War and MG chap 10

Tomas unfurled a map, smoothing it as flat as he could manage on the grassy, rutted ground. Around him were the other seven men who had volunteered for service.

 

“Okay, we are here…”

 

Tomas pointed at a location on the map that was near the western edge of the town.

 

“And over here, is our objective.”

 

He moved his hand and pointed at a building that was near the center of the town.

 

“Now, we know Reia and her forces have deployed there in defensive positions. Given that they have eight people as well, she’ll likely keep them close at hand. So, we probably will have an easy time getting through most of the town. Additionally, we know they’re there, but they don’t know when we’re arriving.”

 

Earlier in the day there had been a coin flip for who would defend and who would assault. Tomas lost the choice of which to do, though the attacking force was given a 24-hour window to begin their operation - something to offset the defender’s advantage. Tomas had elected to begin just before dusk, hoping to use the setting sun as additional cover.

 

“We’ll be splitting into two teams as we discussed earlier. Again, Team A will consist of myself, Alex, John, and Marc. Team B will consist of Peter, Emil, Louis, and Gregory. Peter will be the team lead. Got it?”

 

The others surrounding Tomas all gave their affirmations.

 

“Okay, good. We’ll be moving together, one team on each side of the street,  along this path,” Tomas said, tracing a line across the map with his finger. “We’ll be taking these side streets as hopefully they’ll allow us to avoid being spotted and lose the element of surprise.”

 

Tomas looked up, meeting the eyes of each man.

 

He was nervous; he’d never led men before. Though he knew bits and pieces of tactics from his training, he figured there were others here who had more knowledge or experience. When he brought up his objections about leading the group to Serlov, she laughed lightly and said that he’d be fine. According to her, the ideal characteristics of a leader were courage and initiative. Both of which he supposedly demonstrated by being the first to volunteer. As long as he was willing to lead and be the first to put himself into harm’s way, others would follow, she had said.

 

He was skeptical of her words, but everyone did appear to be listening to him. He wondered if it’d be the same in a real fight where their lives were at stake.  

 

“Any objections?,” Tomas asked, pulling himself from his thoughts to the present.

 

Peter shifted, then spoke.

 

“Why have two teams if we’re going to be together anyways?”

 

“That’s because we’ll be advancing one team at a time. Team A moves, gets into a covering position, then B moves past them and so on,” said Tomas.

 

Peter nodded.

 

Nobody else seemed to want to say anything.

 

“Right. We should go over the equipment then,” Tomas said, reaching for the odd gun that he had set behind him.

 

It looked like a compact rifle, but was rather light and had a large pressure cylinder that doubled as a stock.

 

“Remember, the range on these is much shorter than with a normal rifle. You’re probably not going to hit much beyond 150 meters. You’re also limited to about 50 shots, so watch your fire. Then we have the grenades,” Tomas said, patting his chest, then reaching around his belt to find one. Discovering one, he unsnapped it from his belt and held it up.

 

“These explode in a small cloud of powder or something, so they’re mostly harmless. Though you can still get hurt if they go off right next to you.”

 

Though the other men had not experienced these weapons yet, Tomas had the dubious honor of being a target for them the day prior.  The rifle fired pellets filled with a bright dye that broke open on impact, marking whoever was hit as a causality. He was assured the chances of them penetrating the skin was low, but they still hurt like hell when they shot him from across a room.

 

Reia then demonstrated one of the dummy grenades on him. Though it went off a few meters away from him, bits of the casing still managed to leave stinging marks. Then there was the powder. Rather than being some kind of dry powder like flour, they packed it in a bit of oil or something to wet it. Supposedly this was done to ensure the powder wouldn’t explode as well. Unfortunately it meant that it stuck to everything, and attempts to remove it just wound up smearing it everywhere.

 

Leaving Tomas covered in welts and a powder that proved to be challenge to wash off, Reia seemed to take great enjoyment in her ‘demonstrations.’  All so that he’d be able to lead better, she assured him. Tomas was more than a little suspicious of her claim, though he was a bit happy due to the attention she’d been showing him as of late ever since he had volunteered.

 

“And remember, if you get hit you’re supposed to just keep still. Once the area clears out you’re to head north, here,” Tomas said, pointing at a lone building on the north side of the map.

 

“Once we’re done with this exercise we’ll all meet up there then head back to base.”

 

Folding up the map and slinging the rifle over his shoulder, he stood up.

 

“All right. Let’s get a move on gentlemen.”

 

--

 

Tomas peeked out from behind a concrete stairway, looking towards their objective. As he had figured, most of their journey through the town was quiet. The building was maybe 500 meters away, but it wasn’t quite a straight shot. About a 100 meters further down the street, a building jut out, the street bending into a “U” shape before continuing on.

 

Across the street and behind him, the other group of men were using a narrow alley as cover. Looking to them then back to the building, he guessed that if anything were to happen, it would be now. The shutters were all closed, so it was impossible to tell if anyone was inside. Exhaling sharply, he then waved for the other squad to advance forward. Tomas pointed his rifle at the building; the others behind him did the same.

 

Team B dashed forward, eating up the ground in their sprint. Tomas hoped that they’d make it safely, and for a time it appeared they all would. He heard a few soft thumps, then the last man running in the group stopped – it was Louis. Turning slightly, Tomas could see a few blossoms of dye on Louis’ chest.

 

Grabbing his chest in mock agony, he fell to his knees.

 

“Oh no, I’ve been hit! I’m a goner! Tell my wife… tell her I love her…”

 

Louis collapsed to the ground, then lay still, smiling slightly.

 

Tomas rolled his eyes at the melodrama, then quickly scanned for where the shots could have come from. Fortunately the rest of the B-team scurried to whatever cover they could find.

 

The shutters were still all closed, and from  the location of the shots that hit Louis, they had to have come from the structure immediately in front of them.

 

Turning back to the trio behind him, Tomas asked, “Did you guys see anything?”

 

“Sorry, nothin’,” said Alex.

 

“But… look up there. There’s a big piece missin’ there.”

 

Alex pointed towards the top of the building, motioning towards a gap in the small wall that enclosed the roof.

 

“Hmm, roof-top sniper then,” said Tomas.

 

He waved at the remaining three men in the B team, then once he had their attention he motioned towards the top of the building.

 

“Let’s get in there and clear it out,” Tomas said, turning to the group assembled behind him. Looking up along the roof, he tensed.

 

“Go!”

 

 

Tomas and the rest of the men sprinted from their positions, rushing towards a door on the side of the building as quickly as possible; they managed to make it without incident. He opened a shutter slightly, then broke a window and tossed a grenade inside. Once it detonated, he motioned towards the door with his head and raised his leg. Marc stepped up and raised a leg as well, then the two of them kicked at the same time, breaking the door open. Alex and John then ran in, rifles raised and ready to fire.

 

“Clear!”

 

Tomas and Marc then ran in, the group looking for any movement.

 

“Stairs,” Tomas said, approaching the steps with the group in tow.

 

Ascending the stairs cautiously, he poked his rifle up through the banister as he reached the floor above, then his head. Pausing to search for anything, he continued walking up, then took a kneeling position at the top of the steps and signaled for the others to come up. Across the room was another stairway.

 

Once everyone was up, Tomas proceeded to the next set of steps that lead to the roof. Glancing around the wall looked up, he saw that the door leading out onto the roof was open. Alex walked up behind him, attempting to look as well. Before Tomas could tell him to get back, he heard a tinking noise and saw something lobbed down. He instantly turned and sprinted from the stairs, but apparently Alex did not hear or see the object.

 

The grenade exploded into a large cloud of white, completely enveloping Alex.

 

“Ah, you idiot,” John said.

 

Stumbling from the settling cloud and entirely covered with the powder, Alex coughed and waved his arms about.

 

“Aw, sorry sir. Looks like I’m a dead man. God damn that hurt, went off right next to my leg it did.”

 

Tomas looked at his legs, and noticed his pants were torn around one of his ankles, a bit of blood showing on his skin.

 

“Take a breather if you need to,  but I guess head up to the extraction point once we’re done here.”

 

“Yea, sorry ‘bout that,” Alex said, attempting to wipe off some of the powder from around his eyes.

 

He began to walk back towards where they came up, then sat down.

 

Tomas wasn’t sure what to do now. He was down two men and they hadn’t even spotted Reia’s forces. He was tempted to just leave the building alone, but then he’d just be sniped at unless he chose another path. Guess it was time for some of that courage and initiative. He waved John and Marc over.

 

“I want you two to both throw a grenade up there. Try to make it so one goes right and the other left. When they go off I’ll run up, then you two follow.”

 

“I uh, if you say so,” John said.

Marc simply shrugged.

 

The pair readied their grenades, pulling the pin. Looking around the corner, John threw his first and then Marc lobbed one. Tomas began running up the stairs even before they had detonated. By the time he got halfway up, both grenades had exploded, providing a powdery cover for his exit. Bursting out onto the roof, he saw a shadow to his right and began firing. Marc and John were right behind him, turning to cover his back.

 

Marc saw something moving to get behind the stairwell shed and fired off a couple shots, then he lingered too long and felt impacts along his legs. John attempted to rush forward, but tripped and fell onto something soft.

 

As the smoke settled, the men took in sight of what had occurred. Tomas was quite impressed with himself. Near his feet was one woman, an oni, completely covered in both white and John as he attempted to get to his feet. Marc had managed to score a few hits on a dejected looking wolf-woman. Tomas had managed to score kills on a wurm and lamia.

 

The wurm was rubbing her forehead where she was hit by a pellet, and a couple other splotches shown on her neck and chest. The lamia was tangled up in a heap with the wurm, lying face down on the ground. Several patches of dye adorned her backside.

 

The oni stood, holding John up with one arm. With a sigh she set him down, then crossed her arms in front of herself.

 

“Well done I suppose, I was looking down when you threw that grenade up,” she said, then sighed again.

 

“Seems we were all caught without heads out in the open.”

 

The wolf-woman came up the group, hands behind her head. She looked over at the tangled wurm and lamia.

 

“At least I didn’t go out as shamefully as them,” she said with a grin, “and, I got one of you to boot.”

 

 

“Well, good job,” Tomas said to the pair of women, “You managed to get three of us. Though I didn’t expect to find four of you up here.”

 

“We were actually in the middle of a rotation. Those two over there were coming to relieve us,” the oni said, jerking her thumb back towards the wurm and lamia.

 

The two appeared to have untangled themselves and were now approaching the group.

 

“Well, we probably shouldn’t be talking like this. Still a live exercise, after all. I suppose John and I will continue as usual, leaving the dead to rest in peace.” said Tomas, smiling slightly.

 

The oni and wolf nodded, then went to meet their companions.

 

“Well, if being dead means getting to spend time with four ladies, I think I can handle it,” said Marc, giving Tomas and John a grin.

 

“Yeah yeah,” said Tomas, turning and walking towards the stairs.

 

As he exited the building, Peter came up to Tomas.

 

“How’d it go? I see you’re missing two.”

 

“Yeah, Alex and Marc both got hit, though we took out four of them.”

 

“Four? Why were there four up there?”

 

“I guess they used pairs and rotated them out. We caught them in the middle of a shift change.”

 

“Hmm, lucky for us I guess. Five against four now.”

 

Tomas nodded.

 

“I think I’ll keep the teams the same. We’ll move out in the same pattern.”

 

“Got it,” Peter said.

 

--

 

Huddled against the side of the objective, Tomas was attempting to figure out the best way to enter. He knew there were three entrances into the building. Two doors at ground level on opposite sides, then a door to the root cellar.

 

Their journey across the remaining distance was painfully slow, punctuated by a mad dash across the last of the open ground. The sun had nearly set, the last of its light staining the sky red.

 

“Think we should wait for nightfall?” Tomas whispered to Peter.

 

Peter half-frowned as he thought about it.

 

“What if they can see better in the dark? That’d put us at a disadvantage.”

 

Tomas hadn’t thought about that.

 

“Good point. Let’s move in now, then.” He looked at the root cellar entrance, then to the doorway they were crouched near.

 

“Probably too risky to go around. Peter, take your group into the cellar, John and I will go in through the door.”

 

“All right.”

 

Peter leaned towards his group and repeated the plan in whispers, then the trio slinked towards the cellar. Tomas and John crept towards the door, stopping to peek inside a window. Unable to see any movement, they continued to the steps leading up to the door. Looking towards Peter, he saw him testing the cellar door; it appeared to be unlocked. Tomas touched the doorknob, giving it a slow turn. It took was unlocked, though the ‘chack’ noise it made gave away any hope of surprise.

 

“Now!” Tomas shouted, and threw the door open.

 

Peter and his group descended into the cellar as Tomas and John burst into the darkened room.

 

Sweeping his rifle around, Tomas didn’t see anything. Taking careful steps forward, he heard a dull thump, followed quickly by two others beneath his feet. Grenades, most likely. He glanced at John, motioning with his head that he should follow him. Trying to find his way through the red-hued room, he found a staircase that led down. John took a position directly in front of the door, weapon ready, as Tomas opened it. Seeing that it was clear, John carefully descended down the stairs, followed by Tomas as he watched their back.

 

Down in the cellar, Tomas and John found themselves in an almost comical scene. All three men, two women, and a sizable area of the cellar were covered in white powder. They were hacking and coughing, stumbling around wiping the material from their face. Were either of the women Reia? He couldn’t tell due to the poor lighting. No time to waste, he thought.

 

“Come on, back upstairs,” Tomas said to John, “There’s still two of them somewhere.”

 

Tomas took point with John following this time.

 

Approaching the top of the steps, he carefully peeked around. Not seeing anything, he squatted and made his way towards a nearby couch. As John left the safety of the stairwell, Tomas suddenly caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He whipped himself around and fired, but it was too late. His shots landed at the same time as a few rounds struck John.

 

“Ah! That stings like a bitch!,” John yelled as he fell over.

 

“Guess you’re on  your own now,” he said while rubbing his neck.

 

The target on the far side of the room also slumped over, falling from the shadows into what little light remained. The cyclops looked up at Tomas, giving him a pouting face, followed by a rude gesture. He considered tossing his remaining grenade at her.

 

Now it was one left for each side, and with his luck, Tomas figured it would be Reia. Hiding behind the couch, he again looked to John. He appeared to have been hit at least three or four times. Was it possible for the cyclops to fire that fast? Probably not. The last one had to be there in the shadows somewhere. Perhaps the grenade would be a good idea, after all. Pulling the pin, he lobbed it in the direction of the cyclops, much to her horror.

 

Sure enough, he saw something move to avoid the impending explosion. Shortly after its detonation, he used the cloud of powder as a screen to dash forward, vaulting over the fallen cyclops.

Clearing the fallout, he saw the last enemy combatant leap through a doorway. Or attempt to, anyways. Her shoulder clipped the doorway, stopping her dead. Though in testament to her quick wits, she rolled and began firing at Tomas just as he let loose a few rounds. Unfortunately her aim was off, and nothing hit Tomas. Her yelp, however, let him know that his shots found their mark.

 

Keeping his guard up, his victim slowly stood up.

 

“You’re right, those do sting. Especially when you get shot in the ass.”

 

The voice sounded familiar. She started walking forward, into the last of the dying light. Tomas was rather pleased with himself; he had managed to ‘kill’ Reia.

 

“Good work,” she said.

 

Tomas lowered his rifle, relaxing. He let out a sigh of relief.

 

“I’m the only one left. I don’t  know if this counts as a victory.”

 

Reia shrugged.

 

“Well, I’ll admit your attack plan wasn’t the best. And you got lucky that these doorways are far too narrow,” she said, her voice slightly sulky.

 

She rubbed her should for emphasis.

 

“That hurt!”

 

Tomas looked behind him to see the Cyclops getting up.

 

“It blew up right in front of my face! I could’ve been blinded!”

 

“Ah, sorry about that,” Tomas said.

 

 John walked up behind the cyclops, still massaging his neck.

 

“You think that hurt? Try getting shot in the neck.”

 

“Hmph!” was the only response from the cyclops.

 

 

The group trailed out of the building, walking towards the rendezvous point. Tomas and Reia were at the rear, walking a bit more slowly than the rest of the group. Once he felt he was out of earshot of the others, Tomas stopped walking, drawing the attention of Reia.

 

“What’s wrong?,” she asked.

 

“I ah, had fun today, even if it was supposed to be a serious exercise.”

 

“That’s good, I suppose.” Reia raised an eyebrow

 

“But that’s not all you want to say, is it?”

 

She walked towards him, narrowing the distance between them, causing Tomas to laugh nervously.

 

“Yeah… I was wondering…”

 

“You were wondering…?”

 

Reia towered over Tomas. Though a tall man, the top of his head still only came up to her chin. Her cow-like tail was flicking side to side, swishing against her baggy uniform. She placed a hand on her hip, looking expectantly at him.

 

“I… was… wondering,” Tomas stammered out.

 

Reia rolled her eyes.

 

“Oh for the love of… you want to ask me out, don’t you?”

 

Tomas looked stricken, then mustered his courage now that his intentions were known.

 

“Yes – would you please ah, go steady with me?”

 

The look on Reia’s face made Tomas think that she would at best reject him, or at worst laugh at his attempt. He’d never attempted to ask a girl out before, but he had the feeling he was less than romantic and confident in his attempt. He looked away from her stare. As soon as he did so, he felt himself being wrapped up and hoisted. Now eye level with the tall minotaur, she look positively thrilled.

 

“Of course! I was wondering how long it would take you to ask. I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me lately.”

 

She suddenly furrowed her brow.

 

“Though I can’t figure out why you’d pick me.”

 

“It’s because… because you’re big and strong… but still kind…”

 

Tomas was struggling to keep his voice from wavering.

 

“And… I think you’re cute,” dropping his voice to a whisper.

 

Suddenly he felt himself being crushed against the mighty woman. She rubbed her face against his.

 

“That’s very sweet of you. And yes, I think I might fancy you as well.”

 

She then set him down, beaming brightly.

 

By now the rest of the group had realized Reia and Tomas had stopped, and were now staring at them, causing Tomas to blush. He looked up at Reia, and noticed she didn’t seem to pay them any mind. She reached out and took his hand with hers, then brushed up against him.

 

“For now, let’s get going. It’s very nearly dark.”

 

Tomas nodded, then the two walked off, hand-in-hand.