MONOLITHS

TWO

My knees hit the dust and I began to assemble my British AS50, an anti-materiel sniper rifle.

        I shuffle over to the edge of the room by the windowless frame of the fifth floor. I position the bipod on the bottom frame of the window and peer through the scope.

        I zoom into 1st Squad's vehicle as they made their way closer to the beach. "I'm in position." I radio in.

        "Copy that." Shaylon answers back. "LT.'s in place." I hear him say before he clicked off.

        I move my sights down their trail. Now far off from the road, 1st Squad's tires sink slightly into the sand of the beach as they approached closer and closer to the monoliths that jutted out from the sand, forming a loose circle on the shore.

        I catch a glinting in the sand and hesitated. Either it was a piece of metal debris or it was something deadly. It sat directly down the trail of the Humvees and 1st Squad was approaching fast with 2nd and 3rd squad in tow.

        I radio in. "Shaylon, I'm seeing debris in front of you."

        "Uh, negative." I watch Shaylon through my scope, leaning out of the passenger side. "No major debris."

        "No, I mean possible planted explosive."

        Shaylon slides back into his seat and doesn't reply. I tap my earpiece. It was dead silent. I check my radio. Something was interfering with it.

         "Shaylon!" I shout into my earpiece, clicking on the radio multiple times, not hearing the familiar buzz of a connected signal. "Shit." I mutter. "Ray! Anybody! Can anyone hear me?"

         I return to my rifle and looked in. 1st Squad was within meters of the mysterious glint in the sand.

         Adjusting my scope, I zoom into their trail, 1st Squad approaching closer, their tires causing sand around them to spray off from the main path. I watched closely as a small gust of wind blew westward, removing the sand that was piled atop the mysterious metal object underneath the path.

         The metal box looked to be covered in differently colored wires. I promptly redirect my scope to 1st Squad's vehicle, their right tire now inches away.

         With a press of my thumb, I clicked my radio on. "It's a-" I yell into my earpiece. Before I could say "mine", I felt a strong force shake the building's concrete foundation.

          I turn away as a blaze of red glows behind my eyelids and a loud ringing came over my ears, blocking the explosion that I should have heard.

          I open my eyes, finding myself underneath my arm, my breaths muffled in my ears.

          Then it hits me. "Oh my god." I mutter. Without looking back out the window, I grab my sniper rifle and run down the flights of stairs, sound slowly returning to me.

           I hear the shifting of the two remaining Humvees' engines as they pulled reverse. "Fuck! Hell!" I hear Ray yelling as I hit ground floor, my heart in my throat.

           I ran to the center of the road, madly jumping and waving my hands above my head. "Hey!" I yelled as 3rd Squad reversed towards me.

           "Get on!" The two men in back of 3rd Squad yell to me.

           With the strap on my rifle, I hoist it behind my shoulders and catch the two palms outstretched towards me.

            "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED LT.?" 3rd Squad's RTO yelled at me as he looked behind his seat, madly backing the vehicle off the sand, looking for road.

           I sat in the back, out of breath. I couldn't answer him yet.

           "PATCH ME IN! FUCK!" I startle at the sound of 2nd Squad's Sergeant's voice back in my earpiece. "You are!" I hear the distant voice of their RTO Ray's response.

          "Maura, what in the hell happened? You were our eyes!" His voice was level, but I sensed the edge in his tone.

          "MY SIGNAL WAS BEING COMPLETELY FIREWALLED, GUNNER!" I yelled back into my earpiece as the vehicle haphazardly tossed around sideways as it finally found road. I hear Langdon coaxing his RTO to slow the vehicle and I lower my eyes and my tone in defeat. "I was too late, Gunny. Too late."

           I clicked off the radio and close my eyes. With a fistful of my hair, I force my head up off my neck, and with a breath, escaped a "fuck."