Sixth entry
#8 of The seven Days of Fire
Sixth entry
"We may have got past the capital, but we have another loss to lament. Jones didn't make it. On the other hand, his sacrifice allowed us to survive. The Torekmetians would almost certainly not have left us alive if they had found out who we were. But it's still anything but easy to take this blow. Now there are only two of us left and we're almost out of supplies. We will stay in this village until tonight and search for supplies and equipment again. We still have almost 800 miles to go and the thought that we won't reach our destination is slowly growing stronger in my mind and this thought is gnawing away at my motivation. I've managed to make up for a lot of the sleep I've missed in the past few days, but I still feel exhausted. But at least the Torekmetians no longer seem to be bothering this village. In the last 3 days we have only seen one small convoy passing through this village. After checking our supplies and equipment yesterday, we came to the conclusion that we can march for about ten days if we budget. Well, my guard shift begins..."
Hiredeki closes his book and puts it back in his pocket before rising to relieve his companion so that he can get some sleep before they set off in search of supplies. He goes next door, where his companion is sitting at a barricaded window, keeping an eye on the surroundings. Hiredeki slowly approaches and then waits until he receives a signal from his sidekick. He then comes to him.
"So how does it look? Everything quiet?"
His sidekick looks up briefly at Hiredeki and he recognizes the exhaustion in the eyes of the guard.
"Everything's quiet, nothing unusual. The enemy hasn't moved."
Hiredeki nods to his companion and presses his lips together. He, too, is not at his best.
"Well, go and lie down for another round. We still have a lot to do. I need you ready for action."
The other nods silently and heads for the rest room. Hiredeki looks after him before taking up his post. It's time they finally arrived at their destination, they won't last much longer. Hiredeki dismisses the thought and tries to concentrate on his guard duty.
...
It remains quiet outside their hiding place for a long time, so that Hiredeki slowly becomes sleepy. Again and again he loses his focus and dozes off. His discipline and iron will manage to keep him from falling asleep again and again. He wakes up from this state just in time when he notices movement outside in the open space in front of the house. He is wide awake in a flash and his senses sharpen as he recognizes the Torekmetian soldiers. Calm but tense down to the last muscle fiber, he observes the soldiers as he pulls on a thread that connects him and his companion. The latter knows immediately and remains quietly in the next room, knowing that a single noise now means their certain doom. Slowly and quietly, he grabs his rifle and checks the magazine. Meanwhile, Hiredeki takes his measure behind the window.
'If I get him right, I can kill them both with one shot...'
But he abandons the idea as more soldiers enter the square. A whole platoon of the army is standing under his window. Silently cursing, he lowers his gun. They can't take on that many. All that remains is to wait and see, with any luck...
"... Have you found anything?"
One of the soldiers begins to speak. The two soldiers turn and salute before answering.
"No sir. No one has been found yet, we've searched everything. Nobody seems to be here. Even if the convoy has recorded heat signatures, there is no one here. They must have already moved on."
The soldier nods and takes a quick look around.
"All right, we're moving out. Mark the village for a sweep bombardment."
The soldiers salute and one pulls out a signal grenade and throws it into the open space before running out of sight following the third. Hiredeki reacts immediately and runs to his comrade.
"Grab what you can carry, we have to get out of here, bronto!"
His companion doesn't hesitate and jumps up from his camp. Together they grab what they can and flee downstairs. They leave the house through the back door and run through the adjacent field. Not a second too soon. Behind them, the first heavy artillery shells are already hitting and, among other things, destroying the house they were hiding in. Shortly after the first shower has fallen, the air is filled with an ever louder rumble. The Torekmetian air force flies in to finish what the artillery had started. Hiredeki and his sidekick duck low into the tall grass to avoid being seen by one of the pilots. The explosions of the heavy bombs shake the ground even this far away from the point of impact and the thunder rings in the ears of the two fugitives. Only when the Torekmetian bombers can no longer be heard do the two dare to emerge from their cover. After a quick check of themselves and the meagre remainder of their supplies, Hiredeki and his sidekick come to the conclusion that it's going to be really tough now. They have just two magazines each for their rifles and a little food. Barely enough for four days and no drinking water.
" It doesn't do any good to stay here. Let's go, we have to keep going..."
His voice sounds unconvincing, but his companion is of the same opinion and so they pack their things and set off again towards Seruma. The road ahead has never been rockier and bleaker than it is now. They hope to reach the next settlement before their meagre supplies finally run out.
...to be Continued...