Deployment Part 5

You know, as a soldier you are forever faceless, at least in the view of anyone not serving. When news is broadcast that "another" soldier has died people say "isn't it terrible, why are we fighting this war" and then they go on about their lives. It's a false sorrow, a politically correct sorrow. No one knows the pain except his comrades, but they continue to fire there rifle through watery eyes and reload their weapons with shaking hands. The soldier is not human, not to the public, and especially not the military commanders, he is a tool, a weapon to hurt another human being with. If you lose a family member, do you stay at work and finish that report? Of course not. We have to. Things are changing though, the playing field is being leveled, everyone has to fight, and in our current state we are at the top.

I woke to the sound of a thunder storm, a distant thunder storm, as if it had passed over head maybe an hour before. It didn't take me and the rest of the squad long to realize that it was the big guns offshore, must have been the USS Missouri. US military might directed at US Citizens. Still, it was always going to end like that, the nation tearing itself apart in a fire storm. Almost rather fitting in a way, poetic you could call it, the countries liberty was born from war and it will die that way. Maybe that's to pessimistic, but my confidence in this whole situation is getting low.

We ate a hurried uncooked breakfast while some of the lads who had already eaten loaded up the vehicles. It was quiet in the bar area as we ate, i don't think any of us slept particullarly well that night. Even after you came off watch you were still tingling, every sound was analyzed and assessed. It takes it's toll after a few hours, it's the kind of thing that Josh would have shrugged off and slept like a baby through. A thought that I immediately pushed back out of my head.

Chalk 3 were dead when we got too the hospital, all of them. Some of the boys in fire team one had been close with some of the members of Chalk 3. It's never good for moral, but hell it doesn't feel like it can get much lower to be honest. The immediate area around the hospital was clear, but there was still a lot of screaming, car horns, even fucking sirens, not that i felt like they meant anything, they didn't seem to be moving through the town..

I walked over to Chase and Kawlaskie, they were deep in conversation at the time i just stood and listened for a moment.

"What we gonna do sir? The coms at the airbase are to busy to get a message through, i keep getting bumped off for other priorities, I have been trying for hours now"

"There's nothing you can do, we are on our own for the minute, I think the "objective" has changed some what. Get in contact with Chalk 3, see if we can rendezvous with them or at least what's left of the local police force."

"Yes sir" Kawalskie responded before marching back to his vehicle.

I stood for a second, starring up the hospital. It was a surreal scene, this building was here to help the wounded and injured, but at the moment it looked more like a tomb. Bright sunlight glinted off the windows, a few were broken just leaving dark holes, though I don't think the power was out, we were in the car park but there weren't a huge number of cars left this far away from the actual hospital, a few bodies lay strewn across the car park. Odd, I had not noticed that before, I was getting to used to seeing it I think. I stepped towards the sergeant.

"Sir, do you think we should go in there and see if anyone is alive or if maybe there are supplies or something. I mean there has to be a lot of injured about the town, and if we don't distribute them or at least take them now, how long is it gonna before people start looting the building? The last thing we need is power vacuums being filled with morons, and if this is anything like other "riots" I figure it won't be long." Making quotation marks with my fingers.

"Hmmm" Sergeant starred out towards the entrance at the far side of the parking lott. "You are probably right. It's pretty risky to go though. Otherwise we are gonna have to stay here and guard it ourselves, and that doesn't seem like a smarter option." Thinking out loud "Screw it, we'll go in, seeing as this was your plan private, your fire team can lead the way."

"Shit. What have I done" I chuckled grinning at the sergeant. The lads wouldn't be pleased.

"Greenman!" Sergeant Chase was already halfway over to his vehicle by now, he walked with purpose, and evidently I had swayed him my way on this one. I'm not sure if I regret that yet.

I watched as he began to explain to Greenman the plan, I’m sure at one point he shot me a menacing look as Greenman did. After the sergeant had finished talking Greenman shock his head in agreement. As I began walking over to Greenman and our vehicle Able stepped up next to me and slapped me on top of my helmet, I turned to see he was grinning.

"You're a dumb ass, you're right" He conceeded "But you're a huge dumb ass. I suppose at least this kind of task if familiar to us hey!" He chortled. Obviously he had over heard my conversation with the sergeant.

"Yeah, well I’m sure you will enjoy yourself Able" I smiled.

I climbed into the passenger seat of the vehicle. I was slapped on my helmet once by every lad in our fire team. I deserved it. Able started the vehicle and began to drive slowly towards the hospital entrance. I leaned out my door way and looked back to see fire team one following.

"First things first, we need a map of the building, so as soon as we get into that lobby and clear it I won't you to find a map Will" Greenman ordered "Hunter, this is a long shot but I want you to see if you can get onto a computer, they may have left a log in on, there might be something we can use, I doubt it, but I would rather know where we are going. We are mostly gonna be collecting drugs here lads, everything else is completely useless to us, but anything in a packet, grab it. I don't expect you to know what it all is, god knows I won't"

When we arrived at the main entrance I could see that the power was still on, which was reassuring. The glass to the front entrance however was blood spattered and broken, the door was sliding open and closed constantly for no apparent reason.

This would be interesting.