ꜰᴜʀʏ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 18

Natalia lay still as a rock when her back hit the hard ground underneath the tank. Norman followed suit, laying beside her on his stomach. The SS soldiers were shouting as they swung open the hatches of Fury. The girl thought about her crew and how much rage they would have felt if they knew the Germans had their hands on their beloved home.

Norman crawled closer to Natalia and shifted onto his back. The young boy piled dirt and mud on top of them as a form of camouflage. Norman knew Natalia wanted to die, he could see it in her eyes. She couldn't keep on living without her biological brother, chosen brothers and future husband. Though for once in Norman's life, he was selfish. He was going to protect the girl at all costs, because he knew the rest of the Fury crew would have wanted him to.

The two could hardly breath as they listened to the stomping, whistling and shouting around them. The two exchanged a look, one full of sorrow. They didn't speak a word to each other. They were almost convinced they were going to die under the tank. Norman broke eye contact when a bright flash of light covered his and Natalia's face. An SS soldier had found them.

Natalia, who was relatively hidden by a large heap of dirt, clasped her hands over her mouth to prevent any sound from involuntarily escaping. Norman slowly lifted his head to get a better view of the man who was most likely going to take his life. The SS couldn't have been any older than Natalia, he was young and handsome. He made no sudden movement as he shone the flashlight on the two Americans. Norman shook his head as he lifted his hands in surrender. Natalia refused, she refused to surrender to the enemy. She would have rather died at the hands of the Germans.

The flashlight was turned off as the SS soldier took one final look at the two under the tank. He walked away. An unexpected act of kindness from the enemy.

•

The shouting quickly faded and the rest of the night became a blur. Natalia had passed out due to the intense emotions that washed over her in the course of a few hours. She couldn't remember anything that happened after the SS soldier spared hers and Norman's lives. Norman had fallen asleep beside the girl, inching closer to her as the night went on to preserve body heat. Under better circumstances, his heart would have been beating out of his chest being so tightly cuddled next to the girl.

In the morning, Norman and Natalia awoke to chilled air and unexplainable noises around them. Someone had found the seemingly abandoned tank, and the two couldn't help but fear the worst. Norman adjusted his eyes to the bright natural light before viewing the area around them, trying to find any sign of who they may have an encounter with.

Silence.

Norman pushed himself out of the crater the two had dug, slowly making his way towards the hatch they had previously escaped from.

"Come on." he quietly whispered to his crewmate before he maneuvered himself back into the tank.

Natalia followed close behind. Panting, she pulled herself up into Fury. Upon focusing her vision on the horrors around her, she wished she hadn't. She was greeted by her dead crew, who were now cold and stiff. Norman retreated into his position, catching his breath.

Natalia stopped at Gordo first, taking in the sight of what remained of him.

"Trini, look what they've done to you." Natalia fought back tears, though she ultimately failed. Her voice strained; "look how they massacred you..." her gaze landed on the photo of him and his fiancé, splattered with blood; "I failed you, brother. I promised to get you home safe and alive to your girl. I'm sorry." Natalia placed a soft kiss to the photo, having no body to express her grief to; "I'm so sorry. I'll miss you, Trini. I'll miss you forever. Thank you for being my best friend, for everything you've done for me. I'll always cherish you, forever and always. I love you, brother."

Next, Natalia crawled her way to her biological brother, Grady.

"Oh, Gary. I'm so sorry. I broke our promise." the tears streamed down her cheeks; "I promised to keep you safe, to get you home alive to mama. God, I'm so sorry." Natalia pressed her forehead against the side of Gary's head while her arms wrapped around him in an attempted hug. She sobbed freely now; "I'm so sorry. I love you so much, I hope you know that. I'll love you until the day I die. You're the best big brother I could have asked for, Gary. I'll miss you. God, I'll miss you so much." Natalia wiped the tears from her face before placing a kiss to her brother's forehead in a final goodbye; "I said I'd never leave you, but I'll meet you at home, brother."

Norman watched her silently. He knew she cared about her crew, he knew they all loved one another until their last breath. He never could have imagined the day would come where he witnessed their finals goodbyes.

Natalia moved onto Boyd.

"Bible, if I had known this would be the end, I would have asked you to sing Old Rugged Cross for me one last time." Natalia laughed softly through her tears. She took the preacher's hands in hers, gently, fearful she might break him; "oh, Boyd. What am I gonna do without you? You're my savior. I wouldn't have made it this far without you. You've kept me alive, brother. How could I ever repay you?" Natalia placed his hands into his lap. She switched positions. She sat beside him now, her head on his shoulder and her arms around his waist like a child; "I hope you're up in Heaven, where you deserve to be. If you're watching me now, I love you. I'll miss you dearly, brother. You have no idea how much I'm going to miss you." she placed a kiss to his cheek; "I love you."

Finally, Natalia sat face to face with Don. Immediately, she burst into tears.

"God, Don. How did it ever come to this? I thought we'd have all the time in the world." she scanned the damage the German grenades had done to him. He was a different man. He didn't look like the war hardened sergeant she had come to love and cherish. He looked peaceful; "you promised." she choked out; "you promised to keep us alive. Remember? Remember how you promised?" Natalia's sudden rage was clouded by her heartbreak. Her body crashed into Don's, trembling, her tears soaking into his jacket; "I love you so much, sweetheart. I love you more than you could have ever known. I'll never forget you. I'll honor you. I'll make you proud." Natalia looked up at Don's expressionless face. Even in death, he was handsome. Natalia's hands cupped his cheeks. She carefully placed a kiss to his forehead; "please come back to me." she whispered, though she knew it was impossible; "I love you, my dear."

Natalia looked around the tank once more, taking in each of her deceased brother's for one last time. She could tell each and every one of them she loved them until her throat bleeds. Memories, both good and bad flooded back to her. She could hardly bare the thought of leaving her boys behind. The selfish thought of taking their dog tags crossed her mind until she remembered that's classified as a war crime. They all had their own families to return home to. They had familes, lives before the war. Natalia did not. Her life was just beginning at the age of nineteen when she enlisted. For three, nearly four years she fought with these men. She shared blood, sweat and tears with them, all in this very tank. Her heart belonged to them. And it was all over in the blink of an eye. Natalia could hardly wrap her head around it.

Heavy footsteps and metallic clanging from outside Fury flooded Norman's and Natalia's ears. The young soldier jumped to his feet and quickly made his way to the girl, ready to follow any order she could have given him in that moment. But she didn't. Natalia kept her mouth closed as she reached into her jacket pocket and removed her pistol, holding it securely in her hand. She crawled her way to the top of the tank, directly underneath the top hatch. She aimed her gun at the hatch, her finger on the trigger, ready to fire if so necessary. Norman stood below her, Don's revolver held tightly in his hand. The two breathed heavily as the thought of death coursed through them once more.

The hatch was forced open, spilling daylight into the tank. The two were met with a familiar face.