Women of War - A Band of Brothers Story

Holland

A/N: Hey folks! Wow, can't believe another week is already over. I really wanted to update yesterday, but I was just too tired to do much more than lie around and watch TV. I spent Friday and Saturday working at our local music festival and on Saturday night (or rather, Sunday morning), I only got home at 4:30 am... But it was definitely worth it. I got to see Status Quo for free and arguably from the best spot in the house (as staff members, we could go up to the production/tech gallery high up over the balcony)

Anyways, thank you for your comments on the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one :) Also, shout-out to Byron W.4 for providing historical details!

On 9th October, Lieutenant Speirs from Dog Company took a squad to the river. He rowed across the water to the other banks on his own, using the darkness as his cover. Entering the enemy's territory, he then waited for dawn to start reconnaissance. He scouted the area, noting the positions of the Germans' machine guns and headquarters.

He was spotted and made a run for the river, unintelligible shouting following him, machine gun fire nipping at his heels. Bullets pierced his skin, a burning pain searing through his hip. He stumbled, but pressed on.

The Lower Rhine came in sight and Speirs didn't hesitate to dive in. He fought against the water's pull, came to the surface and sucked in a lungful of crisp autumn air. His wounds screamed, pain shooting down the length of his leg with every kick.

The river was too strong for him to withstand in his wounded state and slowly pushed him downstream as he swum for the south bank. A current dragged him under.

"Spread out", Sergeant Caracea ordered his squad as soon as the Germans stopped firing on the dark head that bobbed in the water before disappearing and resurfacing once more a few feet farther downstream. "Gnazzo, alert the aid station, Sumner, Kapopoulos – keep your eyes on the Krauts."

Esther, trying to track her lieutenant's path towards them, squinted against the morning sun glittering on the river as she ran, Arthur "Jumbo" Di Marzio right behind her.

Speirs went under again.

Esther cursed in Yiddish. Speirs was a tough guy, but it was clear that he was losing steam. The river had carried him farther when he popped up, though he was almost back on their side at least. Esther only prayed that he didn't lose consciousness before he got out of the water.

***

Speirs' field of vision had gone grey around the edges by the time he pulled himself up onto dry land, his mind numb with exhaustion. His arms, heavy from the strain of fighting the currents, refused to support him and he collapsed fully.

Grass tickled his cheek. A small patch of gravel pressed uncomfortably against his chin. He couldn't bring himself to move, focusing on breathing through the excruciating pain instead.

"Sir? Lieutenant?"

The urgent voice pushed through the haze of pain. A hand touched his shoulder.

"Jumbo, d'you have your aid kit?"

A mumbled affirmative, followed by ODs rustling. "How bad is it?"

"The bleeding looks pretty bad", the first voice answered, "but it's hard to tell."

Speirs forced his eyes open and blinked against the blurry greyness. Slowly turning his head, upper torso following along, the soft facial features of Bowman swam into view. Di Marzio knelt beside her and was unfurling two bandages.