Warriors (Band of Brothers - Joseph Liebgott)

Chapter 15: Feelings Confessed

As Mariah awoke the next morning, she momentarily forgot where she was; until she felt hot breath on the top of her head. Then she remembered - she had spent the night with Joe in his foxhole.

He must've felt her head move as he woke up seconds after she did. He looked down at her. "Good morning."

"Morning." She responded sitting up a stretching her limbs out.

"Oh, now would you look at that." Luz said as he approached their foxhole. "How sweet."

"Don't know what you're talking about Luz." Joe smiled.

"Sure, ya don't." Luz grinned walking away.

"We should get up, check on Smith and Blithe." She stood up her back and shoulders cracking as she did.

"What's wrong with Blithe?"

"Not sure, possibly early signs of shell-shock? Or it could be just general fear. I had to calm him from a panic attack yesterday." Mariah said.

"Hm."

Half an hour later the company wait sitting around waiting for orders from Winters and Welsh. Mariah was sitting with Luz and Eugene. "How was your sleep last night Mariah?"

Mariah rolled her eyes. "Don't start again Luz."

"Start what?" He smirked.

"You know what."

Eugene sat forward and looked at the two. "I don't."

"The outpost had ammo." A voice called from behind the group.

George seemed to forget about the matter for now, she knew he'd be back at it eventually. He was relentless when he wanted to know something. As the group was looking through the ammo they heard a high-pitched whistle.

"MORTAR!" A voice called from in front of them. Eugene, Mariah, and Luz put their helmets on and jumped back into the small foxhole behind them. All around them gunshots rang out, tree branches fell near or on top of them, and men screamed.

"GO! LOCK AND LOUD!" Winters yelled as he ran by.

Out of nowhere, a man in front of them hit the ground. Both medics grabbed the man's jacket and pulled him into the small foxhole. Eugene and Mariah set to work immediately. When Mariah looked at him, she knew. "He's gone, Gene."

"Damn it." The medic put his head down and ran his hand over his face.

The ground shook underneath the medic's feet as they moved; both had to give it their all to not topple to the ground. As Mariah finished patching a soldier's arm wound, she looked to her left and noticed Blithe. He was in his foxhole, mouth open and screaming.

Mariah crawled over to him. "BLITHE! BLITHE! YOU HAVE TO GET UP!"

He lifted his head to look at her. "I can't."

"YES, YOU CAN! THINK OF WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING FOR. THINK OF HOME." She heard rumbling in the distance; when she looked up, she saw German tanks coming through the trees on the other side of the field. "BLITHE, YOU HAVE TO MOVE, THE GERMANS ARE BRINGING THEIR TANKS IN! WE NEED YOU." His eyes suddenly hardened. He stood up, turned to face the field, and began firing.

Mariah watched as the tanks took down trees as they moved forward. The heat that was in her body drained. She felt nothing but cold; she knew it was fear.

As the tanks began firing, Mariah threw herself onto the ground, her hands over her head. A scream rang out and Mariah's head shot up. In front of her, a solider was holding his hand in the air.