Humanity of the Broken [ Band of Brothers ] 2

THIRTY-SIX

May 1st, 1945

Alice swayed where she stood. Comprehension went out the window. For a moment, she just stared blankly at Dick and Nixon on the other side of the room. Their mouths moved, but she couldn't hear them.

Hitler was dead.

The world spun. She couldn't breath. Her heart raced.

Hitler was dead. 

He was dead. 

A hand grabbed her arm, grip firm. The sudden contact sent Alice reeling. She realized they were watching her closely, Lipton, Shames, Foley, Peacock, Harry, Nix, Dick, and Ron. Her gaze traveled from the hand on her arm to Ron. 

"You alright?" he asked.

Alice released a breath she had no idea she'd been holding. Oxygen filled her lungs again, chasing away the dizziness. She could've heard a pin drop with how silent the room had gone. Taking a moment to breathe again, she nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, sorry."

"Right." Dick nodded. "Dismissed."

Ron finally released his grip on her arm as the officers began to leave the room. Alice watched them leave, hesitating. For the first time in days she felt something. But she didn't know what it was. Almost like an odd contradiction of anger and relief.

It didn't take long for the anger to take over. How dare that monster die and yet the war continue. How dare he take the easy way out. He needed to pay for his crimes. They all did, every single one of them. Realistically, Alice had never expected to be the one to put a bullet between Hitler's eyes, but oh how she'd thought about it since Bastogne.

For the first time in days, Alice felt more than exhaustion. Rage filled her entire being, a fire burning through her. Her muscles tensed. She felt her breathing increase rapidly. The war should've ended. It should've been over with Hitler's death!

Ron looked at her again. "Take a breath."

She faced him head on. Alice realized Harry, Nixon, and Dick were still in the room too. It took a moment to calm herself enough to take a breath, but she finally did so. "I'm fine!" she snapped.

"Calm down," Ron said again. His voice stayed flat, calm as he spoke to her.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Ron," she hissed back. Based on the way his jaw clenched, Alice guessed he held back some sort of biting retort. For a moment, Alice felt bad about snapping. She forced her voice to return to a more even timbre. "I just need some air."

"Alice, we're moving out in an hour." Dick told her.

She nodded, forcing her body to relax as much as she could. "Right." Turning on her heels, she moved out of the CP and into the overcast afternoon. The harmonies of a string quartet made her pause in her step.

In the center of the main square, surrounded by rubble heaps and half-destroyed buildings, four men had set up with their instruments. It sounded like Beethoven. She couldn't place the piece, though. And yet that small reminder of better times had her frozen in place.

While soldiers and civilians alike moved about picking up or smoking, Alice stayed where she was just outside the door. The music calmed her. Hitler's death could only be considered a good thing. She tried to push thoughts of dashed hopes of revenge as far from her mind as possible. Maybe all she'd needed was air, and a little Beethoven.

Nixon stepped up next to her. The sound of him taking a sip of his flask identified him to her immediately. "Ron asked me to go tell Easy's men who are up on the roof."