Storm Front

by Thomas A. Watson

  Nelson saw the flash of the man’s pistol as he pulled the trigger rapidly. Walking the impacts over, Nelson stopped when the man’s head blew open. Struggling to stand, he looked down and saw his left lower pants leg was soaked.

  “Fuck it,” Nelson said, stumbling over to the cot the man had been under. He threw the cot out of the corner and saw a ventilation hole in the wall, leading to the next room. “You haji motherfuckers!” Nelson yelled, leaning down and saw two men talking in the next room and pointing at the hole.

  Lifting his rifle, Nelson shot both in the head. “Turn off the fucking music and I’ll tell my team we will butt out and call it even,” Nelson said, stumbling over to a cot. Pulling out a dressing, Nelson lifted his leg up and ripped the pant leg open.

  “Damn,” he moaned, seeing where a bullet had passed through his calf back to front. Putting the dressing on, Nelson noticed a hole torn in his pants above his left knee. Tying the dressing off, Nelson put his leg down and ripped the hole wider.

  Once his eye registered the hole, Nelson’s brain woke up, realizing it had pain messages. With only his left eye able to see, Nelson could only tell it had passed through his thigh, taking a chunk of meat from the back of his leg.

  Pulling another dressing out, Nelson stopped. Grabbing a bag of Quik Clot, Nelson tore it open. Taking a deep breath, he poured it on the wound. Nelson’s woozy world came back into sharp focus as his leg seemed to be on fire.

  “Getting shot didn’t hurt this much,” he said, gritting his teeth through the searing pain. Seeing movement in the corner, Nelson saw a man climbing through the hole in the wall. Picking up his AR, Nelson waited until the man cleared the hole and shot him in the side of the head. “I’m busy!” Nelson shouted, but not even Zeus sitting beside him heard.

  Putting the dressing on his thigh, Nelson moved to the door, ignoring the other pains. “I’m out of dressings and we aren’t using that Quik Clot shit ever again,” he vowed, reaching the door.

  Sean saw movement and spun around to see Nelson stumble out of the doorway. He ran over, looking at Nelson’s torn clothes and bandages. Nelson grabbed Sean and pulled him into the room. When Nelson pointed to the back corner, Sean saw a man trying to crawl through a hole in the wall.

  Snapping his M14 up, Sean squeezed off a shot, hitting the man in the head. Turning to Nelson, Sean saw his mouth moving, but Sean had given up ever being able to hear again. Nelson turned and limped out of the room back into the hall. He saw Gerald at the cross hall that was at the center of the school.

  Moving up, Nelson glanced out the left side and saw the east party area and people still just partying away. This seemed to violate everything. They had been fighting and killing this group’s own people and yet here, they were still partying. There were gunshots, but nobody could hear over the music.

  It took a second, but Nelson realized his vision was vibrating. Turning his head, Nelson shook his head, seeing that the hallway leading outside was stacked floor to ceiling with box speakers. Pulling a hand grenade out, Nelson turned to Gerald and held the grenade in his left hand before extending his right hand and flipping the bird to the group outside.

  Gerald motioned to the next half of the school they had to clear and Nelson held up his right hand to flip Gerald off, then flipped the other half of the school off. Seeing the wounds on Nelson, Gerald turned back and everyone, including him had been hit at least once. Turning back to Nelson, Gerald nodded.

  Using hand gestures, Nelson explained that he would throw two grenades ‘right’, Sean would throw two ‘center’, and Gerald would throw two ‘left’. When both nodded, Nelson pulled another grenade out, yanking the pins from both as Gerald and Sean followed.

  Since Nelson couldn’t move fast, they both passed him while yanking pins out of their grenades. Gerald threw first and before his hit the ground, Sean’s were sailing out. Leaning out the door, Nelson tossed his, hoping someone would trip on the spheres and break their neck before the grenade blew them apart.

  Ducking back inside, Nelson hobbled after them and dove around the corner as the grenades started going off. Even with the music loud enough to shake his vision, Nelson heard the loud crack as each grenade exploded. When the last one went off, the seven looked at each other in wonder, not feeling the vibration of the music but their ears were still ringing loudly.

  “About time the damn music died!” Nelson shouted and new screams erupted outside as the other three teams opened up on the gang.

  Chapter 19

  “Got another one crawling out a window. North end of building, four hundred thirty-six meters. No wolf tail,” Justin said, peering through his spotting scope.

  “Got him,” Curtis said. “On the way,” he sang out, squeezing the trigger. The large fifty caliber gave a loud but muffled ‘whomp’ as it bucked.

  Watching through his thermal binoculars, Dallas saw the figure drop out of the window and stand up, then his upper body blew apart. “Those boys do have cannons,” he mumbled.

  “Contact down,” Curtis said, watching what was left of the body drop to the ground.

  “On the roof, middle of the building, man climbing out of a service door. Four hundred and nineteen meters, no wolf tail,” Justin called out.

  “Got ‘em,” Kenny called out as Dallas moved his binoculars. “On the way,” Kenny said.

  Dallas watched the man climb out and run across the building, heading east to the large party. The man jerked as half his chest blew out when the bullet slammed into his back. Landing on the roof, the body skidded a few feet before coming to a stop well short of the edge of the roof. “Contact down,” Kenny said.

  “That’s twenty-eight we’ve taken out since they entered the building, Paw,” Grant said, watching the building through his binoculars. He had to admit, Curtis and his crew were very effective.

  Suddenly, explosions started going off on the east side of the school and everybody turned to see bodies getting ripped apart as the explosions continued. Most of the crowd dove to the ground, but some just took off running in the direction they’d been facing.

  “Check your targets and start killing,” Dallas said, moving over to his rifle and dropping to the ground. Eight rifles started tapping out muffled tempos as the chatter of machine guns rained down from the hill behind the school.

  When his crosshairs found a target, Dallas relaxed as he squeezed the trigger. Watching the man’s head explode, Dallas saw tracers arcing down from the hilltop raking the parking lot. “Gerald and Nelson better stay inside,” Dallas said, finding another target.

  ***

  Scott lifted his eye off the scope to watch Jacob fire a short burst and when he stopped, Pete cut loose. Watching bodies fall past the bonfire, Scott knew those were being killed by his dad’s team. “Snipers, concentrate your fire on targets next to the building,” he shouted, moving his crosshairs to the building.

  With the initial shock of the attack wearing off, Scott could see people firing up at them and could hear bullets impacting around him. “Changing barrel!” Jacob yelled out and Pete moved his aim, covering the field as Jacob changed out his barrel.

  Shooting four men crouched beside the school, Scott moved his aim to the north and saw Bernard’s team mowing down a group that had run north. “Up!” Jacob yelled out and his M60 started talking.

  Moving his aim back to the side entrance, Scott shot three more that were moving for the door. Stopping at the door, he saw a pile of bodies and watched two men running for the door reach it, only to drop down and grab their chests. “Hold on, guys,” Scott mumbled, finding another target.

  ***

  Lowering his rifle after watching the two bodies drop that had tried to run inside, Nelson glanced over at Gerald. “Moving down and clearing next room!” Nelson screamed out, but barely heard his voice over the ringing in his ears. Hearing his voice, Nelson wanted to just sit and talk to himself, but pushed his body up.

  “I’ll cover the door,” Matt said and limped over, droppin
g down at the corner Nelson had left.

  Hearing rapid suppressed shots behind him, Nelson spun around and saw Ashley drop two men stepping out into the hall. “Where the fuck are they coming from?” Ashley shouted, changing magazines.

  “They have holes in the wall and can move between rooms,” Sean yelled as Nelson turned around and jogged across the intersection that led outside. Hearing suppressed shots behind him, Nelson turned and saw Matt shooting outside.

  “Zeus,” Nelson called, moving past Gerald and yanking a grenade off his vest.

  “Don’t you want to use a flash bang?” Gerald asked as Nelson moved to the door on the left.

  “Nope,” Nelson said, yanking the pin and tossing the grenade in. “Grenade!” he shouted, turning away from the door.

  “FUCK!” a voice inside the room screamed, then the building shook hard as the grenade exploded.

  “Moving,” Nelson said, spinning around and hobbling into the room. Zeus ran past him as Nelson lifted his AR, seeing moving bodies. Squeezing the trigger, Nelson watched the bodies jerk with the impacts.

  Shifting his gaze, Nelson saw Zeus in the center of his NVG field, latched onto a man’s throat and shaking his head violently. “Good boy,” Nelson said, changing magazines.

  Dropping his empty magazine in his dump bag, Nelson hobbled back to the door. “Zeus,” he called and Zeus let the dead man go and trotted after Nelson. Coming back into the hall, Nelson saw Gerald tossing a grenade into the room across from him on the right side of the hall.

  “Grenade,” Gerald said, ducking back. Nelson dove back into the room he just cleared with Zeus bounding after him. A loud ‘whomp’ sounded and Nelson lifted his head up.

  “Mine was louder,” he said, getting up. Moving to the door again, Nelson saw Ronald following Gerald into the room that Gerald had tossed the grenade in. Hearing the suppressed shots echoing in the room, Nelson was ecstatic.

  Stepping out, Nelson saw Sean aiming up the hall and covering the rooms they still had to go clear. Looking down the hall, he saw Matt still at the corner, shooting those that tried to come in. Then, he saw Michelle tying a dressing to Ashley’s left shoulder as Ashley kept her gun aimed down the hall.

  It was then, he saw that Michelle had a dressing on her right hip and another on the right side of her face. “Don’t hurt papa bear’s baby,” he mumbled, lifting his left leg up. Throwing his weight, Nelson spun on his right heel to face up the hall.

  Hobbling past Sean, Nelson tapped his shoulder as he moved past. The door on the right had a bolt on the door and Nelson knew what that meant. Turning to the left, he saw the door was closed. “Hold on,” Nelson said and backed up. “Don’t let anyone go in that room,” Nelson said, backing past Sean.

  Moving back into the room he had just cleared, Nelson brought his AR up and aimed at the back corner. “Learned that trick,” he said, shooting a man crawling through a hole in the wall in the back corner. Watching the man twitch as the three bullets hit him, Nelson rested his back against the wall.

  Grabbing a grenade from his vest, Nelson yanked the pin and heard voices coming out of the hole. Letting the spoon fly, Nelson leaned out, tossing the hot grenade through the hole. “Grenade!” a voice shouted in the next room.

  “What he said!” Nelson yelled, dropping to the floor and covering his head with his arms.

  ‘Boom’ sounded and Nelson bounced on the floor, then lifted his body up and moved to the hole. Peering through it, Nelson heard moans and crying in the dust-filled room. Bringing his AR to his shoulder as he laid prone aiming through the hole, Nelson saw the white hot forms.

  “That’s why I like thermal,” he said, squeezing the trigger and pumping rounds in any hotspot he came across. Feeling his bolt lock back, Nelson rolled to the side, laying on his back and changed magazines. Letting the bolt chamber a round, Nelson rolled back over onto his stomach and aimed back into the room.

  Seeing none of the hotspots moving, Nelson crawled through the hole. Before he even pulled up to his knees, Nelson looked over at the far back corner and saw another hole. Reaching down, Nelson didn’t feel any round fragmentation grenades. “Shit,” he mumbled and reached across, grabbing the long flash bang.

  Keeping his rifle aimed at the hole, Nelson hobbled over while hooking his thumb through the ring on the pin. Pulling the pin out, Nelson let the spoon fly off and counted silently. Reaching ‘two’, Nelson tossed the flash bang through the hole.

  “Gren-,” a voice in the next room started to shout as the flashbang exploded.

  Moving as fast as he could hobble, Nelson dove for the hole. Hitting the floor on the other side, Nelson rolled to his side, bringing his AR up and squeezing the trigger to drop the two forms he saw into the dust. Rolling his body, Nelson came up on his right knee but like before, his NVG just glared off the dust.

  Lifting his AR to his shoulder, Nelson swept the barrel quickly across the room and saw four bodies struggling to stand. Pulling the trigger, Nelson dropped one and moved his aim, seeing the others turn to his suppressed shots.

  Dropping the next one, Nelson moved his aim as thunder erupted in the room, making his already sore ears scream in pain. Diving forward, Nelson held his AR like a pistol, swinging his arm wide toward the shooter. Pulling the trigger rapidly, Nelson saw the figure jerk as he landed on the floor.

  Skidding to a halt, Nelson rolled back and didn’t stop rolling until he hit the wall. Pulling his body up, thunder sounded inside the room and Nelson felt cement chips striking him as bullets impacted the floor where he had rolled away from.

  Swinging his AR over, Nelson felt a burning in his right leg as he squeezed the trigger, hitting the shooter in the face. Seeing the last hotspot lift a pistol, Nelson pulled the trigger rapidly, watching the figure jerk. Not satisfied with three shots, Nelson emptied the rest of the magazine into the figure before it dropped to the floor.

  Ejecting his magazine, Nelson tossed it in his drop bag and slammed in a new one. Hobbling across the room, Nelson sighed in disgust seeing another hole in the corner. Looking around, he saw two filing cabinets next to the hole. Moving around them, Nelson pushed one over.

  It landed with a crash and blocked the lower half of the hole. Then, thunder erupted in the next room, riddling the filing cabinet. Nelson smiled and moved behind the other filing cabinet. Pushing it over, the metal filing cabinet rattled as it landed on top of the other one.

  As bullets continued to strike the filing cabinets, Nelson shoved the top cabinet over blocking the rest of the hole. Hearing bullets striking the cinder block wall, Nelson instinctively ducked down. Contrary to popular belief, bullets go through cinderblocks.

  Looking at the wall, Nelson didn’t see any holes, but did notice several cinder blocks cracked. Moving over, he saw the cinder blocks had been filled with cement. “I’ll have to tell Michelle. I’m not the only one that does that,” he said, hobbling over to the door. Opening the door, “It’s Nelson!” he shouted out.

  “No shit, asshole!” Michelle screamed from down the hall.

  Moving out into the hall, Nelson kept his rifle aimed up the hall and saw they only had four more rooms to go. Glancing back, he saw Gerald kneeling down on the other side of the hall. “If you hear something moving in that room, they are moving the filing cabinets I blocked a hole in the wall off with,” Nelson said, backing down the hall.

  “Good idea,” Gerald grunted.

  Nelson stopped, realizing the torrent of gunfire outside had died down. Every few seconds he would hear the M60s shoot a burst and a rare gunshot. He didn’t know what the suppressed rifles were doing, but was very encouraged.

  Feeling a hand grab him, Nelson was spun around and almost lost balance. Michelle’s face went from anger to shock, looking at his bloody, torn clothes. “You find me when you’re wounded,” she shouted, pushing him to the wall and ripping open a dressing.

  “Been busy,” Nelson said, looking down the hall and watching Ashley drop a man.

  Pushing Nelso
n’s rifle down, Michelle glanced over his body. Putting the dressing on a bleeding gash on Nelson’s neck, Michelle tied it off. “Where else are you hit?” she asked.

  “Have no idea,” Nelson said and saw three men enter the hall in front of Ashley. Grabbing Michelle by the vest, Nelson knew he would never raise his rifle in time. Yanking Michelle toward him, Nelson turned, blocking Michelle’s body with his.

  “Contact!” Ashley screamed, pulling her trigger rapidly and hitting one man as she dove to the side.

  Again, Nelson felt King Kong and his damn sledgehammer. This time, Kong hit him in the back and did it three times as Nelson fell forward, landing on top of Michelle. Michelle felt the air being pushed from her lungs and stars filled her vision as she hit the floor with Nelson landing on top of her.

  Ronald moved out of the room he was clearing with Sean and aimed down the hall as Gerald spun around. Both filled the hall with hot lead, riddling the two bodies. Coming out of the room, Sean knelt down aiming up the hall as Gerald and Ronald covered the rear.

  “Ashley!” Gerald shouted.

  Seeing Ashley move to her knees, Gerald gave a sigh. “Up!” Ashley yelled. Hearing suppressed shots, Gerald moved his gaze to Matt still perched at the corner, shooting any that crossed the doorway.

  Seeing movement, Gerald turned as Michelle rolled Nelson’s body off her. “Man down!” Gerald shouted, moving over as fast as he could.

  Getting to her knees, Michelle put her fingers on Nelson’s neck and felt a strong pulse. Looking up in Nelson’s face, she saw his right eye rolled back. Flipping the NVG out of the way, she saw the left one rolled back as well. Looking down Nelson’s body, the green vision from her NVG just let her know, there were wounds, a lot of them.

  Looking up as Gerald came over, “I need light,” she said and Gerald grabbed Nelson’s vest behind his neck. Giving a grunt, Gerald pulled Nelson across the hall into a room.