111Whoa, it feels so weird to be on 'Currahee' again. Speaking of Currahee, I just recently got a horse… and I named him Currahee. The word means so much to me.
I just started High School… and I hate it. Actually, I'm miserable. I write 'Hang Tough' on my hand every day, and I can now say I survived my first week! Vat69 for everybody! :D Well, it's not summer anymore, and unfortunately schoolwork comes before updating. :/ I can promise an update every weekend though!
Thank you for the early support- much appreciated!
Chapter Two: Impossible to Hide
Glare beamed off of the worn photograph I held in my trembling hands. It was a weathered photo of Johnny kneeling beside Husker, sitting under 'our' tree with a big smile spread across his freckled face. I already missed him. I studied as 'our' branch swooped down, luring my heart back home. The summer days we would sit up there together as innocent children.
Gulping, I stuffed the black and white print back into my shirt pocket. My feet itched to chase down the bus and go home, but inside I knew I needed that extra fifty dollars. During the long and tiresome bus ride, I had decided I would send the income to Johnny. He needed it more than me, I had no sure destiny and I was clueless when it came to my future.
Pulling away from my sorrowful reminiscing, I spotted a large black beetle marching up and over the top of my stiff boot. I swung my foot around to ward it off, kicking up a cloud of powdered dirt. I must have looked ridiculous, dancing around on one foot.
"Private? Can I help you?" My body locked up, feeling a set of eyes on me. I cringed as I looked up; realizing I probably blew my secret.
"Can you," my voice sung high pitched. I swallowed hard, adjusting my vocal cords. "Can you direct me to Easy Company?"
The man elbowed his partner that was in the guard house by the entry gate, "Kid doesn't even have an Adam's apple yet…"
I narrowed my piercing green eyes, hearing his low words, "Easy Company, sir?"
He pulled away, thumbing through some papers. He was chuckling to himself. "Name?" he asked dryly.
"Roselle, Loren, sir." The man chuckled louder, his partner turning to hide his smirk. A million rude remarks were floating in my frustrated mind, but I swallowed them down as I planted my feet firmer in the ground.
He waved the yellow page closer then further from his nose, asking his eyes to adjust to the print. "Ah, yes. Roselle… you will be in that barrack over there." He turned and pointed vaguely to a row of light pine buildings.
I scoffed at his stupidity, "Thanks for the help…"
A black waving shadow danced on the gravel ahead of me. I looked up with squinting eyes, spotting the billowing flag towering above me. Timidly, I tucked a stray hair behind my protruding ear. A formation of broad shouldered men stood quietly, their hands balled at their sides. I felt my heart jump; I was so much smaller than them. I would never pass. I could already imagine myself getting shipped back home to miserable Oklahoma.
A bickering summer mosquito annoyingly buzzed in my ear, seeming to chant disheartening words. Go home, you'll never survive. Go work in the factories. You don't belong here, you're a woman. I bit down hard on my dry lip, squatting my frail arms carelessly around my head. I knocked off my helmet, my mass of blonde hair falling around my face. My heart thumped as I hastily balled it up and shoved it under the green bowl.
"You people, are at the position of attention!" A towering dark haired man that to me resembled a giraffe spat out at the men. My lips tightened, praying he didn't see my hair.
He spun around sharply, spitting his venom down at a guy that reminded me of a puppet. Tip toeing, I tried to escape his wrath. I was clueless, but I knew I wasn't cut out for this. My father was kinder than this vicious man.
I dared bend my eyes around the corner of the jeep I was hiding behind, listening with terrified ears. "Thanks to these men and their infractions, all weekend passes are hereby revoked. I could almost hear their hearts grow heavy with disappointment.
"Get into your PT gear… we're running Currahee." A dark-haired man with a wicked smirk trotted to retrieve his bayonet sticking straight up in the Georgia red dirt. He then spun on his heel to follow the rest of the men scrambling into the long barrack. Gathering up every ounce of courage I had, I called after him.
"Hey! Hey, man!" His eyes darted around, searching for my voice. "Is this Easy Company?" I shyly shook my head towards the others, regurgitating the only thing I knew.
"Yea, it is." His raspy voiced stayed level, but I could sense the fury boiling inside him. "Why the fuck you wanna know?"
I could feel my face burn, instantly thinking he knew I was a woman. "Uh, new trooper."
He dramatically rolled his eyes, beginning to leave me. Regardless of his bitter introduction, I trotted behind him with one hand atop my helmet.
A heavy hand grasped my shoulder, making my thoughts flashback. "Who are you, private?" The giraffe guy lashed out at me, sending an uncomfortable shiver down my spine. Every inch of him coursed evil, his words dripping with cruelness.
"Private Roselle, sir. I'm with Easy Company," my voice wavered, and I scolded myself.
He glanced over my shoulder, eyeing something. "Good. Go put on your PT gear… you will run Currahee with everybody else."
I shifted my weight to my other leg, frustrated, "Sir, I'm afraid I don't know what 'PT gear' is."
He tore my duffle bag from my shoulder, making it painfully snap with his force. The towering monster carelessly threw my meager belongings into the air, my father's shirts landing in the red dirt. I outstretched my arm in protest, but swallowed down my words due to fear.
A wad of fabric met with my abdomen, so I quickly brought my arms down to catch it. A pair of navy blue shorts and a thin cotton tee rest in my trembling hands. At that moment I felt sick. I froze with my eyes fixed upon them.
"Go on!" He bellowed, making me scurry away with my tail between my legs.
A wide frameless door stood before me, beckoning me in. Men were tearing off their green shirts and exchanging them for the printed white ones. I had only seen Johnny with a bare chest when we went swimming, and my heart jolted with shock. My innocent eyes begged to be slammed shut, but they watched as a short man bickered to another.
"What you thinkin', Perconte? Blousing your pants…" he tightened the string around his shorts. Another black haired man slid off his trousers, tossing them onto his cot.
The bushy eye browed man angrily pointed to his makeshift bed, "You come here, look at these trousers, get down and you tell me if there is a crease on them!"
I shyly looked down at the floorboards, oblivious as to knowing what to do.
"C'mon! PT formation! Let's move, MOVE! Let's go Perconte…" A muscular man energetically clapped his hands together behind me, his shoulder brushing up against mine.
Easy filed out, leaving me and two other men in the housing area. I tightened my hold and clutched the thin clothing to my chest as I began sweating bullets. If I wore these clothes, they would find out my dire secret.
"Private?" He leaned in, searching for my name sewn into the front of my jacket. My heart thumped; petrified he would sense the feminine scent that was naturally on me. "Private Roselle, why are you not in your PT gear?"
The bothersome voice in the back of my rational mind told me to give in, but I refused. "I'm not exactly sure what to do, sir. I just arrived here."
He pinched his clothing, gesturing I needed to put mine on. I sheepishly nodded, pretending to understand. He instantly caught on to my little lie, and promptly ripped off my helmet to 'help'. I let out a terrified gasp as my unmanageable hair fell past my shoulders. His golden eyes burned with questions, and my head spun.
"Private White! Get outside!" He bellowed, not taking his eyes from mine. The sweaty and sorry soldier opened his mouth to protest. "Now." He viciously barked, making me tremble in the corner I was huddled in. The kid scrambled out, following after the rest of the rowdy man.
He held his lips together, "What in the name of God are you doing here?"
I looked up at him through my eyelashes- another feminine quality that was impossible to hide. "Sir… I-I… I have to be here."
"You expect me to protect you… don't you?" he folded his arms, lost for words.
My toes curled in my boots, fear making them tingle, "Sir, I have to. Please, let me prove myself."
He opened his eyes, considering my begging. "I'll keep your secret… for now. You'll be found out eventually, though."
I nodded slowly with my thanks, unbuttoning the pants that dwarfed my spindly legs. There was not an ounce of fat on me- my father's lack of work had abused my appearance. I slid the risky shorts over my booted feet and then pulled the thin shirt over the binding bandages. Luckily, the pure white did not show through the cotton.
Hurriedly with my heart pacing, I knotted the thick strands on top of my head. I them placed my long cap over the messy bun, hiding my secret. My hair was the only beautiful thing about me, and I absolutely refused to chop it off. It reminded me of my mother and her always classic beauty… I would never willingly lose it.
I jumped out of the high doorway, my head darting around looking for a group of men dressed like me. I spotted them, eyeing them as their sharp shoulder blades tempted me through the shirt. They jumped around, teasing the men nicely dressed ahead. They slapped off their hats similar to mine and trotted off.
My brows furrowed together, my frail body begging me to stop. My lungs screamed, each suck of humid air making my chest burn fiercer. The man I had discovered name was Sobel barked at us. Somewhere in his minuscule brain I figured he thought his harsh words were encouraging us. All it did was make me want to break down and cry.
Sergeant Lipton panted as he jogged beside me, my secret searing his loyal head. I knew he didn't want to tattle, but I knew as well as he did it was the right thing to do. The boots grew heavier and heavier as I trudged up the mountain. At this point, the steep incline made it seem as though I was lifting them a mere centimeter off the dirt.
A guy directly ahead of me stumbled, grasping his leg that had just caught and twisted in a pothole. Helpfully, I reached out to help him back up. A harsh hand slapped against the top of mine, leaving a burning red mark.
"Do not help that man!" He barked into my ear, pushing my screaming body forward. I curved my expression upward, looking on to the hobbling man. I felt bad for him, but my own misery drowned out everybody else's.
"What Company is this?" Sobel rounded on the men on the ends of the faltering lines, reciting his bitter questions.
"Easy Company!" I screeched, my dry mouth making undesirable noises.
"What mountain is this!?"
I didn't know the answer, but quickly learned as they bellowed in response, "Currahee!"
"And what does Currahee mean!?"
I wrinkled my face, not understanding his words as my heavy panting drowned out sounds. "We stand alone!"
"How far up, how far down?" I was just plain puzzled now.
Lipton breathed out a defeated answer along with the over men, "Three miles up- three miles down!"
My big green eyes bolted open, shocked by the numbers. I was guaranteed to die… my body couldn't handle the constant stress.
"You got 13 minutes to get to the top and down if you want to serve as paratroopers! HI- HO- SILVER!" He charged like a steaming horse ahead of us, and I tried to swallow. My mouth was so dry, the painful gulp made me cough. The drier coughing made my shaking body shake. My head throbbed as it scolded me. The bothersome mosquito known now as Herbert Sobel put his parched lips up to my crying ear.
"You are a disgrace to the United States, Private! You are weak! You do not belong!" His bitter words convinced me, and my knees made a sickening cracked as they hit the cold, hard ground. My thoughts slipped into an unforgiving blackness, painful memories snapping at my emotions like a furious lion.
B.o.B.
A hand held my small wrists together behind my back, as if I was a criminal or something. My spinning head winced, as the bruises my father had forced upon me protested. My broken body was then thrown carelessly to the ground.
"Colonel, she is a woman! A woman in my company!" Sobel dog voice barking down at me. Sink ran the tips of his fingers across the top of his mustache. Silence fought against Sobel's burning fury; I could feel his hate crashing down on my bruised back. I hadn't even experienced war, but this is what I imagined it to feel like.
"What?! Don't believe me?!" He grasped my hair that hung tattered across my back and I let out a screeching scream as I was forced to my feet.
"Lieutenant, I refuse to be spoken to this way!" I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the pain that lingered in this room.
I was forced against the door frame of the Colonel's office, my back aching on contact. Sobel straightened out my shoulders, pressing his hands against my upper chest. I wanted to squirm.
"You can smell it… the smell of a woman is unmistakable." A drop of angered sweat ran down his long forehead and collided with his arched eyebrows. The fighting side of my body begged me to spit in his face, but the broken side argued to give in.
I heard a chair get pushed back, footsteps nearing us, "Release her."
He quickly pulled away, leaving my weak body to collapse into the ground. My thin sleeve was caught and I was sustained from falling. It was my other encouraging Lieutenant.
"Sir, permission to speak?"
I felt all of their eyes on me, "Granted."
I was set carefully on the squeaking leather of an inviting couch, and I mentally thanks Winters, "Sir, during Currahee today, Private Roselle was excelling." I would have scoffed, but the moonlight seemed to force a slumber upon me. That Medic must have given me something when he was looking me over…
Sobel did the scoffing for me, "Sure, if you count passing out excelling! She was floundering and stumbling all the way up. The female didn't even make it three quarters!"
A figure sat beside me, resting their hand on my sore thigh, "Private? Private, what is your real name?"
I cracked open a weary eyes, seeing the Colonel's wrinkled and kind face looking down at me. "Loretta, sir." I had missed speaking like a woman.
"Lipton earlier informed me you said you had to be in the Airborne… why is this?" I silently cursed the light haired man. I didn't want to explain. I hated talking about the abuse my wicked father afflicted upon me.
"She couldn't get herself a husband back home, so she had to come here to spread her legs…" Sobel lashed out at me.
I watched as Winters slowly turned his head to face the satisfied Sobel. I winced slightly; worried it would come to blows.
"Leave." Sink warned with a low voice. "Leave now, Sobel. You are not welcome here with a mouth like that."
His voice flew open in protest, "It's only true!" I chuckled, ignoring his remark but instead concentrated on how childish he sounded.
"LEAVE!" Richard and Robert bellowed in unison. As I heard the heavy door securely click shut, my entire body relaxed.
They both turned to me, and I imagined steam shooting from their ears… now I was being the child. "Loretta… why did you come here? Be honest, now." His manly voice reminded me of my father's before it slurred all over the place.
My voice croaked, "To escape, sir."
"To escape what?" Winters asked, urgency in his voice.
I groaned quietly as I sat up, "My father… he is an alcoholic. I came to escape his abuse." The words hit me harder than they did the men. Reality hurts; I had never said the words but only thought them. I scolded myself, hearing they were lost for words.
Suddenly Sink made up his honorable mind, "You may stay. You've proven yourself, miss."
"Hardly," I pressed my luck.
Winters folded his arms, thinking he understood, "As a field nurse, sir?"
"That's right," he kindly smiled down at me again. It was the first time in seemingly an eternity I felt safe.
Before I let the small victory sink it, I had to question everything with my insecurity, "But, sir… I have no medical experience."
The good Colonel nodded in agreement, but the grin still remained, "Easy's Eugene Roe with give you all the information you will need."
I shyly looked up at Winters; he held out an outstretched hand. "Now you go back to the barracks, Roselle… and let me get some damn sleep! It's gotta be midnight!" He warmly teased, and my knees cracked as I stood from his couch.
"The men, sir. Will I be with them?" I felt Dick reassuringly squeeze my hand at my naïve questions.
Sink chortled, "No, you will be with Spina and Roe for your housing… the medics." I nodded, thinking I understood.
I am completely up for suggestions! I want this story to be 'yours' too! Let me know who her love interest should be, or if she should even have one! :D
Thank you so much for reading! Have a great week!