𝙱𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚂, 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴

𝟎𝟐. 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩

Her stomach churned as the plane shook, the reality of what was to occur in the next couple of hours left her mind running. It was muggy, yet cool to where there was no sweat sticking to her skin. She was nestled between Hoobler and Shifty, both of which she hadn't spoken to much before in her time with the Army. The plane was dark, if the group hadn't been so well adjusted, they would only be able to see the yellow life jackets. Across from her was George Luz who, for the first time since meeting him, had a somber facial expression.

Every minute or so there would be a larger rumble that would cause all the soldiers to freeze in alarm. They had only spent a possible thirty minutes on the plane, which made Dorothy curious to see if they were over land or sea. Her eyes wandered over to Harry Welsh, who sat beside the open door with his attention focused on the outside. He had his back against the inside of the vehicle, one knee bent while the other lay on the metal flooring- both blocking the exit. His uniform was bubbling and releasing from the wind.

For a moment, Dorothy felt like she would be deaf due to the loud engine. She had never noticed how loud it was to be in the plane, the only other time she did was her first jump. Her brown eyes jumped back over to Luz who was trying to talk to Talbert beside him. Tab's brows were furrowed as he tried to understand the company jokester, when he thought he understood, he'd yell back. It was a cycle for Dorothy to watch, the two men went back and forth until they became annoyed and decided to stop trying.

Smokey Gordon reached over Popeye Wynn, grabbing a lighter from Rodgers. He brought it back to himself, lit the white cigarette, and placed it between his lips. He took a satisfactory inhale, his face looking up to the ceiling with his eyes closed as he exhaled. He sat back up and handed the lighter back to Rodgers who gave him a welcoming smile.

Dorothy quickly noticed that all the men were doing something to distract themselves. Rogers was spinning his lighter around with his fingers, his eyes blankly staring at it. Shifty was lightly tapping his outer thigh in a rhythm, probably humming along to some kind of song. Gordon was smoking, his head bobbing back and forth as he looked around the plane's cabin.

Wynn had the tip of his thumb pressed against the bottom of his top teeth, pressing into it and moving his thumb. Hoobler was spinning a ring on his index finger nonchalantly, his eyes staring at the boots Luz wore. Talbert had his head leaned back, his eyes closed as he tried to get some sleep. Luz was nearly passed out too, his eyes were beginning to shut more and more, and exhaustion from the pill was clear on his face from where she was. Dorothy played with the pendant resting on her chest, hoping it would bring her some luck.

It didn't feel real, five years ago she thought there would never be another Great War. She never thought that a woman from Rhode Island would be fighting alongside brotherly comrades on her way to Europe in 1944. Yet, there she was making the impossible possible. Her very being on that aircraft signified a step towards change and opportunity, a way to alter gender dynamics- if not in the world then back home. A smile formed on her face with the thought, her eyes jumping around the plane.

She began to picturize every piece of the scene she was in, trying to memorize every thought, feeling, smell, and sight. If she survived the jump, she wanted people to know just how it feels to be in such a predicament- even though no words could equate.

What felt like hours had passed and the pills were finally kicking into Hoobler. His eyes shut quickly, his head falling forward in no doubt an uncomfortable position that would cause him future pain. She gently pushed his head back with her index and middle finger, making sure his head was stable enough to rest there alone. It didn't last too long, and she ended up readjusting him four times.

The plane created a loud stalling sound, the aircraft jerked forward and back affecting the whole plane. Anyone who had been resting was now wide awake, eyes were darting around the small space trying to figure out the cause of the turbulence. Dorothy, like most others, turned in an uncomfortable way with stiff equipment to peer through the tiny window.