I was one of five women chosen to serve our country, fighting side by side with the men, and only some of us had come home. Being surrounded by friends and enemies, having to choose who you can save, who you can love, and how to survive is something...
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The next morning finally arrived after one of the longest nights we had in some time. I woke to the sounds of the men having distant conversations, which wouldn't have normally worried me but on this particular morning, something was different - the tone of their voices were anxious.
Sitting up, I peered across the line to see the men gather their things. It made me wonder if we were getting pulled from the line to get refitted for the cold weather and properly fed but as I climbed out of my cover to search for Lipton, the conversations I overheard told me otherwise.
Upon my mission to find Lipton, I spotted Winters, Sink, and Dog Company behind the line where the men were beginning to assemble. I stopped, blinking at their appearance. It had been a few days since I last saw Speirs - the day he took that important letter from me to be exact - and thinking back to that day, I wondered if he took care of that issue yet or not.
As I stood there gawking at them, a familiar voice spoke behind me. "I've been wondering where you ran off to."
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Dike stepping up beside me. I chewed on the inside of my lip, hoping to avoid a scene. I hadn't seen him in quite some time - which I was thankful for considering our last interaction included an unnecessary tongue-lashing from him. "Sir?"
He stood next to me, gazing across the snowy fields leading into Foy. "Have you gotten your things in order, Nurse Banks?" he asked, voice calm and polite. Something in his behavior caused me to tense. I couldn't put my finger on it but the way he asked me about having my things, I questioned if he succeeded in getting me transferred out of the Company.
"What for?" I asked with a timid voice.
He blew a short sigh, motioning toward the quaint town at the bottom of the hill. "We're taking Foy."
"We are?" I questioned. This was the first I heard about it. There were discussions in the past, a few weeks prior when we had more abled men but after the last attack and heavy casualties we suffered, I questioned why this plan was still happening - why Easy Company was leading the charge.
"We've been given replacements and new orders," Dike stated as if he read my mind.
Panic brewed within me. I had doubts on whether we would survive taking control of Foy, which we knew to be heavily occupied by the enemy. I questioned the success of this order because Dike was hardly present whenever we saw action and aside from getting tongue lashings from him, I rarely saw him. He had no leadership qualities I could see and I found myself wishing we had Sobel leading us into combat over Dike - and that alone was a terrifying notion.
Dike turned to leave but stopped to glance back at me. "I heard you and I share a mutual friend in Battalion."
I furrowed my brow at him in confusion, tilting my head at him. "Sir?"
"Robert Lerner says he knows you."
My stomach twisted painfully, pushing the bile up my throat to leave the vile taste in my mouth. My hands trembled slightly, I had to dig my nails into the palms of my hands to keep from giving away something I would regret. I blinked at Dike, trying to keep calm and aloof. "Sir?"
