The Soldier of Stars [1] - Band of Brothers

62 | bitter bastogne

How long would this nightmare last? 

When Hazel woke up the next morning, everything above the foxhole seemed grey. Hazel looked towards Shifty and noticed his nose was bright red, as he let out quiet snores. Hazel slowly sat up as her muscles ached a bit, and moved the blankets to Shifty's body, as he moved around a bit and yawned and cuddled into them again. Hazel peaked her head out again over the edge of the foxhole, and looked around. There were people moving around quietly it seemed. 

Catherine was moving around, crouching beside foxholes as she picked up her duty of splitting her time between Battalion and the company. Hazel sat in the snow with a small smile on her face, as the cold bit in at her fingertips and at her toes; Catherine was always there for the company and she balanced the stress of Battalion and her mapping assistance and her ability to stay with the company very well, Hazel thought. But she'd always been like that, ever since Athene. 

Everyone loved Catherine, that's just how she was, and she always could rally a group and take a force head on, and she was reliable. A couple charges that Winters had her lead back on The Island, were successful simply because of her leadership skills. 

Hazel always admired Catherine.

" Hey, kid." she heard a voice say and she turned to see it was Bill.

" Hey, Bill." she said, glancing back at Shifty before jumping up and out of the foxhole.

" How you holding up?" he asked her, already noticing her bright red nose which stuck out against the grey background. Hazel gave him a small smile.

" Okay, it's just really cold." she said quietly, and Bill nodded.

" I know," Bill said, " they're sending runners into Bastogne, that town nearby, to try and find anything really, blankets, food, meds."

" Oh." Hazel said, and looked up at him as a shiver went down her spine.

" Doc's been telling people to keep moving, get blood circulation around, stuff like that, especially you," Bill said pointing at her, " we ain't calling you Tiny for nothing, Tiny, you need to move so we don't see you frozen one morning." Hazel smiled looking up at him.

" I think I can do that for you." she said with a small laugh.

" I gotta get moving, but I'll see you around, kid." he said, before gently rubbing her shoulder and heading out again. Hazel sucked in a cold breath, the air hurting her lungs a bit, as she cuddled up the scarf around her neck a bit more to keep the sensitive skin from hurting more than it already was as it the cold blasts hit her. 

Breakfast that morning was dreary. 

Winters and the rest of the officers were nearby and Hazel could see Catherine talking quietly with Peacock by a tree. She looked angry about something. Haze glanced at Chuck, who had followed her gaze in the white wilderness. Chuck was on his way to breakfast when he'd seen the women heading towards it and decided to take her up on the offer of going there with her. But Winters was watching both Chuck and Hazel, so the two just nodded with a small smile before turning and walking away, eating their food.

" What is going on?" Hazel asked, as she glanced back at Catherine.

" Maybe she'll stop by in a bit, she probably will to check on everyone." Chuck said.

" You're right." Hazel said, biting her lip worriedly. This situation felt unfamiliar. Of course, back at Athene, Thermes had led plenty of missions in the snow, they'd slept in it, eaten in it, stuff like that, but they hadn't fought a war in it. They were all freezing their asses off, with barely any food or winter supplies or coats and blankets, with the enemy from what it seemed not to far away. The cold, the winter cold, in America was different from that of Belgium; Belgium was blistering cold that blasted you it seemed.