we're on each other's team [band of brothers / hbo war]

15: aftermath

UPDATED 05/11/2022

To any old readers who may be rereading this, I decided to do something different. Madison can speak German and she uses that ability of hers. Starting from this chapter, any conversation she has in German will be in English italics. It's convenient and easy for all involved.

* * * * *

When silence took over, Madison opened her eyes. It was dark, silent, and she knew that she had been crying, confirming it herself when she lifted a hand to her cheek. She could feel the wetness mixing in with the soil.

With eyes wide open, Madison found herself observing where she was at. She was in a foxhole with Lipton and Luz. She remembered that had been with Skip and Penkala just moments prior, right before their untimely demise.

Warren Muck and Alex Penkala were dead.

Lipton, Luz, and Madison were all sitting in the foxhole, shivering. It was freezing, especially with no winter coats. Moments after the three soldiers realized what had happened, there was a sudden, high pitched whistle coming down towards them. Madison closed her eyes, hoping that their death was quick. They were going to die, at least, she hoped she would die.

The odds were not in Madison's favor. The shell that had hit their foxhole was a dud, not exploding upon impact. Lipton, Luz, and Madison all stared at it in silence, disbelief, and acceptance.

Madison began to cry, quieter this time. She felt someone wrap their arms around her. She didn't push away. Instead, she buried herself against their side, crying. She had survived this arterially barrage when, in her eyes, she should have joined Skip and Alex in the afterlife.

* * * * *

It was much later, in the early morning light, when everyone gathered around Skip and Alex's demolished foxhole. Madison could only stare at it in silent horror, clutching to the remains of Skip's rosary in her left hand, which was snug in her pocket. She wasn't going to let it out of reach. That was all that was left of Skip besides a limb or two, as he and Alex were blown into bits. That was something that Madison was not going to forget easily.

Luz's screaming from that barrage was finally starting to sink in Madison's brain. Muck and Penkala; Skip and Alex...they were gone. The thought brought tears to her eyes instantly. No more...she—

"Has anyone told Malarkey?" One of the men asked. Madison's head snapped up, looking into the distance, eyes wide and bloodshot. Fuck, she was so wrapped up in her own grief she had forgotten about Malarkey.

"I'll tell him," Madison spoke up. All eyes turned to her.

"Are you sure?" Lipton asked her. He thought this was too much for the young woman. She's lost a good portion of her friends in such a short amount of time. He was wondering if she was even functioning properly at the moment.

"I'll do it," Madison answered gravely, a certain edge in her voice. With no more to say, she marched away to find Malarkey. It didn't take her long, as she had found him standing off to the side of a jeep, smoking a cigarette. He looked well, but that was going to change quickly.

"Malarkey? Don?" Madison found herself asking, her voice hollow as she walked towards him. Her grip on the rosary in her left pocket was as strong as death itself.

Malarkey looked up, ready to greet Madison but he saw that devastating, traumatic look in her eyes. She was shaking, and Malarkey knew that it wasn't from the cold. Something was wrong.

"Maddie?"

Madison stared at him. She gave him an uncomfortable smile, then a nervous chuckle. This was going to be hard.