Pitschen ma en gamba - Small, but powerful [A Band of Brothers Story]

D-Day

A/N: Hi everybody :) I just wanted to thank you guys who read this story and who took the time to comment or vote on this. Have great day!

The tension was awful. Ella glanced at the men in her stick. Some were praying, some smoking, some were completely still. Gene across from her was clutching his pack close to his chest. She was humming to herself. Over the noise of the plane, nobody else heard her.

The man next to her – she didn't see who it was – was nervously checking his webbing. On impulse, the girl reached over, gently brushed his hands aside and cinched the harness a bit tighter. Smiling at him, she nodded. From the corner of her eye, she saw Winters giving them both an encouraging smile.

Distant thunder rumbled. As their plane continued towards the drop zone, the thunder became louder, sharper. It wasn't thunder. It was the sound of explosions.

Ella took a deep breath. Welcome to war.

The C-47 rattled on.

***

Her heart pounded in her chest. The red light flashed on.

Lieutenant Winters got to his feet. She could only just hear him above the noise of the plane, but his hand gestures were clear enough. "Get ready! Stand up!", he yelled.

Ella got to her feet and got in line behind Gene.

"Hook up!"

They did. Her hands were clammy inside the jump gloves.

"Equipment check!"

She quickly felt her chin strap and the straps her gear, then checked Gene's. She tested the knots, tucked away the laces and gave the whole thing a firm tug. It held. The hands of the man behind her trembled as he tightened one belt.

"Sound off for equipment check!"

Ella didn't hear half of the numbers over the ruckus of the plane. The trooper behind her yelled "Four okay" and slapped her on the shoulder.

"Three okay!", she announced, giving Gene a pat on the arm.

"Two okay!", he shouted.

Winters finished the line, calling "One okay!"

Suddenly, their plane jerked violently, knocking a few of them off their feet. The man behind her steadied himself by grabbing her shoulder. Another jostle and the C-47 swerved. She couldn't see a thing behind Gene, but she heard detonations all around her. Lightning flashed and someone – maybe Skip? – shouted: "We get any lower, we ain't gonna need any friggin' parachutes!" Yes, definitely Skip.

Another explosion rocked the plane and the small girl was nearly brought to her knees. Regaining her balance, she stared intently at the red light, willing it to turn green. Miraculously, it did.

"Let's go!", Winters called, jumping out the doorway.

Gene didn't hesitate and followed immediately after. Ella was just at the door when the plane jolted again and sent her flying backwards. Scrambling to her feet, she didn't even have time to look back. She jumped.

***

The few seconds it took for Ella to land were some of the most terrifying she had ever experienced. All around her, she saw fellow paratroopers get shot down, their canopies deflating, riddled with bullet holes. Aircraft plummeted from the sky or just burst into fireballs. Tracer ammunition zipped through the air.

A plane narrowly missed her as it screamed past, the sound of stalling engines getting cut off by a deafening crash as it hit the ground.

She slammed against something hard. There was a ripping noise and the brunette medic tumbled to the ground. She hit the earth with a thud and a small grunt.