Capítulo 3: Chapter 2: The Nexus II
December 10, 1942 - Battle of Tebourba, Tunisia
"Tommy? Go on," Jack said, turning to face him before looking back at the horizon.
Tommy continued, "We need to continue the operatio—"
"Stop!" Jack's eyes narrowed. It seemed that being told what to do had offended him. He grabbed Tommy's shoulder with a sharp grip and said, "You don't tell me what to do, soldier!"
"Jack, listen to me," Tommy said calmly, trying to avoid escalating the situation as he attempted to whisper to Jack.
"You're crossing the line, Shelby!"
Jack immediately shoved him away.
Tommy continued, "He'll find Nazis coming right at us, but we've got to keep moving. It's better if we could just—"
As he tried to explain, Tommy felt a sharp pain on his right cheek as his field of view shifted. Jack had punched him in the face.
"What the hell happened?"
"Shit, separate them!"
Everyone was panicking at the sudden fight and moved to intervene. But Tommy didn't seem to care much about the punch. He looked back at Jack, whose face was red with anger.
"Jack..."
He was about to say something when he grunted in pain, hunched forward as Jack's knee pressed into his gut. Jack forced his face closer and whispered, "Shut the fuck up, Thomas Shelby!"
"I am the leader of the squad! I outrank you!"
Jack's face was livid as he shouted at Tommy, while Arthur and Dum Dum Dugan held him back. Bucky came to Tommy's side and whispered, helping him to his feet, "What the hell are you doing? You know that guy is a hard nut to crack..."
"Sergeant! We're fucked!"
A terrified voice broke the tension as everyone turned to the scout, who had repeated exactly what Tommy remembered hearing twice before.
His heart skipped a beat.
Jack pulled away from the restraining hands, furrowing his eyebrows. "What happened?"
"These Nazis are fucking everywhere on that side!"
Tommy heard it for the third time as Jack's eyes widened. Turning to him, Jack muttered, "What did you just say?"
"I told you Jack, he would find the nazis coming right at us..."
Tommy repeated what the scout had found, and Jack didn't seem to believe his ears. The scout added, "They're coming for us! These motherfuckers!"
"Shit, let's retreat!"
Jack's voice echoed as panic erupted again in the squad. Tommy knew it was impossible to change Jack's mind.
The guy was a dick, and his ego completely clouded his judgment.
"Fuck, prepare to fight!"
Tommy shouted at the squad, while Jack remained silent as they slowly retreated. He knew it would be better to prepare them for what was coming, increasing their chances of survival.
Given the earlier conflict, everyone seemed on edge. He could see their hands trembling as they gripped their weapons.
Tommy glanced at each of them before raising his gun and aiming forward. Their faces paled as they saw a group of enemies ahead, the Nazis were mirroring their expressions.
"Fire!"
Tommy shouted as he pulled the trigger. The others snapped out of their daze, and a barrage of gunfire erupted across the terrain.
The Nazis fell faster since Tommy's squad had started shooting first.
"Fuck!"
Bucky's voice echoed as Tommy saw the guy stumble to the ground.
Tommy turned and saw blood gushing from Bucky's gut as he then looked at him and cursed, "You motherfucker, I'm actually going to die painfully now..."
"Congrats, Bucky," Tommy said as he continued shooting while his comrades kept falling.
They were simply outnumbered, and Tommy realized it was impossible to get through. Time seemed to slow down again as he saw a bullet coming straight for his head. He continued, "We're going to die together and get eaten by worms..."
There was no response from Bucky; he was dead. And his sight went dark.
Blip!
Back again, Tommy tried another approach to convince Jack to change his decision. But Jack was truly a hard nut to crack. Another fight broke out, and another death of the whole squad followed.
Tommy kept trying, but Jack kept getting them killed.
It was impossible for Jack to lower his ego and follow someone of a lower rank like him.
Blip!
"Tommy? Hey, Tommy!"
A loud shout echoed in his ears, jolting him awake, followed by the same joke he somehow missed, "What the hell is wrong with you, British boy? Wake the fuck up or you might not get your bo'o of wo'o..."
"Hahaha!"
Laughter filled the air as Tommy looked at Bucky and his bottle, shoving it back as his eyes slowly lost their color.
He slowly approached Jack. Resting his hand on his gun, he quickly pulled out his handgun.
Everyone's faces paled as they quickly rushed toward him. But it was all too late.
Jack's confused expression was deeply imprinted in Tommy's mind. He pulled the trigger, and with a bang, a bullet lodged into Jack's head, sending his body falling onto the dirt, landing on his back.
Arthur looked at Tommy in horror, "What the fuck, Tommy!"
"We're gonna die, Arthur. On the dirt with scrubs covering our bodies," Tommy spoke calmly despite just killing their sergeant.
He saw some of them raise their guns, aiming at him with trembling hands. Tommy understood their fear and added, "When our scout comes back, he'll let you all know just how fucked up things are..."
"What are you saying—"
"Jack! We're fucked!"
Their expressions changed along with the confused look of the scout as he saw Jack's dead body. Tommy stared into the distance, his eyes empty and distant, before suddenly shouting, "We're all gonna die!"
"Gabe, do you know what your girlfriend will do on the day of your funeral?"
Tommy noticed Gabe was uncomfortable with the question but managed to answer hesitantly, "...Mourning for me?"
"No, you dumb fuck! She's gonna fuck another dude over your dead fucking body!" His voice was flared in anger as he sharply turned to Dum Dum Dugan, "Dum Dum, you know what happens after you die?"
"Maybe see Jesus?"
Tommy noticed Dum Dum Dugan's hesitation in his joke, which was unlike him. He slapped Dum Dum and brought his face right back at him. He noticed the guy flinch at the unfocused eyes seemingly staring right into his soul.
"Jesus?"
Tommy growled, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You're not gonna see Jesus. Not even remotely close, you dumbass!"
"You're gonna have dinner with Satan!"
Everyone stood in silence as Tommy proceeded to curse every single one of them. He pointed in the direction of the Germans' outpost and continued, "These fuckers are gonna tear us apart if we keep moving forward!"
"And if we change direction, they'll fuck us from another angle!" Tommy turned to the scout, whose eyes were filled with nervousness, sensing the paranoia in his tone. "You know what's worse? Retreating—only to get fucking flanked!"
"You're gonna die with a bullet in your head! We're all gonna fucking die and nobody's gonna fucking care!"
"Jesus Christ..."
Tommy heard Gabe mumble in disbelief as he grew quiet before muttering, "Jesus? No..."
"Even Jesus won't save you!"
Tommy's furious words penetrated their souls, and he grabbed his headgear before slamming it down on the ground. The metallic clang echoed as it bounced up and down, with everyone staring at it unconsciously.
"Nobody will fucking save us!"
Tommy roared, his voice snapping them back to attention.
The atmosphere went incredibly quiet as he looked up at the bright sky, feeling his heart grow colder as time passed. He saw their faces, uncomfortable as they met his eyes, and he softly spoke, "But I will..."
The madness in his eyes was unmistakable, sending a chill down their spines. He didn't care what they thought; what mattered was how to get out of this shitty battlefield alive. He turned to Bucky, "You know how to set up a trap with grenades?"
"…Yeah," Bucky responded after a brief silence. Tommy noticed the slight fear in Bucky's eyes, making him almost chuckle, thinking, 'He's right, I've lost my mind now.'
Something had twisted within him, like a switch.
"Good, I'll take charge! Follow my orders or I'd lodge a bullet right in the middle of your forehead," Tommy said as he saw everyone look at each other, unsure of what to do as opened his mouth, "Let's fucking surprise these motherfuckers!"
"Fucking hell, we've got no other choice now anyway…"
Arthur voiced his frustration, and the others seemed to agree. With Jack's death, Tommy could see they were reluctant to take charge, considering the situation was too critical.
"Don't worry, I'll get every single one of you out of here alive…"
Confident in his ability to defy death, Tommy was determined to survive, especially now that Jack was out of the way. He briefly looked at Jack before grabbing his dog tag, intending to return it to his parents.
"Tommy, where are we going now?"
Arthur's question lingered in his ears as he grabbed his headgear and put it back on. He looked in the direction the scout had come from and said, "That way..."
"Tommy, are you sure about that? They're coming from that direction! Aren't we just walking into our death?"
"No," Tommy responded flatly, ignoring their confused stares. His eyes grew cloudy as he recalled the mud-covered thighs of the Nazis before glancing at them and asking, "Are you good at holding your breath?"
"What?"
The group exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of what Tommy meant. But their confusion quickly turned to understanding as they pushed forward, eventually reaching a stretch of grassland.
The area was dotted with waist-high scrubs—perfect cover!
Without hesitation, they smeared themselves with mud, sinking into the wet earth and hiding their bodies completely beneath the muck.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
The only sound was the pounding of their own hearts, as Tommy himself could hear his own heartbeat.
'They're coming,' Tommy thought, his instincts sharpened by the faint rustle of grass and the steps of boots crunching through the mud.
The Germans were close!
"Fuck, it's muddy!"
The grumbling voice of a German soldier drifted over, followed by the unmistakable splash of boots sinking into the thick muck.
Time stretched out unbearably, each second crawling as Tommy's heartbeat quickened. The sloppy, heavy footsteps approached—closer, closer. His muscles tensed as he sensed the restlessness of his squad around him, each one itching to pull the trigger.
But he had told them to wait for his signals.
'Not yet,' Tommy reminded himself, his eyes narrowing as the footsteps grew louder.
The soldier's boots sloshed through the mud, inching toward him.
Then it happened—Tommy's eyes snapped open, locking onto the wide, terrified gaze of a German soldier standing right above him.
He could see the soldier's pupils dilating in horror after seeing his eyes.
Without a second's hesitation, Tommy's hand flashed up. In one swift motion, he plunged his military knife deep into the soldier's skull, feeling the blade slice through flesh and bone.
"Now!" he roared.
Before the Germans could react or shout a warning, gunfire erupted from the hidden squad.
Bullets tore through the air, cutting down the German soldiers in rapid succession. One by one, they fell into the mud, collapsing like broken dolls, the muddy grassland quickly turning into a blood-soaked battlefield.
He could smell a striking smell of the blood penetrating his noise as he turned to the rest of his men.
The chaos of gunfire filled the air, echoing off the nearby trees.
Tommy knew the shots didn't go unnoticed. The sound had alerted the other German squads nearby, and they had only moments before more soldiers arrived.
"Bucky!"
Tommy shouted as he forcefully pulled his feet off the mud and run toward the direction of the Germans soldier as he heard gunshots being triggered from each of their sides.
Bucky's face was tight with fear as they all made their way out of the mud and into the tall grassfield, the scrubs now reaching up to their chests.
All of them crouched low, their breaths shallow as they moved through the dense undergrowth, trying to remain unseen.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!"
Tommy could hear Bucky cursing under his breath. He noticed Bucky's hands trembled as the guy laid out a series of traps behind them.
Meanwhile, the others pressed forward without firing a shot, their fingers itching to pull the trigger but knowing they couldn't afford to make noise just yet.
He didn't know just how close they were with their allies, so they had to keep on going. Tommy felt his heart was about to burst out of his chest as they moved further and further.
'Fuck, seems like the trap was a failu—!'
Suddenly, the deafening boom of a grenade exploding in the distance tore through the tense silence. The ground shook beneath their feet, sending a jolt of adrenaline through Tommy's veins.
He didn't need to think twice!
"Run!" he shouted.
Without hesitation, everyone straightened up and bolted, their legs pumping furiously as they sprinted through the tall grass.
The explosion had sent the German soldiers into confusion, their attention drawn to the blast. For a fleeting moment, Tommy felt a surge of hope—they had bought themselves just enough time to make their escape!
The grass blurred past as they ran at full speed, mud still clinging to their boots, but they didn't dare slow down.
"Fuck! I've never been so close to death!"
"Hahaha!"
Gabe cursed out loud making Dum Dum Dugan laughed as he seemed to be thrilled at what had happened as he said, "That's it, Gabe! You gotta curse more often!"
"Stop talking, you morons! Keep running!"
Arthur's voice was filled with frustration and fear making the others chuckle despite their own fear. Bucky chuckled along before turning to him and asked, "What do we do now, Tommy?"
Tommy didn't answer immediately as he glanced at the horizon, the darkening sky stretching out ahead of them. A storm was rolling in, thick clouds swelling overhead that strangely made him feel relaxed as he spoke, "Let's clean ourselves first..."
They might still have to fight again later today as he felt the droplets of water hitting his skin, sending chills through him. The rain began to pour down in heavy sheets, masking their escape, yet offering a strange sense of calm amid the chaos.
---
I know Bucky wasn't supposed to be here, or that they were supposed to survive.
But in the movies, Bucky was a fucking sergeant, which doesn't make any sense given his circumstances. So, why not just give him some experience so that he might as well get promoted to sergeant by the time the canon begins?
This is just the intro, I'm still working on the storyline which was halfway done. I will announce the official release schedule for the constant update here! Cheers!
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