The Raiders and The Princess

by FIRE FLASH 3

Chapter II: A walk through Hell

Chapter II

It was now about three in the morning, and here I was, in a cave, in enemy held territory, with an 18 year old girl who thought that she was a pony princess from a place called .... Equestiar? Or was it Equestria? Yeah, that was it. Anyway, here I was with a girl who I'm certain had gone coocoo, but the way she was telling me her tale of how she got here made the whole situation a little more realistic.

The questions about Earth were making the entire ordeal even weirder. I realy don't understand what's going on right now, but for the moment, the questioning and the answers that I was asking her weren't helping me find out more about her real life.

The questions and "answers" bantered back and forth for about three hours after she woke up, but at the paling of the sky and the rising sun on the horizon (which was blocked by the jungle) told us that we had to go.

Once I noticed that the sky was getting lighter, I immidiatly got up, Jack doing the same.

"What's wrong?" He and Twilight asked, I did a quick 360° to look around the cave, before turning my attention back to him.

"Grab the equipment, we gotta move out." I said picking up my pack, and tossing the radio to Mark. "We've got to hurry before we become too exposed" I turned to this 'Twilight Sparkle'. "Come on, get up we need to get out of this place" I said, still putting on my pack. She just sat there, blicking owlishly at me, she then began to stand up but immidiatly fell back to the ground with a pain filled look on her face.

"Are you alright?" I asked

"Yes, but... my eeerrr... feet, they realy hurt" She replied in a painfull tone, and I could understand, her feet were covered in bandages and they were pretty bad when we found her. Realising the danger of waisting anymore time I finished putting my pack on then turned to Mark.

"Here Mark, take my Johnson, you're on point now" I said handing him my Johnson. He could only stand there, a blank expression on his face.

"Lou, I'm a radioman not a guinea pig" He hissed.

"Just take it, we don't have time to argue about this" I said shoving the gun into his arms. He just sighed in defeat and got back into formation. I, on the other hand, turned my attention back to Twilight who was still laying against the wall. Carefully, but quickly, I moved my arms under her very small but cute frame, before standing back up, cradling her in my arms. She just stared up at me, a small blush on her face as I carried her back to the cave entrance.

Taking one good long last look behind us, we then turned our attention to the dark jungle ahead of us. Taking a deep breath, I took a good firm grip on Twilight.

"Alright, let's move out, standard formation"I said as we began to move out into the jungle. Luckily for us, there was a small path that was heading in the direction we wanted to go. And as we took one last look at the cave, we moved deeper into the jungle.

XXXXXXXXX

Hours and miles, that's what it was like to trek through that jungle. Even though the sun wasn't fully into the sky, the heat within the jungle was unbearable. Though we all knew that it had been a little les than thirty minutes since we left the cave, the heat can have some very exhausting effects on you. But for now, we walked, we walked wearily, our fingers on the trigger. Even I had my right hand near my holster. It may sound crazy that we were this scared, but our weariness made us very aware of our surroundings. This path, we were using was extremely dangerous. Paths like these were very rare but dangerous here, especialy during the night battles. In these sort of attacks, the japs would seek to reach the rear paths that led to our second line. In Guadalcanals landscape of dense jungle, controling a single path like this could be decisive, other axis of retreat just ,simply, didn't exist.

But for now, we were slowly making our way back to our lines. The heat was now becoming almost too much for us, it must have been about 40°C, but temperatures like these were quite common even in October on this wretched island, the heat is what makes Malaria thrive. Malaria is just one of the jungle sicknesses that we will all get before we leave this island. Either alive, or in a box.

As we continued to drudge through the jungle, I had the feeling that something was watching through the trees. My eyes were trained on the surrounding foliage, the possibility that it could just be the heat taking its toll on our minds could not be considered. We were in enemy territory, these paths were as usefull to us as to the Nips.

The path twisted and swirled through the jungle, in some areas, extremely narrow. But we had to keep moving, Hochinitira would have to wait. For now, we had to get this girl back to her unit. But more importantly, we had to get back without getting caught by the Japs.

As I rumaged through my thoughts, the group came to a sudden halt. Mark, who was still on point had his fist raised. We all crouched down, and Mark slowly made his way back to me. "We got tracks up ahead Lou, they're fresh"

"They could just be another patrol." Said Jack from behind me.

"Nuh-huh, no way, there's way too many tracks to be just a patrol" He said turnig his attention to Jack.

"We have to assume that it's the Japs, that means that we can't continue down this route anymore" I said, they both noded and Jack reached for my map that was in my pack. Meanwhile, Twilight just layed there, looking up at me with big, cute, inquisitive eyes.

"What's going on?" She asked with a small, barely audible voice.

"Just looking for a small detour, not much longer now." I replied to her. Returning my attention back to the guys, I tried pointing at the map. "There" I exclamed "Through the bog, it will be safer" I said, looking back up at Mark.

"Yeah, but a lot filthier." He chuckled.

"No arguing, lets move out, Mark, you're still on point." I said and he looked back at me angrily

"What?! why me? I've been on point the entire time" He whinned.

"But between the fou--- err five of us, you know how to get through this swamp" I replied. He just pouted, returning to the front of the group, he slowly made his way into the thick murky water. As Tomy slowly made his way into the bog, I held Twilight a bit higher so she wouldn't get ber wounds infected. "I'm just gonna hold you a bit higher, we don't want those scratches getting infected and..." I began, as I waded through the water. "There could be snakes in this swamp--" I dind't get the chance to finish as the poor young girl who was in my arms, suddenly found herself clinging for dear life to my neck.

"S-S-S-Snakes!!!!" She yelled, into my ear.

"Ssshhh! You want every Jap on this island to hear you!" I hissed, as all the others were staring at us. "Anyway, you've got nothing to worry about, remember, you're high and dry. I'm the one who's in with the snakes." I smiled reassuringly, hoping to get her to cheer up.

"I'm sorry" She said. "Its just that I'm quite scared of snakes, I have ever since I fell down a well." A well, huh? Well this could turn out to be quite interresting. An idea soon found its way into my head.

"Hey Twilight...?" I asked the young woman.

"Hhmm hhmm?"

"Do you mind telling me a bit more about the "well incident", you had? If you want to, and only if you're quiet." I asked. Her eyes went wide and she stared at me with an awed look on her face.

"Realy? I mean, are you sure you want to hear it? My friends used to say that my story telling was, somewhat, boring." She sounded a bit depressed saying that last bit.

"Believe me, any story is a good story, no matter how cheesy it may sound, out here, any story is a life and trust me, life seems to get shorter every day." I replied, feeling a bit of despair coming out of that last bit, but at the same time, it's true. Also, I wanted to see if she retold her story with her as a human and not a pony that she claims to be.

"Well it all began when I was a filly...." 'Oh boy, she realy does think that she is a pony' I said to my self as she continued her tale.

XXXXXXXXX

Wading through the swamp was quite exausting, but we were still a few miles from the perimeter. The heat in the jungle was a mere candle's flame compared to the oven that we now found ourselves in. Once or twice, we heard japanese voices coming from surrounding jungle. As we approached the perimeter, more japanese voices became audible soon followed by the distant sound of machine gun fire and the screams of dying people. Friend or foe, it made no difference, the sounds they made stay stuck in your mind. Even if you've only heard it once.

The first time we heard the sound of machine guns and rifle fire, was when we approached the perimeter. It made Twilight jump out of her skin, and she was soon clinging to my neck again. She actualy looked surprised to hear all the explosions and the thunder of guns. This surprised me since we thought that she had to be a nurse and the M*A*S*H isn't that far from the front. Surely she should have heard MG's and rifles before. Unless what she was saying was the truth?

Luck was soon on our side as we reached the end of the bog. Leaving the horrible swamp behind us, we began cutting our way through the 'impenetrable' jungle.

"How much longer, sir?" She said, looking up at me with huge, cute, eyes. 'Aaww'... was all my mind could say. 'She looks like a kitten' I thought. "Uhm..... sir?"

"Ooh... sorry, we're nearly there just a few more minutes." I replied, shaking my head. Turning my attention back to the path. It was now 1415hrs according to my watch. We've been walking for hours and, I for one, was exhausted. Carrying a "supposedly" pony princess was hard work, especialy since she was quite heavy for someone who surely hadn't eaten as much as us when we last ate. Talking of food, I hope the transports managed to make it back through the blockade. Its been a few days since we last ate. Sounds incredible, right? Well it's true, us Raiders are given little food since the Japs sank our navy, the little food we have left or the little that gets through the blockade isn't nearly enough to sustain at least four Divisions.

As we rounded a sharp corner in the jungle, the sound of a bolt from a gun being pulled back, chambering a round into the firering mechanism, echoed around us. We all froze, even though we we're close to our lines, the enemy was still everywhere and we couldn't take any chances.

"Lucky!" I hissed.

......

"Lady!" Came the reply to the password. We rounded the corner and found ourselves faced with a machine gun crew and a few riflemen.

"Boys" I said, as the others let me through with Twilight, still in my arms. The men all stood up, staring wide-eyed at the girl who was looking at them with a light blush. "Where's Colonel Stevanson?" I asked to the only man who was looking at the surrounding jungle.

"At Division Head Quaters sir. That way." He replied, still looking at the jungle, he obviously had his own girlfriend or he was either a good marine. I nodded at him, then walked with the others right behind me, back towards the camp. I gave one last effort, parting the branches slowly, and there it was. Home. As we continued along the camp, we finaly reached our tents. My tent was next to the guys, I slept apart from them since I was considered squad leader. The guys all let out a happy sigh and ran into their tent. I sighed too, then went into mine, it was pretty tidy, just as I left it.The 'stretcher' like bed I used was all made and clean'ish'. Thinking that Twilight was probably tired, I thought of placing her down on the bed to let her rest. But it suddenly dawned on me that I should get her back to the MASH, I bet the doctors and nurses were getting worried about her. So, reluctently, I got out of the tent and made my may to the hospital.

"What's wrong?" She asked, a little dissapointed that we left the safety of MY tent.

"I'm taking you to the hospital to get you're feet looked at, plus we can get you back to you're regiment." I replied hoping to get her spirits up. Instead, I got a look of pure sadness.

"But I don't belong to your royal gard." She said a little angry since she had already told me this back in the cave.

"Well, we'll see when the doc sees you." I retorted with a satisfied smile knowing that she would soon be out of my care. As I opened the flap to the doctors tent and the OP room, I ran right into a surgeon. He backed away a bit when he saw Twilight in my arms.

"Wow..." Was all he got out.

"Sorry sir but I need to see you're head surgeon" I said to him.

"Well that would be me" He replied with a cheerful smile.

"Realy? But you're only a Luitenant"

"Yeah the Colonel in charge was killed two days ago, night shelling" He said, his smile dissapearing.

"Well I have another patient for you." I said taking Twilight one of the operating tables. The doc followed me and went over to Twilights feet. Lifting the bandages slightly He took a look at the cuts on her feet. He then turned his attention back to me.

"Nothing I can do for you" He stated plainly.

"Can't you clean them up a bit more--"

"I'm sorry sargeant, but there's nothing I can do, I have orders to not waist a single drop of alcohol. Only the worst wounds are priveleged to use it." He said looking back at the shelves. I was quite surprised that he hadn't even recognised Twilight. So I slowly made my way to the doc and passed him Jacks medical report. "What's this?" He asked.

"My medics medical report on your injured nurse" I stated plainly. He gave me a look of pure confusion, tilting his head to the side.

"Can we cut out the formality Lou, we've known each other since we landed here. And you should know that if there were any nurses here, I would have better things to do than counting how many bandages, syringes, tongue sticks, stethoscopes, alcohol and a whole load of other stuff which is driving me crazy!!" He said to me.

"I don't understand. If she ain't one of you're nurses, then who is she?" I asked, I was starting to worry about the situation that was slowly creeping over me.

"I don't know" He stated, turning his attention back to Twilight. "I guess you'll have to check through the deployment files." Taking the report out of my hands, opened it slowly, and read it. After a few minutes, he put it down and looked up at me. "Purple eyes?" He asked with a tone of sarcasm.

"Yeah, we don't know what it is, but my medic believes it could just be a freak of nature"

"Well, nature sure has got some strange taste." He chuckled, heading towards Twilight, before stopping infront of her and looking deeply into her eyes. He then slowly looked up at me, then, slowly, made his way back to me. "She's got violet eyes" He whispered into my ear in a panicky tone.

"See, I told you. Anyway, do you know where I can find the colonel?" I asked him, though he seemed to be lost in thought. "Doc?" Braking him from his trance like state.

"Hmm?"

"Where's the colonel?" I asked again.

"Company HQ, just out the tent then turn left. About 5 tents down." He said, pointing towards the tent flap.

"Thanks." Heading back towards Twilight, a thought came into mind. "Hey doc?" I called to him, he turned back around with another 'Hmm'. "Do you have any spare clothes? The smalest you've got." He just stood there tapping his chin, then looked up in thought. He then dissapeared through the other side of the tent, so I followed him. Through the operation tent, through the post OP, I was supprised to see how many wounded there were, all lying on makeshift beds and other stuff. But what was even weirder, was the fact that everything was quiet and calm. As he continued to make his way to the end of the MASH, he stopped when he finaly got outside. As I got outside, I took a step back, my breath caught in my throat.

Bodies. So many bodies, all in piles. And.... there were so many. The doc noticed my shock as he continued to search through the pile of clothes that were next to the corpses.

"The dead from last nights shelling. Don't worry, they'll be buried this evening." He said, as if he was trying to reassure me.

"All from last night?" I asked, there were so many corpses, I was supprised there were so many in one night.

"Yeah, and a few from the day before." He then stopped as he pulled out a jacket and some pants. " Here you go, private Jacob Neely." He said plainly, as if he was nothing more than a name. "It's so strange, this whole thing happens like the laundry pick up back home. When someone dies, we put them here. After a day or so, they're taken away. Though, unlike the laundry, these guy's don't come back." He said, handing me the clothes. "I've been told by the colonel that the Jap Navy is gonna come back tonight. So I suggest that you head to the fallout trenches before dark."

Heading back to where I left Twilight, I made my way past the Post OP. When I finaly got back to her, she had fallen asleep on the table, obviously, the other doctors and medics were to busy to even come in here. Carefuly and quietly, I picked her up and exited the MASH and headed back to my tent.

Author's Note:

Sorry it's been a while since I last uploaded a new chapter. I've had to revise like hell for the Bac.

Again, sorry for the orthograph and grammar mistakes, I'm still trying. And I will do my best.

Comments

[Potatoe man]

"Here Mark, take my Johnson, you're on point now" I said handing him my Johnson. He could only stand there, a blank expression on his face.

Thompson

[temp129]

11089136
The M1941 Johnson was a rifle issued in small numbers to Marines and Marine Raiders. It was a direct competitor to the M1 Garand.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1941_Johnson_rifle

It could also be referring to the M1941 Johnson LMG

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1941_Johnson_machine_gun