The Way Back

- 9 -

The jump was eerily calm. The camo parachutes that filled the sky were vacant of bullet holes; a strange contrast to Easy company's first jump. The men floated easily to the ground, quickly removing their chutes and sprinting across the field. 

Lia and Piper dropped down in the ditch in front of Randleman. They didn't hunker down for long. The soldiers pushed forward through the field towards Eindhoven, and crouched down with their sights on the town. It was quiet; too quiet.

Lia moved her rifle when she noticed a sudden movement towards the middle of town. One of the windows was swung open, exposing a woman behind it. The liuetenant nearly panicked, expecting to see the flash of metal from a rifle peaking through behind the glass, and held the woman neatly on the other end of her sight. 

Instead, the woman shook out a large orange cloth and tied it to the bottom of the window. Celebration. The bright orange was a contrast to the lifelessness of the town. As they marched down the road into the heart of Eindhoven, their presence seemed to spark the life back into every resident. 

People danced and kissed everywhere they looked. Cheers rang out, and songs were sang throughout the streets. Lia consistently brought her gaze back to Piper making sure she was still by her side. The blonde sargeant marched on next to her, but instead with a broad smile on her face as she watched the people around them. 

Lia's eyes quickly shot to the buildings that towered above them, scanning each and every window. Even though people were celebrating, she feared there were still German's lingering in town and were using this as an easy ambush. She quickly folded the collar of her jacket up to cover her pins that signaled she was in the position of command. Snipers would seek her out first. 

The pair walked up to Winters, Welsh, and Nixon, stopping to scan the crowd with them. Lia stood next to Welsh and noticed the flash of metal that caught in the sunlight. She reached over and folded his collar up, tucking away his lieutenant pin. Nixon and Winters watched curiously. 

She patted Welsh's shoulders as he drew his eyebrows. "Snipers." She said. "They'll take you out first with that thing flashing." 

Welsh widened his eyes, understanding their mistake. He quickly thanked the girl as Winters and Nixon followed suit in folding over their jacket collars. 

While Winter's was adjusting his shirt, a woman waltzed by and smashed a chaste kiss to his lips.

To Lia's surprise, the same woman moved on down the line and grabbed her collar to press a kiss to her lips as well. Her eyes widened as the girl waltzed back into the crowd. The three officers and Piper all had their eyes on her, smirks plastered on each of their faces.

"Do I really look that much like a man?" Lia spoke as she eyed the crowd, a hint of a joke on her voice. 

The four soldiers next to her burst out in laughter. 

"At a passing glance I could see it." Nixon chimed in. 

Lia let out a scoff, a smile playing on her lips. Piper's smile only grew wider. The people of Eindhoven, let alone anyone, we're not used to seeing a woman on the front lines. They doubted the Dutch woman even knew she had kissed a girl. 

"We got to get to those bridges." Welsh spoke up, spinning the small group into action. 

They canvassed through the sea of people dancing and laughing, spinning around as though there weren't German soldiers next door to them. The five soldiers came upon a large group, all chanting words Lia couldn't quite pick out. As she looked over the shoulders, her eyes set on women forced to kneel. Their clothes were peeled back and their hair was being shaved off. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight.