Prologue
Prologue
Bang! As soon as that first shot rang out an intense skirmish began, A person covered by cam cream in any exposed skin with leaves and twigs sticking out of any crevice in their uniform rustled leaves and broke branches under their weight as they dashed behind a rock.
“This wasn’t the plan” their voice spoke up with a sense of dread.
“Well it is now so lets suck it up, get this done and be home in time for a nice supper. Or do you want to be left behind?” A reply was shouted through all of the whizzing of rounds firing all around them. The final remark stated with lightheartedness to it despite the tense engagement they were entangled in.
“Cut the chatter and let’s do this” a new voice rang out but instead into their communication devices.
“Essentially shut up with the small talk and do our bloody jobs. ‘sigh’ what a pain.” The second soldier remarked.With a sigh the two got back to the gunfight but not without some grumbling.
The one who spoke over the comms was their Sergeant who was currently taking aim, rifle in hand. The weight of the metallic weapon could be felt weighing down his left wrist. The pressure of the cold butt stock pressed against his right shoulder. His index finger wrapped around the trigger slowly pulling it back ready to pull it and face the consequences, while his hand supported the weapon from behind the trigger guard. Laid down in a comfortable position he took one deep breath in. Then a deep breath out, BANG! As soon as the air left his body the weapon fought back against his shoulder leaving a stinging feeling. This felt as normal as the movement of one’s fingers. It was a part of him, after so many years on the range and in the field it was impossible not to be accustomed to it now. As if on cue a silhouette of a figure holding what could only be a weapon dropped face down. Right as the body hit the floor, the Sergeant rolled to his left to relocate from his now dangerous position. He took aim once again, his sights aligned on the figure of a man crouched down, weapon in hand, roughly 100 metres out. He took a deep breath in and exhaled simultaneously pulling the trigger before the last of the air left his body. The round collided next to the man shooting up a small cloud of dust. Immediately, the man turned to face him.
“Shit.” he murmured under his breath as he rolled to the side again. WHIZ, the rounds landed nowhere near him but they were slowly getting more accurate. The sudden movement caused some discomfort but the soldier took aim once more, all the while more rounds were flying all around him slowly getting closer. This time he fired off a burst of 3 bullets. The first one narrowly missed hitting the ground between the man’s legs, the second hit the rifle while the third went straight through the heart killing him instantly. The man slumped to the ground dropping his weapon and not getting back up. The Sergeant once again rolled to his left and with that movement the whizzing of bullets became louder. More enemies focused fire on his previous position, missing but getting close. Then a SNAP could be heard. If he stayed in that position for any longer he would have been a goner.
The Sergeant took aim but this time was different, he placed a hand over his radio and began speaking.
“Four targets left in the open, take your marks, I got the man on the far left crouched”
The voices of the men under his command then replied.“Marking the LMG (light machine gun) on the right”
“Marking the last man on the deck”
“That leaves me with the last one”As all members of the squad marked their targets, the Sergeant got ready to take his final shot. BANG! BANG! BANG! There’s one more still who hasn’t fired.A few moments later There was a SNAP followed by a BANG.
“CLEAR!” The Sergeant shouted at the top of his lungs.
“ALL CLEAR!” a new voice from another soldier shouted out.
“Everyone, let’s regroup by the building.” The Sergeant gave his orders and left his firing position.As he walked down the elevated height he could clearly see 9 people lying down each with different bullets fired at them. They were in an open area that had a single two story building with a large deck that covered the side the doorway was on. It was clearly made out of planks of wood and had a white coating of paint, however there were some marks of where fighting had taken place. Around them was a slightly elevated treeline where they once were. The scent of smoke was clearing but it was being replaced with the smell of blood. Once everyone arrived the Sergeant immediately addressed the most important issue.
“WHO DIDN’T FIRE THEIR SHOT ON TIME! WHO!”
A low voice with little confidence that was trembling spoke up.
“I did.” It was the first soldier from before.
“SPEAK UP!” The Sergeant shouted.
“I DID!”
“ ‘Sigh’ Rookie, listen to me okay. We are put into life and death scenarios everyday. Follow orders and you will survive.” He continued to scold the new soldier but in a calmer tone.
“Don’t listen to orders and that will be your body in no time, or even worse the body of one of your teammates.” He pointed at one of the corpses lying nearby. “That could have been one of us because your shot was delayed. Don’t let it happen again, understand?”
“ I understand.” the Rookie answered in a quieter voice than before, head down clearly feeling bad that what he did almost cost him his own life.
“Rookie, raise your head. We all know what you’re going through but you must adapt. Kill or be killed. Am I understood?”
The Rookie lifted his head, “I understand, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”
“It never is easy.” The Sergeant responded.
Seeing this the Sergeant continued on. “Now onto our next prior…” BANG SNAP BANG
-Prologue over
