Tales From The Temp Folder

[WOH] (MTE) (UIS) Saved By Sacrifice

(5/21/22)
So you know how I said that I wouldn't work on any new projects until summer? Well, apparently I can't keep that promise for the life of me.
I'll detail more in the next Writer's Log.

I was walking up to the trench line, ducking down and dropping my box of things in the little shelf I had dug in. It was primarily for ammo storage, but you know me, as a Jerez, there is no such thing as unused storage space.
I settled in for the first watch, withdrawing my C ration box. I layed out all my food on the parapet, still able to barely see in the late 8:00 o'clock night. It all would've gone well, just settling in with my binos to keep an eye on Goldman and Darkstalker's fortress city, if I just didn't fucking loose my C ration. I know, surviving a betrayal, nearly getting killed after being discovered twice, almost drowning after becoming a SeaWing for a spell, and I die to a fucking lost C ration tin.
I settled in to be comfterable, out of the wind, propped against the dirt in such a way that was actually comfortable out here. I reached out to pick up my ration. I felt around in the dark, but it was gone!
"Wha-"
I had to sit up, running my hand all in front of my trench, but I couldn't find anything! I didn't hear anything roll away, and there were no breezes that could have disturbed it. I know I set it lengthwise, so that rules that out anyways. I heard no movement, so I doubt any animal outside of an owl managed to steal my entrée.
I threw my hands up. "What the hell!"
So, hangry as I was, I unclipped my flashlight and set it in my hands. But just as I was, somehow, a grenade caught the flashlight and just about blew me to bits right then and there. Thankfully, I imediately noticed something was up and grabbed the grenade, just as the pin dropped to the ground with a soft clinging noise.
I breathed a sigh of relief. That was close! I nervously chuckled.
Briefly flashing my trench, I found the pin. Transitioning my flashlight to my mouth, with my teeth pressing on the button so I could still see, I painfully worked my way and secured the grenade. It hadn't blown me up already, and it was way past five seconds. I was okay. The only problem was my strange movements somehow managed to catch my second grenade. I had grown wise and recognized the unnatural tug this time. So, carefully setting my previous grenade on the parados, I carefully angled myself around to find what was catching my grenades, and hopefully prevent them from accidentally blowing myself up.
What I didn't notice was that during my fancy manuvers trying to not trigger the grenade, I briefly flashed over in the direction of the main stronghold.
Thankfully, I did manage to find what kept catching. Apparently my sewing job wasn't as good as I thought, my makeshift grenade pouches had worked their way loose enough that they kept snagging on the shoulder strap on my trench coat and sling of my rifle, catching under the pin and yanking the frags free. I quickly remedied this by simply leaving the strap unbuttoned until I needed to wear a sling again, and once my watch was over, I would re-sew those pouches back into a stable position.
Lastly, I leaned over the trench and found my spaghetti. Turns out, I had singled out the entrée and set it to the right of the carton box instead of to the left, as I had done with the rest of the contents. And after I threw away the carton, there was a decent enough amount of space between the rest of my food and the entree for me to totally miss it in the dark, and me being utterly hangry at this point. Needless to say, I quickly retrieved my tin, set my flashlight down, and set the key to open my cold dish of tin flavored spaghetti. But just as I was about to take my first bite, was when tracers started landing around me.
"Fuck! Shit!" Was my first reaction to dive into the trench. My second was to grab my radio. "ALARM! ALARM! WE'VE BEEN SPOTTED! BATTLE STATIONS! NOW!"
I grabbed my MKB first and took my position in the trench. I realized it was a single machine gun fireing at us from the stronghold.
How did they find us? Unless Goldman has enchanted optics. No. How did he find us!
I took an instant when the fire briefly stopped to look through my binos. I saw the machine gun team clear a jam and swap out barrels. However, some bright groups also filed out into the open, originating from The Kingdom Of Night. At least two platoons, maybe companies even.
"Oh shit." I mumbled as I let my glasses fall. They were heading right towards us. 600 yard out, and closing at rapid pace.
"Captain!" I heard McManis behind me.
I turned to see my two other soldiers duck into the trench alongside me. Grace crowched down behind us, using the trees as cover.
"What's going on?" Travers asked first.
"We've been spotted." I said, in between loading a combat load.
"What?" "How?" McManis and Grace said one after the other.
"I don't know." I said, out of breath. "But they're coming."
"Shhhhhit." McManis moved his rifle sling into position.
Travers was already scanning with his scoped M1. "Should I start taking them down?"
I looked up at them. "No, not until they start shooting at us. We still have the suprise advantage."
"Yeah, but for how long?"
Both me and McManis looked back, realizing that Grace was chamoflaged, but she was ready to fight if need be.
I just hope it doesn't come to that.
You and me both, but we don't have a choice.
I made a double take. Wait. What do you mean we don't have a choice?
Then the machine gun started up again. We all ducked down into whatever cover we could scrounge up. The fire pelted around us, like evil hale and thunder. We lay in our one trench, suppressed for a moment.
But once I managed the courage to look up, my blood ran cold
"RANGE: 300! FRONT! BASE OF THE HILL! INFRANTRY!" I got my MKB over the top, resting it against the parapet. "OOOPEEN FIIIIIIRRRRE!"
All of us opened up. Tracers started being exchanged as we began to wittle down the enemy. They all went to ground, setting up, and also traded rifle fire back.
It was like two hundred thunderstorms chopped up the air around us. So many ballistic cracks sucked all the air out of me. I have never been pinned down like this before, not even at Jade Mountain. It was like facing 200 Lee Enfields on a rapid fire order, the air was filled with rounds. It was hard to breath, dust was being kicked up with how much our position was being pelted. My tinnitus was ringing so badly a migraine was quickly beginning to form.
"Enemy! Coming around the left flank!" I heard the muffled voice of McManis.
"I got a metric fuck-ton over here too!" Travers yelled.
"Marvin! More are coming out of the fortress!"
I held my head, trying to make sense of the chaos unfolding around me. But then the world went silent. It was all blackness, broken only by brief flashes of gold. A resounding peace came over me as I realized. Only the four of us, there was no way in hell, not even as good as we were. Not even if we were all given MG 42s, we wouldn't be able to stop an attack like this.
We were duck soup. There was no way around it.
I looked down at my pack, there was a familiar long cylinder that I still had with me. This one artifact has caused me more pain and suffering than anything else I had in my arsenal, but now, it might just be our saving grace.
I popped smoke behind our trench line, jumping up onto the parapet and taking off running through the concealment.
"Marvin!"
"Marvin, wait! Get back here!"
"Captain!"
I ran back to the camp, sliding down the hill. I ran into my tent, throwing apart my duffle to see if there was anything I could use to write with. It could be anything, a pencil, a pen, a knife to etch out words. ANYTHING!
But there was nothing.
So I ran back outside, diving as a rifle grenade streaked over me and erupted into a swarm of angry hornets just slightly off. Face planted into the dirt, I sprung back up and sprinted for the fire. I slid into the extinguished pit, searching frantically through it.
I heard my men's cries.
"There too many of them!" "We're being outflanked!" "Marvin! Where the hell are you!" "I'm going for a straifing run!" "It's too dangerous, Grace, hold the line!" "The line's folding! WHERE THE HELL IS MARVIN!"
Under the stress, and my already atrocious handwriting, I scribbled out the few lines I needed. All of two sentences. But I didn't add the periods, not yet.
Not yet.
I bolted back to the trench, careful to avoid tripping on Grace's tail as she huddled behind our trench line. I saw her looking frantically around, scorch marks from where she used her venom. The fear and intensity and dread filled me again as I slid back into my position!
"Marvin!" Travers looked over at me, but still up with his rifle.
"'Were you Cap!" McManis abbreviated.
I peeked over with my rifle, looking through the scope.
Hundreds of men, all filing out towards us. Small pockets where Travers hit them with rifle grenades, but they kept coming. They would always keep coming.
But then I saw figures lift off from inside the stronghold. Dark wings flapping, lifting up and banking around towards us.
NightWings. Likely enchanted dragons... coming to attack us.
There was no other option. There was no other way.
"Fall back." I said softly. "FALL BACK!" I screamed.
Our fire stopped, as all three of my men looked at me.
I blinked away the tears in my eyes as I looked between the swarm, and the people whom I swore to protect. I saw in their faces they were prepared to stand firm, like they had done so many times before. But this wasn't a time to stand. This wasn't a time to fight.