We Happy Few | Band of Brothers

Chapter 34: Blue

The sky was being lit up like a firework display, and if it weren't for the fact that it was explosions causing the light show, Annie would have enjoyed the festive addition to what had previously been a lovely Christmas Eve.

Toye grabbed onto Margot before throwing them both down onto the ground, and while one by one the others did the same, Annie had to man-up and dash toward the frantic voices calling for her. 

Explosions were going off all around—a really pleasant Christmas gift from the Germans—trees were falling to the ground, and men were yelling for everyone to take cover. At one point there were so many flashes of light in her field of vision that Annie almost swore it was the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night.

When the small medic finally reached the panicked voices shouting her name, she spotted Lieutenant Welsh on the ground, writhing in pain, with Winters and Nixon around him. "Hi, Lieutenant," Annie greeted, her tone as casual as if she were saying hello to a friendly neighbour on a morning stroll. 

Welsh had been hit in the right thigh by shrapnel from one of the explosions and he was in a lot of pain if his constant screaming was any indication. Pulling the scarf off of her neck, Annie quickly tied it around the thigh above the wound and pulled tight, slowing the blood flow in case the major artery had been hit. 

Then, Annie treated the situation like any other and poured some sulfa into the wound, followed by a bandage and a quick shot of morphine for the pain. 

"It's just a scratch, Harry." Nixon held Welsh's hand tight. "You're not getting out of here this easy."

"Captain Nixon is right." Annie switched her focus to calming down the hysterical Lieutenant. "He is an intelligence officer, after all. He knows these things."

Welsh's eyes were glued to the sky above him as he let out the occasional whimper of pain or shudder from being cold. Annie continued to let the soothing words spill out of her mouth, her one hand pressed down firmly on the wound, applying constant pressure, while her other held Welsh's hand. 

When the jeep finally arrived, Winters and Nixon helped carry Welsh to the vehicle and load him up. Eugene showed up not seconds later with another man who needed transport and after the wounded were ready to go, Winters ordered that the two medics went into town to get a hot meal. 

Annie was going to protest and say that she needed to go back to check on Margot and the others, but the look on Winters' face told her there would be no debating it. So, the two medics hopped into the jeep and rode back into Bastogne for a quick break from the front line.

Bastogne, however, was not a break from the front line. If anything, it was worse than the front line. The Germans were bombing the town relentlessly, taking out as many buildings as they could. 

Annie and Eugene had to throw themselves over their patients for most of the drive to protect them from more shrapnel from the explosions. Vehicles were on fire, people were running around in states of pure panic—but the real kicker, the real punch in the gut—was when Annie looked up and saw a pile of rubble where the church once stood. 

As the jeep stopped and Annie and Eugene were hit with the sudden realization that they had nowhere to take their wounded, the true panic began to set in. Eugene was the first to dart toward the church, Annie quick on his heels. There were still a few people emerging from the destruction. 

While Annie stopped to help a few people who had just run out, Eugene passed through the stone threshold that was still standing and stood among the rubble. Annie watched out of the corner of her eye as he searched, froze, and bent down to pick something up.