𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗦 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗦 | j. egan

002; Breathe, Focus, Fire

002; Breathe, Focus, Fire

        THE THICK SMELL OF BLOOD LITTERED THE AIR
as Marilyn shot into the abyss. The plane shaking with each bullet it took, some of which narrowly missed the girl. As she was too focused on her mission rather than what was going on in the outside world. "Marilyn, do you have eyes on the target?" Buck Cleven asked her. She was placed in his plane, as the bombardier previously had perished due to a bullet in the neck.

"Yes sir, I do." She replied, her thumb hovering over the switch that would wreak havoc on the enemies. She waited for that sentence, the one that gave her the cue to light up the German Air Base that they were targeting today.

"Plane is yours, Marilyn." He finally spoke. Not a second later, the bombs were on their way to their destination. She watched through her bombsight, seeing the once powerful base be taken over by a thick cloud of smoke. They had made it this far, now it was a dogfight home. Marilyn departed from the bombsight, and switched to her place at the machine gun. Preparing for her next target.

Her eyes fell upon a Luftwaffe moments later. As she stared directly at its nose, she prepared for the fight. Rounds exploding into the air as she shot, hitting the metal on the plane. She watched as smoke trailed from it, showing that she landed a good hit. The Luftwaffe would soon be out of the sky, one less machine that could kill her crew.

Every pilot on the plane had each other's backs. They fought for each other, and if one was ever injured, they would stop at nothing to take out the plane that injured the person. "Fuck, they're everywhere!" She exclaimed as three planes narrowed in on her.

Once more, she shot into the sky. Watching as one Luftwaffe piloted into another, falling from the sky. "Damn good shot, Viper!" Buck praised as he and the co-pilot watched the planes fall. "Thanks, but we aren't done yet." She replied, twisting her head to watch the third plane fly to the left side. She had yet to learn the names of her fellow shooters. She switched her attention back to the sky in front of her, seeing the debris of B-17 bombers.

"Jesus." She spoke lightly. Parachutes littering the sky once more. The sea of jellyfish was back, and it was a sight that would haunt her forever. Finally, they had been left alone by the Luftwaffe's, as they landed to refuel.

"Alight, Buck, now you can celebrate." She joked lightly, earning a chuckle from the body of the plane.

"Fuck a celebration, Viper, you deserve a party after today's performance." The co-pilot spoke, earning a nod in agreement from the rest of the crew that was visible.

She climbed down from her spot on top of the B-17 bomber. Marilyn had started her journey on reaching twenty five, the magic number each and every one of them prayed they would live to see. It was her and Buck's first mission, so far they had proven their worth to the unit, and they deserved their seats.

She hardly knew the blonde, but she knew he was going to stop at nothing to get home to his girlfriend. She admired him for that, as in this day and age, you don't find many who would stay loyal across an ocean.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked around the plane, taking in its physical damage. She had already met Lemmons, the mechanic who worked miracles on the planes that were fortunate enough to return. She knew how hard working he was, and everything he did never went unnoticed by her. She was forever grateful for his dedication to keeping them safe.

She felt the plane shift, signaling a turn. She stood to look out at the scenery around her, she was relieved to see Thorpe Abbots in sight. A drop in altitude made Marilyn unsteady momentarily, she grabbed onto the side, getting ready to touch down.

However, she wasn't ready to hear the screams of agony fill the air. Nothing could prepare her for that, she felt the blood drain from her each time she heard it. Whether she flew or not. She would be rushed to interrogation where once that was finished she would start her letters. The letters she already dreaded writing.

Her feet planted themselves steadily on the ground as she jumped out, taking a breath before a storm unfolded on the tarmac. Buck was last to leave the plane, he made his way over to his friend whom Marilyn had yet to be introduced to. For now, she was kept busy by the rush of people passing.

Of the remaining soldiers, all of them had blood on them. Whether it was their own or someone else's, it didn't matter. Work first, questions later; that was the motto. To save as many lives as possible, to keep someone's baby on this cruel Earth a little while longer. That was until the military sent them on another suicide mission.

Marilyn found herself helping an injured soldier out of a plane, pieces of shrapnel clung to his skin as he screamed in pain. His fingers brushing gently against the foreign object that was buried into his skin. "Don't," She said calmly, trying to keep him from panicking, "You'll only make it worse." She finished, holding the right side of his body as they fought to get him into an ambulance.

The man had passed out due to blood loss, Marilyn's fingers flying to the artery on his neck, checking for any signs of life. She let out a breath as she found it. One less letter she would have to write.

"Marilyn," Bucks once soft and deep voice, now breaking and full of worry spoke to her. "Interrogation." It was all he could say, she knew he was scared, they all were. It was part of the job to face death daily, each of them teased it until it caught up to them. She nodded, thanking him as he took her spot in supporting the unconscious soldier in her arms.

"Get in, I can get you there quicker than that bus." A voice spoke, she recognized it to as it belonged to Bucks friend. "Thank you, Major." She said, situating herself as the man sped off. She looked back, taking in the horrific view. Smoke and flames filled the air, it seemed anything that oxygen had touched, was burnt.

"You're lucky, y'know.." Bucky started, eyes never leaving the road ahead of him. She hummed in agreement, lucky wasn't the word she would use, but it seemed she was fortunate enough to survive. He took notice of her silence, choosing to respect her wishes of not talking. He couldn't imagine what she had seen up there, especially with her seat.

"Interrogation is just in there to the right." He spoke, Marilyn thanked the man, shutting the door to the Jeep. She took a deep breath before walking into the building, there she would learn just how many letters she would have to write. The anxiety grew in her chest.

"All's fair in war."

🧳⌁﹒┈﹒ılı﹒click here to continue to next chapter