winters replied. "But don't worry, we'll find it".
"Coach?" Hall asked. "It's me…Private Hall from basketball".
Winters looked between the two troopers. "Stay close, okay? We're 'gonna head over to those trees and get my bag".
They both nodded and complied, "Yes, sir".
Following behind Winters and Hall, it felt like Nora was constantly looking over her shoulder. Even the slight breath of wind had her on edge for a potential enemy attack. At least Hall had his rifle. Taking cover behind a tree, Winters was about to make a move toward his bag, but then came the roar of an anti-aircraft gun ahead of them. The trio stilled; their backs pressed against the tree. Nora held her breath and waited. Winters didn't want to risk it…
"When they reload, we go back". He told his two troopers. The gun stopped firing, and the Germans started to reload. "Go!" Winters whispered. With Nora leading the way, they quickly moved away from the tree line and headed for the field.
"Where now, sir?" Hall asked.
Winters took a moment to catch his breath. He didn't know exactly where they had landed but he had some idea. Winters picked a direction; it was a dirt road that travelled between trees on either side. "There". He said, "Keep your eyes open for anything useful…streams, signs, roads, trees…".
Hall huffed out a faint laugh and asked, "Where are the others, sir?"
"They'll be around". Winters said, "Let's just focus on finding out where we are, Hall".
Hall asked, "Are we lost, sir?" He was nervous, and rightly so. Nora was nervous too, but she opted to stay quiet…
"We're not lost, Private". Winters said with a note of softness to his voice. "We're in Normandy".
A small smile met Hall's lips. "It's not what I imagined, sir".
"What did you imagine, son?" Winters asked.
"Pretty French girls…pastries…". Hall huffed out another faint laugh.
"Frogs legs". Nora added quietly.
Hall pulled a face. "What?" Looking over his shoulder, he gave Nora a funny stare.
"Lieutenant Nixon said they eat frogs' legs, John". Nora explained.
"That's gross". Hall faced the front again and ignored the queasy feeling in his stomach as he imagined what a frog's leg might taste like.
"Yeah". Nora agreed. Though, she also remembered discussing eating rats with Nixon – she wasn't sure which one sounded less appealing…
…..
The sodden and flooded fields drew them closer to the trickling sound of water – a stream. They had located a small stream. And with the stream, brought a familiar face. Sergeant Lipton wasn't alone, two men from the 82nd followed behind him as the three of them crossed the cold stream. Crouched by the stream, Lipton was soon reunited with his Lieutenant and Nora…
"Any weapon?" Winters asked the Sergeant.
"No, sir". He regretfully reported back. However, he added, "All I got is my jump knife and some TNT…these 82nd boys have got their M1's, though".
"82nd?" Hall whispered. "Where the hell are we?"
Hall's worries were ignored for the time being. However, they all did wonder where they were in Normandy…
"I saw a sign, sir". Lipton said, "Sainte-Mere-Eglise…".
Feeling her nose itch, Nora sniffed and rubbed it to stop herself from sneezing. Sainte-Mere-Eglise ringed a bell. And it seemed Winters recognised the name also. After getting himself a flashlight and a raincoat for cover, he brought out his compass, and map, and covered the upper half of his body with the raincoat. Under the shelter he had created, Winters turned on the light and read his map and compass…
"How're you doing, bud?" Lipton asked the girl.
"Fine, Lip. And you?"
"Yeah, fine". Lipton offered her a smile. He asked, "You run right into Lieutenant Winters?"
"I did, yeah". Nora confirmed quietly. "How was your jump?"
"Cobb got hit". He said, "But he'll be fine. I told him to stay on the plane. It'll take him back to England".
Nora asked, "But no sign of Lieutenant Meehan?"
"Not yet, no".
Nora bit her lip for a moment in thought before saying, "Maybe everyone missed the DZ, Lip".
Before Lipton could voice his own opinion on the matter, Winters came out from his cover. Thankfully, he knew where they were and where to go. "We're seven kilometres away from our objective. And four hours away from when we need to have it secured…so, we've got a lot of walking ahead of us". Winters briefly looked at the two men from the 82nd and said, "You men will stick with us until we find your unit". He glanced at the troopers around him, making sure they looked ready to move. "Let's go".
On their feet, the soldiers began the long journey toward a farm in Le Grand Chemin. Nora walked behind Hall because Hall took her spot as Winters's shadow. She didn't mind, Hall was armed, and he stood a far better chance at keeping their Lieutenant safe. However, Hall's main job was a radioman but unfortunately, he lost his equipment during the jump. They walked for one hour before taking a short rest, where they could relieve themselves and take a drink of water if needed…
After ducking behind a bush for a couple of minutes, Nora leaned against a tree to take a drink of water from her canteen. The two men from the 82nd were sitting close by and they spoke to each other in worried, hushed tones. As Nora put her canteen back into its usual spot, one of the men seemed determined to steal Winters's jump knife, as he didn't have much ammo. With a small frown, Nora looked over at their Lieutenant, who was quietly discussing their plan of action with Lipton. They were far enough away, that they couldn't hear the man's plan to steal from Winters.
Nora looked back at the men and crawled toward them. "Don't do it". She whispered.
"Get lost". One of them hissed. "Your Lieutenant is a damn loony…we can't secure nothing with just us".
Nora ignored his complaint and said, "Don't steal his knife. You have a rifle, use that".
"He's asking us to do something stupid". The man argued, in a hushed voice. "I 'wanna protect myself better. You understand?"
"Just leave, then". Nora suggested. "Go find your unit…alone".
"You ain't thinking straight!" He hissed.
"No…you're not thinking straight". Nora quietly argued back. "If you take his knife, he'll have nothing. Do you want to lead?"
"I ain't the fucking Lieutenant…".
"Exactly". Nora said quietly. She added, "Besides, I'll tell him you stole his knife".
He huffed. "You fucking rat".
Nora knew what a "rat" meant in America when it was used as an insult. They used a similar word back in her own country, whenever a Dutch person sided with the Nazis. Due to all the tension and adrenaline Nora felt, the insult angered her. She shoved the man, and his back hit against the tree. "Shut your face". Nora whispered hotly.
"Don't fucking touch me". He almost raised his voice. "I'll do a lot worse, believe me".
"You think I'm scared of you?" Nora whispered.
"You should be". He threatened.
A breath of wind rustled the leaves above them. Nora felt a small shiver roll down her spine. She wasn't scared of him; Nora had been telling the truth. And to prove that she wasn't afraid, Nora pushed him again. Without warning, his hands went onto Nora's shoulders, and he tackled her to the ground. Being a lot stronger than the girl, he had no trouble holding Nora in place, while his fist pulled back for a punch. Soon, Nora felt a sharp pain in her right eye…
"Hey!" Winters hissed while rushing toward the scene. Lipton followed after the Lieutenant and pulled the man off Nora, while Winters crouched by the girl's body. Eyes squinting through the night, Winters could spy the tell-tale signs of an oncoming blackeye. Drawing out a long sigh, he gave a quick glance at the man Lipton had a hold of. "I would ask what happened, but you've clearly assaulted my Lieutenant".
"She…". The man tried to protest, but Winters cut him off.
"I don't want your excuses, Private. And when we find your unit, I'll be sure to inform your Commanding Officer of your poor actions tonight".
He bowed his head. "Yes, sir".
Winters stared down at Nora, a frown forming on his face. Grabbing her arm, he slowly helped the girl sit up. "You okay, kiddo?" He quietly asked.
Nora whispered, "I'll tell you about it later, sir".
With Winters still holding onto her arm, he got Nora onto her feet. Brushing the leaves and dirt off her trousers, Nora avoided eye contact with the man who punched her. Moving toward Hall, she decided to walk next to him for the remainder of their journey. They walked on, knowing they had much more ground to cover. Adrenaline kept the Paratroopers moving. They hadn't slept or eaten much, but they felt energized, focused, and alert…
"You'll get a Purple Heart for that, Clopper". Hall's voice was light, he was joking around.
Nora huffed out a faint laugh. "I won't bother them…".
"Why'd he punch you anyway?"
Nora said, "Because I bothered him".