Humanity of the Broken [ Band of Brothers ] 2

TWELVE

All Alice did when the shelling started was sit by the radio op with Nixon and Dick. It sounded like 88s. A lot of 88s. They weren't shelling the Battalion CP, though, so that meant they were shelling someplace else. And given Easy's proximity to Foy, they were the most likely target.

With every explosion, they flinched. It sounded like firecrackers but a hundred times louder. Two contradictory thoughts filled her mind. On the one hand, she thanked God that she'd come back to the CP an hour ago. On the other, she wished she could've brought the others back as well and felt guilty leaving them.

The shelling stopped after about eight minutes. At first she welcomed the silence. She thanked the Lord for it. But then she realized that meant they'd either hit their target, or decided to let the men settle back down. Both thoughts made her sick.

It didn't take long for the reports to come in. Dick took the phone from the sergeant operating the radio. Alice thought she could make out Perconte on the other end. But she couldn't catch what was said. When Dick hung up the phone, he had them follow.

"Easy was hit head on, and some of Dog as well. Don't know how many casualties." He turned to Alice. "Go help Battalion Aid. I want them ready for anything."

She didn't wait to hear his instructions for Nixon or the others at the CP. Dashing off through the CP, she dodged several enlisted men on her way down the road. The new Battalion Aid, set up after the roads reopened and the siege broke, lay not far beyond the command post.

Her thoughts immediately went to Gene and Spina. Both of them were far too self sacrificing for their own good. She just knew they'd have been running around out of holes as soon as they could. Maybe too soon.

"Lieutenant," Alice started. She skidded to a halt at the Battalion Aid station. They had a couple of tents, two doctors, and a handful of medics. The main doctor, Lieutenant Salvatore, looked up at her. "What can I help with? Captain Winters sent me."

"We've got two coming in right now. Serious injuries," he told her. "We'll need to stabilize them. They're from Easy," he added. "You worked with Easy, right?"

Her heart stopped. "Yes."

"Talk to them, then. Keep them calm. We've got enough medics here for now," he told her. Salvatore looked at her carefully. He frowned. Turning away, he hurried to get gloves on.

Alice went into the closest tent. She needed to keep busy. No point in getting terrified over speculation. For all she knew, it was just a couple of the replacements.

Suddenly she felt sick again. How the hell she could've had such a thought disturbed her. No. Regardless of who'd been hit, they had as much right to her comfort and hope as the men she was closest with. She sat down on a wooden bench. Head in her hands, hunched over her knees, Alice tried to breathe. Just breathe, and not think.

A few minutes later, her heart sank even further. The flap of the tent opened. She shot up. Gene stood, helmet at his side. On the one hand, the sight of the medic had her ecstatic. On the other, she knew him well enough to know that his drawn expression meant trouble.

"Cherie-" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Toye and Guarnere got hit bad. The Doc's stabilizing them. Nothin' much they can do here. They need the field hospital." He frowned again. "As soon as Bill is stable, I talked to Lieutenant Salvatore. You can have a few minutes with him. Then with Joe. I'll be in here though."

In the span of about five seconds, the time it took for Gene to say their names, Alice felt her entire world flip. Her stomach turned over. All the wind got knocked out of her chest. She felt heat radiating through her, an odd sensation, and her head began to hurt a little.