Chương 4: Chapter 3: Blood and Steel I
December 10, 1942 - Battle of Tebourba, Tunisia
After managing to escape alive with the rest of the squad, Tommy led them onward to Tebourba. He thought he'd feel ecstatic after surviving, but instead, he felt nothing. One thing was certain: he didn't want to die, especially not because of some random fool.
Upon joining the Allied forces—consisting of U.S. and British units—Tommy quickly realized they were the only surviving squad to make it through to Tebourba. With Jack dead, Tommy took on the responsibility of reporting the situation. This triggered a chain reaction across the battlefield, as the news spread that Axis forces, both Germans and Italians, had reinforced from an unexpected direction.
It was clear they were trying to completely block the Allied advance to Tunis.
Tommy could tell that whoever was commanding the Allied forces was either a persistent bastard or just an idiot, as they pushed forward even when their enemies launched a strong counteroffensive against them. The combination of infantry, artillery, and Panzer units made it clear how dire their situation was. They lacked both anti-tank weapons and air support, making retreat the only viable option.
'I might just need to kill that General someday,' Tommy thought quietly as they withdrew with heavy losses, abandoning their immediate push toward Tunis and retreating to the town of Medjez el Bab. Tommy might have actually done it if that bastard had kept pushing and gotten them all killed. But it seemed the General was at least a bit smarter than a monkey.
He had "died" a couple of times now, and when he thought he'd return before Jack's death, he ended up blipping back right before they joined the Allied forces. This made him realize that each time he made it through, he'd be sent back to a new fixed point.
"Ah, fuck, what do we do now? We're gonna end up going back with these Brits again..." Arthur grumbled as the troops carrier they were in rattled along the uneven dirt road. Tommy felt uncomfortable with the bench but didn't bother to fix his position as he stayed silent while staring blankly at the distant dark clouds where the sun was setting down.
"Arthur, you're fucking British too," Dum Dum Dugan said, making Tommy glance over at Arthur who kept on moving his butt, also feeling uncomfortable with the metal bench. He knew Arthur was trying to find a comfortable spot to sit on.
"I was born and raised in the States, what the hell are you talking about? I'm American!" Arthur shot back.
Tommy turned away, staring out the open back of the carrier. He'd rather ignore Arthur's outburst, which only Dum Dum Dugan seemed to engage with. He remembered the fight Arthur had with the British soldier, though he didn't know the full details—just that it had started with insults and quickly escalated into a brawl.
At first, Tommy had thought Arthur would get along with the Brits since they shared some background, but clearly, he'd been wrong. Not that Tommy could blame him—he agreed with Arthur's sentiment.
"Brits are pretty annoying..." he muttered.
"See! Even Tommy agrees with me," Arthur said while shaking his head, he waved his hand before adding, "These tea lovers think they're the best in the world. It's crazy!"
Bucky and the others sat in silence, clearly exhausted to join in the conversation. Tommy noticed the distant, unfocused look in their eyes. He could tell their minds still lingering on the battlefield they'd just left.
"Fuck, talking about them reminds me of that snob blonde jerk. I hope he died like Jack..." The blonde jerk was the British soldier he had fought with. Tommy then saw Arthur freeze after mentioning their former sergeant. He felt like the cranky sounds of the carrier hitting the dirt road grew louder as everyone suddenly fell incredibly quiet.
He noticed Gabe and Bucky stealing glances his way as Arthur cursed under his breath, "Fuck, sorry, I should just shut my mou—"
"It's fine, Arthur," Tommy said as he turned his head toward Arthur, who tried to look away, seemingly feeling guilty. He had personally sent their former sergeant to Jesus himself. It was intentional murder, considered a capital offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
"I won't deny my crime. It's a capital offense. But I'll probably just accept whatever punishment they give me."
His tone might have seemed out of place, and Tommy could see their eyes widen in surprise. He understood it might have sounded like he didn't take his life too seriously, but he knew better—he never wanted to die a meaningless death.
"Tommy," Gabe said. "Why would you do that?"
"Do what? Kill Jack?"
"...Yeah, can't we all just survive together?"
Tommy looked at Gabe and fell silent. Thinking about that motherfucker who had led them to death countless times, Tommy couldn't help but let out a slow chuckle before bursting into laughter, "Hahaha!"
"You must've gone nuts!"
Everyone seemed uncomfortable with his laughter, and Tommy could clearly see it from their expressions. He didn't care, feeling slightly more relaxed after laughing. He looked Gabe right in the eyes, "Him? You can't be fucking serious. You really think that narcissist bastard would listen to me?"
"I know he's a jerk sometimes," Gabe leaned against the side of the carrier, staring up at the canopy. "But how could we know we couldn't convince him if we didn't try?"
"Without even trying, huh?"
Tommy couldn't quite remember how many times he had tried to convince Jack to listen to him. He tried over and over again, only to die repeatedly. Quite a persistent bastard, if he had to describe Jack in simple terms.
Thinking about that, he scoffed coldly with amusement in his eyes and said, "If I could turn back time to a moment before killing him, I'd gladly do it all over again. I couldn't care less about trying to convince that motherfucker to listen to me, knowing full well he wouldn't. Killing one to save five sounds like a good deal to me."
These words seemed to have silenced Gabe, and Tommy didn't hear any more questions from him. He looked out the open backside of the carrier as soon as he heard rustling sounds. The carrier seemed to have left the dirt road and started moving through some scrubs.
He immediately knew they were getting closer to the town.
"It's not like we can turn back time anyway," Dum Dum Dugan suddenly spoke. Being in the squad for the longest, Tommy was pretty sure Dum Dum Dugan knew better about Jack's shitty personality.
Arthur shrugged his shoulders and joked, "And that bastard would be more useful buried in the dirt anyway."
"You're goddamn right!"
Laughter filled the carrier immediately as Tommy slightly curled his lips, though amusement barely reached his eyes. However, he could feel the tension had yet to dissipate when Bucky suddenly spoke, "But we have a problem. Whatever the reason, Tommy committed a murder—and to his superior, no less. You should understand that he could either be shot to death or rot in jail."
Tommy could see even Arthur and Dum Dum Dugan, who often cracked jokes, suddenly grew quiet as they turned to him with concern. He turned to Bucky quietly, finding the situation somewhat amusing, and chuckled, "I'd pick jail if I could, to be honest..."
The punishment for murdering a superior would be either the death penalty or life imprisonment. Tommy preferred life imprisonment, knowing he could turn back time after dying. He silently thought, 'It'd be torture to get killed over and over again like that.'
"Shit, you should take your life seriously, Tommy," Arthur said.
Tommy could tell Arthur's jaw almost dropped at his words.
"This guy sure is fearless."
"Hahahaha! What a fucking legend!"
Everyone burst into laughter once again.
Tommy curled his lips at this as he clearly felt the tension looming over their heads completely dissipate. They then took turns making fun of his situation as the carrier was now filled with chattering and laughter as if they had never been through a battlefield at all.
The troop carrier rattled its way through the hills and fields surrounding the town of Medjez el Bab, and the town slowly came into sight. Tommy couldn't see it from his seat, but he remembered the whitewashed buildings with flat roofs scattered across the town. Seeing the river reflecting the light from the troop carrier's headlights, he knew they were already in the town.
He could hear the chatter outside growing louder as he looked out from the open back and saw they were driving through narrow, dusty streets lined with simple buildings. He clearly remembered these buildings with small stone windows as he mumbled, "We've arrived..."
"Attention, all personnel! This is Captain Walker. To all units returning from the field—listen up." With those words, Tommy felt the carrier stop as a loud cracked announcement echoed across the small town. "Debriefings will begin immediately. Report to your designated squad leaders for updated assignments. Medical teams are on standby for anyone needing urgent care—get checked in if you're injured. Supplies are limited, so make sure you only take what you need."
The voice was barely audible, but having been in the army for quite some time, Tommy could hear each word clearly as he stepped out of the carrier along with the rest of his squad.
"Uughh... Finally, my butt is fucking on fire..." Tommy heard Arthur grunt loudly. He saw Arthur looking around before stretching his body and letting out a long breath of relief. Arthur turned to him and asked, "Think we'll get a chance to shower before we get thrown back out there? I've got enough dirt in my boots to start a farm."
They had to smear themselves with dirt to ambush the Germans, so they had it worse compared to the other soldiers in the town. But before Tommy could answer, Dum Dum Dugan scoffed at the question. "A shower? Yeah, good luck with that. We're lucky if we can find enough water to drink, let alone wash off this crap."
"Fuck," Bucky cursed. "Why do you have to mention that? I smell like a dead animal. I don't even remember the last time I got to clean myself..."
"That's disgusting, man."
Even the quiet Gabe commented on that, and Tommy looked at him with a shake of his head before saying, "We're all smelling like shit. Don't even start..."
They kept grumbling as they walked toward the open field for the debriefing. However, as they made their way there, they saw another group they were quite familiar with. Tommy could see Arthur's expression immediately crumple upon seeing the blonde guy in the other group.
"No fighting, Arthur, not now," Tommy said. He didn't even remember the blonde guy's name and decided to call him a Dickhead, but he could tell that the Dickhead was also a bit agitated too.
Tommy shook his head before turning to the sergeant and greeting him with a nod. The Dickhead's sergeant just looked at him before looking away, continuing on his way. But then, he noticed Dickhead walking slowly as their group almost overlapped with theirs.
Tommy could tell Dickhead was looking for trouble.
"No fucking fighting, Arthur, remember my words..." He whispered to Arthur as the others within his squad narrowed their eyes at the Dickhead. Tommy looked at the guy before looking away, deciding to ignore him.
However, he felt a contact with his body as Dickhead seemed to bump into him.
Immediately, something snapped within him.
Without a word, he swung his fist and it landed perfectly on the chin. He saw Dickhead's pupils dilate in shock as his eyes widened in response to the sudden assault. Tommy noticed the guy's quick reaction as he tried to fight back, but he easily crushed it with another punch from his other arm.
Tommy felt the atmosphere freeze as everyone looked at him in disbelief, especially at the ferocity of his attack. He didn't know if his squad was secretly rejoicing that he had done what they had wanted to do for a long time or if they were concerned about what would happen next. He couldn't care less.
"Tommy! What are you doing, dude?"
"You said it yourself, goddammit! No fucking fighting!"
He felt hands grabbing at him, trying to pull him away, as he heard Dum Dum Dugan and Bucky's voices echo in his ears. But his fists continued to swing toward Dickhead, who was now unconscious on the ground.
"Fucking hell, Tommy!"
Arthur's exhausted voice was ringing in his head as Tommy felt his mind drifting away. The scene had turned chaotic as they separated him from the guy. The debriefing had to be delayed because of this incident, but he didn't truly care about it, as they were then given some time for Rest and Recovery (R&R).
However, to his surprise, he only got a written reprimand which although would reflect in his service record, Tommy knew was just nothing other than a formality. The town had plenty of water for them to clean up during the R&R. Although he could see the water was slightly muddy as its color was slightly brownish, his shitty odor from smearing dirt all over his body had been wiped off.
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