they used to shout my name (now they whisper it)

chapter six: the hills have eyes

They were stuck on Peleliu. Matt knew that Eugene was keeping count, but never bothered asking how many days they were on the island.

It was the same thing every day: hell. It seems like all they ever did was be aware of their surroundings 24/7, barely get any sleep, gunfire, death, and marching.

War was hell. His grandfather had been right about that. Matthew, Sr. was never in a war. The only people Matt could think of that were involved in wars of the past in his family was his father's father and his brothers. Matt's grandfather, however, was not a soldier. He was a doctor. Matt can't really call if his grandfather was out in the battlefield at all, so don't ask him. Maybe, once he got back home, he could ask.

Sledge's father is a doctor, and he too was involved in the Great World War as a doctor, like Matt's grandfather. Matt once joked that maybe Sledge's father and his grandfather had crossed paths once, but Matt was sure that his family was on the...wrong side during that war, so there was a slim chance of that actually happening.

Then, Matt laughed at that thought. He thought of how ironic it was that he and his sister were on the US side, but found it even funnier that Madison was the one in Europe, where her unit were fighting the Germans.

To pass the time, Matt and his friends would swap stories on just about anything. They all spoke of their lives before the war. They talked about their families. And Jay would never stop commenting on how gorgeous Matt's sisters were. God damn, he knew that De L'Eau was only pulling his leg, but Matt hated how the men would talk about women. Weren't they ever taught to be respectful? Obviously not.

"Relax, Kraut," Snafu would say. "We just pullin' legs around here. No harm to any of the dames. You got any pictures of them? I'm sure the men would love to see some pretty faces."

"Fuck off," Matt bit down his anger. Like hell they would.

* * *

"What do they look like?" Sledge asked one day out of the blue. It had caught Matt off guard. At first, he wasn't really sure who Sledge was referring to.

"Who?"

"The twins," Sledge clarified. "You talk all about them, but I have no idea what they look like. Can you describe them?" Sledge was the type of man who needed visuals. He needed some descriptions of some sort, or else he just pictured the twins as little Matt look-a-likes. (Which, they probably did to some extent. After all, they were siblings.)

"I'll show ya. Unlike the others, I trust you, Sledge." He pulled out a few pictures of them and handed them to his friend. He knew that Sledge was respectable and would not act vulgarly upon these photos like some of the men would.

Sledge shuffled through them. They were identical and very pretty. They had dark hair. Matt had handed him four pictures: one photo consisted the entire family, another was just of the two girls sitting on the front porch. The last two consisted of just the girls with their friends. It was easy to tell which one was who.

"Where did you get this one?" Sledge asked, holding the picture of Madison up with some of the men from her unit. He flipped to the back, reading it. The teenager was kind enough to write a description on the back.

"I think she sent me that one along with one of her letters," Matt answered. After Sledge was finished looking, he handed the photos back to Matt, who put them back in his breast pocket. "Don't ask me who each of the men are, because I'm not entirely sure."

Sledge nodded slowly, mindlessly shuffling through them still. "Have I met them before?"

Matt thought about it. Did he? He couldn't recall.

"I don't think so," Matt concluded.

* * *

No matter where they were, it always seemed to be pouring down rain wherever they went. Matt was getting pretty tired with it. Whenever it ended, he was simultaneously dry and wet. The ponchos weren't that effective into keeping them completely dry.

Leyden was wounded earlier that day. Haldane had came by, telling them all that Leyden was well, and that he would be back soon. But when morning came, they were going out into the hills.

* * *

The Hills had to be the worst time of his life, Matt had decided.

Haldane was true to his word. The next day, they were out in the hills, and it was rough. It seems that every day, the war became more difficult.

But the worst part on that day was when Hillbilly died. Ack-Ack no longer smiled. Hillbilly was his best friend and without him, the world was black and white to the captain.

Gunny Haney had been broken up by it too. No one could ever forget how his bright blue eyes were rimmed red. He was shaking.

Seeing those two all shaken up had shaken up the others too. Matt refused to talk about it. He wasn't going to break, not now. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

* * *

What really made it all go down hill, in Matt's opinion, was the death of Captain Andrew Haldane.

Matt was resting against one of the rocks, when Burgin had come running.

"Sniper's got the Skipper!" Burgin had said, his voice thick with emotion. Matt went completely still, staring at Burgin in shock. He knew what that meant.

"What?" Matt couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. Not until he saw a body.

"Captain Haldane?" Jay asked.

Burgin looked to be a wreck, but was able to say, "Ack-Ack's dead."

Ack-Ack's dead.

Ack-Ack's dead.

Ack-Ack's dead.

Burgin's words rang in Matt's ears, as well as Jay's crying. He was in disbelief. In shock. Their captain was dead. Gone. Killed by a sniper. A fucking sniper.

Two men were slowly walking by the rest of the company, carrying a stretcher. A stretcher that held Haldane's body. When Matt saw it, that's when he lost it. Yes, he had seen bodies before, prewar and during it but seeing his captain, someone who he so highly respected...it got to him.

"God fucking damn it!" He swore, throwing his helmet to the ground. He wasn't really sure if he had cursed in English or German but no matter what, it was clear to the others that Matt was upset.

They were ordered to move on. Matt knew they had to, with no other option. They had only moved out to find a new resting place in this hell of an island. All Matt had wanted to do was leave. Leave this goddamn hellhole and get the war over with.

He hoped his sister was having a better time in Europe than he was in the Pacific.

* * *

A/N: Hi, another update. And just right before school starts back up too! Part Seven was kind of hard to write, mainly because of how...emotional it gets. And it kind of jumps around, but that's okay. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.