literature

Wartime - Ch. 2

Deviation Actions

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"Wow, Peb. You look like how the rest of us feel."


It wasn't the most encouraging comment to hear first thing in the morning, but waking up before the sun rose also wasn't Pebble's idea of a timely schedule. He was used to the sun rousing him from sleep, or a gentle push at his back from his wife. Not the blaring sound of a military horn. He'd gotten used to staying outside of military life since leaving the academy.


"Here. This will help." Gekiki, looking much more suited for early morning activities, handed him a cheap mug. It was filled nearly to the brim with a murky colored liquid. It wasn't coffee, but smelled just as strongly. He hesitantly sipped it, and found that it tasted pleasantly of some kind of fruit.


"What is this?" He asked Gekiki, looking down into the mug.


"Plants from home," he responded, taking a long drink of his own. "I don't drink military-issue coffee. It goes through you like a cheap beer. Not the best option when you're out on the field."


Pebble briefly imagined a platoon being caught with their trousers down right before a surprise attack and made a face, absently crossing his legs defensively. Gekiki laughed and sat down across from him at the table, laying out several papers that had been previously tucked under his arm. A quick glance at them revealed neatly typed orders from commanding officers, one of which bore his code name.


"I'm on there?" Pebble said tentatively, taking another drink. Whatever plants these were, they were sure giving him the jolt to his system that he needed. It was a lot stronger than coffee, that was for sure.


"Yes. We're to head to the mountain base camp. We need you as a runner in case of emergency." Gekiki spoke without looking up. "We're being assigned to a unit for the job. Our escorts, more or less."


One of the papers was spun around and pushed towards Pebble, giving him a better look at it. The camp he was headed to was apparently called Front Sight, and it was a glorified lookout post. Not much in terms of soldiers guarding the place, judging by the roster supplied to them, but the new troops heading out with them would change that shortly.


"When do we leave?"


"Noon sharp," Gekiki replied as he took back the paper. "Our unit will be waiting up top for us. We're going on foot."


He added the last bit with a bit of contempt, shaking his head.


"I guess it could be worse," Pebble suggested, finishing off his drink.


"Have you ever been out in the marshes on foot? In the daytime?" Gekiki asked, a look of pity coming across his features.


"No. Why?"


"You'll see."



And see he did. Pebble had never been this hot in his life. No city midday heat could compare to the absolutely sweltering, suffocating mugginess that the daytime marsh had to offer. The unit had goggles and masks over their eyes, noses, and mouths, blocking out the rancid smells of the baking muck. Bugs flew around the tall grasses and cattails merrily, flying up in all directions as the unit barged their way through. All of them had thick rubber boots on to plow through the thick mud, unpleasant squelching noises sounding off each time one of them lifted a foot to progress. Pebble had largely tuned the noise out, instead focusing on the growing nausea in his stomach. The wet heat wasn't helping matters at all, making his clothes stick to him like a second skin. By the look on Gekiki's face, he could tell that his friend was experiencing the same discomfort, but otherwise he made no move to vocalize it.


The mountains ahead were steadily growing larger, their immense size becoming more apparent as they approached its base. Just how high they were, Pebble didn't know, but they were certainly an impressive monolith on the otherwise flat landscape. His momentarily slowed pace irritated the soldier behind him, who gave a rough push.


"Keep it movin'," he snarled. "Don't let the swamp cats getcha."


"Swamp cats?" Pebble looked to Gekiki, who was his encyclopedia of answers by this point.


"Swamp cats live in the northern marshes, not the southern ones out here." Gekiki shot a glance to the soldier, who sneered right back. "See? Brightest of them all."


"Shut up, pretty boy," was all the soldier had to say to that.


Pebble smiled under his mask. Gekiki was willing to take more risks when sassing back, something he wished he had the guts to do. He had never been a very confrontational man, preferring compromise to aggression.


"Look," he heard Gekiki say again, who fell back to direct Pebble's gaze up to the mountain face. A faint, rapidly blinking light could be seen in the distance. It was hastily putting out code.


"What's it saying?" He wasn't familiar with light and shutter codes. That was for pilots, and he'd never flown a plane in his life. He didn't plan on doing so any time soon, either.


"They saw enemy forces on the other bank this morning. They're telling us to watch out." Gekiki said in a low voice, suddenly growing serious. He slid his rifle's strap from around his neck and held the gun firmly in his hands. "I'm going ahead. We'll be at the base within the next hour."


Before Pebble could say anything back, the dark-haired man vanished into the reeds. Wiping the sweat from his hairline, he continued on, praying for some decent shade before he passed out from heat stroke.



Climbing up sheer rock faces had not been in the initial report. It wasn't impossible, but it was taxing. Pebble gripped the ledge above him and pulled himself up, hooking his leg on a nearby outcropping to steady his body. Falling down now would be disastrous- they'd put a few thousand feet between them and the hard, rocky base below, and he didn't feel like having his innards splattered all over sharp bedrock today. He quickly scrambled to his feet, hearing some of the soldiers chatter about how this was the last leg of the climb, and that the camp was right around the cliff's corner.


"Finally," he breathed, panting from all the effort he'd put into keeping up with the much more muscular unit.


A simple fence and gate had been erected around the camp, with two large watchtowers complete with snipers on the lookout. One of them tilted his head down, his face covered by a black mask with red glass on its visor. The visage was unsettling, almost like some kind of monster from a children's story. These were troopers from a special ops division. The real deal.


"Welcome to camp," he heard a gruff voice say. A man with a short, grayed beard and a cigar in his mouth was addressing the soldiers curtly. Pebble silently wormed his way past them to join the other messenger that had come with them. She, unlike him, had been tasked with staying here permanently until further notice. She smiled weakly at him, looking very uncomfortable. As far as Pebble could tell, she was the only woman in the complex. That must have been a little bit frightening, and he offered her a comforting pat on the shoulder while they stood in silence.


"I am your new Sergeant, maggots. I will be treated with utmost respect while you're here in my camp. Do you understand me?"


A resounding "Sir, yes, sir!" rippled through the soldiers.


"Good. Obedient crowd. Get yourselves in place, and get outta my sight."


They scattered off to the tents while the Sergeant approached Pebble and the young woman. "You two. Runners?"


"Yes sir," Pebble answered quickly.


"Names?"


"Hare," replied the woman.


"Pebble."


A look of annoyance became apparent on the Sergeant's face. "Buncha bullshit code names these days… All right. I've got a job for you, Hare."


Hare, looking more nervous than ever, straightened up and saluted him.


"You're going to make a run for me over the mountain face. I need to see how fast you can go. You'll be going after she comes back," the Sarge added to Pebble after a short pause.


"Permission to ask why, sir?" Hare said shakily.


"Denied, just do as you're told." He put his cigar out on the side of his leather boot. When Hare didn't move right away, he barked right in her face. "NOW!"


In a flash the young woman was gone, the sound of her rapid footsteps fading away within seconds. Pebble blinked, impressed at the woman's swift pace. She'd be a valuable messenger for sure.


"And you. Pebble." The Sergeant said the name as if it were pathetic. With the way he was being talked down to, Pebble was certainly beginning to feel that way. "I want you to fetch the rifleman from your unit. Find him down in the grassland and bring him back."


Was he joking? Climbing all the way down back to the marsh, and then all the way back up again? Pebble felt his face pale slightly.


"Did you want me to repeat that?" The Sergeant growled menacingly.


"N-no sir," Pebble choked out quickly, sprinting towards the front gate like someone had lit a match under him.



"Making… me run all the way… down. Again. After… climbing all that way… damn… stupid… Sergeant."


Pebble spat his words out angrily as he reached the base of the mountain, his throat dry and his muscles shaking. Running was one thing, but scaling a mountain side several times in less than an hour was grueling. He sat down heavily on a flat rock surface, pulling his standard issue canteen from his back and taking a very grateful gulp of cold water. He didn't have a chance to refill it at the camp, but there was enough to spare for cooling himself down. He poured some of the cool water over his face, wishing he could just throw himself into a chilly pond and wash all of this away. Screwing the cap back on, he rested against the rocks behind him and squinted, spotting a lone tree among the shorter shrubs and reeds. It had heavy foliage, similar to a weeping willow. No doubt that was where Gekiki had taken up temporary hiding. Groaning, he got back to his feet and started off towards the tree, knowing that the sooner he got there, the closer they were to getting back to the real base.


Upon reaching the tree, Pebble noticed the distinct mark of a bullet grazing the tree's bark. It didn't seem fresh, but the mark still worried him. He reached up for the lower branches, painfully hauling himself up into the canopy. Before a single word could leave his lips, he found the barrel of a decidedly old-fashioned magnum pistol in his face.


"Hold your fire!" He stammered, eyes wide. Gekiki, upon seeing who had intruded on his fortress of solitude, retracted the pistol and pulled up his goggles to show his eyes.


"You certainly took your time." There was a hint of happiness in his voice despite the mask obscuring his mouth.


"It was harder to climb up a mountain than I thought it would be," Pebble responded dryly. He settled in next to his friend to take a look through the scope. "What kind of activity are we looking at?"


"It's increasing. It looks like the forces here are getting a little bolder. We'll have to tell the base to step things up, and put out more patrols along our perimeter." Gekiki's brow furrowed. "It's like they know something we don't. This base has been out here for a long time, and so have its commanding officers… it's not like we'd miss something so crucial."


"It could be a fake out," Pebble said quietly, as if someone would hear him speaking.


"Hmm. I suppose so," Gekiki mused, then suddenly went rather still. In an instant he snatched up his rifle and put his eye to the scope. In another, there was a loud crack, and a low chuckle of triumph from the marksman.


"That's another runner down."


"Relay messenger?"


"Yeah. I saw him running through here earlier. I figured he had something on him. I'll cover your back if you go out to get it."


Pebble stared at Gekiki for a moment, then sighed and dropped down from the tree. Do this, Pebble. Go fetch this, Pebble. He gritted his teeth as he ran along, eventually coming to the felled body of the enemy runner. His eyes were glassy and wide from the shock of being struck with such a high-powered bullet. Blood was splattered all along the reeds and the shallow water, mixing unpleasantly with the already pungent odors of the marsh. Pebble made quick work of the satchels he carried, tucking the contents into his own before turning on his heel to race back to the tree.


"What's it say?" Gekiki asked without moving from his statuesque position. Pebble cracked open the seal and plucked the paper from within, his eyes darting over the text. It had been hurriedly scrawled out by hand rather than typed, but it was still legible enough for him to get through it.


"They're ordering in a drop from paratroopers!"


"What?" Gekiki finally looked back at Pebble, shocked.


"It looks like the location was already relayed before you shot him… look here." Pebble pointed at the crude drawing towards the bottom. It was vaguely in the shape of the monolithic mountain peaks, and a bright red circle had been placed around the approximate altitude that the camp resided.


"Shit," Gekiki cursed quietly under his breath. "We need to get to the camp, and then tell the base. Now."


He packed up his rifle's ammunition and began his descent from the tree, with Pebble in tow. As soon as both men had righted themselves on the ground, a sudden barrage of bullets was upon them.  Pebble heard Gekiki curse again before he took off in the direction of the camp.


"Wait! We'll lead them back to the camp!" Pebble shouted, a bullet barely grazing his ear. He yelped in pain, clapping his hand to the side of his face.


"It doesn't matter! They already know where it is, or they wouldn't have fired on us!" Gekiki hissed back, ducking under what tall greenery he could find.


        Pebble found himself making large leaps over the flooded planes, quickly leaving Gekiki in the dust. He briefly glanced over his shoulder, where he was greeted with the very angry features of an enemy soldier. She lunged, catching him around his waist and tackling him to the ground. Immediately she drew a knife from her belt and plunged it right at his head. Pebble curled forward and ducked out of the way, but only barely. The sharp edge cut into the top of his shoulder as he jerked away, eliciting a sharp cry. He tried to shove the menacing soldier from her place on top of him, but she was surprisingly heavy, and very strong. Wrenching an arm free, he made a grab for her knife, but instead got a sturdy hand to his throat. He choked, gagging at the pressure on his windpipe and wincing from the rough fabric scraping at his skin.


"It's almost over, pig," She fake crooned at him, lowering the knife to his throat and chuckling darkly. "Gonna bleed you dry and leave you to rot like the rest of you sorry, skinny runners."


Pebble wanted to make a crack back at her, but the pressure on his neck was beginning to make his vision hazy. Was this really how it was going to end for him? Crushed under the grip of a shock trooper, with his throat slit? He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw, preparing for the cool slice of metal- and instead heard a short burst of gunfire. Something warm spilled onto his uniform, and the weight of the soldier suddenly disappeared. A set of footsteps approached him, coming to a slowed stop.


"Hey. Sugar. You a'right?"


He recognized that voice. His eyes snapped open to find the harsh stare of Tegogo looking down at him. The soldier that had him pinned just moments ago now lay on her side in the shallow water, a hole blasted through her neck. Pebble reached up to touch his face, feeling the droplets of blood.


"C'mon, we ain't got time to sit around and experience baby's first shellshock." Tegogo reached down and wrenched him up off of the ground. "Get a move on!"


They took off once again towards the mountain camp. Pebble felt his heart hammering against his ribs, utterly terrified that he had survived an ambush. Tegogo fired behind them intermittently, occasionally lobbing very vulgar language behind them as well. It was only when they reached the mountain's rock bed that he managed to squeak out a few words.


"How'd you find us?"


"We were already headed out after you. Commander said it didn't feel right with such a small amount'a people."


"We?"


Tegogo motioned behind her, where in the distance a few more figures with friendly uniforms could be seen. Among them was the unique shape of Gekiki, and Pebble breathed a sigh of relief.


"Don't sit around, sugar. Up the rocks  you go."


Any earlier complaints about the mountain climb had vanished from Pebble's mind. All he wanted was to get away from the firefight and into a safer location. Tegogo kept pace with him for a short time, then slowly surpassed him. She offered a helping hand down towards the end of the climb, pulling him up alongside her before they ran into the camp.


The Sergeant, who had apparently been waiting outside with a scowl still etched into his face, took one look at the two of them and blew a silver whistle. Within moments the entire camp was ready to mobilize, guns armed and ready, and the watch towers on the search for any sign of enemy forces. Pebble ducked inside a tent and slumped to the ground, his stomach churning. Tegogo followed him inside, keeping an eye on the tent's entrance. Looking up at her, he noticed her face had become hazy.


"You don't look so good," she said in a low voice.


"Stomach…" Pebble grunted, wrapping his arms around his middle. Tegogo narrowed her eyes at him before forcing his arms apart to take a look herself. He saw her eyes widen and she dashed away, calling "MEDIC!"


Medic? What for? His stomach hurting? He looked down, ready to write off her concern as another joke at his expense, but paled when he saw what she had seen: a fresh bullet hole sat to the right of his abdomen, and blood was freely gushing from it. The burst of adrenaline must have blocked the pain from his mind. He still didn't feel it entirely, but the dull ache was there. He doubled over, falling to his side. The last thing he could process with his dulled hearing was a muffled voice and the thumping of rapid footsteps towards him.


"You're gonna be okay, tiger. Hang on."

Certain heroes in times of war lay forgotten, their actions forever lost to history. Their brave choices and determination may have changed the tides of war, but not even their names are whispered on the wind. The world has forgotten them, but they are not gone...

-

Part two of my ongoing mini project! Here the action picks up a little bit, and we see some bad news headed towards our heroes.

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Dreamer-the-Wolf's avatar
This is a lovely story and wonderfully writen! Great work!