Chapter 16: Beseiged[]
The SAWAT tanks flooded over the hill like a deadly tidal wave, rushing across the ground and tearing it up. The rain came down and it was louder than everything else, pelting against the ground, the buildings, the vehicles and the soldiers. Lightning was also shooting down from the dark sky, one could say, the heavens had opened.
Wulf fired his bazooka at one of the tanks; it did damage, but failed to destroy the armor.
“Lets do this boys!” He shouted to the pets around him, loading his bazooka and taking another shot, which swerved off-course.
“Damn it!” Wulf spat in the direction of his enemy.
“Down soldiers, get your heads down!” The sergeant shouted, all the soldiers dived into the half-dug trench. Two tank shells flew over their position and slammed into the ground a few meters behind them.
Wulf started to get back up, and then he instantly hit the floor again as another group of tank shots flew into their position, some actually shattering the left side of their defences. Two soldiers who were two slow at getting back down had lost a limb each, combat medics dragged them off back into the town screaming.
“Sir, we need to get out of here! Those guys are just going to do that agai...” Yet another tank shell ripped the ground up a little way from the sergeant.
“You have your orders Soldier. This, is your post.” The sergeant was cold, he turned away and walked a few paces back into the small bunker.
“♥♥♥♥♥♥♥!” Wulf shouted after him. Scowling in disgust, he turned back and activated the mounted machine gun, it took a few seconds before it began unleashing its rounds, when it did it vibrated the ground around him. He roughly aimed it at three people in the turrets of separate tanks. Two toppled out of the tank tops and one was quick enough to duck inside the heavy armor. The tanks that Wulf fired at had noticed the sudden rattling sound coming from his direction, their turrets all turned as if they were connected. Paused for a moment, then opened fire on Wulf’s position. Wulf had no time to react. The ground behind him burst into flames and the Sergeants bunker was ripped up in an instant. Several of his fellow Soldiers were mortally wounded and died within a second. Wulf realised he hadn’t been injured and before the smoke had even cleared, he was sprinting across to the next bunker. Another tank shot hit a few meters to the left of him while he was running, causing him to flinch and duck slightly, but he kept going. When he reached the next sooty, bunker, the tanks had lost him amidst the fire and smoke.
The bunker contained only three pets, they were bloody, blackened and bruised. They didn’t say anything, nor did they even acknowledge that Wulf was there, they just stood there, panting. Waiting to be called out to the lines again. It stank of sweat and smoke, the smoke was so strong that it stayed on the tip of a tongue, Wulf could almost taste it. A radio in the corner of the room, on top of a small wooden desk, emitted a loud beeping sound. One of the Soldiers walked purposefully over to it, he picked up the receiver, after a few moments of silence, he put it down again. The farm on the hill has been taking. SAWAT forces are moving in from that direction as we speak. Of the pets placed at the hill, most are dead. However, there is a report of a prison truck rounding survivors up.
Wulf had only one thought.
‘Lace’
He sprinted out of the bunker door, back onto the intense burning of the battlefield. A SAWAT tank was positioned about ten meters in front of him as he ran out, causing him to skid to a halt. It looked at him with its one eye, he looked at it. Wulf instantly felt defeated, he fell to his knees, in fear, no. In acceptance. The SAWAT inside must have been laughing, savouring the moment. He slowly began to press the fire button. Proving that nothing can be savoured in war, as a pet who was inside the bunker, ran out with a rather large bazooka. Steadying, aiming, firing at the tank; blowing it into the air. Wulf was helped back on his feet by the pet, and sent on his way with a “Good luck, Comrade.”
He ran through the town, women and children were running about hurryingly everywhere. It was hard to navigate through the smoke and them at the same time. Eventually he reached the other side of the town, he could, by now, see the hill. The farm was just a mess of rubble, fire reigned the area. Wulf could see nothing at the hill, no tanks, no soldiers. It got worse as he snuck his way over there, dodging between trees and rocks, just in case. He stood among the fire and rubble, it was all destroyed. Around him; burning, destruction.
A wounded SAWAT crawled out from behind a destroyed tank, he was behind Wulf. Slowly, he drew his pistol from his chest holster. Taking a shaky aim at Wulf’s lower back, his finger slowly pressurising the trigger.
Wulf slowly began to turn, he felt like someone was watching him. The SAWAT’s finger finished pressing the trigger, the gun clicked and the shot flew out of the barrel.
Wulf heard the shot fly by him, felt the wind carried by it and dived into the rubble a few feet to his right. He did a quick hit check on his own body, he wasn’t hurt. He grunted and summoned enough courage to take a quick look over the rubble. One SAWAT, lying next to an overturned tank. Wulf drew his pistol, standard issue, meant for short range encounters. He rolled out of cover and quickly dispatched the SAWAT by shooting him in the arm.
“GAH!” The SAWAT shouted and dropped his pistol. Wulf ran over and kicked him very hard in the head to finish him off, when he saw another person crawling out of the rubble. Wulf brought his pistol up, level with his right eye.
“Hello?” Wulf said, loudly. Slowly approaching the crawler, Wulf’s tension grew. “I said Hello!” Wulf pounced on the crawler, turning him over and revealing his face, which Wulf’s pistol was now firmly pointed at.
Lace.
“Ah, sorry ‘bout that.” Wulf holstered his gun and stood up, offering a hand to Lace who gladly accepted. Dusting himself off, Lace began to speak; “Thanks... Wulf... isn’t it?” Lace questioned.
“Yes... What happened?” Wulf gestured to their surroundings.
“Nothin’ good, we were overwhelmed pretty quick too, there were a ridiculous amount of tanks, they just ran straight through us. I think I’m the only survivor, and...”
“And what?” Wulf said as he walked over to the dead SAWAT, picked up his pistol then discarded it as useless.
“And I’m hit...” Lace removed his hand from his lower ribs to reveal a lot of blood and a ripped up jacket.
“...” Wulf recoiled, falling softly onto his knees.
“I ain’t got long left Wulf...” Lace covered his ribs again, with a sigh of pain.
“Neither do any of us Lace, neither do any of us.” Wulf nodded, looking out to the town. Tanks had pushed in through the main road and were making their way down towards the lighthouse.
A loud siren rang in their ears.
“Thats the retreat Siren, we fall back into the main base, underground.” Lace said.
“Yeah, we get in via the lighthouse?” Wulf questioned, he hadn’t been there since his training a long time ago.
“Yeah, theres a stairway at the bottom, then three vault doors, two fifteen inch thick steel doors, then one 20 inch thick, nothing can get in there. Not even one of those SAWAT Fireballs.” Lace laughed, and broke into a coughing fit.
Wulf tried to steady him, “Medics, there’ll be Medics there.” Wulf sounded a little excited."
“So?” Lace looked up, from his slightly crouched position.
“So... you’re going to be ok, lets get movin’!” Wulf said.
“Amen.”
“We’re making a little detour.” Matrix said.
“What do you mean?” Striker said.
“You’ll see.” Hawk said, winking at Matrix.
30 minutes later, the entire Delta Squad did see.
A large Air Hangar.
“If we’re going in, boys, we’re going in Airborne.”
End of chapter 16: Besieged