Forever Damned (Damned of the 2/19th - Book 20/Series Final) - Finished

Gunfire, Seizures, and War Cries

Room 275
Building #1, Second Floor (Barracks)
Task Force 38 Intelligence Area
Secure Area
Alfenwehr, Germany
1900 Hours
24 October, 2004

"Get eyes on that," Sawyer snapped. Vandemire and Hernandez both moved to the window as I swung my legs off the beg.

"Get me up, Aine," I snapped. She took my hand and heaved me to my feet as the other two soldiers rushed to the window. She pulled one of my arms over her shoulder and helped me to the wall locker, "What do you want?" She asked me, pulling it open. My heart was hammering, my foot pounded, and I was starting to get a headache.

"Can't see," Vandemire said. Another burst sounded out. Tight, six shots maybe, someone was using good fire discipline.

"There, all the way over on the left," Hernandez said, tapping the window.

"Corporal, my old BDU's," I told her. I was wheezing from the effort, the infection flaring up the problems with my lungs.

"Got lights, all three towers," Vandemire said, "I'll watch the right."

"On the left," Hernandez said. There was another tight burst. "Same guy, looks like he's firing down into the fog."

Colonel Sawyer moved up next to me while Aine helped me dress. "Thought you were going to rest your foot,"

"Things changed. Someone's firing, that ups the ante," I said, batting Aine's hands away so I could button my BDU pants myself. There was a twinge behind between my eyes.

"You're my advisor, so advise," The Colonel said.

"These guys are at max stress," I told him, "We've got about sixty seconds before this causes an incident," I tucked in my shirt and threaded my belt.

"More fire, this time from the ground," Hernandez said.

I checked the lizard and he showed me that thirty rounds had been fired. There was a lot of static on his monitors and he was trying to clear it up.

"He's out," I said, pulling on the winter BDU top and starting  to button it.

A long burst. The lizard reported, based on dopplering, that one weapon picked up after the other, turning two short bursts into on long burst. I reached up and pinched between my eyes, the headache blooming.

"What the fuck?" Hernandez asked.

"Two firers, one from the tower, one from the ground?" I asked.

"How did you know?" Hernandez asked.

Another burst. Another twinge behind my eyes bad enough that my stomach rolled.

"On the right, far tower, firing level," Vandemire said.

"There it is," i said, grabbing my field jacket. It had a liner, heavy and down filled, and I had a bad feeling I'd need it. I pulled it on, leaving it open, and grabbed my trigger mittens as well as my leather gloves with the wool liners. Aine reached out and steadied me as my headache bloomed harder, spots appearing in my vision and my balance wobbled.

"You all right?" Aine asked me.

"Firing left," Hernandez said at the same time.

The sounds of the weaponsfire sounded out, the flat pops echoing weirdly in the fog.

...STAND AND DELIVER...

"Yeah," I answered. I could hear the yelling, in the back of my head.

...Aine screaming like a banshee as she was impaled on a Russian bayonet, her athema stabbing repeatedly as she kept coming at the Soviet trooper...