As the line of trucks rolled down the hillside road that overlooked a serine, crystal clear lake nestled between rows of mountains that went back as far as the eye could see, every man and woman of Easy Company suddenly forgot all about Berchtesgaden. While the war had no doubt provided the company with many a beautiful view, Austria was so far the most breathtaking place many of the troopers had seen in their entire lives.
At least, that statement was true for both Margot and Annie.
"That's it," Annie chirped, her hands on the side railing of the truck and her blonde hair blowing in the breeze as she stared out at the lake. "I'm moving to Austria."
Pointing to a large, snow-tipped mountain in the distance, Talbert chuckled. "So, you reckon they'll make us run up those or ski down them?"
"Maybe they'll give us sleds and Margot can make up for her Christmas day disaster," George taunted, earning laughs from only himself and the two girls as they were the only ones present who knew about Margot's great fear of sledding. The rest of the men on the truck cracked smiles too, however, just happy to be involved in such a cheerful conversation.
As the convoy passed a field full of working women, the men all stood up and waved like mad, each and every one of them desperate to get the attention of a beautiful Austrian woman.
As soon as the vehicles stopped next to the large, hotel-looking building that the troops would be staying in, the men and women hopped out of the back of the trucks, eager to see and do everything Austria had to offer.
While the officers dealt with the final, in-person surrenders of the German soldiers in the country, Easy Company headed inside to watch a film based solely on the war in Okinawa; the war they all hoped they could avoid getting involved in and just get sent home instead. However, the mood in the room given off by the newly arrived officers once the film was over wasn't one that struck hope into many people.
As Margot stood up from her chair and grabbed her jacket, she caught the look on Winters' face as he stood in the corner of the room; it was the look of the man who had just caught a glimpse into his future. The only thing Margot could do then was pray that she and Dick Winters didn't share the same future.
The praying didn't do much good, however, because it wasn't long after that the Paratroopers were given the good news and the bad news. The good news was that those who had enough points would be going home but the bad news was that the number of soldiers who possessed enough points was very small, meaning that for almost all of Easy Company, including Margot and Annie, they would be sticking around to wait for the news about redeployment.
Having only a day or so of freedom before it was back to drills and training, many of the company members decided to make the most of their time off and spend it doing things that they enjoyed; and for a one Shifty Powers, that meant hunting.
Word spread fast that Shifty was planning on going out to see if he could scrounge up something good for dinner, and before he knew it he had a small group who wanted to tag along, Annie included. At first, Annie hadn't really been all too keen on participating but after Liebgott bugged her over and over again to come with, she finally gave in and joined them.
"Now I know it's in your instincts as a medic, but remember Annie, if one of us manages to shoot something, you do not need to go running out to patch the animal up and save its life. We want it to die," Joe mocked as he trudged through the brush with Annie on his heels, earning a firm smack on the back for his joke.
"I knew I shouldn't have come." Annie folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes as she stayed in the back, being the only one without a rifle.
Joe snickered, as did Bull and Perconte. "Awh, come on, you know I'm just messin' around." Joe looked back at her and flashed one of his charming smiles before turning around again and spotting Perconte out of the corner of his eye. "What are you crouching down for, Perco?" he asked, causing the Italian man to stand up straight again. "Think the deer's gonna shoot back?"
"Leave me alone." Frank huffed.
"How 'bout y'all just shut up and let Shifty kill us some dinner?" Bull suggested as he sauntered through the trees, his rifle sitting loose in his arms and a wad of chewing tobacco in his mouth.
"Awh, what's the matter, Bull?" Frank shot back, his demeanour much more uplifted when it wasn't him getting picked on. "You tired of eating dried-up spuds three times a day?"
Annie physically winced at the thought of eating another package of dry, foul-tasting spuds. "Tell you what," she spoke to everyone at once. "If you guys manage to catch a deer and do all the skinning and all that stuff, I'll make a nice stew. I've got my mom's recipe committed to heart and I'm sure it'll taste just as good with deer as is does with beef."
"Sounds better than anything I could cook." Malarkey wasn't afraid to make fun of his own food creations that he knew brought tears to people's eyes, and not in a good way.
"Hey, you know what, I got an idea," Joe piped up again as he stepped over a fallen tree. "Why don't we just shoot Bull here and feed the company for a week?"
"I'm not making Bull stew." Annie shook her head. "Strangely enough, I draw the line at cannibalism."
A few more chuckles escaped the men, but before anyone could say anything in response, a twig snapped somewhere close by and Shifty motioned for everyone to stop moving. All at once, the seven Paratroopers halted and locked their eyes on a gorgeous buck standing among the foliage a few meters away.
Slowing his breathing, Shifty lifted his rifle and peered through the sight. No one made a sound as they waited for the resident marksman to take the shot, but before he could do anything, the buck spun around and darted away.
"Awh, goddamnit, Shifty," Joe grumbled as he watched the white tail of the buck disappear into the bushes. "You let him get away. The Army outta be glad to get rid of you."
"Oh, like you could have done any better." Annie stepped up beside the frustrated man and glared up at him.
Shifty nodded slightly, his rifle still raised. "I wish, you know. Seems they want me to stay around a while."
"You serious?" Joe asked.
Annie cocked a brow. "How many more points do you need?"
"Fifteen," Shifty answered.
Malarkey's mouth fell open and the small stick he was chewing on nearly fell from his bottom lip. "Fifteen? Jesus Christ, I thought I had it bad."
Shifty sighed. "No purple hearts. Never was injured."
As the group headed back through the forest toward the base camp, a few of them got to talking about how many points they had and how many more they needed. For everyone present, going home was just a pipe dream. Even for those who had seen almost every single second of the war, like Annie, the points still just weren't enough.
"I need ten more," Joe said as he walked beside Annie, his hand holding low-hanging branches out of the way so they wouldn't hit him or Annie in the head. "What about you?"
"Well, I got a few stars here and there for various things, and even though I never went to an aid station, I got a purple heart for those bullet grazes I got in Holland. Still not enough though. I need about the same amount as you I think," Annie answered, her hands stashed away in her pockets. "Looks like you're stuck with me a little while longer."
Joe laughed. "Darn. Guess I'll just have to find a way to make do."
"Guess so." Annie nodded, her mind quick to remind her about what Margot had told her not too long ago. The blonde medic had yet to mention anything about it to either George or Joe, and for the most part, she was sure she was going to keep it that way.
If they were due to head back into a war, Annie knew that she didn't need things to be any more complicated than they already were.
●●●
When Speirs gave the order of ease, the many Paratroopers dressed head to toe in their dress uniforms relaxed their bodies and waited for the coming announcement. Not one of them was sure why they had all been called out on the bright, hot Austrian afternoon, but by the looks of it, it was something important.
"General Taylor is aware that many veterans, including Normandy veterans, still do not have the eighty-five points required to be discharged," Speirs announced as he surveyed the companies standing before him. "On this anniversary of D-day, he has authorized a lottery to send one man—or woman—home in each company. Effective immediately."
Stepping up to the helmet of names, Welsh swirled his hand around a little to show that the choosing process was indeed randomized. What only a select few knew, however, was that there was only one name in the helmet. "For Easy Company," Speirs began as Welsh handed him over a single slip of paper, the smirk on his face only telling to those already in the know. "The winner is ... serial number 13066266, Sergeant Darrell C. Powers."
Everyone cheered because even though they were none the wiser about the rigged lottery, they all knew that no one deserved to go home more than Shifty. "That's how it's done, Shifty!" Luz shouted over the whistles and cheers.
"Go Shifty!" Margot clapped as the bashful sniper smiled wide and hung his head with embarrassment.
Once the eruptions of joy had died down, Speirs continued his speech. "Sergeant Grant will see to it that 2nd Platoon takes over at the crossroads checkpoint beginning tonight at 2200 hours."
"So much for our anniversary," Christenson scoffed, his voice just loud enough for those directly around him to hear.
Chuck gave a small nod. "No shit."
"General Taylor has also announced that the 101st Airborn Division will definitely be redeployed to the Pacific." Speirs' face remained unaffected as he delivered the bad news. "So, beginning tomorrow at 0600 hours we will begin training to go to war."
Annie's heart dropped in her chest even though she had suspected for quite a while that redeployment was more likely than going home. "Guess we're gonna be running up those mountains instead of skiing down them," she muttered to Talbert, who was standing on her left.
"Yeah." Talbert did his best to flash a genuine smile to the small girl. "At least we've got lots of practice, right?"
"Right." Annie locked eyes with Margot and let her disappointment show.
It didn't matter anymore if Margot had decided to go home with Annie or not because she no longer had a choice. Despite two purple hearts, her promotions, and her many stars, the machine-gunner was among the large numbers who were just shy of eighty-five points.
Never before did eighty-five seem like such a large, unobtainable number.