Gunslinger
Not Ready To Die
“Looks like there’s just the three of us for now”, Pagliaro sighed. “We’re scattered all over and I got no idea where we are. Lieutenant Somerville’s got a map but we gotta find him.”
The eerie glow of a fire was the only source of illumination near the trio. Dana looked behind her and noticed the burning shell of a large plane and what appeared to be some bodies lying near the open doorway. She instinctively took a step backward and bumped into Brian.
“Watch where you’re going you useless cunt”, Brian snapped at her. Pagliaro rolled his eyes.
“Dammit you two”, he hissed. “We don’t have time for your shit – you two have been at each other’s throats since basic training. We have to stick together. At least try to get along until we can find the others.”
“This has got to be a bad dream”, Dana moaned. She tried to pinch herself on the hand, and frowned when she felt the pain.
“I don’t want to be in a dream with you”, Brian snarled. Pagliaro whacked him on the back of the head. Brian went to take a step toward him, his eyes narrowed.
“That’s enough Private Haner”, Pagliaro declared. Dana looked at the small sewed on insignia on the shoulder of Pagliaro’s uniform.
“Listen to the sergeant, Private”, she snapped. Brian turned toward her, his eyes narrowed further.
“Listen here Vandenberg, I don’t have to take any shit from you. I…”
“Haner, you will listen to me and to Corporal Vandenberg.” Brian’s eyes widened at Pagliaro’s words. Corporal? Oh hell no…..
Not knowing what else to do, and having no idea where they were, Dana and Brian chose to walk with Pagliaro as they crept along the side of the huge hedge, heading closer toward the sound of gunfire. As they crept along, they heard some more rustling coming from the other side of the hedge. Pagliaro pulled a small implement out of his pocket and clicked it. Seconds later, an answering click resounded from the other side of the hedge. After some further rustling, two more soldiers emerged from the hedge.
“O’Shea, Melville, boy am I glad to see you two”, Pagliaro said as he clapped the two men on the back. The red-headed man called O’Shea was carrying another old fashioned rifle, whilst Melville was holding a rather evil looking large knife.
“Got any idea where we are Sarge?”, O’Shea asked Pagliaro.
“I passed a sign that said St Mere Eglise back a ways, but I got no idea how far HQ is.”
“Best we keep walking then.”
As the group walked further, they noticed a large fire near a church, and could hear the church bell calling out for assistance from the residents.
“We need to head to St Marie-Du-Mont”, Pagliaro advised the group. He consulted the small compass he had dug out of one of his pants pockets. Just as he was putting away his compass, further rustling was heard to their right and two more soldiers emerged in the dim early morning light.
“Lieutenant Somerville, it’s good to see you”, Pagliaro smiled as he greeted the tall blonde man, and nodded at the smaller private accompanying Somerville. “You too, Adams.”
Lieutenant Somerville had pulled out a map, and with the aid of a raincoat, flashlight, and Adams’ back, he had determined the correct location for the group to walk in. Dana walked at the back of the group, her mind a confusing swirl of emotions. Whilst she was upright and walking, albeit with a massive migraine coming on, she also felt the distinct impression of cold concrete underneath her body. It was a disconcerting feeling and one she eventually decided to store at the back of her mind until she worked out just where she and Brian were. Whilst she thought that she was most likely dreaming, her surroundings appeared so real that she wondered if she had lost her mind.
After the group had walked for about an hour, they came across two men hanging from a large tree by parachute cords.
“Take whatever ammo and items that you can carry, boys and girl”, Pagliaro advised the group. Dana looked at him, startled. Okay, so obviously it wasn’t a secret that she was a girl. She looked with distaste at the dead men, and the men that she had been traveling with as they approached the bodies and began to collect their weapons, ammo and small items. Pagliaro handed her one of the old fashioned rifles. She took it reluctantly and looked down at it in her hands. What in hell was going here? She glanced back up to notice that Brian had been given a pistol, and was placing boxes of ammunition into his pants pockets. He looked back up at her briefly, his eyes filled with the same shock that she herself was feeling. Upon noticing Dana watching him, his eyes narrowed but he chose not to speak.
The group crossed through the nearest hedge, and began to walk along the side of a small stream. They had been walking for just under an hour when Pagliaro held his hand up, and the group, including Dana and Brian, crouched down and peered over the bridge onto a roadway that ran on the other side of the stream. Four horse drawn wagons were coming along the road toward them, the men in the wagons conversing easily with other. What startled Dana the most was that they were speaking German. She noticed the men with her, minus Brian, holding up their rifles and aiming toward the German soldiers. She reluctantly hoisted the rifle up, and wondered for a moment why it felt familiar that she was holding the old weapon. At Somerville’s command of “Fire”, the group began firing at the German soldiers. Dana felt herself going into something like auto-pilot as she worked the bolt on the rifle and began firing at the soldiers below.
What barely felt like 5 minutes later, Dana was looking at dead bodies strewn around knocked over carts, and frightened horses running off into the distance. Oh my god, what if she had shot someone!!!! She leaned heavily on the side of the bridge, her tired mind trying to keep up with the night’s events.
“What the fuck is going on Vandenberg?”, she heard Brian hiss at her. She looked up tiredly into the face of the guitarist.
“I don’t know, Brian”, she sighed. “This is going to sound insane, but I think we’ve gone back in time.” Brian’s chocolate brown eyes widened.
“Are you fucking nuts? It’s not fucking likely that a Delorean screamed through the car park of Johnny’s and just collected us on the way”.
“What the hell else am I supposed to think?”, Dana snapped at him. “Maybe we’re having a group hallucination or something. I don’t fucking now what’s going on, okay.”
She turned on her heel and began walking after the other men, who had resumed their trek northward. After a moment, she heard Brian’s footsteps following behind her.
The eerie glow of a fire was the only source of illumination near the trio. Dana looked behind her and noticed the burning shell of a large plane and what appeared to be some bodies lying near the open doorway. She instinctively took a step backward and bumped into Brian.
“Watch where you’re going you useless cunt”, Brian snapped at her. Pagliaro rolled his eyes.
“Dammit you two”, he hissed. “We don’t have time for your shit – you two have been at each other’s throats since basic training. We have to stick together. At least try to get along until we can find the others.”
“This has got to be a bad dream”, Dana moaned. She tried to pinch herself on the hand, and frowned when she felt the pain.
“I don’t want to be in a dream with you”, Brian snarled. Pagliaro whacked him on the back of the head. Brian went to take a step toward him, his eyes narrowed.
“That’s enough Private Haner”, Pagliaro declared. Dana looked at the small sewed on insignia on the shoulder of Pagliaro’s uniform.
“Listen to the sergeant, Private”, she snapped. Brian turned toward her, his eyes narrowed further.
“Listen here Vandenberg, I don’t have to take any shit from you. I…”
“Haner, you will listen to me and to Corporal Vandenberg.” Brian’s eyes widened at Pagliaro’s words. Corporal? Oh hell no…..
Not knowing what else to do, and having no idea where they were, Dana and Brian chose to walk with Pagliaro as they crept along the side of the huge hedge, heading closer toward the sound of gunfire. As they crept along, they heard some more rustling coming from the other side of the hedge. Pagliaro pulled a small implement out of his pocket and clicked it. Seconds later, an answering click resounded from the other side of the hedge. After some further rustling, two more soldiers emerged from the hedge.
“O’Shea, Melville, boy am I glad to see you two”, Pagliaro said as he clapped the two men on the back. The red-headed man called O’Shea was carrying another old fashioned rifle, whilst Melville was holding a rather evil looking large knife.
“Got any idea where we are Sarge?”, O’Shea asked Pagliaro.
“I passed a sign that said St Mere Eglise back a ways, but I got no idea how far HQ is.”
“Best we keep walking then.”
As the group walked further, they noticed a large fire near a church, and could hear the church bell calling out for assistance from the residents.
“We need to head to St Marie-Du-Mont”, Pagliaro advised the group. He consulted the small compass he had dug out of one of his pants pockets. Just as he was putting away his compass, further rustling was heard to their right and two more soldiers emerged in the dim early morning light.
“Lieutenant Somerville, it’s good to see you”, Pagliaro smiled as he greeted the tall blonde man, and nodded at the smaller private accompanying Somerville. “You too, Adams.”
Lieutenant Somerville had pulled out a map, and with the aid of a raincoat, flashlight, and Adams’ back, he had determined the correct location for the group to walk in. Dana walked at the back of the group, her mind a confusing swirl of emotions. Whilst she was upright and walking, albeit with a massive migraine coming on, she also felt the distinct impression of cold concrete underneath her body. It was a disconcerting feeling and one she eventually decided to store at the back of her mind until she worked out just where she and Brian were. Whilst she thought that she was most likely dreaming, her surroundings appeared so real that she wondered if she had lost her mind.
After the group had walked for about an hour, they came across two men hanging from a large tree by parachute cords.
“Take whatever ammo and items that you can carry, boys and girl”, Pagliaro advised the group. Dana looked at him, startled. Okay, so obviously it wasn’t a secret that she was a girl. She looked with distaste at the dead men, and the men that she had been traveling with as they approached the bodies and began to collect their weapons, ammo and small items. Pagliaro handed her one of the old fashioned rifles. She took it reluctantly and looked down at it in her hands. What in hell was going here? She glanced back up to notice that Brian had been given a pistol, and was placing boxes of ammunition into his pants pockets. He looked back up at her briefly, his eyes filled with the same shock that she herself was feeling. Upon noticing Dana watching him, his eyes narrowed but he chose not to speak.
The group crossed through the nearest hedge, and began to walk along the side of a small stream. They had been walking for just under an hour when Pagliaro held his hand up, and the group, including Dana and Brian, crouched down and peered over the bridge onto a roadway that ran on the other side of the stream. Four horse drawn wagons were coming along the road toward them, the men in the wagons conversing easily with other. What startled Dana the most was that they were speaking German. She noticed the men with her, minus Brian, holding up their rifles and aiming toward the German soldiers. She reluctantly hoisted the rifle up, and wondered for a moment why it felt familiar that she was holding the old weapon. At Somerville’s command of “Fire”, the group began firing at the German soldiers. Dana felt herself going into something like auto-pilot as she worked the bolt on the rifle and began firing at the soldiers below.
What barely felt like 5 minutes later, Dana was looking at dead bodies strewn around knocked over carts, and frightened horses running off into the distance. Oh my god, what if she had shot someone!!!! She leaned heavily on the side of the bridge, her tired mind trying to keep up with the night’s events.
“What the fuck is going on Vandenberg?”, she heard Brian hiss at her. She looked up tiredly into the face of the guitarist.
“I don’t know, Brian”, she sighed. “This is going to sound insane, but I think we’ve gone back in time.” Brian’s chocolate brown eyes widened.
“Are you fucking nuts? It’s not fucking likely that a Delorean screamed through the car park of Johnny’s and just collected us on the way”.
“What the hell else am I supposed to think?”, Dana snapped at him. “Maybe we’re having a group hallucination or something. I don’t fucking now what’s going on, okay.”
She turned on her heel and began walking after the other men, who had resumed their trek northward. After a moment, she heard Brian’s footsteps following behind her.