The Way Back

- 17 -

The snow fell heavier as the temperature dropped impossibly colder. Night had officially set, and yet, the forest still cast a soft shine with the snow covered ground. Lia Creed stood at the American lines' edge, directly next to a pool of blood where a soldier was hit coming back from the combat patrol. 

She shed her green jacket, revealing a white t-shirt underneath, and hung it on the closest branch. The M1 strapped over her arm hit the ground and leaned up against the trunk of the tree. Her helmet was removed next and was instead replaced with a stolen white cloth that wrapped over her dark brown hair. 

Concealment was necessary even under the cover of darkness. 

Lia drew in a sharp breath at the negative temperatures that were already attacking her exposed arms. This was dangerous and battled the line that stood between frostbite, but she didn't care. Private Julian was out there. 

The lieutenant stalked into the forest with nothing but a knife to defend herself. She pushed on over the snow, trying to keep her footfalls as silent as possible. Her careful eyes watched the trees in front of her. At night, everything looked like it moved. Everything looked like an enemy. 

She quickly arrived at the small pile of logs that provided the group cover just hours before and leaned down into it. Off to her right, Julian's body still lay in that horrible red colored blood. Lia fought to keep the images of her family from her head. 

Bringing him back alive wasn't the mission. She knew he would be dead. Whether the bullet in his neck took him out or the cold; one was bound to be the case. The mission was to retrieve his body. A mission she didn't tell a soul about. 

She peaked her head around the small cover, trying to spot the German line. The fog still fell thick throughout the night, so any visibility across the open forest was impossible. Lia drew in a quick breath before dropping down into the snow. 

The top layer of it melted immediately and began soaking through her t-shirt. She bit down on her lip at the sheer bitterness that bit into her stomach and arms. Stupid, reckless, and just utterly dumb. But she had to. 

An army crawl brought the lieutenant right up next to Julian. Out of the corner of her eye she was able to catch a flash of movement from in between the layers of fog. 

The German's were close; too close. Although the white of her new outfit blended her into her surroundings, the moment she grabbed Julian would alert them of the American's presence. 

Lia slowly dragged her hands over Julian's body and underneath his arms, bracing herself for the gunfire that was about to rain down onto her. She counted down from five. The moment she hit the last number, she pushed her legs up and dragged Julian back behind the cover of the logs. 

Shouts rose up from across the forest floor. Shouts in German. Gunshots rang out seconds later that sent bark flying through the air. Lia was quick to get her hands underneath Julians' legs and haul him over her shoulders. 

The lieutenant flew through the forest as fast as her legs could take her. The gunfire was steadily persistent and struck the trees and snow all around her. She didn't stop running, even as she passed her rifle and jacket against the tree next to a frozen puddle of blood. She didn't stop until she came upon the first American soldier reporting to the gunfire. 

Lia slipped then, dragging her body to her knees with Julian's body still hung over her shoulders. 

Winters was the first man she saw, followed quickly by Luz, Guarnere, and Speirs. 

The four dropped their rifles that were aimed on the unsuspecting soldier. Speirs was quick to rush up to the drenched soldier in just a t-shirt and grabbed her arms to steady her. Guarnere and Luz helped grab Private Julian's body off her back and lowered him carefully to the ground. Winters kneeled down in front of Lia, watching her with drawn features.