A Soldier of No Importance [ Band of Brothers ] 1

FORTY NINE

At two in the morning, Major Strayer ordered the 506th to stop for a rest. They'd been marching nearly straight through since noon. Through swampland and forest, dodging flaming barrels and broken trucks, the men had at last reached some dry space in a forested area. Light discipline became paramount, and noise discipline after. But with so many men, it became impossible to keep everyone silent.

Alice crashed to the ground, letting her packs slip off. She propped herself against a tree. Her eyes closed. Around her, she could hear the other members of Easy Company doing the same. Groans sounded all around her.

"Fucking Christ," Bill muttered. He sat himself to her left. With a loud groan, his helmet hit the tree trunk. "Jesus, my legs hurt."

"Keep your voice down," Alice muttered. She kept her eyes closed. When she heard someone settle on her right, she turned. "George, can I have a cigarette?"

"Don't you have your own?" he objected.

Alice pouted. "Yes. But you've already got yours out."

George snorted, but nodded. He took a second cigarette from his pack and handed it over to her. After lighting his own, he did hers. She mumbled a thank you. Slowly, others joined them. Skip, Alex, and Malarkey settled right near them. Alex Penkala lay on the ground with his head on a pack. The other two sat back to back. Before long, Joe Toye, Johnny Martin, and Bull Randleman joined them too.

Several minutes of silence followed. Only the smell of the cigarettes and cigars wrapped around them. Alice slipped off her helmet, placing it in her lap. Her hair caught in her fingers. Suddenly, she started snickering.

"What's the matter with you?" George asked.

She shrugged, her eyes still closed. "Do you remember when we played Truth or Dare?" Her smile just grew as she thought about it. Small snickers from a few of the men around her told her they did remember. "I still can't believe that happened."

George chuckled through his cigarette. He shook his head. "You mean when you kissed Lieb?"

"Okay, that was your fault, George. Don't play innocent!" When she opened her eyes to glare at him, she saw Alex, Johnny, and Bull watching them in surprise. Alice sighed. "Listen, it's not what it sounds like. George gave two impossible choices and the least embarrassing was kissing Liebgott."

Alex started snickering. Beside him, Bull and Johnny just rolled their eyes. The other men who had all been present for that fateful game tried to keep their laughter low. But Alice just shook her head. It hadn't been her shining moment.

"Wanna go again?"

Alice looked at George in surprise. They had all gone quiet at the suggestion. The smirk on his face only grew as the tension built.

"No kissing," Alice ordered.

George leaned over. His voice fell to a whisper. "Lieutenant Nixon isn't here, so."

Alice's jaw dropped. "I should smack you!" Thankfully, she looked around in the darkness and realized no one else had heard his insinuation. "Goddamnit, George. Shut your mouth."

"Come on," he said to the others. "Let's do it."

In the end, they all agreed. Even Johnny and Bull were persuaded to play. At first the questions stayed rather harmless. They agreed that since no dares could be effectively done in the middle of Normandy, France, that instead of a dare, any time someone refused to offer up a truth, they would then owe the other person a favor at any unspecified later time. Somehow that made them even more likely to answer truths. After a while, though, the questions became a bit deeper. Instead of a way to trick the other into giving up a favor, they turned it into a sort of way to explore their inner thoughts.