Landslide - Band of Brothers

87 | Fault of Emotionless Plateaus

"I always am in a role, lovely – for you, for them – even for myself. Yeah... Even when I'm alone, I am still in a role – and I myself am the most exacting audience I have ever had."

― Simona Panova, Nightmarish Sacrifice  

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Landsberg, Germany 

March 26th, 1945 

2000

A repeated knocking on the wooden door frame woke her up from her cramped position curled against the ground, where her head pounded, and her throat ran dry, and her palms ached. There was a faint muffled voice on the opposite side calling out to her and it was enough to push her fatigued body up from the ground onto shaking legs like a newborn deer. A quick glance in the mirror told her all she needed to know about her current state of affair; her eyes, her hair, her cheeks, the expression that drew on horror across her entire face. Natia turned to the threshold and opened up the wooden door to find Captain Speirs stood on the opposite side, a thin layer of sweat across his forehead as he suddenly took in her appearance.

" Agent-"

" Did the medical teams arrive?" Natia asked as she watched Captain Speirs' eyes darting to her face, then to her hands and the letter clutched and tarnished in blood grasped within them.

" They did. Those people are in good hands. But Agent-"

" Will they have enough blankets and pillows? I can try and scrounge for some if you need me-"

" Agent-"

" They deserve to have at least that after what they went through....and will still go through-"

"Agent!" snapped Captain Speirs, forcing Natia to go quiet immediately at his tone and his sudden deranged appearance that stood in front of her. Natia stood watching him as he tried to control his own breathing, the intense eye contact forcing her to attempt to keep her emotions in check the best she could possibly manage at this point. Natia quickly looked down to the letter and back up towards Captain Speirs and tried to speak but felt her throat tighten at the thought.

" My brother." Natia said holding out the letter towards Captain Speirs who took it, watching her for a second before looking down at the letter again. 

There was something about watching Captain Speirs read the letter, opening up this portion of her life even more to someone like him, that months ago she would've never even dared to do. But if anything, he could help. He was someone that could help. 

He had connections. She had none. 

He had a certain type of power within the Airborne and within the 506th. She had none. 

People knew who he was because of stories, but also because of training, of going through D-Day together, or being around one another. She was only known because of glamorized stories that were whispered about. Natia watched Captain Speirs who read the letter and every so often, take a willing glance in Natia's direction. Once he had finished reading through the letter, he looked at her again. 

" I don't know what I'm supposed to do." Natia managed out, leaning a shaking hand on the wooden frame of the door, her dark eyes looking blankly towards him," I can't do anything." Saying those words felt like locking something up inside of her, it felt like something was being shut away. And looking at Captain Speirs, she knew that where they stood, nothing could be done. That was a feeling that hurt. Not being able to do a thing except write a letter and hope he would get it and hope he wasn't dead. It sounded cynical speaking like that, saying words like that, even merely thinking like that; about someone that was her brother, who shared her blood.