All Things Nice » Band of Brothers

79: Uneasy

Posey kept her gun close to her and wished she had more ammunition. They hadn't had any to spare back on the line but what she had with her now, now that she was on her own in Wehrmacht-occupied territory, was pitiful. She'd have to use her bullets sparingly. She was hoping she wouldn't have to use any at all.

It was beginning to get light by now. She'd walked all through the night. Her legs ached fiercely, her lungs burned with freezing cold air, and her heart beat lethargically against her ribs. She recalled all of the marching they'd had to do back at boot camp and was grateful for it now; she'd never have been able to walk for so long otherwise.

Thinking of boot camp made tears sting in her eyes. She'd pitied herself so much back then when, really, things hadn't been so bad. It was both the gift and the curse of hindsight that the past could seem so rosy. She'd had problems back then, sure, but problems nowhere near the scope of her current one. This was a full on nightmare, and as much as she prayed and prayed she'd wake up soon she knew she never would.

Light was beginning to spill through the trees, painting the snow orange. The world was still asleep, everything quiet and somewhat hazy in the early morning, but Posey was wide awake. Even though she hadn't had any sleep she didn't feel tired. She didn't know that she'd ever be able to sleep again - not until she got somewhere safe, at least.

She'd passed the aid station hours ago in her trek. It had been Nixon's idea to follow this route - he'd said it was her best chance at survival. Up on the line they were surrounded by krauts on all sides but the wounded were getting to the aid station somehow, and from the aid station some of them were getting sent to evacuation hospitals. Posey followed the route Nixon had mapped out for her, the one the jeeps took to transport wounded back from the line, and when a truck left the aid station, carrying battered soldiers off to a hospital, she hid behind a tree and watched it leave. She had a general idea of where the evacuation hospital was, and wherever it was would be somewhere the Germans weren't occupying. If she could just get there, she'd be safe. Then she could go to Reims, hitch a ride or something, and go find George in that bookshop again. He'd know what to do, for he'd done it himself before.

Posey stopped very suddenly, startled as she realised she was in a very similar position to the one he'd been in when his plane had gone down - to the one John had been in, too. The stakes had been higher for them because back then France, where they'd landed, had been occupied by the Nazis. Posey wasn't in Nazi-occupied territory but she was in Wehrmacht occupied territory, and there would still be a very hefty price on her head if the Germans found out she was out here, wandering around on her own. They'd make her a POW, undoubtedly, and when they found out she was a woman...

It didn't bear thinking about. She couldn't let herself think about it. There was only one thing that came of thinking the worst and that was a downward spiral from which she'd never return. No, the only thing to think about was putting one foot in front of the other and walking as far as she could for as long as she could. Nothing else mattered right now.

It had been hours since she'd passed the aid station and she hadn't seen a soul since then. She startled when she saw one now. He was American, that much was clear from the colour of his ODs and the shape of his helmet, but she had no idea what he was doing all the way out here. Perhaps he was a deserter - perhaps they could travel on foot together. Then again, did she really want to find herself associated with a deserter, knowing of how the US Army was hunting them down and pinning them with a death sentence?

Still, she approached, slowly but letting her footsteps crunch loudly in the snow. She was confident there were no Germans around here and she didn't want to startle him.

"Hello?" she called out warily when she was a good, safe distance away in case he was trigger happy.

She didn't get a reply. The man didn't even move. Where he sat slumped against the tree, his back to her, he may even have been asleep. She called out to him louder, "Hello?" and still got nothing back.