Chapter 1: The last jump...
June, 1944.
Operation “Neptune”
Night from 5th to 6th...
502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division.
P.O.V Sergeant Martin Blake.
“Fucking bullshit…” I cursed in my mind.
Yet again, I sat in the middle of the plane, surrounded by young man sended to jump in to unknown, hostile territory. As protection from falling and killing myself was a piece of material connected with few strings.
“No…”
“No man…”
“Boys.”
Most of them had 18-20 years and none of them saw combat before…
“Just like him…”
Our target is to secure the four causeway exits behind Utah Beach, destroy a German coastal artillery battery at Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, capture buildings nearby at Mésières believed used as barracks and a command post for the artillery battery, capture the Douve River lock at La Barquette, capture two footbridges spanning the Douve at La Porte opposite Brévands, destroy the highway bridges over the Douve at Saint-Côme-du-Mont, and secure the Douve River valley… Or in short - spread chaos, behind the enemy lines.
It was dark inside the machine, but I still could see people around me. The entire plane was slightly shaking. The roar of the airplane engines was deafening. The whistling wind flew through the entrance, cooling the sweat on my face.
I was staring at the steel floor, mentally preparing myself at the inevitable...
“Why I couldn’t help him?”
“Why it had to happen?”
“Why I’m such a loser?”
I feel like trash...
It’s funny how everything changed... At first, every time, when I was here - in this huge, steel bird - was the same, namely I felt like I had to shit myself out of fear. Deep inside my soul... I felt fear before the jump, I was scared that my parachute won’t open, I was terrified of the thought, that I can die before I even leave this goddamn plane… And now… Now I just don’t care anymore…
I looked up and saw a man standing in front of me. He wore a ragged, burned and bloodied paratrooper uniform. He had shrapnels stuck in his chest and a piece of metal was sticking out of his bleeding stomach. He was holding a M1 Garand in a right hand and was missing his left forearm. His face was blackened with smoke and terribly damaged, the left part of it was completely missing flesh from: left cheek, small part of his nose and half of his mouth. I could clearly see his tongue and teeths…
I knew too well this face… I quickly looked back at the floor but he started whispering something, even through all this sounds around me, I could still hear him clearly...
“Kill...” his voice sounded like he was lacking air to breathe.
“Oh God…” I thought, fearfully.
“Are you alright Sergeant!?” a person sitting on my right side, asked me loudly.
“Yes!” I instantly yelled back, without looking at the speaker.
“You… Killed... Me…” His icy voice pierced me like a knife.
“SHUT FUCK UP!” I screamed inside of my head, but my face remained neutral.
“I heard you fought before!” he said.
“Yeah, I heard that too! So?!” I said trying to hide fear in my voice.
“Martin… Don’t...”
“Where did you fought, sir?!” he asked while lightening something… Probably a cigarette.
“In Sicily and Italy! Before I ‘volunteered’ to this regiment, I jumped with 504th!” I said.
“Italy…”
“Italy…” the ghost repeated.
“With all due respect sir but why the hell, did you do that?!”
“They needed ‘experienced officer’ besides I was bored sitting on my ass all day!” I lied, still trying to ignore the man in front of me.
“You are crazy, sir! You could sunbathing at the beach right now!”
I chuckled pathetically, still looking at the floor I brought my head closer to his ear then said “Boy we are jumping in night, from airplanes, in the middle of enemy territory with piece of canvas as our protection before our fall! Everyone on this plane are crazy!” I paused “Besides someone need to lead you through this shit!” I said bitterly.
There was a silence between us for a minute, then the young paratrooper said “You are a good man, sir!”
“What did he mean, by saying it? Did he meant that I'm a good man overall? I’m not a good person… No… I've been with them only for a few days, they don’t know anything about me besides rumors… Or maybe he wanted to say: ‘Thanks for being with us even though you could be elsewhere?”
A distant sounds of explosions and fire of anti-aircraft guns started coming from outside interrupting my train of thoughts. The plane start shaking more violently a red light appeared at the doorway, casting a glow of the same color on us.
I slowly raised my head, fearing, that I’ll see this man again, but he disappeared…
“For now…”
I looked at the faces of inexperienced soldiers sitting around me. Most of them were blank but their eyes betrayed anxiety, others were clearly scared and busy doing something to distract themselves, like smoking or toying with their fingers.
I was in combat before, and learned how to not show fear… And they had every right to be scared.
Before me sat slim, pale like a bucket of white paint medic... I do not remember his name but everyone called him Ducky... He had M1A1 Carbine strapped to his left side and rosary in his hands. To his right, was sleeping Private Crawford with M1 Garand…
“How he even manage to fall asleep here?”
On the opposite side, sat Private Horrell. He had M1 Garand too, and looked like was going to puke...
On my left side sat MG gunner: Corporal Rossel. He was staring at the darkness behind the doorway, which was occasionally illuminated by explosions. His hands were shaking in fear… Said hands were holding MG’s barrel, creating a clattering sound, which was swallowed by the sound of the engines.
I put my left hand on his arm, and forced a smile on my face. He jumped a little, but quickly made eye contact with me.
“Everything will be okay!” I shouted through the sound of roaring engines.
He rapidly noded, then taking deep breath said something to himself.
Soldier who I was talking to earlier appeared to be Private Howard, unlike the others he seemed to take everything lightly… He finished smoking his cigarette, and now was playing with his lighter. M3 ‘Grease Gun’ was lying next to him...
Rossel kicked sleeping Private in the knee waking him up.
“GET READY!” yelled officer while raising both hands. Everyone raised their hooks. The german artillery fire start raising too.
“STAND UP!” making a gesture with his hands. Everyone stood up. When I looked out the window, I saw tracers fired from AA guns.
“HOOKS UP!” he yelled again, making a hook from his two first fingers. All soldiers accosted their hooks on pipe.
“EQUIPMENT CHECK!” he ordered tapping his hands a few times on his shoulders.
I began checking Rossel’s parachute, then went on to checking my gear. I started pulling all straps, buckles and other things, just like I did it before. I made sure that my weapons were secured:
Thompson M1928A1? Checked.
Colt M1911A1 holstered under my left shoulder? Checked.
Ammunition? Checked.
Four frag grenades? Checked.
Two smoke grenades? Checked.
Pocket compass? Checked.
Machete on my back? Checked.
Medical kit in left pocket? Checked.
Knife strapped to my belt? Checked.
“SOUND OFF FOR EQUIPMENT CHECK!” he yelled putting both hands behind his ears. The paratroopers started counting down:
“TEN OK!”
“NINE OK!”
“EIGHT OK!
“SEVEN OK!”
“SIX OK!”
I felt Howard putting his hand on my shoulder “FIVE OK!” I yelled while putting my hand on Corporal’s shoulder.
“FOUR OK!”
“THREE OK!”
“TWO OK!”
“ONE OK!” shouted officer.
There was silence between us when our plane flew into the cloud, the tension inside was so thick that I could cut it with my knife. The moment when we left the cloud, everything went to hell…
Explosion start popping everywhere, tracers of enemy AA guns and headlights were cutting through the sky, illuminating the night. The entire airplane start shaking uncontrollably knocking me and few others on the floor.
“Jesus Chri-!*BOOM*” someone behind me start shouting but never finished his sentence as explosion hit us. I got up then looked over my arm and saw kneeling Ducky beside, choking with his own blood Pvt. Horrell, desperately trying to stop bleeding from his neck.
“Holy shit!” yelled someone from the behind.
More deadly black smokes from artillery fire, start popping in the night sky. I looked through the window only to see one of our airplanes getting rapidly hit in the left wing by bullets from anti-aircraft gun. They hit it in the engine making it explode then tore through the wing itself, ripping it in half. The machine started to fall down and soldiers inside, begin to jump out from it.
*BOOM* “AAARGH!”
Another explosion shook the plane and knocked me off my feet again. Deadly shrapnels made their way through the hull, injuring a soldiers in the process. I groggily got up from the ground.
“WE NEED TO JUMP!” yelled Howard.
“NO! We wait for the green-!*BOOM*” Officer start shouting as another shell exploded at the entrance blinding me for a moment. The sheer force of it blew his arm off and thrown him like a ragdoll against opposite wall, the man who was checking his equipment was lying on the floor holding his bleeding arm while the rest of us were knocked down on the ground again.
“OH GOD!”
“WE NEED TO JUMP! NOW!” Rossell yelled and tried to got up from the floor but I quickly I grabbed him by his leg.
“NO! WAIT FOR THE GREEN LIGHT!” I yelled to him.
I tried to got up but someone pushed me down just before AA bullets started hitting the hull just above me.
*BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG*
“GHHHAAAAAAAAAA!” people started crying out in pain as the shards of broken glass fell on me.
I looked up and saw Horrell holding me down… He saved my life…
Looking further I saw our medic lying on his left side, holding in the air what remained from his legs while crying in agony. Horrell was lying dead on the floor next to him lied some other kid... Pvt. Lester I think… with a hole of the size of a human skull in his chest, his guts were spilled on the floor and wall...
“fuck! FUCKING, FUCK!” I start cursing while getting up.
*BAM* Yet another explosion shook our airplane and with characteristic roar, the machine started to dive sharply to the right making everyone hit the wall. When my face met cold glass of the window, my eyes saw the burning remains of our right engine, just then the green light appeared at the doorway.
“JUMP! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!” I start yelling through the sounds of artillery and cries of agony.
As on queue, everyone who could walk started making their way to salvation and began jumping out from falling, death trap.
I watched and started counting down people jumping before me.
First.
Second.
Third.
Now it’s my turn, I grabbed the edges of the entrance and pushed myself outside.
The moment when I finally got out from there, when everything turned in to blur for a few seconds, the moment when I felt a sharp pull, and when I saw that my parachute was open… It was something I couldn’t quite describe with words… I felt... Reborn? Just like in Sicily and Italy...
When I was slowly falling to the ground, I noticed that above me was only one person. I watched as our airplane came crushing down on the edge of the forest, turning into giant fireball. Below me I saw three other parachutes, two farthest landed in tall grass, near the crash site.
“Shit…” I muttered.
A group of Germans start surrounding them while opening fire in their direction… I could only watch as the two, lost souls were fighting for their lives below me… Again I can’t help someone in need.
“I fucking, hate this!”
The third parachute - which I assumed belonged to Rossell - landed in less wooded location, away from firefight. The wind start carried me away, farther in the dense forest…
“Damn, it’s gonna hurt…”
I covered my face with my arms, then pulled my legs forward and braced myself at the coming trees…
XXX
11:23 a.m
Canterlot train station…
P.O.V Fluttershy the Element of Kindness.
I woke up when our train came to halt, the sound of screeching metal made me jump in fright...
“Last stop! Canterlot station!” announced conductor.
I looked around, and saw Rainbow Dash lying next to me, she was sleeping in comical position: she was lying on her backs upside down with her head hanging on the edge of her seat. I giggled a little at the sight...
Further ahead sat Twilight, Applejack and Rarity, chatting about something. I looked out the window, and saw Pinkie Pie talking with one of the Solar Guards… She pulled a cupcake from… somewhere… and offered it to him.
“Fluttershy, could you wake up Dash?” asked Twilight.
“We will take our luggage and wait outside.” said Rarity.
I slowly nodded then they walked away.
I turned back to Dash and nudged slightly “Um, Rainbow wake up. We’re in Canterlot…” I said quietly.
“Uhh…WHAAA!” she yelled while falling on the floor with a loud ‘thud’. I offered her my hoof, which she accepted and helped her got up “Thanks…” she said embarrassed and rubbed her forehoof “Where are the others?” she asked looking around.
“Um… They're took our things and now are waiting outside…” I said quietly.
“Oh, OK. Let’s go then!” she said pulling me outside...