Behind The Lines *WW2 Fan-fiction*

Chapter 11

I woke up to Zussman laughing with Daniels. They must've woken up early. I sat up and glanced at Aiello and Stiles, they were still asleep.

"Good morning, Greenie." Zussman greeted and laughed a little. "Morning, guys." I replied and stretched before standing up. I combed through my hair with my fingers and tied it in a ponytail. I grabbed my dog togs and made sure I was ready for today's mission.

"Morning." I heard Stiles mumble as he stood up I waved at him and turned back to my weapons. "I should wake him up." Stiles said, referring to the sleeping Aiello. I hummed in response and grabbed my helmet.

"I'm up." Aiello groaned and sat up after Stiles poked him a few times. "Rise and shine, First Platoon!" Turner shouted. I sighed and headed out with Zussman and Daniels.

Aiello and Stiles eventually stood with us as we gathered around Turner and Davis.
"The Hurtgen is dark and nearly impenetrable. Our mission is to take Hill Four-Ninety-Three. Whoever holds the hill dominates the valley. For lesser men, this task may seem insurmountable. But our division, boasts a proud history of firsts." Davis stepped closer to us all as he continued to talk.
"In World War One, we were first to hold off a German attack." He moved away from Stiles and looked at me as he approached me. "First to launch a counteroffensive." He moved to Daniels and Zussman.
"First to cross the Rhine. Nothing has ever stopped us, nothing ever will!"

Davis stood with Turner and put his hands on his hips. "Lieutenant, tell 'em what we're all about." I focused on Turner and watched him step forward. "No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great. Duty first." Turner said but Davis didn't like it. "I can't hear you!"
"No mission too do difficult, no sacrifice too great! Duty first!" Turner said, raising his voice more. He seemed to be more determined.

"That's right. Now, get ready to move out!" Davis ordered, as he walked away with Turner.
Zussman caught our attention, "Duty first. Back to the ol' meat grinder." He said with a sarcastic tone. "Amen, brother." Daniels agreed as they began to walk away. I glanced up at Aiello before walking to catch up with Daniels.
"We move out in five!" Turner shouted to us all. He focused on me for a moment before putting his hand on my shoulder. He gave me a reassuring smile and then turned to walk away.

"Green." I wheeled around to see Aiello approach me. "We need to talk." He said with a serious tone.
"What is there to talk about?" I asked rhetorically. "It's not like I know you, right?" I tried to walk away but he stopped me by gently grabbing my forearm. "I didn't mean it, okay?" Aiello began and I looked away from him. "I don't know what came over me." I sighed and slowly tugged my arm away from his grasp.

I was just about to speak, but Turner's overpowering voice caught our attention. "First Platoon, we are moving!" Aiello's gaze met mine but I pulled away and headed over to Turner. I had bigger things to focus on, this had to wait.
"Alright, our objective is to eliminate the hilltop artillery so we can hold the forest. First stage is linking up with the Second Platoon at the river. Then we move out."

We all nodded at Turner and followed him as he sprinted ahead.
"What kind of resistance are we looking at?" Stiles asked from behind me.
Turner looked over his shoulder, "The heavy kind. Bridge has been changing hands all day." He answered. I gripped my sniper rifle as I picked up the pace.
"We're gonna help them secure it." Pierson piped up as he ran next to me. I looked at him from the corner of my eye and he did the same with me. I moved away from his gaze and focused ahead.

"Here she is! Davis assembled the biggest damned armoured convoy ever!" Perez exclaimed. I glanced at the artillery in awe. It was huge, and looked like it could do a lot of damage.
"If that don't put the fear 'a God in them Krauts, nothin' will." I nodded at Daniels and laughed with him.