Evelyn's Tale

-Eleven-

TW: From here on out you can expect graphic descriptions of war and death etc.

Boarding the C-47 had been no easy feat given all the equipment they were carrying and wearing. It had involved a lot of pushing and shoving to get each other up the stairs and through the rather narrow doorway. Usually Floyd Talbert would have taken great delight in making some kind of filthy comment about being able to touch Evelyn's ass, but nobody was in the mood for jokes right now. Once everyone was seated, Evelyn began handing out the airsickness pills as the aircraft taxied down the runway, informing everyone that they were to take one immediately and then another after half an hour in the air. She took her seat between Tab and Shifty just as it began its ascent. Her stomach jolted when the plane finally lifted off the ground and her ears popped, leaving them feeling muffled, kind of like when someone is full of a cold.

They had been in the air for around fifteen minutes and the only sound that could be heard was that of the loud rumbling of the engine. Some of the guys were asleep, some were praying, and the rest were just sitting in quiet contemplation of what was to come. Evelyn was leaning back against the carriage, thinking about Bill. What was he doing alright? Was he praying? Was he sleeping? Was he as nervous as she was?

"Hey Ev," Talbert nudged her. "I don't think Lieb's feeling too good."

She leaned forward to look at Liebgott, who was sitting on Talbert's other side. He was deathly white, and he had his head in his hands. Ev motioned for Tab to swap places with her.

"Lieb, you ok?" she asked, having to speak loudly over the noise. She rubbed his back soothingly.

He glanced up and nodded wearily, his eyes out of focus as he looked at her.

"Uh huh, air sickness pills making me a little loopy," he answered.

Evelyn pulled out her canteen and urged him to take a sip of water. He sat up and leaned back against the carriage of the plane.

"Try and get some sleep," she told him. "Just close your eyes and whatever you do, don't take that other tablet."

"I wasn't planning on it, don't worry. What are you tryin' to do Guarnere? Poison me?" he smirked, and she was glad to see he wasn't ill enough to have lost his sense of humour.

... ... ...

When they heard the first explosion, they all glanced at one another nervously. Across from Evelyn, Buck Compton smiled at her reassuringly. Lieutenant Lynn 'Buck' Compton had joined Easy on the day they had arrived in Upottery. She liked Buck. Everyone liked Buck. He was easy to get along with, and since day one had made a huge effort to get to know the men and her. He wanted to be on their level, despite being their superior. He wanted them to view him as a friend. And so far, it was working. It also helped that he was about the only person who could equal Malarkey at craps which impressed the rest of the guys. She smiled back at him.

Another explosion went off and Evelyn jumped. She felt a gentle touch on her hand and she glanced beside her to Liebgott, who was now awake and watching her with a strange expression on his face. He squeezed her hand and she swore she could feel butterflies in her stomach that had nothing to do with anxious anticipation for what was about to happen. He gave her a small smile and continued to hold onto her hand as the sound of explosions became closer and more frequent.

"Stand up! Hook up!" Lipton suddenly shouted as the red light appeared by the door. "Equipment check! Sound off for equipment check!"

Evelyn patted herself down and then Liebgott in front of her. He turned around and gave her a cheeky wink. Despite the seriousness of the situation she found herself blushing.