Chapter 1

"Hey wild Bill wake up. It's me Buck."

Bill Guarnere opened his eyes. He was lying in a hospital bed after having his leg amputated. The pain usually kept him awake, but the nurse had been a little generous with the morphine tonight. It pays to tell an ugly broad she's the prettiest thing ya seen since Paris, he thought.

"Gee thanks Buck, I finally fall asleep and you escape from the loony bin to wake me up." Bill sat up and turned the light on over his bed. It was a dingy, British hospital room, painted the ugliest shade of green he had ever seen. Bill promised himself that when he got back to the States, he was going to send them some money to paint the room anything but this goddamn limey color

"Jesus Christ can't a man get some shut eye around here." Buck looked over to see Joe Toye rubbing his eyes.

"Hey Joe, wake up. Look what the cats drug in," said Bill.

Joe Toye tried to focus his eyes. The painkillers the nurse just gave him must have been a doozy. "What the hell? Is that you Buck?"

"In the flesh," he said. Buck's big toothy grin was a welcome sight to the two Sergeants who missed their Easy Company buddies almost as much as they did their legs. They heard through the grapevine that Buck left Easy soon after they did because of a bad case of trench foot, but they both knew the shelling that had taken their legs caused Buck to snap. Even sadder was the news that Muck and Penkala bought the farm a few days later during another barrage.

"So, what brings you hear in the damn dead of night," asked Bill.

"I've been sent to pick up you two for a mission."

"A mission," said Wild Bill. "Did you hear that Joe? We're going on a mission."

"That's what the man said alright," said Toye. They both made signs to each other that they thought Buck was off his rocker.

Never a man to mince words, Guarnere thought it was his duty to point out something that his friend may have overlooked. "Uh, Buck if you haven't noticed and maybe you've forgotten but since the Goddamn Krauts blew our fucking legs off, the two of us only have a pair between us."

"So, what's the problem," asked Buck? He was still grinning from ear to ear which kind of unnerved Toye.

"So, the only mission Joe and I are interested is trying to take a piss on our own."

"Damn straight," nodded Toye in agreement. It was clear that he was in a bit of pain.

"Christ Buck will ya stop grinning like some old geezer in a whorehouse, you're creeping me out here," yelled Wild Bill.

"Keep it down, fellas. Here have a drink." Buck pulled a small bronze bottle out of a duffle bag and handed it to Guarnere.

"What's this?"

"Ah, Bill, you don't think I'd come all this way and not bring you something to drink," said Buck. "Here's one for you too Joe," who reached out and took a bottle that Buck was passing to him. It was the exact same color only a little bigger.

"How come he gets more than I do," growled Guarnere?

"Because his injuries are more severe," said Buck, now drink up."

"Say, what's going on? Why aren't you drinking with us," asked Joe?

Guarnere noticed his buddy's suspicious nature and his eyes narrowed. "Yeah, why ain't ya drinking with us?"

"Fellas, would I let you drink alone? Besides, I have to pull mine out." They leaned over and watched as Buck reached back down into the duffle bag, and retrieved a silver flask.

"Yeah, well here's looking at you, ya big nut," said Bill and downed the contents of the bottle in two gulps. He had not had a drink in over a month.

"Damn, Buck that stuff packs a wallop. Hey, wait a minute. Jesus Christ, my leg hurts like hell." Bill dropped the bottle and grabbed his stump only to see it was growing. "What the…?" He pulled back the sheets and to everybody's amazement, including Buck's, Joe Guarnere had two legs.

Joe Toye was so shook up that he opened his bottle and gulped it down as if it was mother's milk and soon he too was writhing from the pain in his back and his injured leg. Bill looked over and watched as he saw Joe's leg grow right before his eyes. Then he turned to Buck. "Where the hell did you get this stuff?"

"I can't tell you, at least not yet," said Buck. They watched as he calmly pulled out two sets of ODs and two musette bags and tossed them on their beds.

"Jesus Buck, I hope you can pull out an explanation out of the bag of what the hell is going on cause I think we have a right to know what's in that whatever it is you gave us," said Bill.

"Damn right, said Joe, who was standing up on his own since that God awful day in those woods. "I don't know if I'm fucking dreaming or not, but damn I feel good."

"Heads up," said Buck and tossed the clothes to each of the men. Hurry up and get dressed. We have to move out."

"So, help me Buck, you better start explaining what the hell is going on or Joe and I are going to clean your clock right here and now." The two men were standing side by side now in their hospital gowns that barely covered their backsides, but they looked ready for a fight.

"Look I don't have all the facts myself, but I do know this, you guys can either stand around jawing in a hospital with your asses hanging out or come with me on a mission that I've been told is almost important as Normandy."

Embarrassed Bill and Joe turned around to see that Buck did have a point there. They both reached behind their backs and realized there was a bit of a draft. Besides, if they were going to leave with Buck tonight they better change into their ODs, mission or no mission.

"There's no need to get upset Buck. Geez, we're just kind of curious you know. It's not every day I get my leg blown off and then a friend of mine comes in and gives me a drink of I don't know what, and then out of nowhere, wham bam, thank you m'am I've got a new leg." Bill said all the while pulling on his pants. Picking up his jacket, Guarnere paused and ran his fingers over the screaming eagle the sleeve of his uniform. "All right, I'm in, anything beats this place. "How about you Joe?"

"What the hell have we got to loose," replied Toye?

"That's the spirit boys," said Buck who stuck his head out the door to see if anyone was coming. When he saw that the coast was clear, he signaled both guys to follow him. They made their way down the corridors, passed rooms where men lay moaning in their sleep. It creeped Bill and Joe out, but soon they were outside in the cold night air standing in front of a jeep.

"God, it's good to be out of that place," whispered Joe. Bill nodded.

Buck threw their gear in the back of the jeep. "You guys stay down until I give you the all clear."

Bill and Joe looked at each other and together silently mouthed the words, what the hell. Eager to get on with whatever was up as well as get the hell out of dodge, they complied with Buck's order and hunkered down into the back of the jeep as best they could. Soon they heard him crank up the vehicle and they sped off into the night. Buck drove like a mad man, turning corners so fast that his friends kept slamming into one another. After just missing a head on with a supply truck, Toye turned to Guarnere and asked "God damn it, what's he trying to do, kill us?"

Guarnere yelled at their maniacal driver, "Jesus Christ Buck, slow down will ya? We just got out of the hospital we ain't exactly anxious to go back there anytime soon!"

Finally, the jeep came to a screeching halt and the two buddies heard Buck say, "What the hell happened Hoob?"

"Am I fuckin loosing my mind or did Buck just say Hoob," whispered Guarnere?

"That's what the man said?"

"Jesus Christ, either he is nuts or we are having the weirdest goddamn dream ever. Maybe it's something in that English morphine. It makes you hallucinate," said Bill.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," said Toye.

Before they could even discuss a plan of action, they heard Buck calling to them. "Toye, Guarnere, you can sit up now, front and center." The two somewhat shaken passengers slid out of the jeep and stood up only to have their jaws hit the dirt. "Jesus Christ, now I know we're dreamin'," said Bill. Standing before them was Buck Compton talking with Don Hoobler, who they had both seen die back in Bastogne, shot with the German Lugar that he had pulled off a dead German officer that same day. At their feet lay a very still Lieutenant Sobel.