Annihilation Prequel - Psychic Beginnings (Annihilation Series)

by Saxon Andrew

  “I’m going to join the Ghosts. You can handle the defense now, Sir. We outnumber the ones they left behind. I need to be with our scouts to make sure they don’t make it across the river.”

  Brian took a deep breath and exhaled it, “Don’t get killed, Major.”

  Jerry smiled, “I’ve got the easy task. Getting through their lines will not pose a problem. If you would fire a mortar barrage it would help me get out.”

  Brian nodded and went over to the artillery unit. Twenty mortar rounds were fired simultaneously and Jerry slipped over the sand bags. The explosions in the jungle rang out across the valley.

  • • •

  AG was looking back at the firebase and saw the explosions in the jungle through his binoculars. Well, that must mean Jerry was on his way. Captain Bingham came over, “The enemy has a lot of cover to get up this hill. We’ve never cleared it.”

  AG continued to look through the binoculars and said, “The 50s will remove everything above knee level when the enemy arrives. We just need to wait until the last moment to use them.”

  “What about the M60s?”

  “You have freedom to use them as you want, Captain. I want the 50s to stay hidden.”

  “Yes Sir. How long before they charge?”

  “I suspect it will be around night fall. They’ll send in an advanced force to remove the barbed wire barriers first and then they’ll make their move.”

  “Are we going to prevent them making holes in the wire?”

  AG took the binoculars from his eyes and said, “What would you do?”

  “I’d let em make some holes. That will let us know where they’ll be coming.”

  AG smiled, “I like the way you think. Move the 50s to cover the holes.” Bingham saluted and moved out to the weapons company. AG looked out at the jungle and waited for what he knew was coming. He closed his eyes and thought of Cynthia.

  • • •

  “What’s wrong, Cyn?”

  “I haven’t heard from AG in more than two weeks. He’s never been this long in writing me. Something is happening and I sense it’s not good.”

  Lydia stared at her and said, “Just be patient. He’s able to take care of himself.”

  Cynthia felt her tears but couldn’t stop them, “He’s thinking about me right now and he’s worried. I can sense it as clear as I can that wall in front of me.”

  Emily came in from a date with James and saw Cynthia’s tears, “What’s wrong?”

  “AG is in trouble. I can feel it.”

  “You can’t possibly know that, Cyn. You’re just worrying without facts to back it up.”

  Cynthia looked up at Em, “I can sense him every day, Emily. I can feel him in my mind and I know something is happening.”

  “Turn on the TV.”

  Lydia turned on the TV and tuned it to CBS. Walter Cronkite was saying, “…caught our forces in surprise attacks on all the major cities in South Vietnam. Here’s Sam Donaldson.”

  “Walter, the Vietcong had launched surprise attacks all over South Vietnam and most of the action is taking place in the streets of the largest cities. Even our firebases along the border with Cambodia and Laos are under attack by massive forces. The loss of life is high but order is slowly being brought out of this chaos. There have been large numbers of killed and captured enemy troops but the end is not in sight.” Suddenly an explosion went off and the reporter ducked behind a car. The view changed to Cronkite and he said, “We have lost our contact with Sam, but it appears our Military is incorrect in saying this war is under control.”

  Lydia turned off the TV and said, “If you can still sense him, he’s still alive. That is what you have to hold on to, Cynthia.”

  Cynthia closed her eyes and started praying for the man she loved. Emily and Lydia bowed their heads with her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Phen finally arrived at the hill where the Demon was located and had his men take cover. He pointed to two men and they moved back and scampered up trees to start sniping at anyone that stuck their head above the ridgeline. He watched them settle in and start scanning for a target. He looked at his sixty men and knew they were ready. The rest of the regiment should be arriving momentarily. He thought about the conversation he had heard between the two generals about the White Demon. The Chinese was adamant that attacking the demon was tantamount to committing suicide but Van Phang accused the Chinese of being a coward. Phen had watched Huang in combat and knew this General was not a coward. He glanced up the hill and wondered if the fear of the Demon was real. No one could do what had been said to have done. Phen suddenly heard two shots that happened about two seconds apart from the top of the hill. They sounded like a heavy machine gun but only firing one shot at a time took extreme skill. He didn’t hear anything else so he looked up at his snipers to see if they could see what was going on. Both were hanging dead from the ropes they used to tie themselves in the trees. He didn’t need to move closer to see that most of their heads were missing. He jerked his head back toward the hill and moved quickly back another ten yards into the jungle. He sat down at the base of a tree and thought about what just happened. He saw his men were also getting fearful. Perhaps Huang had some truth in his beliefs. He glanced back up at the hill and saw it was going to be a long climb to get to the top. He waited for the rest of the troops to arrive and decided he needed someone in the trees to give reports. He pointed to four different men but none of them would look at him. He thought about leaving the tree to order them directly but decided that he was fine just where he was. He wouldn’t go up a tree either.

  • • •

  “Sir, I see a NVA unit at the base of the hill. Should I order a mortar to hit them?”

  Bingham said, “No, we’re going to need every round to keep their mortars out of range. We’ll handle them when they start up the hill.”

  Private Martin turned around and looked through a hole in the sand bags at the unit taking cover at the base of the hill. It was going to be difficult to take them out with only small arms. He sighed and continued to watch the white birds circling across the entire front of the hill. Massive numbers were moving their way and they should arrive before nightfall. He looked at the eight 50s. He wondered why the Major had all the tracers removed from the belts of the center one and replaced with standard rounds. As fast as that thing fired, how was the gunner going to determine where the rounds were hitting? Well, so far the Major had been right in his decisions. Tonight would determine if his success ratio was going to continue. He looked back out and saw hundreds of NVA setting up at the base of the hill.

  • • •

  Jerry eased his way forward and looked into the small clearing. Two Zu-74s were set up and their radars were active. He looked at the five Ghosts following him and made a circular motion with his hand. The six moved back and disappeared into the jungle. An hour later, Jerry inched his way forward through the vegetation until he was less than fifteen yards from the two vehicles. He stood and rapidly moved on the two guns. He wasn’t seen until he was five yards away and the spotter that saw him took a knife in the throat before he could sound a warning. Two more Ghosts came running in and killed the remaining members of the gun’s crews. Jerry rushed forward and pulled two grenades from his pouch. He jumped up on the gun’s platform and pulled the pins and nodded to Private Jolly. Jolly moved the turret around until it pressed the two grenades against the wall. Jerry moved quickly to the second gun and setup two more grenades. The three then went to ground and disappeared. Jerry heard shots out in the jungle and knew that the fight on his side of the river had begun. Fortunately, the five companies of Ghosts only had to handle a couple of support battalions scattered across fifteen miles. It was going to be slow going, but removal of the two anti-aircraft guns was a good start. Getting to the missile batteries was not going to be so easy.

  • • •

  Van Phang arrived with his staff far in the rear of the units at the hill and he waited for night fall. He ha
d been advised that several holes had been made in the camouflaged barbed wire and his troops were massed to begin the charge. He turned to his aide and said, “Start hitting them with our mortars.”

  The aid looked extremely uncomfortable but said, “We have not been able to get one close enough to the hill to hit it.”

  Huang felt immense pleasure at Phang’s expression.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Every time we attempt to set one up, it’s hit by a mortar round. The enemy has the high ground and has a much greater range than we do.”

  “How are they targeting our sites?”

  “We have no idea but they are.”

  Phang stared at the captain and said, “Go over there and set up a mortar.”

  The captain moved away and three troops ran up with a heavy mortar two hundred yards away from the General’s position. They stacked the rounds and put the tripod on the tube. That’s when a mortar round struck and blew up the stack of rounds, killing all three instantly. Phang and his staff hit the ground as shrapnel blew through the trees around them. Phang stood up and saw the destruction and then looked at Huang who said, “The White Demon could hit us as well if he chose to do so.”

  Phang stared at Huang and finally said, “Then why hasn’t he?”

  “I would guess he doesn’t want you to miss what’s about to happen. He’ll take you after he’s finished with our men.”

  Phang ordered three more mortars set up and the fourth crew refused to do it. He shot all three of them and looked for the commander of the mortar crews. He and his men had faded into the jungle. He looked at Huang and said, “We will move a hundred yards further back.”

  Huang laughed, “He still has the heavy guns up there. You could move a mile back and he could still hit you.” Phang was beyond rage. He looked at Huang and said, “You will go to the front line and go ask the Demon to surrender. Tell him I will spare his men if he will turn himself over to me.”

  Huang stared at the General and took a deep breath. He turned and moved toward the front. He knew he would be shot if he didn’t follow Phang’s orders. As soon as Huang moved out of view, Phang snarled, “Send five sharpshooters to kill that Chinese coward once he gets on that hill.” The captain nodded to his lieutenant and he disappeared behind Huang.

  Huang arrived at the bottom of hill 231 and looked over at Phen, “Do you have a piece of white cloth I may use for a few moments?”

  Phen said, “Why do you need it?”

  “Our General has ordered me to go to the Demon and request his surrender.”

  “Why is he sending you, general? That’s a suicide mission.”

  Huang softly smiled and Phen took off his undershirt and gave it to Huang, “It isn’t completely white but it should serve your purpose, Sir.” Phen cut down a small bamboo stalk and tied the shirt to it. He handed it to Huang and the Chinese walked out on to the hill. Phen watched him go and knew that this was not a coward. As Huang reached the halfway point up the hill Phen saw five troops arrive and climb trees. He noticed that they were all carrying captured American assault rifles. He looked over at his commander and saw him shrug. He looked back up the hill at the white flag moving slowly forward and hated the kind of mind that would do this to a brave man. He looked up at the five snipers and saw them start to take aim.

  • • •

  Huang struggled up the hill and thought about all the good days in his life. He started humming a song his mother used to sing to him as a child and he missed her so much. She had died too young working on the state’s farms. He saw his wife’s face and he thought about how much he loved her smile. He waited for the shot that would end his life and somehow he found peace. This was not a war he could feel good about. It seemed only the innocent died and most of them died horribly. Suddenly he heard a strange sound erupt from the top of the hill and he waited a moment to see if he was hit. He didn’t feel anything, so he continued moving toward the top of the hill. He arrived and found the Demon sitting on a wall of camouflaged sand bags.

  “Long time no see, Colonel.”

  “It’s General now.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Then what are you doing coming up here? Are they out of lieutenants?”

  “It seems the commander of this action doesn’t like hearing the truth.”

  “Is that why he had five snipers in the trees with AR-15s?”

  Huang looked back down the hill and then turned back around. “It was you that saved me last time.”

  “It was.”

  “Why are you doing that?”

  “The time I need you is far away and I’m not going to let your general remove you from the board.”

  “Is all this game to you?”

  “Not really. But it is an exercise in strategy. Why are you here?”

  “To ask for your surrender.” Huang looked back down the hill and said, “Aren’t you taking a risk exposing yourself like this?”

  AG smiled and said, “Excuse me a moment.” He leaned to the left and a bullet hit the ground behind him. He raised a 45 caliber handgun and fired at the jungle below. He holstered the gun, glanced at the jungle below, and no more shots were fired. “Now where were we?”

  “Surrender.”

  “Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry but I’m not going to do that.”

  “I figured as much.”

  “But you came anyway.”

  “Sometimes we really don’t have a choice.”

  “There is always a choice, General. Making the hard decisions is what’s difficult.”

  Huang took a deep breath and nodded. “The Witch asked me to thank you for Van Bao’s ear. She saw the photographs of what the villagers did to him and said to tell you they did an even better job than she could have done. She said they were quite inventive”

  “I doubt that; however, there’s still General Zheng.”

  “He’s keeping her a long way from him. I’m sure she’ll get to him eventually.”

  AG smiled and said, “General, things are going to get really dangerous around here so I am not going to allow you to go back to your lines.”

  “I’ll be killed as a traitor if I don’t.”

  “Ordinarily that would be true but there will be too many witnesses to allow that to happen.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean?”

  AG smiled and hit him on the side of his head with the colt 45. Huang dropped like a rock to the ground and AG lifted him and carried him over the sandbags. The massed troops at the bottom of the hill opened fire too late to hit them before they disappeared.

  • • •

  Phen looked at his commander who sneered, “Our fearless leader has just delivered someone into enemy hands that knows all of our plans. Just how stupid can someone be?”

  Phen looked back at the five dead snipers and wondered if they were killed protecting the demon or the general. Someone else was going to have to figure that one out.

  • • •

  Huang woke to a throbbing pain in his head. AG was standing over him and smiled, “I think those below know you were forced behind my lines. You should be ok on the count of treason.”

  “Did you have to hit me so hard?”

  “I had to make it look real. Now I can bind you and leave you tied up during the coming battle or you can give me your word to stay out of the way and I’ll allow you to be an observer.”

  “Why would you trust my word?”

  “Is it good, General?”

  Huang shrugged, “It is.”

  “Then what’s it going to be?”

  “I’ll agree to stay out of the fight.”

  “Then make yourself at home. I expect the first charge momentarily. There are some rations on the table and you can come observe when you’re ready.” AG turned to a corporal, “Please take care of our visitor and try to keep him from getting killed.”

  “Yes Sir.” AG left the bunker and ran to the front wall.

  Huang looked at
the corporal and said in English, “I’ll take some of these with me.”

  The corporal said, “I speak Chinese, Sir.”

  Huang looked startled and said, “Then let’s go see what’s happening.”

  “As long as you stay behind the sandbags and don’t lift your head, you can observe.”

  Huang nodded and walked out of the bunker.

  • • •

  Phen’s Commander said, “I need you to go back and tell General Phang that the Chinese General was captured by the Americans.”

  “I don’t want to leave my men, Sir.”

  “I’ll lead them up the hill; do as I say.”

  Phen stared at him and said, “I will do as you say, Father.” Phen stood and ran back through the jungle.

  • • •

  “They’re moving up the hill, Sir.”

  “Hold your fire until the third line clears the Jungle.”

  Fifteen hundred troops rushed out of the jungle and began moving up the hill. Two minutes later a second line moved out and followed the first. Two minutes after that the third line emerged and AG ordered, “Launch flares.” Night turned into day and six M60 machine guns opened fire on the advancing enemy. Most of them hit the ground and started crawling up the steep embankment. A fourth line left the trees and began the long, slow crawl up the hill. AG said, “Make your bursts count. You know your zones; stay in them.”

  Numerous rockets were launched but most of them fell short or flew completely over the camp into the river beyond. The ones that hit the sandbags killed the soldiers immediately behind them but very few managed to hit. Replacement sandbags were piled on and the firing continued unabated. Huang saw that hundreds of the advancing soldiers were being killed. This was a slaughter. The Demon stood at the wall looking down on the advancing soldiers. He would occasionally lean to the left or right and a bullet could be heard zinging over the camp. Huang knew that the survivors from the first line would soon be close enough to start throwing grenades over the wall. They were a hundred yards out and they would be close enough within a few minutes.