Maybe One Day

Chapter Eighteen: Merry Christmas from Jerry Kraut

MEGAN'S POV

A few days passed and our usual scraps with the Germans ensued. Artillery and shellings, sporadic machine gunfire, the usual... But Christmas Eve was when they really showed their strength. I was standing far enough from the line where I was protected, but close enough to see German tanks rolling towards us. I crouched close to the ground, my eyes trained on them. Each breath in and out sounded like wheezes and I had periodic coughing fits. With each one, I would down a little bit of cough medicine before going back out on my rounds. I was too tired to really do much else. 

"Hold your fire, boys. Don't let them draw you out!" 

I stayed crouching where I was, holding tightly into the strap of my satchel. Seconds later, Alley was shouting for a medic. Not even half a second later I was running as fast as I could.

"Smokey got hit, Angel!" 

By the time I reached Smokey, Gene and Alley had already pulled him from his foxhole. 

"Hey, darling... Hey Smokey." I said softly. 

Gene was busy examining him when I knelt down and brushed the hair back from his eyes and looked at his pupils.

"It's okay sweetheart, Angel's here. You'll be okay."

"I can't feel my legs." he wailed. 

Over my voice, I could hear the rumble and roar of the tanks get louder and Lipton shout for the machine guns to fire. Smokey's hands were scrambling around so I grabbed one of them in my hands and squeezed tightly.

"Smokey you're going to be okay. I promise. You'll be perfectly fine." I comforted. "First Sergeant Lipton! I need you!" I shouted, starting to drag Smokey through the snow. "Stay with us, Smokey. You're going to be okay." 

When Lipton arrived he took over Eugene's spot so he could get the plasma ready. We dragged Smokey across the snow for a long time before I was overtaken with another coughing fit.

"S-Stop. Please." I said, coughing and wheezing into the crook of my elbow.

Eugene took the time to get the plasma drip ready. 

"Hey! Hey, Smoke!" I smacked the sides of his cheeks to wake him up. Lip did the same from where he was. 

"L-Lip, you're standing on my hand." he mumbled.

Lip quickly took his foot off Gordon's hand and his head shot up when he heard a jeep coming our way. 

"We'll get you another purple heart for it, eh? You just gotta stay with us sweetheart." I promised. 

We all heaved Smokey into the back of the Jeep and Eugene took off with him to the aid station. I made a mental note to check up on him when he came back.

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The next morning was Christmas Eve. Hannukah had ended a few nights ago with another dance and another story. Now the men were excited to tell me all about Christmas' that they had back home with their families. I stood in line to get some chow and quietly ate spoonfuls of it. I wasn't hungry but I knew I had to eat. I had lost enough weight and needed to keep myself as healthy as possible. The sound of an approaching Jeep startled me from my thoughts and I turned in the direction to see Colonel Sink stepping out. 

"We're all sitting down to a Christmas Eve dinner of turkey and hooch back at the Division CP." 

Of fucking course. Expired beans for us, turkey for the higher ups. I rolled my eyes.

"Damned if I don't like old Joe Dimingus' rancid-ass beans better."

I saw Eugene across the way staring off into space. This was something he did normally, but this stare was different. I made my way from the chow line and plopped down next to him.