3 New horizons
"Control, Charlie Echo." Glade reports.
"Charlie Echo send."
"All clear in sector November 3."
"Control copies November 3 all clear."
It has been a few weeks since Anthony had his first solo patrol and it he has already become so familiar with what is expected of him that he can hardly imagine a life without these regular duties he is posted on. 'Nothing exciting happens here.' he thought to himself as he sees his reliever arriving.
Anthony has gotten to love the night shifts, the quiet, the cool breeze and all the stars. "you never see so many stars in the city" King says to Anthony as they both return to their barracks. "Speaking of which, you never really told me about home." King says with a concerned look on his face.
"Well, there is noy much to say. You already know about my wife and child. We have a place in a small town just north of Capetown in one of the farming areas. It is mostly quiet there, we don't really have many problems. I have to say that the amount of stars here is way much than over there." Glade says with a stutter in his voice.
"It must be nice on a farm" King says with a soft voice.
"How about you city boy?" Glade says jokingly.
King chuckles and shoves Glade slightly. "City boy now but was not alwats like that, I used to live on a farm too but cant really remember much. My mother and I moved to the city after my Father was killed in the Great War. I was very young so can't remember much. I have been living in the same apartment with my Mother for the past 17 years." King says with a distant look in his eye.
"I am sorry to hear about your father" Glade reassuringly replied. "But where? I can hear a British accent."
"I live in London now. Nothing special I guess." King says with a slight chuckle.
"London, wow. I have never been there. Maybe we will come visit you someday?" Glade says with a slight hint of invitation.
"I would like that!" King exclaimed.
The next morning Glade spends some time talking with his family back home, this being an active warzone there is very limited communication.
"How are things in school?"
"She is doing great, it is clear that she has her Mothers intellect" Mrs Glade jokes.
"And her Fathers no bullshit attitude" Glade replies. "I cannot share much but I can say things are heating up a bit, a few kilometers from here there seems to be a lot of activity" Glade says with a serious tone.
"Just be safe, we need you to come back home" Mrs Glade replies with a slight concerning look in her already teared up eyes.
"I will be. I have to go now, the other guys want to call home too." Glade tells his wife.
"I love you." She says.
"I love you both" Glade replies.
A few days later at 05:00 as Glade is preparing for assistance in the kitchen duties. "Glade, gear up. Report to hanger 2. You have 15 mikes." one of the commanding officers tells Glade.
'Hangar 2? That is where all the outer operations gets discussed and dispatched' Glade thinks as he prepares his kit.
"Glade, King, Standton, Abrams, Ferrell, Mills, Smith, Hernandez, Lee. You are hereby removed from guard duty until further notice. You each have proven yourselves to ne ready for combat duty. You will be joining Echo Company today in a sweep and assistance operation in sector G7. This operation should be easy,all you need to do is go clear out any remaining insurgents in the area if any remain and act as security detail for the civilians in the area as they prepare for extract to the allocated save zones and escort them there. Although you we do not expect any resistance you will be entering the area heavily armed."
As Glade and the others examine the maps and charts on the side of the hangar he cannot help but feel a sense of excitement and fear. 'This is it. This is what i came here for' Glade thinks to himself.
"Rollout is in 5."
With all the soldiers ready and geared up they are approached by a man of quite large stature, a clear scar under his left eye can be seen. "Gentlemen, I am Staff Sergeant Lions. To the new guys, you have been selected to join us on this mission. Prove yourselves here today and you will be joining us on all future missions for your time here."
"Sir, yes Sir." they all collectively respond.
"Glade, i hear you are good with a rifle?"
"Thank you Sir." Glade responded
"We need a good gunner with a sharp eye. Can i count on you?"
"Sir, yes Sir" Glade proudly responded.
"Hernandez, Mills, Lee! You will man the 50s. Let's roll out!"
"HooHaa!" The echo of their voices can be heard inside the hanger as they all proceed to the Humvees and APCs. At 06:00 sharp the convoy starts rolling out and for the first time since his arrival Glade and the others are out of the confounds of the base. A short 30 minite drive on the dirt roads they come to paved roads and the rides smooths out.
About45 minutes later they arrive in a small town, broken buildings can be seen everywhere and a few of them still have smoke coming from them.
"Look sharp, this is it" Staff Sergeant Lions tells his men.
As they enter the centre part of town where operations are already underway to prepare the civilians for extract Glade cannot help but wonder. 'what drives men to do this to their own country and their own people?'
"Glade, King, Standton. Take the northern watch with Foxtrot company, they are a few men short. Return here when we are ready for extract"
"Sir!" They reply as they leave.
For the next hour or so the town is busy with civilians bringing their personal belongings and soldiers helping them to load it onto the four trucks that are ligned up to transport them. Glade cannot help but feel sorry for these people. 'They have lost so much, being removed from their homes and relocated just so that they can survive.' He thinks as he keeps watch.
A young boy approached King out of breath and screaming. King not understanding what he said is trying to make sense of what is going on. "His sister is trapped and wounded!" one of the translators exclaimed. He tells the boy in his native language to shoe them where. The team of five follows the boy to a building two blocks down.
The building looks almost completely destroyed but the feint cries of a child can be heard coming from inside. The soldiers approach the building with caution and enter the part that is still whole. The boy is instructed to wait outside with one of the men.
As the four men enter the building with their weapons drawn the follow the sounds of the cries. They come to a black door slightly open. They stack up, enter the room quickly and efficiently scanning every corner.
"There!" Glade sounds as he spots a hand sticking out from a pile of rubble. "King, grap that beam and slowly lift it up. Glade, help me with these bricks." the comanding officer instructed. As the men rwmove the rubble they quickly unearth the figure of a small girl, no more than 5 or 6 years old. "pull her out slowly, support her neck" the medical officer instructed.
As the medic is tending to her wounds the command that they have 5 minutes comes over the coms. "we need to move. She is stable but she needs more attention." the medic explained. "Glade, take the girl, be careful with her right arm, it is broken." the medic finaly instructs before they move.
The moment they exit the building rapid gunfire can be heard and bullets hittimg the building and door right behing them. "Tango! Top floor second building!" King shouts as he points his weapon in the direction where the shots are coming from and the rest of the men follow his directions. Glade holding the little girl had only her safety in mind and squats down and moves back into the building as fast as his legs could carry him. The little boy soon follows being shoved in by the medic. The men return fire in the mean time and a few seconds later all is silent. "Confirmed tango down, returning to extract with two civilian children. " the comanding officer relays over the radio. "is everyone alright?" he asks. "Yes sir. " they all reply one after onother. "She is bleeding." Glade tell the medic with a broken and uneasy tone of voice. The medic inspects her further. "She has a cut on her left flank, it doesnt look too serious." The medic reports. "Lets move." The comanding officer instructed.
When they return to the point of extract the medics on scene take the little girl from Glade and the little boy from King.
Glade looks down at the blood from the little girl still on his hands and uniform. In utter disbelief of what just happened. "will she be ok?" he asked.
"She will be fine, a few bruises, a deep cut and a broken arm but she will live" one of the medics working on her replies.
"Mount up! We are moving out!" the commanding officer shouts to his men. The engines start up and the ground rumbles as the convoy leave the area and finaly the town on their way to the safe zone.
'What the fuck just happened?' Glade thinks to himself looking at the blood on his hands that have started drying and the town disappearing into the dust that the convoy is making.
