by Glynn James
Juice said that all of it, all the stupid loss, made him sad.
But maybe something would come out of it in the end. Maybe there was some benefit, or larger purpose, that no one had imagined yet. If there was, Handon couldn’t see it.
All he really knew was that right now his people were engaged in desperate fights, scattered across a wide battlespace. And, as lousy as it felt, all he could do was trust them to operate on their own – to survive and prevail.
He turned and headed back inside to CIC.
Whatever was going to happen out there… he would have to listen to it on the radio.
* * *
As the thick gouts of white smoke still billowed out of Juice’s smoke grenade, his Marines were already moving, executing the center peel he had ordered. This was a standard infantry maneuver that (with luck) allowed a smaller force to disengage from a larger one, without inviting an immediate assault from the enemy – and without everyone getting shot in the back.
Juice heard it kick off with “Peel one!” and immediately felt the volume of suppressing fire ramp up to cover the movement. He saw the first couple of men go, then took his spot in the formation, heading for the rear in turn. So far, it seemed to be working. The smoke definitely helped.
Then again, Juice knew Spetsnaz guys will have seen a center peel before – and they’d also know when they have an opposing force on the ropes. So they were right on the Marines’ heels, pressing them mercilessly. The volume and angles of incoming fire made that clear.
Then again, having the Russians advance was exactly what Juice wanted. They were the cat – and the line of Marines was the string Juice was pulling in front of them.
As he skidded into position under new cover, he felt a round slam into his rear ceramic plate. Even as this sent him sprawling out, he felt another impact – this one in his right tricep. The force of it didn’t stagger him as much, as it was absorbed by his flesh. He ignored the wound and got set for the second phase of the peel.
But when he stole a peek around cover, the galaxy of muzzle flashes he could see amid the smoke told him they were out of time. The Russians were right on top of them. It was now or never.
This plan was totally down to timing – and luck. Juice wished to God he had his ornithopter back. A bug’s-eye view of the tactical situation, and the disposition of the enemy, would have massively upped the odds of this working – and any of them coming out of it alive.
“Oh, well,” Juice muttered to no one but himself, “Time to grab a fuck-it bucket, and go out in a blaze of glory.” As he put his gloved thumb to the rubberized On switch on the FOFID transponder, he felt eyes on him. Glancing up, he saw Sergeant Lovell huddled down behind the next crate.
And the Marine’s eyes lit up with recognition. He suddenly got it. And now he also covered up his head.
Smart Jarhead, Juice thought. Most of them were.
He pressed the switch.
ARISEN, BOOK EIGHT – EMPIRE OF THE DEAD
launches on 17 December 2014
Yes, you read that right. It’s going to be an early Christmas present to you from us: two new ARISEN books before the end of the year. Because you’re awesome and we love you. - Glynn & Michael
Love this book? Share the love, support independent authors, and make us your best friends forever, by posting a quick review on Amazon. Thanks! – Glynn & Michael
Want to be alerted when the next ARISEN book is released? Just drop an e-mail to [email protected] and we’ll keep you updated. (And we’ll never share your address or use it for anything else.)
You can also interact with other ARISEN readers, plus the writers themselves, by liking the ARISEN Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ZulaAlpha
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Michael
This author wishes to thank indispensable uber-reader Amanda Jo Moore, as well as go-to readers (and subject matter experts) Mark George Pitely and Alexander M. Heublein; also Anna K. Brooksbank, Sara Natalie Fuchs, Richard S. Fuchs, Virginia Ann Sayers-King, Valerie Sayers, Matthew David Grabowy, and Michael and Jayne Barnard, for their indispensable support. Also, Bruce, Wanda, Alec, and Brendan Fyfe.
The phrase “masters of chaos” was borrowed from Linda Robinson’s fantastic book, Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces.
The whole section about how “defense of one’s tribe is an insanely compelling idea” was taken, and then pretty much just lightly paraphrased, from Sebastian Junger’s outstanding book, War. Because Junger spent months living (and practically fighting) with soldiers in one of the most remote combat outposts in Afghanistan, the amazing insights he shares in his book – about combat and about the inner lives of those who do it on our behalf – were earned.
Ditto Ali’s meditation on how, in combat, courage simply IS love. That amazing insight, and its ramifications, are ALL Junger. (All that’s mine there is the irony, in the light of this fact, of Ali having tried to sacrifice love to preserve operational efficiency – or, more likely, because she lacked the courage to face losing someone close to her again.)
Homer’s explanation to Abrams about what Spetsnaz operators have in common with American operators (“the belief that a man must first overcome himself, conquer his own fears – that the path upward is one of continual battle with himself” etc.) was largely taken from Spetsnaz: The Story of the Soviet Special Forces by Viktor Suvorov. Virtually everything else about Spetsnaz was also taken from this excellent book.
Juice’s history in Special Forces in Afghanistan – and in particular the story about the man who lost his children in the U.S. bombing, which really happened to then-Captain Jason Amerine – was taken from The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Fought for a New Afghanistan, by Eric Blehm. (RIP Dan & JD.)
The brilliant couplet of dialogue, “What are you engaging?” / “I don’t know, man! I just figured one of us should fucking return fire!” was stolen from David Bellavia’s awesome book House to House: An Epic Memoir of War.
“The Trick is to Keep Breathing” is the name of an excellent song by Garbage.
Juice’s reflection that “it was getting harder to ignore that their shaves were getting closer and closer” was taken from SGT Dan Mills in his wonderful and amazing book Sniper One: The Blistering True Story of a British Battle Group Under Siege – where, in the defense of Cimic House, their shaves were really getting mind-bogglingly close. In addition to reading this awesome, awesome book, you should watch their thrilling and heartbreaking squad video.
Aliyev’s rant about how religion may have come about, or at least thrived, because it helped prevent microbial infection was taken from John Durant’s The Paleo Manifesto.
Here are some other books that were either helpful or inspirational in producing (my bits of) this one:
Operation Spetsnaz: The Aims, Tactics and Techniques of Soviet Special Forces, by Michael G. Welham and Bruce Quarrie.
Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown, by Eric Blehm. This is actually probably the best SEAL memoir – which is quite a lot like being the best SEAL in Team Six. If you’re not moved and inspired by this book, you’re probably in a coma.
Plague Time: The New Germ Theory of Disease, by Paul Ewald (from which I took much or most of the material on microbes and disease).
Over 2.3 million Americans have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Studies indicate that at least 20% of them (nearly half a million) suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression – half of whom do not seek treatment. Untreated PTSD can result in destroyed marriages, lost jobs, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide. Additionally, more than 260,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), usually caused by close proximity to explosions such as roadside bombs. TBI can result in memory and mood problems, headaches, and difficulty sleeping. To learn more, check out Military Minds. If you’d like
to help, you can raise awareness by liking the Military Minds page on Facebook; if you want to make a donation, one great place is the Brendan MacDonald Fyfe Fund and the Campaign to Bring Our Veterans All the Way Home.
Glynn
Thanks to all of the Jameses – Julia, for your patience and encouragement, and my pipsqueaks, for just being you (mini me).
To my parents and my brother for not being too surprised that I write crazy fiction, and for telling me it’s cool.
To Bill, Sara, Billy, Jim & Jean for taking me seriously and never doubting that I could actually do this, and for demanding signed copies when I thought that whole idea was daft.
To Jacqui, for patience and editing expertise beyond the call.
To Michael, for going along with this daft and crazy idea, and turning it into something much more awesome than I originally conceived. From this point on we’re into new territory that is beyond the original plan.
ARISEN
Hope Never Dies.
Fans of the bestselling ARISEN series are calling it “a non stop thrill ride”, “unputdownable”, “the most original and well-written zombie novels I have ever read”, “riveting as hell – I cannot recommend this series enough”, “the action starts hot and heavy and does NOT let up”, “astonishingly well-researched and highly plausible”, “non-stop speed rush! All action, all the time – got my heart racing”, “A Must Read, this book was a hell of a ride”, and “may be the best in its genre.”
Humanity will return in
ARISEN, BOOK EIGHT – EMPIRE OF THE DEAD
They are the most capable, committed, and indispensable counter-terrorist operators in the world.
They have no rivals for skill, speed, ferocity, intelligence, flexibility, and sheer resolve.
Somewhere in the world, things are going horrifyingly wrong…
Readers call the D-BOYS series “a high-octane adrenaline-fueled action thrill-ride”, “one of the best action thrillers of 2011 (or any year for that matter)”, “a riveting, fast paced classic!!”, “pure action”, “The Best Techno Military Thriller I have read!”, “Awesome!”, “Gripping”, “Edge of your seat action”, “Kick butt in the most serious of ways and a thrill to read”, “What a wild ride!!! I simply could not put this book down”, “has a real humanity and philosophical side as well”, “a truly fast action, high octane book”, “Up there with Clancy and W.E.B. Griffin”, “one of the best Spec Ops reads I have run into”, and “hi-tech and action in one well-rounded explosive thriller.”
There is a place where nightmares are real. It is a dark and terrifying place, hidden from the world we know by borders that only the most unfortunate of souls will ever cross.
James Halldon woke up in the dark, alone, without any food or water, without a clue where he was, and with no memory of where he came from.
It only got stranger…
Readers are calling the bestselling DIARY OF THE DISPLACED series “fast-paced, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining”, “utterly compelling from beginning to end”, “a fantastic book – gripping from the very first couple of lines”, “ghosts, zombies, London buses and even an evil nemesis. What’s not to love?!”, “truly magnificent”, “the best book I’ve read in a long time”, “one of the finest-written stories you will ever read”, “a brilliant series – right up there with Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker”, and “simply perfect… absolutely enjoyable from start to finish.”