Humanity of the Broken [ Band of Brothers ] 2

TWENTY-NINE

"Alice, get up!"

In her half-wakened state, Alice could not tell who had dared pound on her door. It echoed through from the tiny study, into her bedroom. With a groan, she refused to respond. The pounding came again. Biting her cheek, Alice pulled herself out of bed. Dressed only in her standard white tank top and dark shorts, she stumbled through her bedroom to the door. She flung it open to find Harry Welsh smoking a cigarette.

"Morning," he said. His smirk grew as she glared at him. "Come on, get your stuff. We're moving out."

Alice stood taller, letting go of the door. Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Three hundred thousand Germans surrendered. We're being deployed to the Alps, to Bavaria," he explained. "We move out in-" he checked his watch "-forty-five minutes."

"Shit," she said. Alice released a deep breath. "Right."

"Get your stuff. You, Speirs and I have a jeep waiting," Harry told her. Turning away from her room, he headed towards his own. 

She watched him for a moment before ducking away. A million thoughts raced through her head. If they were moving out, resistance in the area had to be crumbling. After weeks in Dormagen, they were moving again. She smiled to herself as she pulled on her uniform. Last of all went her helmet.

It didn't take long for her to throw the rest of her things into a pack. With her Karabiner from Bastogne in one hand and her bag in the other, Alice hurried out the door. Her boots hit the pavement with an unintentional finality. With a grin at the bright sun, she moved through the packed streets.

She found Harry talking to several of the men from Battalion HQ next to a jeep. As the sergeants wandered away, she moved to him. He nodded. "Put your stuff in. We're in the back."

Throwing her pack to the floor of the jeep, she yawned. As she stood back, the sound of a hammer and muttering German pulled her attention away. She realized that not far down the sidewalk, a man worked to board over a window. She scoffed, thinking how much trouble whoever the looter was would get in when he was caught.

"Wouldn't want to be the poor fellow who gets caught for that," Harry said, echoing her thoughts. "What do you think they stole?"

A commotion drew her and Harry's attention away before she could answer. The shouting ended before she could tell what happened. With a shake of her head, Alice turned back. "That was odd."

"Yeah."

Lipton came over a moment later. He nodded to them. "I'm the driver."

"Lucky us," Harry joked. Then he tapped him on the arm before pointing back towards the main loading area. "Any idea what the shouting was?"

Lip paused. "Nixon was upset over something. I don't know what exactly."

Her smile faltered instantly. What more could have possibly happened that Nixon had to deal with? She glanced at Harry on her right and he just shrugged. But all around them, trucks and jeeps started their engines. The few tanks roared to life. Alice hauled herself into the back, Harry at her side. Just as Lipton started their engine, Ron came over and hauled himself into the passenger seat.

Suddenly the voices of the enlisted rose up around them. "Gory, gory what a helluva way to die! Gory gory what a helluva way to die! Gory gory what a helluva way to die!" Everyone joined in, officers and enlisted alike. "He ain't gonna jump no more!"

Turning to Harry, she started up as well. "The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind. He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind."