The Raiders and The Princess

by FIRE FLASH 3

Chapter V: Dangerous patrol

Chapter V

As I left Twilight to sleep in my tent, I found myself wondering around the camp. I wasn't just starring into space, I was searching for my platoon leader. Knowing him he was probably talking with the Colonel.

Lieutenant Stone wasn't fond of his men. Especially me. Not that he wasn't a good commander, but he could never seem to fit in. To not spend time alone, he would spend it with Colonel Sanders. Stone was a very good and efficient commander, he would always get the job done, but he could never get his men moral up. So that was my job. Well... at least for my squad, he always considered himself above his men. And yet he suffered from the same thing his men suffered.

Fear.

The last place I decided to check was the Division Command Post or CP. As I had guest, lieutenant Stone was talking with the colonel over a map laid out on the table. I entered, they had their backs turned to me so they didn't see me come in.

I cleared my throat, catching their attention. “Ah! Sargent. I'm glad to see that you made it” Said colonel Sanders as he smiled at me.

“Yes sir! Me and my squad were spared by the bombardment... though I can't say the same for the others” My voice trailed off.

“Mmmhhh...” he said, taking a sip from his coffee that had obviously gone cold hours ago. Judging by the look he pulled. “And the girl? How is she?” He then asked, lowering his mug.
I began to worry since Stone was here and I wasn't sure if he was in on the whole 'Twilight' thing.

“Don't worry Sargent, the Lieutenant here knows about your knew squad member” He said.

“She's fine, but she's asleep for the moment”

“ASLEEP! Wow, how could she possibly sleep after everything that needs doing?” He asked, astounded by my comment.

“She cried herself to sleep” I said, my tone slow and cold. They nodded their heads in understanding, they too had suffered the same sadness when they first arrived here.

“And is she any closer to remembering what her name is and where she belongs?” He asked, a hopeful look on his face.

“Well... I don't know. The more time I spend with this young woman, the more I find myself intertwined in what she says” I said, looking away.

“What?!” They both laughed. “ What could possibly going through your head? You must be crazy to believe what she says is true” Sanders chuckled.

“May be I am” As soon as I said that, the whole room fell silent. No one was laughing or chuckling, the reality of what I had just said had taken hold of them. They both looked down in sadness. Taking in a long, deep breath, I raised my head to look at them both. “Listen sirs. I didn't come here to talk about her, I came here to ask for orders. Me and my squad mates have been working to get the camp back to full combat efficiency. We're just awaiting our new orders” I said, hoping they would get over what I had just said. The colonel nodded and waved me over to look at what they looking at before I had arrived.

It was an aerial photograph of the Western side of Henderson field. The photograph showed the coastal road running along the North-West shore of the Island. Running from Kakambona.

“You see this road here?” The colonel asked me. I only nodded. “Well, Able company from the fifth Marine Division is holding this road here” He pointed at a narrow part of the road on the photograph. “Last night, while the Jap Navy was busy hitting us, their Marines attacked this part of the line while also attacking the southern section so that no troops could be sent to reinforce Able company. Thankfully for us, Able company held on to their positions and protected the road.” He sighed and took another sip from his cold coffee. He knew what I was about to say. This wasn't the first time I had heard and explanation like this one.

“Let me guess. A few dozen Japanese troops managed to break through the line and are now somewhere in Able company's rear. And if Able company need to fall back, the Japanese stragglers will be able to impede on Able company's retreat since they would have cut any and all lines of communication. So that is why you want me to...” I trailed off to let them finish.

“That's why the colonel wants Second platoon to clear out the remainders of the Japanese forces, if there are any.” Finished lieutenant Stone.

“Only second platoon?!” I asked.

“Yes Sargent, I'm afraid that is all that Carlson has agreed to spare us. The other platoons of the company are going to start sweeping the other areas with the rest of the Battalion” Replied Sanders.

“That's why I want you to find First Sargent Barns and Sargent Jones, give them a full briefing then tell them to rally their squads near the MASH in one hour. Then, we move out.” Ordered lieutenant Stone. I saluted him, gave him a 'Yes Sir!' and went on my way to find the other Squad leaders.

XXXXXXXXX

I found my co-leaders and explained to them the situation. They understood and began to rally their men to search for Ammo and Equipment. While they were doing that I rallied the remainder of my Squad and explained to them the situation. They were as shocked as ever but soon got over it, they then headed back to the shelter to get the equipment we needed. Though Mark stayed with me to check on Twilight.

Parting the flaps of my tent, we could both see that Twilight was still sleeping. Though I definitely couldn't say that she was sound asleep. She seemed to be talking to someone in her sleep. Someone called the Doctor, though I wasn't the type of person to eavesdrop on someone. Especially when that person was sleeping. Closing the tent Me and Mark looked at each other.

“So I take it that she isn't coming with us?” He asked. I scoffed, chocking on my own breath.

“Nah, she's staying here. I don't want her to see anything that could shock her.” I replied.

“You really believe her, don't you?” he asked. I looked at the ground in thought.

“Yes... Yes I do believe her. No matter how absurd it may sound, she's telling the truth. I know she is. And I know you probably think I'm crazy, so I guess you can start teasing me again” I said still looking at the ground in front of where we were walking.

“I'm not going to tell you that you're out of your mind but I will tell you this: I'll believe anything you say Lou, cos I know that you've always been right. Even in the strangest of circumstances.” He said, chuckling. I began to chuckle too and before we knew it we were laughing.

We rallied with Lieutenant Stone, he was in standing there with the other Squads. My group got into formation, and stood at attention. Once we were there, the lieutenant spoke.

“All right! There's no time to waste, I want to be back here before the end of the afternoon” He said, looking at each and everyone of us. “We're being taken to our search zone by truck, left to our disposal by the Japs” He turned to two Japanese Trucks that were waiting in the compound. “So everyone, drop your packs, we won't be needing them... OKAY YOU MAGGOTS, INTO THE TRUCKS AND LETS GET THIS PATROL ON THE ROAD!” He yelled, as we all began to run over to the vehicles.

The trip to the perimeter was short and was probably too short for most of us. Slowly, we approached the danger area. The trucks came to a sudden halt and we all jumped out. Usually we would stand at attention and wait for our commander to give our orders. But in this case, we immediately took shelter in a ditch by the side of the road.

The lieutenant was quick to join us.

“All right, this is the plan of action. If there are enemy troops in this jungle, we've got to clear them out. First squad, Third squad you go with First Sargent Barns and take a look on the left side of the road. Second squad, you're with me on the right side of the Jungle. We'll keep in constant radio contact.” He paused to make sure that we were all listening to what he was saying. “Any questions?” He then asked.

“Do we use a staggered formation or a wide spread formation, Sir?” Asked Sargent Barns.

“Wide spread formation, it will allow you to outflank the enemy if they are grouped together” Replied Stone. The First and Third squads were quickly up on their feet and soon began to make their way into the Jungle on the left side of the road. My squad and the Lieutenant watched as they disappeared into the jungle. We too rose to our feet and followed the Lieutenant into Oblivion.

We had been walking for over an Hour and we still hadn't met the enemy. Which doesn't surprise me since this could just be another false alarm. But either way, the enemy is capable of these kind of manoeuvre.

The Lieutenant was roughly ten meters to my left, ten meters to my right was Mark and ten meters to his right was Tomy. We had scoured the every inch of Jungle we had been through. We had spent a while spread out, but we sometimes had to move as a column since most of the Jungle was impenetrable. We had no choice but to move into a narrow corridor of Jungle. After a while the jungle would open up a bit, but moving in this Jungle and in this heat was causing us to feel very uneasy.

Caves, shell holes, streams, anything that could serve as a hideout for the enemy had to be thoroughly searched. After about an hour and a half of searching, my watch read just past 1pm. The other squads had nothing to report each time we spoke to them. In the end, it seemed the entire search was nothing but a waste of time and yet I wasn't so sure. Over the last half hour, I had found traces of human activity. Footprints, broken branches and twigs. The lieutenant said that it was probably our own forces, but I still remained trigger ready.

We slowly crossed a stream, Stone was looking at a map. He stopped and continued to stare at it. Me and the others got down, though the lieutenant was still standing right out in the open. We all looked at each other. When I looked at Mark, he just raised his shoulders in a sign of complete confusion. I slowly turned to look at Stone.

“Hey lieutenant?” I hissed at him, catching his attention. “Shouldn't you get down? You're far to exposed just standing there like that”

“Sargent! Can't you see that I'm trying to find out where we are?” He asked quite loudly. “You can stay down there if you want to unless you want to help me find a way quicker way back to the road.” He said, turning back to the map in his hands.

“You mean were actually abandoning the search, Sir?” I asked, the guys were just as confused as I was.

“OF COURSE WE ARE!” he yelled, this was making me uneasy, my grip on my Johnson tightened and my eyes searched the jungle in fear. “There's nothing here! As usua---” He didn't get the chance the chance to finish his sentence as a bullet ripped right through his leg. He didn't even get the chance to scream as his head collided with a tree. Knocking him out cold.

Me and the others were quick to act, throwing ourselves to the ground and firing at the where we believed the enemy to be. As the guys laid down some suppressive fire, I crawled my way to the lieutenants body. I didn't know if he was alive of dead but a quick check of his pulse confirmed the fact that he was still alive. I looked at Jack, throwing my arm back, showing him that I needed his help. He came over and attended to Stones wounds. I grabbed the map to see where we were. I was surprised to see that we weren't that far from the road or where we left off. We had only walked roughly a quarter of a mile from the drop off point.

I slowly got up and ran over to Mark, he was taking cover behind a tree situated on the bank of the stream. He was taking careful shots at the muzzle flashes in the jungle. As I approached him, he looked at me.

“looks like we're going to be late for your dinner with Twilight” He said. I could only stare at him with an odd look. I then looked at where he was shooting.

“We need to get this over and done with quickly. The lieutenant needs medical attention” I said to him, just as a bullet slammed into the tree I was hiding behind.

“Shall I call for the other squads to come and help us?” He asked.

“No, they've probably got japs on their side. We can't afford to leave a pocket of resistance on the other side of the road. No, we have to deal with these guys ourselves. And FAST” I yelled as a bullet landed right beside me.

The shoot out on both sides continued for another five minutes. Though we were low on ammo we still kept up the pressure. We knew that we couldn't hold this up for much longer, but it was the same story for the Nips, they too were running low on ammo. I had already used up three magazines for my Johnson and I only had three left. I turned back to Mark who was still shooting.

“Mark! MARK!!” I yelled, he stopped shooting and turned his attention back to me. “I need you to get on the radio”

“Who do I call, the exterminators?” He asked. Though I was not in the mood for a laugh.

“Shut up. Get me the divisions artillery battalion” I said to him. Mark dropped his rifle and took off his radio. I, in the meantime, made my way over to Jack and the unconscious lieutenant.

“Jack we're about to move. I need you to leave him here grab your rifle, we're moving into the enemy's positions” I said to him. He didn't say a thing, he just nodded before grabbing his rifle and following me to where Mark was. Mark was still using the radio and seemed to be talking to someone.

“Thunder. This is Able, my commander is here now, I'll pass you, over” Mark said, handing me the phone.

“Thunder, this Sargent Lou Conlin. We've run into resistance behind the perimeter request immediate artillery strike on position:-9.431427, 159.987299. Over.” I said

“Able this is Thunder. I am Lieutenant Charles Pitt. I cannot authorise a fire mission without talking to your commander. Over”

“Thunder, my commander is out cold, the First Sargent isn't in the area with me so I'm the only person who can order a fire mission. Over!” I yelled.

“Sargent do you have permission to call for an artillery barrage i-n p---tio---yo---reques------” The voice on the other end faded into static. Mark was desperately looking for the correct frequency so we could re-establish contact with Thunder.

“Thunder? Thunder! Do you read me? I repeat, can you hear me?” I repeated over and over again and again. “Thunder, thunder this is Able, can you cover us, we only have rifles. Over.” I still received no reply. It seemed that it was all up to us. “Thunder, thunder can you hear me?”

“We can hear you Able ” I waved at Mark, letting him know that he had found the correct frequency. "Able, we're running low on shells" I think my breathing stopped when he said that. We needed fire support and we were gonna get killed if we didn't get it. “But we'll cover you” That last response filled me with a bit of hope. “Can you give us those coordinates again. Over”

“Yes, coordinates are as follows: -9.431427, 159.987299. Over” I replied.

“All right we've got them but we can only spare two shells. Over”

“Thunder, we request a HE (High Explosive) shell then a Smoke shell. Over” I yelled over the fight of Japanese rounds.

“Roger that, fire mission on the way. Over” said the voice, immediately, I dropped the phone and covered my head, the other following suit. Seconds later, the shrill of a shell filled the air as it approached our positions. Though it was certainly too fast for our own eyes to follow. I still caught a glimpse of a grey cylinder fly literally 'just over our heads' and landed roughly twenty meters away from where we were. Right on top of the Japs.

Though we didn't see the carnage that followed, we were still witnesses of an awesome firework display. I don't really know how to describe it. As soon as the shell smashed into the ground, there was a bright orange flare, then the trees surrounding the Japanese positions seemed to explode from the inside. Bits of bark flew in all directions, the screams of Japanese soldiers getting ripped to shreds was ear shattering. Though for me it was heart breaking.

As the dust and wood chips settled to the ground, the sound of another shriek from a shell filled the air. This one I didn't see since I had my head in my arms to shield my eyes from the dust. Though when I raised my head, all I could see was smoke from the Smoke shell. Once the smoke had spread, I gave the signal to the others to get up and charge.

We charged. We charged like mad men, being chased by the devil himself. Though it seemed to take forever to reach the enemy, it took only seconds in reality. I was the first to enter the smoke screen, the figure of a man holding a rifle appeared right in front of me, it took only a fraction of a second for me to ram right into him. The man was taken completely by surprise, though as soon as he understood that I was enemy, he began to fight back. But as soon as he was on the ground, I didn't hesitate to use the butt of my rifle to smash his face in. I don't remember how many times I hit him, all I remember after that was Mark and a Jap crashing to the ground three meters to my left. I watched as they struggled but only to suddenly find myself with a Jap ramming into me. I fell onto my back, the blade of a bayonet was dangerously close to my neck.

The sound of struggling was the only audible thing we could hear. Each one of us having to take the fight to hand to hand combat. The Jap who had a knife at my throat was using all his strength and the blade got closer and closer to my throat. Using my right hand that was still free, I reached down for my holster and my 45. Bringing the barrel to his stomach, I fired three shots and blood began to pour from his mouth and onto my face. I eyes clenched shut a the sticky liquid spread across my face. But, inevitably the young man went limp, and I slowly threw his corpse to the side.

I slowly got up, I suddenly heard someone yelling in Japanese before a figure charged towards me. A bayonet attached to his Arisaka, the young man ran as fast as he could. I slipped to the side at the last second. I was now facing his profile, and just as his bayonet passed my right arm my training immediately kicked in. Using my right hand, I grabbed the bayonet handle and pushed it up, slamming the rifle into his face. I then proceeded to lower the barrel of the gun back down horizontally before thrusting the butt of the rifle into his stomach. Then, with my left hand as a fist, I brought it down on the stock of his rifle with all my strength. I forced the rifle out of his grip and then allowed the rifle to swing anticlockwise, so that the bayonet handle fell into my left hand and the wood stock to fly up into my right hand. The rifle completed its 180° cycle in less than a second and once I had a the rifle horizontal again, I thrust it in and out of its previous owner. It didn't take long for the Tojo to stop breathing, before he fell to the floor. My mind was at a lost with a flow of emotions. One of them was regret.

In this arena of hand to hand combat, neither side had the upper hand, though the Japanese certainly had a numerical superiority, they were not in shape for this sort of combat since a they just got hit by a 75mm HE shell. As the struggle continued, me, finding myself with a Jap rammed into me. As the smoke cleared, it was obvious that we had gained the upper hand. Kicking the Jap off of me, I grabbed my LMG and aimed at him.

Five shots, the rounds were red hot as they pierced his body. I watched as he fell flat on his back, I got up and saw that the others weren't doing so well. Each one of them had a Jap on top of them. Carefully aiming my Johnson, I opened fire with one shot for each one. They threw the dead Tojos to the side and got up. The smoke had completely cleared and all that was left was the four of us and the dead Japanese soldiers lying at our feet. Tomy fell backwards on to his butt and began choke on his own breath. He couldn't seem to comprehend what we had just done. I walked over to him and rubbed his shoulder. He looked up at me in sadness. I gave him a reassuring smile and returned my attention to Jack who was coming back through the trees with the Lieutenant over his shoulder. I stood up to see what we had gained for this victory, a small mortar, a dozen Japanese rifles and corpses and a few rounds for the mortar. I told Tomy and Jack to stay there while we took a look up ahead. Just a few hundred meters further and we were on the line where Able company was situated. We also found the other squads, but with just one glance at them, I could tell that they had a rough encounter with the enemy. My sorrow was deepened when Sargent Jones told me that First Sargent Barns, a good friend from boot camp, was killed in the engagement.

I told them that Lieutenant Stone was wounded and needed medical attention, so Sargent Jones agreed to head back to the camp with First and Third squads while we returned and fetched the Lieutenant.

As we walked back through the jungle, me and Jack carrying Stone while Mark and Tomy lead the way. The truck ride wasn't as tense on the way back to the camp, nor was it joyful. First and third squads had eight men left each plus a squad leader. That makes a nine man squad, with the five of us which makes twenty four total.

We were returning with nineteen. Too many losses, especially for only one patrol, but there was nothing to be said. I was sure that when the Lieutenant regained consciousness, he would end up writing letters to the families. Another son dead for his country.

XXXXXXXXX

It was 2035 hrs and me and the rest of my squad were sat in the MASH, next to the operating table with the Lieutenant. The medic treating him was just finishing with the bandages as the Lieutenant Stone regained consciousness. His eyes opened and he began to sit up. We helped him as the medic left us while he went to help another wounded Marine.

“What...What happened?” Asked Stone, rubbing his head in confusion.

“We were ambushed... you were hit in the leg” Jack answered, catching the Lieutenant attention.

“You also got knocked out when you hit your head against a tree” Said Mark.

“Aaaghh! My leg. So I guess you took out the enemy?” He asked me directly. I nodded, but he could obviously tell that something was wrong. “What is it Sargent?”

“First Sargent Barns was killed, Sir” I said in a low tone, but he still recoiled back in shock. “Such as four others from First and Third squad” I continued, Stone lowered his head in thought but I could see the pain on his face. He took these men out to search for enemy activity, not to die. But either way, he held his head high and stepped off the table.

“Would you mind coming to see me in divisional HQ in a few minutes Lou, with Sargent Jones” He said to me, before turning towards the flap of the tent and leaving me and the others in silence.

“The Lieutenant wants to see me?” Asked Jones, sounding quite nervous. I was in the Sargent Jones tent telling him that Stone wanted to see him.

“Both of us” I corrected him. He got up and exited the tent, he walked quite rapidly to Head Quarters. I quickly caught up with him, I was about to ask him why he wasn't talking, but one look at his face I could tell that it was best to not talk to him. Jonah Barns was a good friend of mine but he was also Jones best friend. As we approached HQ, we both stood outside waited a few seconds before entering.

Inside was Lieutenant Stone and Colonel Sanders, they were both talking about something that I guessed to be the mission that we had just executed. They both raised their heads to look at us. We both walked in and sat down, the Colonel sat down too.

“You guys must be tired so I'll make this quick” He said, looking us both over before returning his attention back to a piece of paper that was in front of him. “Sargent Albert Jones, Third squad of First platoon. I'm promoting you to Gunnery Sargent as a replacement...” He trailed off as he turned his attention to me. “...of Gunnery Sargent Lou, here.” He said, and I don't know what happened, but something deep within me cracked. I didn't want to replaced. I didn't want to lose my squad..... I didn't want to lose my friends.

“Does that mean I've lost command of Third squad?” He asked, the same sort of despair hit him as it had hit me.

“No. No you get to keep Third squad, I'm not prepared to start separating people into other places. I don't have time for that” Said Sanders as he passed Jones a pair of shoulder patches. Jones took them and just starred at them. “Well?... Get going then, chow should be nearly ready” Sanders said with a light chuckle. Jones shot up, saluted then left the tent. But something told me that he wasn't going to dinner, especially without his best friend.

As we watched him go, the colonel then turned his attention back to me.

“Well Lou... I'm sorry about First Sargent Barns. But I'm afraid the platoon needs a new First Sargent. I was going to ask for someone from Second platoon but Lieutenant Stone here put you in for a promotion and a medal for bravery on the field” He said, I only nodded in understanding. “That is why I'm promoting you to First Sargent”

“But sir, I'm just a support gunner. I can't be promoted” I stated.

“Sargent, I don't have time to argue but you are from now on First Sargent, is that clear?” He asked, I nodded before looking back up at him.

“Does that mean I lose Second squad, sir?” I asked.

“No First Sargent. Lieutenant Stone here is going to take command of First squad” He said in a firm but reassuring tone. He then handed me my new shoulder patches, I took them and looked back at them. “I'll see what I can do about getting you a medal” He said, standing up with the Lieutenant. I got up too, still speechless. He then extended his arm, I did the same and I shook his hand. I then saluted and left.

XXXXXXXXX

The sun was beginning to set by the time I exited the Divisions Head Quarters. My head was buzzing with emotions and tiredness. I yawned, stretched out my arms and headed back to my tent. Hopefully Twilight was still there, I would hate to find her missing.

Around me, men were running back and forth with crates of ammunition, fuel cans for vehicles. As I walked through the main road of the camp, the surviving screechers from last night's bombardment began to get into their usual positions. The camp was as deserted as ever. Though it wasn't time for the bombardment, I could probably guess where they had all gone. The mess area. And it didn't seem like such a bad idea.So I headed straight for the mess hall, I took a look at the 'all too familiar' menu. Then I walked in. There, I found the rest of my friends eating. I took two trays so that I could take back some food for Twilight. As I sat down, the guys were just finishing.

They were surprised when I put down my new shoulder patches on the table. They joked about it, then they got up to leave. I got up too, not finding the meal that appetising. Once we all left, the trip back to our tents was deathly silent. No one was making a sound, but I soon broke that silence.

“Listen guys, I think that now Twilight is apart of this squad, we should start a proper and friendly conversation with her... you know, saying a few things about ourselves and so on. Are you okay with that?” I proposed. They all nodded in agreement, so they followed me right back to my tent. I just hopped that she would be awake.

Opening the flaps to my tent, I allowed my friends to go in first. Once they were all in saw that they had all stopped right at the entrance their mouths agape. So I looked in the direction that they were looking at. Only to have the tray I had brought for Twilight to smash to the ground.

"Twilight?" was the only thing that came out of our mouths.

Author's Note:

I know that historically, Carlson enphasized on a ten man patrol plus a squad leader, but these squads have all ready faced combat and they have had losses over time before they met Twilight.

Comments

[Silent Echo]

Whats happend to twilight!?

[FIRE FLASH 3]

7748799 hopefully I'll describe what's happened to Twilight in the next chapter ;)

[Silent Echo]

7749201 Yay