The Soldier of Stars [1] - Band of Brothers

67 | pitiful patrol

" We must understand that sadness is an ocean, and sometimes we drown, while other days we are forced to swim."

- R. m. Drake

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Hazel and Gene could hear distant explosions going off in front of them as a gentle layer of snow slowly began to fall down. 

Catherine crouched low next to Bull, as she watched Julian and Johnny go out ahead of the group, positioned up against a tree. Her breath was shallow, even though they had been moving quickly through the forest. But every breath she let out, she could see the puff of white air that followed. Her face was also bitterly cold, and with each little blast of cold air she felt, she could feel her insides get colder and colder. She watched as Johnny and Julian got the signal to move forward towards another secure barrier, closer to the German front line that met in the forest and not in the open field that stood between the two on the other part of the front line. 

There was a pile of wood, built up alone a split in the road, and Catherine squinted her eyes just enough that she could still see their two figures through the onset of the fog. Johnny seemed to have given Julian the signal to go, but then a German voice rang out, clearly.

" Fire!" he yelled and that's when the bullets started flying. Johnny yelled for him to get down and Catherine watched with horror filled eyes as Julian froze and turned to look at Johnny with such hopeful eyes, and got shot in the neck, making him fall like a sack of potatoes to the ground. 

Catherine waited, she waited for the call from Johnny, as Julian lay there helplessly and Johnny attempted firing back at the Germans with his Thompson. She looked towards the rest of the group that waited and she could see worry lines appearing on Babe's face. Julian was Babe's foxhole partner, everyone knew that. So watching his foxhole partner on the brink of death was unsettling. Catherine bit her lip watching Johnny, as Julian moved around his hands to his neck. Catherine felt her throat tighten. He was in the line of fire.

" Bull! Christenson! Catherine!" Johnny yelled back to the group and the 3 soldiers quickly moved to their feet, " Up on line!" 

Gene and Hazel could both hear the frequent calls, the consistent sound of a German machine gun, and consistent explosions, as they sat there quietly. Gene had pulled out a cigarette, almost nervously, as he had lit it and placed it to his lips every so often, his coping mechanism with the worry that seemed to consume his body. Hazel had resorted to biting her lip over and over until it bled from it's normal chapped state to worry state. They couldn't see through the fog though, but they knew what was going down on the other side. Someone had been hit.

" Johnny!" Bull yelled as the rest of the men and Catherine on patrol, came running up behind the barricade that Johnny was against.

" We got a man down!" Johnny yelled back. Catherine came hurrying forward and slammed in between Babe and Bull, the chaos of the fight, causing her eyes to not know who to focus on. But then she saw Julian, his arm outstretched, reaching for them as his hand held over his wound.