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Sergeant Dillard greeted Natalia with a rifle pointed directly between her eyes. She refused to aim her pistol anywhere else than at the American man, fearful she may be hallucinating. Norman was trembling in fear.
"Easy, girl. Easy now." Sergeant Dillard slowly pulled the gun away from the hatch. Natalia's hand was shaking; "two are alive!" the sergeant called to the medics on the ground.
Natalia and Norman exchanged eye contact, the realization finally hitting them; they're being rescued. A paramedic climbed atop of the tank, helping Sergeant Dillard haul the two out of Fury. Both Norman and Natalia refused to part with their firearms.
"Easy. Easy." the paramedics repeated as they made their way down the vehicle. Natalia attempted to shove the hands away from her, but it was no use. It was their job to ensure she was alright.
"What about them? You have to get them out, help them!" Natalia turned to climb on top of the tank once more. She thought maybe, just maybe, the paramedics could help her crew; "I can't leave them!"
Norman grabbed ahold of the girl's arm, pulling her along with him. The sight of dead Nazis caused her to grow quiet for a brief moment. There were countless bodies. A massacre. But it wasn't enough to ensure the survival of everyone she loved.
"You all right? You hit?"
"You hurt?"
The two remaining Fury crew members were asked all sorts of questions. They had both made it out of the battle unharmed, physically.
"You seem alright. Let me see this." a paramedic took notice of the pistol in each of their hands; "we'll leave you two with those."
Natalia and Norman were walked to a truck, the girl still shouting orders to help her boys inside the tank. Norman could only assume their next destination was the army base.
"Hey." two paramedics stopped them before they got into the vehicle; "you two are heroes. You know that?"
The voices began to echo as Natalia and Norman sat side by side in the truck. They sure didn't feel like heroes. If anything, they felt like cowards. As the wheels began to spin, Fury slowly rolled out of sight. Natalia banged the side of her fist onto the window.
"No. No! Guys!" she watched her life roll away behind her; "Don! Gary! Oh God. Trini! Boyd, I'll be back! I'll be back..." her voice cracked as tears rolled down her cheeks, washing away the dirt from her face.
"Natalia." Norman whispered, his hands gently grabbing her shoulders to pull her away from the window; "it's over."
•
The hours, days and nights all blended together. Natalia had no estimate on how long her and Norman were squished together in the back seat. Norman had finally fallen asleep on the girls shoulder during the late hours. Natalia was wide awake, desperate to process everything that had happened to her in such little time. The truck driver hardly said a word to the two.
