A new medic

Chapter 15

Jess sat shivering in the plane. With the doors open, cold air pressed in on them from all sides and she hugged herself as best she could in a feeble attempt to stay warm. All around her the men were doing various things to keep their minds off of the fact that they were about to jump headfirst into war. Guarnere was sitting next to her, a look of anger and determination on his face, his crucifix dangling between his finger and thumb. She felt awful for him because of his brother and had tried to comfort Bill as best she could. Now all she could do was sit slightly closer to him in a reassuring but also practical way to share body heat.

Her pendant hung around her neck, the metal cool but comforting against her skin. When they were preparing at the airfield Jess had been momentarily tempted to leave it and the rings behind in the care of the family who she had boarded with back in Aldbourne. In this moment though, she was glad she did not. The rings and star seemed to her to be a talisman and symbol for good luck. They would go on to become her best source of comfort in Normandy when she landed.

The plane jolted slightly and Jess sharply raised her head in alarm. 'I hate this so much,' she thought, gritting her teeth bitterly and wondering for the millionth time why she had agreed to join the paratroopers when she had such a terrible fear of heights? Lipton, who was sitting opposite her, noticed the worry on Jess' face and offered her a reassuring smile before Buck started yelling to him, trying to find out the fate of a man named Evans. Jess smiled slightly at the conversation before turning her gaze back to her shaking hands and praying for guidance from her mother, father and Yahweh.

They had been flying for what felt like years but also mere seconds before a distant sound of artillery signalled that Normandy was nearby and the Germans had spotted them. The light turned red and Dick stood, buckling his helmet strap as he turned to face his men. "Get ready!" He yelled over the sound of the plane's engines and the Kraut artillery. "Stand up! Hook up!" Dick continued to shout the well worn instructions as the men and Jess stood, faced him and hooked themselves to the overhead cable. The red light cast an eerie glow in the plane as the equipment check and consequent sound off began.

As the plane cleared through the clouds and Normandy became visible below, the ongoing artillery fire began to reach them causing the plane to rock violently and Jess found herself being thrown against the wall and hitting the back of her head. Once they'd righted themselves and stood back in their lines, the pilots began to argue with each other. Jess exchanged a concerned glance with Guarnere before their copilot was shot dead and the argument fell silent.

Dick only just registered the shot that took out the copilot before the light had switched to green. It was time to jump. With a final look behind and a yell of encouragement to his men, Dick hauled himself out of the plane and into the dark night air, lit up by flashes of gunfire and planes on fire heading towards the Normandy soil far below. He could only hope that everyone else had made it out...

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Jess felt the wind rush through her as she hurtled towards the ground, her chute splayed out above her. The sky was alight with gunfire and planes on fire, spiralling out of control to the ground. Jess felt the familiar nauseating feeling in her stomach as her brain started to comprehend just how high up she was. Suddenly a charred piece of plane came careering towards her, threatening to wipe Jess from the sky. Panicking slightly, Jess managed to turn her parachute away from the collision and to a few blessed seconds of safety.

Jess cried out in pain as the momentary safety abruptly ended when she collided with the sharp branches of a charred tree. Her foot caught on one branch but she continued to fall down hitting every other branch, her ankle becoming twisted as she struggled to untangle herself. The parachute became entangled about halfway down causing Jess to jerk suddenly upwards and then hang suspended several feet above the ground. Cursing silently under her breath, Jess reached for the small bayonet knife concealed in her trouser pocket and used it to cut herself free from the parachute.

"Shit," Jess gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying out in pain as she landed on her injured ankle which promptly collapsed beneath her and ended up sprawled on the floor. She took a deep breath and shook herself mentally to ensure that she didn't go into shock or black out. Instead, Jess sat up and examined the rest of her body ensuring that nothing else was too badly wounded just bruised before addressing her ankle. Fortunately, as a medic, Jess had a full supply of bandages and morphine and any other medical equipment she could possibly need to keep her ankle in one piece until she joined the rest of Easy. Unfortunately, after strapping her ankle and testing it by walking gingerly around, Jess discovered that she had lost her rifle in the tree and had only her knife to serve as a weapon.

'Just my luck,' thought Jess, but she put the thought out of her mind when she heard a branch snap behind her. Whirling around, Jess raised her knife and tried to hobble behind the trees for cover but her ankle gave out once again and she unintentionally fell towards a tree hitting it with her arm and cried out in pain. The figure approaching paused in its tracks before a familiar voice whispered, "flash?"

"Thunder," Jess responded weakly as she inspected her arm and saw a huge bruise beginning to form. Guarnere stepped into her view and Jess could've sobbed with relief that she was no longer defenceless and alone. "Shit J, what happened here?" Guarnere crouched beside her in concern and wiped a streak of blood off of Jess face. Jess shrugged and leaned on Guarnere for support as she struggled to her feet. "Had a fight with that tree on my way down," she joked as Guarnere laughed and began to gently help her walk away from the offending plant towards a railroad where they met up with Malarkey, Toye and another soldier who Jess didn't quite recognise. Together they trudged along through the darkness trying desperately to find their Company.