𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬; band of brothers ✔

PART TWENTY TWO

Lipton inhaled deeply, peering over his shoulder, "Look... I can't tell you what you want to hear. I'll talk to him again, but I can't make any promises."

From Toye to Shifty, and even Guarnere, they all regarded me, as if asking if I accepted this preposition. My heart thrashed against my ribcage, not wanting to believe it, any of it. Nevertheless, I bobbed my head. We dispersed back to our foxholes, and I lit a cigarette.

"Psst!"

My eyes shot open, my body immediately registering the cold around me. Daylight still hung around, the sky dark as snowflakes filled the atmosphere. Beside me, Perconte snoozed, rifle digging into the mud of our foxhole, snow slowly piling onto his helmet and shoulders.

"Psst!"

My head snapped upwards; Shifty was crouched by the top of our foxhole, head darting up every couple of seconds.

"Jesus Christ, Shift," I sunk against the dirt wall. "Scared the living shit out of me."

"My bad, Lieb," The sniper whispered.

"What is it?"

"We're going."

"We're going?"

"Winters said we could hitch a ride with Doc Roe into Bastogne. Have a look around."

"We?" I squinted.

Shifty gestured with his eyes to behind him. I staggered upright, seeing another soldier leaning against a tree, rifle at eye level as he pointed it towards the front. Tokarzewski, a long-time Private from Toccoa.

"Good?" He held down a hand.

I nodded, clasping onto it. Back by HQ, Eugene waited in the driver's seat of a jeep, Lipton leaning against the bonnet pensively. We all climbed in, and after the First Sergeant specified the orders, headed off. I pressed a hand to the centre of my chest, rubbing over the tenseness beneath it and the piece of metal attached to my dog tags.

She can't be dead.

Eugene led the way out of Bastogne, knowing each street and passageway off by heart. Despite it being the middle of the day, there were no signs of life, the snow that the night before had brought blanketing all sound.

"See?"

We all looked at the medic, not having noticed that we passed a massive chunk of metal lying in the middle of the road. Snow clogged each and every part of it, hiding away the history of the incident. When I looked up, the medic's eyes were examining mine - something he'd always done, trying to figure out my thoughts. To think I trusted him more than any of the men in the company.

I shook away any sign of vulnerability, any evidence of what had repeated in my head for the past few months like an incantation.

"I don't like this," Shifty commented, glancing at Tokarzewski.

"Yeah, something ain't right here." I agreed, pushing my tongue against my cheek.

Shifty pivoted slowly, searching the distant tree blocks surrounding us, and continued to do so as Doc showed us to the shed a couple hundred yards away. The downfall had picked up, the white air making it more difficult to see.

"This was where I found the key chain." Eugene tapped his boot by the step to the shed.

Still, Shifty looked around, "I don't like this, Lieb."