I was one of five women chosen to serve our country, fighting side by side with the men, and only some of us had come home. Being surrounded by friends and enemies, having to choose who you can save, who you can love, and how to survive is something...
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"Where the hell are we?" my tall escort friend asked, glancing around the white world surrounding us. The four of us stood in the middle of the snowy forest, scanning our surroundings. I released a heavy sigh, hoping we'd never find the line. I chewed on my lip nervously as I waited silently.
The shorter escort shook his head. "How did we get lost?" he asked. "I mean, we walked in a straight line, didn't we?"
The spy suggested, "What if we head this way?" Everyone glanced in the direction he was pointing. The fear rose within me, causing me to wonder if he was going to lead us straight to the German line instead of the safety of our own.
"Heading that way would get you killed, soldier," a new voice spoke behind all of us.
Glancing over our shoulders, two men emerged from the heavy blanket of fog, marching over to us. When they stopped before us, my heart stopped and my mouth parted. Scanning each of our faces with intense curiosity was Speirs and one of his men from Dog Company.
The spy shifted his hold on my elbow, keeping me close to him. Glancing up at him, I saw nothing behind his icy blue eyes - no emotion, no display of something being amiss. I envied his ability to remain so calm and emotionless.
"What are you doing this far from the lines?" Speirs questioned us, his eyes darted between all of us but they found their way back to the spy next to me.
The short escort replied, "We were ordered by Captain Winters to help Nurse Banks gather the tags of our dead from one of the nearby battles." He motioned to the general area we came from.
Speirs's eyes were immediately on me. I waited for a lecture of sorts but he didn't give me one - not even the one I usually saw behind his dark eyes. Instead, he stepped up to me and the spy. Keeping his eyes trained on me, he asked, "Were you successful in gathering your tags, Nurse Banks?"
An idea popped into my mind so fast, I began to shake from the fear of having the man next to me realize I was up to something. I tried to calm myself as I held my notebook filled with the dead's names out to him. "If you'd like to review the names, sir," I said with a shaky voice, "I have them here."
Speirs took the notebook from my trembling hands but didn't look through the pages as I hoped. Instead, he turned to the man beside me. "What's your name, soldier?"
The spy replied, "Lerner, sir." I could feel his grip tighten on my elbow. I bit my lip, hoping he wasn't about to get jumpy enough to kill me in front of these men.
Speirs nodded curtly. "Get her back to the line, Lerner," he ordered. "Make sure she gets warmed up when you get there."
My mouth fell open as I realized he was sending me away with the enemy. I stared at him in stunned silence but his eyes never met mine. My plan failed - he didn't even blink at the name Lerner, let alone look at my notebook with the same name and tag inside. I realized he might have forgotten everything about the Lerners.
