Chapter 5: Chapter: 5 Gift-Pack
Helen chuckled, taking comfort in the assurance that her injuries weren't as severe as they felt. She stretched her limbs, feeling her skin stretch around the stitches and the pan made her stiffen again,
"Well, I reckon my muscles owe me a favor then,"
She joked with a wry grin, patting her wounds with what she hoped were clean hands... chances were, they were not that clean.
"Alright then, let's see what we've got for a hearty breakfast,"
Helen played along with the nurse's enthusiasm.
Rita nodded enthusiastically, handing her the can of M-Ration, but not before opening it with the provided key. As she peeled back the lid, Helen couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia, the familiar sight and smell of preserved meat brought back surprisingly recent memories. Field rations she had consumed mere days before, albeit from a different universe altogether.
"Here ya go, Ma'am,"
Rita said, handing Helen a mess kit with a spoon.
"Enjoy your meal, and if ya need anything else, just say."
"Thank you."
Helen said gratefully, taking the mess kit and spoon. She dug into her meal as Rita watched with glee, occasionally chattering on about life in the field hospitals, sharing anecdotes about wounded soldiers and the challenges she faced.
Amidst the casual talk, Rita's Southern charm seemed genuine... she was almost fooled, almost but not quite. She wasn't just an ordinary nurse, oh no, she was something else entirely... a spook most definitely.
After finishing her meal, Helen turned her attention to Rita.
"Say, how did you end up here in the middle of a war zone, Rita?"
Helen asked, feigning curiosity.
The nurse sighed, her expression turning more sour.
"Well, it's a bit of a tale, ma'am. I used to be a nurse back home, tendin' to folks in a small town clinic. Then one day, I found myself in the middle of all this chaos. No clue how it happened. Woke up one mornin', and here I was."
Helen raised an eyebrow, sensing a carefully crafted story. Rita continued with a seemingly innocent smile.
"I figured, well, if I'm gonna be stuck in a war, might as well do some good. So, here I am, helpin' out where I can. It's tough, but I reckon someone's gotta do it, right?"
Helen nodded, acknowledging the story. She decided to play along for now, keeping a watchful eye on Rita. There was more to this nurse than met the eye, and Helen had a feeling that the true nature of her presence would reveal itself in due time.
After having a full stomach, Helen nestled into her bed to talk some more about the current status of... well... things. Meh, it was mostly Rita talking and Helen listening to her blabber on and on.
From her words, Helen realized a couple of things like the fact that the world... had gone bonkers! Women were sent off to die on the front line due to some sort of cosmic disturbance, just like the freaking 'Voice in her head' had said!
It was all true!
And from the look that Rita was giving her when she asked 'Since when?' made it quite clear that it had been going on for some time now... not the war, it was going on its jolly pace, but the bit about women-soldiers in WW1.
As for the current status of the war... well... it was December 1st of the year 1917, which basically meant that the AEF, or American Expeditionary Forces, had reached the critical number of 100,000 and rising. American troops were facing a bit of a shortage of supplies and experience and experienced officers and... pretty much everything.
Helen listened and listened until she began to drift off into bouts of drowsiness, Rita noticed that her audience had more important things to do, and decided to leave for now.
As soon as Rita was out, Helen opened her eyes and groaned,
'Mind recalling anything else you forgot!'
{What? What did I do?}
'This world is bonkers!'
{Yeah. So?}
'Do you know the casualties estimated in case women fought in World War 1?'
{Of course, I do! 29 million dead of which 17 million military personnel and 12 million civilians... I just ran the simulation... a couple million more or less, depending on minor decisions like going left or right or something like that.}
'That's still 9 million more!'
{Not my problem.}
'Fuck!'
{Anyway, you have a gift pack left. Wanna open it?}
Helen rubbed her temples, or tied to at least, once again... it was a bit inconvenient to move around with a hole in her stomach. She was in a war, in a different reality, with a different set of rules. The casualties were staggering... not really, the last war she was in had casualty numbers mounting up to 3 billion humans.
Opening her eyes, she focused on the mention of the 'gift pack.'
'A gift pack? What is it?'
{Oh, just a little something I threw in for you. You know, to make your stay more enjoyable.}
'Considering the circumstances, I doubt anything here could make it enjoyable, but sure, let's see what it is.'
The interface before her shimmered and a virtual gift-box appeared on the black and white screen.
'How do I open it?'
{Meh, just give it a mental command.}
Helen hesitated for a moment before focusing her thoughts on the virtual gift box before her and,
'Open sesame?'
{Not like that you daft bull!}
'Ah, right.'
She focused again and this time, she willed for it to open. The lid of the box shimmered before slowly lifting, revealing its contents.
Inside, she found an array of items, each more peculiar than the last one. There were papers, a whole lot of 'em... and a rifle of some sort, an old rifle, a controlled-feed bolt-action rifle... a fuckin' Kar98!
Helen blinked in surprise at the sight of the rifle nestled among the papers.
"Interesting choice,"
She muttered to herself.
{I thought you might like that. It's a classic, after all.}
She smirked at the remark, before turning her attention to the pile of papers beneath the rifle, curious to see what other surprises the 'Interface' had in store for her.
The papers were a mix of documents, ranging from War Bonds, soldier's identity papers, property records, and finally a blueprint.
'What's all this?'
{Nothing much. Just $100k in war bonds, your new platoon's information, an Ops' commander from the future, and an arms manufactory in Harmony Creek, Pennsylvania... Oh! and a blueprint for DShK 1938 heavy machine gun.}
Helen stared for a moment,
'A Dushka? Really?'
She stared at the strange assortment of items in the virtual gift box, feeling a mix of unease bubbling within her. The Kar98 rifle was absolutely... useless! It used the German 7.92×57mm Mauser rounds, not really all that rare but it would be pretty much impossible to explain why she was using a German-made rifle in an Allied field hospital!
The war bonds were of minimal use and the documents contained a bare minimum amount of information.
{There's also information about the new transfers into your squad.}
'What for?'
{Don't ya know? You lost most of your men... and... well... women too, a couple of weeks back. They would be supplying your platoon with fresh meat!}
'And how exactly...?'
{Just think about it and it would be displayed, seriously, do you have nothing in your head?}
'Bugger off!'
She did as the voice said and one of the files drifted up to the screen,
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| 19th Platoon, 7th Company, 25th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Division |
| Personnel: 57 |
| Commanding Officer: 1st lieutenant Helen Bacchus |
| Platoon Sergeant: Sergeant (Sgt.) Joseph Bear {CLASSIFIED} |
| Platoon Sergeant (Assistant): Sergeant (Sgt.) Eggler Brown |
| Squad Leaders: 4 Sergeant (Sgt.) |
| Corporals: 4 Corporals (Cpl.) |
| Riflemen: 36 Privates and so on... (Pvt.) |
| Attachments: Commanding Officer's Aid(1), Medical Personnel(9) |
----------
'Alright, not much to go on on.'
{Is it not? You got the information you were to receive in what? Two days?}
'Is two days a lot of time?'
{Nah, but a couple of years in the army sure is long... and you didn't even look at the 'next page' button on the left end corner of the screen.}
Helen glanced where the 'Voice in her Head' was telling her to and found something... very interesting,
| 1/100 Next Pg. |
'Oh,'
{Oh, indeed. It's going to be a very, very long read indeed.}
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