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"Oh no, Gary. What happened?" Natalia asked with a soft tone, almost as if she was speaking to a small child. She removed herself from her seat and made her way to her brother. Bible was already one step ahead of her. When she received no reply, her tone became increasingly paniced; "Gary?"
"Fuck! Fuck! No. No. No." Boyd strained each word as tears streamed down his face. The preacher pressed his forehead to Grady's body as the man took his final breath.
Natalia fell to her knees beside her now lifeless brother. Her hands cupped his face. All she received back was a dead stare. Gary didn't look like himself, she thought. This wasn't her big brother, her best friend, her protector. This was somebody else. She was desperate to convince herself of this, though she failed. She also failed to notice the tears dripping from her chin onto Gary's dirt streaked cheeks.
"Oh, God. Gary, wake up. Please. Please, wake up. You can't leave me like this. Please, get up!" Natalia's breathing picked up to a dangerous pace; "Gary? It's okay. Everything will be okay. We're going home now, Gary. I got you. You're safe with me." the girl hugged her brother's head close to her chest, slowly rocking back and forth. One of her hand's gently ran through his hair, combing out the tangles.
"Get up! We're still in this fight." Don's voice didn't break through the barrier Natalia's mind had created. Herself and her brother were the only two people in the tank right now, maybe the only two people in the world. She was too busy grieving with the threat of death still hanging over her head; "we're still in this fight!"
Trini, through blurred vision of his own tears, managed to pry Natalia away from Grady. She kicked, clawed at his hands and screamed until ultimately giving in, her body going limp against Gordo's. Gordo held her tight, her back against his chest, while trying to sooth her through hushed whispers. Boyd laid Grady down onto the cold, hard ground of the tank and wrapped his jacket around his head as a sign of respect for the dead. Knowing this might be his last time to say goodbye, Bible hugged the body of his deceased friend before returning to his fighting position.
"Watch our right, watch our right."
Natalia couldn't seem to stop the flow of tears from her bloodshot eyes as she returned to her seat. She soon pulled the trigger of her firearm. She tried to look out her periscope, though her vision was clouded over by the wetness in her eyes.
"Stay on the .30. Keep hammering them."
Time ticked by as more and more dead Germans fell into the dirt and mud, littering the crossroads. Natalia couldn't decide what fueled her will to keep fighting, rage or despair. Countless bullets ricocheted off the tank as the crew retaliated, trying to keep a handle on the situation. Grenades could be heard exploding outside, and if you listened close enough, you could hear the rapid heart beats of the remaining five Fury crew members.
"How long can we keep this up!?" Norman hollered over the loud commotion. There was a sense of thick desperation in his voice.
