Chapter 1: Live Fire
DISCLAIMER: I don't own RWBY.
'Thinking'
"Saying"
"Shouting"
'This fucking sucks.' Corporal Steven 'Rayner' Radcliff thought as he, and the rest of his squad, patrolled the humid foliage that bordered between the two warring countries. All six feet and three inches of him hated the humidity. For years, the South Korean people have rejected the advances of their oppressive, Communist neighbors in the North.
Ever since the Olympics Attack of 2018, open hostility had been abundant in the peninsula with the North Korean military occupying the border for a brief time. The American Armed Forces moved in swiftly to remove them.
And remove them they did. They removed their arms, legs, heads, anything that could be blown off by unrelented carpet bombing. They evacuated their forward operating base after sixtyhours of nonstop bombings. What's left was seized by the Republic of South Korea's Armed Forces, allowing American troops to march through further into the DMZ and onto North Korean soil.
Squads were usually sent on reconnaissance to find mines, fox holes, sniper nests, anything the enemy could use to get a leg-up on them and report them to the FOB (Forward Operating Base). But one squad in particular was privy to destroying them, effectively acting as both a demolitions and reconnaissance unit. This, while being somewhat rare, wasn't unheard of. Many squads had done what they were doing.
Key word, had. Most squads that went out for prolonged time never returned, falling prey to North Korean guerilla tactics. However, one squad always came back after dark, completing their mission without any losses. They scout and destroy enemy fortifications they found along their patrol path. They've been caught in countless armed engagements, but always came out victorious. They were the FOB's star squad, the EFDS (Enemy Fortification Demolition Specialists).
Most days were the same, usual small scale demolitions missions. However, today would be a grim day. A day none of them would forget.
DMZ between N. Korea & S. Korea: 1400 Hours
"Ready to blow!" I yell to my squad leader, a large and burly bear-man named Tobias 'Lex' Stoddard. He lumbers towards my direction, inspecting my work from afar. He grunts in approval.
"Alright, we're danger close people. Give Rayner some room, lest you wanna go sky high with this hut!" He barks to the rest of my squad. The other two, Veronica and Caryn, lightly jog away. Once I see all three of them at a safe distance, I start to unravel the detonation cord. Walking backwards with the spool of cord in my hand, I make sure not to trip and accidentally set this thing off.
Seeing the rest of my squad come into my peripheral view, I deem myself an acceptable distance away. I prime the detonator, settling in behind a small yet steep entrenchment with my squad.
I glance at Lex with a questioning look, hinting towards the detonator in my hand. He gives me a toothy grin and slowly nods.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" He barks as I slam my hand on the detonator, the deafening explosion following directly afterwards. Fiery bits of bark and dirt rain down around us, tapping on top of our helmets.
We stand up, dusting any debris off of ourselves. The shoddy gun emplacement was destroyed, preventing any enemies from mowing down our fellow brothers and sisters on their own partols.
Lex and I admire the fireworks, the incendiary bomb burning the wooden barricade in a brilliant orange flame. ' Ah, I love my job.'
"Great work, son. Keep this up and you might just get a promotion." He says while patting my back.
"Alright squad, let's get back to HQ. Don't want to keep staff sergeant waitin'." Lex says, turning his back to the rest of us. We fall in line, with me guarding the rear. 'Heh heh.'
Veronica and Caryn sweep the left and right flanks, checking for any possible hostiles among the trees. Lex has his eyes planted straight forward, keeping a watch on the ground in front of us for any potential mines or IEDs.
"Say Rayner, when you get back stateside, what're you gonna do?" Caryn asks, striking up a conversation.
"I uh, I don't know. Probably go see my family first, let them know I came back in one piece." 'I hope.' She nods in agreeance.
"What're you gonna do?" I ask.
"Oh, u-uh I don't know. Say, can I ask you something personal?" She stammers out.
Eyeing her up and down, I expect her to make a playful jab at me like she usually does. Instead, she seems somewhat flustered. I stop and think for a moment, trying to think of a reason as to why she would act this way.
I've known her for a long damn time now, meeting her back in basic. We'd gone into EOD training together, even being put in the same squad. For eight months we were out on the field, defusing bombs and such. We slept in the same barracks, ate in the same mess hall, hell, even did the same missions together.
'Maybe she's sick? Or nervous? No, she seemed alright earlier. Maybe she's scared? But of what? Why?'
Sighing in defeat, I let her ask.
"Sure. What do you wanna know?"
"I uh, umm-uh, d-do you, um, have a, uh, special, umm, someone back home?" She's a blushing mess, fidgeting as she walks.
Veronica, being the gossip gawker she is, whips her head back fast enough to break her spine in an attempt to validate what she heard.
"Ooooh? Is Caryn finally popping the age old question?" She accuses, her blue eyes landing on her. She blushes harder, bowing her head down in an attempt to hide her red-tinted face.
"I-I-I don't know w-what you're talking about!" She quickly retorts, head still pointed downwards.
"Oh? Really? Well then, maybe Rayner does." She eyes me up, resting her gaze on my chocolate brown eyes. I gaze into hers. We stand there for a second, locked in a staring contest while Caryn and Lex keep trekking on the path.
Ending the contest, she turns her back to me, walking ahead with a sway in step. Her hips moving side to side, almost taunting me.
'If a mine doesn't kill me, one of those girls will.'
I catch back up to my squad, just in time for Lex to raise his fist to the side. We all drop into a crouch, raising our rifles and surveying our surroundings.
"Lex, what gives?" I whisper ahead of me.
"Something doesn't feel right. Sweep the area." He orders.
My head's on a swivel now, scanning the treeline. The girls are as well. Lex wipes some sweat from his brow, inspecting the ground in front of us.
'Those are footprints leading over ours. Have we been followed?'
Rifle in hand, Lex proceeds to investigate the trail. He motions for us to follow.
We step through some undergrowth and come to a somewhat open area.
"Fan out and search the area, something's not right here." He orders in a low voice. I recognize that tone of voice. Whenever he uses that, it means shit's gotten serious. The hairs on my arms stand on end. I glance over to the girls, they're faring about as well as me. A foreboding aura blankets the clearing, dread quickly invading my head.
*BANG!BANG!BANG!*
'Charlies in the treeline!'
A bullet skims off the side of my helmet, brilliant sparks emitting from it as it passes.
I drop to the ground, pulling Caryn down with me. Lex pulled Veronica down as well, just in time for a hail of bullets to fly overhead. The ground around us erupts, dirt and grass fly everywhere as a result of enemy fire peppering our position.
"BASTARDS! OPEN FIRE, OPEN FIRE!" Lex shouts, shouldering his own rifle and returning fire. Following orders, I bear my own rifle and begin to dispense round after round, laying into an unseen enemy.
*CLICK*
My rifle's dry. I eject the spent magazine, reaching back and pulling out a fresh one. I look around while doing so to see how everyone is. Veronica is prone, a snarl finding it's way onto her face as she fired. Caryn had taken cover against a rock jutting out of the ground, nervousness radiating off her. Lex was prone next to Veronica, his face had hardened into a menacing glare, drastically different from the friendly smile that adorned his face not 5 minutes ago.
I slammed the fresh mag in, take aim and fire. I'm rewarded with a pained scream and a dense thud. I look around to-
*BANG!*
"SHIT, SNIPER IN THE TREES!" I scream, the round landing next to my right arm.
I shimmy backwards to find more reliable cover, Lex and Veronica doing so as well. Veronica took cover behind the rock with Caryn, me and Lex opted to take cover behind a fallen tree.
*BANG!*
The bullet hits our tree, bark exploding from the impact.
"Lex, what do we do? We're pinned down!" I shout over the gunfire. He stares hard at the ground, looking back to me.
"I got an idea! You got any more of those incendiary bombs on ya?!" He asks.
Reaching back and checking my pack, I feel three of them.
"Yeah! Why ask?"
"Good! Veronica! Caryn! On the count of three, give Rayner covering fire!" He yells.
They nod in response.
"Sir, what're you planning?!" I ask.
"How good is your throwing arm?!" 'Bastard answered my question with a question.'
I catch on, dropping my rifle to hold an incendiary bomb in both my hands. I connect the detonation cord, clipping the spool of cord onto my vest. I pull some out to make sure it doesn't hinder the bomb's flight.
"One!" My hands grip the bomb harder.
"TWO!" I get into a crouch position, bullets whizz by me.
"THREE!" I throw, watching the bomb soar through the air. Whoever was firing on us probably did to, momentarily ceasing fire. The bomb landed with a dull thud. Panicked screams and korean orders came from the treeline, figures rising to run away. My squad opened fire, gunning all those who ran, down into the ground. I grab the detonator and clutch it, hearing the all too familiar hiss and explosion of the device. A wave of heat and pained voices erupt from the tree line, flaming enemies run out and drop to the ground in an attempt to put out the flames that covered their bodies. The flames don't yield, searing their flesh and giving off a putrid aroma. It invades my nostrils and I gag. Caryn vomits as soon as the smell reaches her.
'Poor thing.'
Lex and Veronica plug their noses, seeing me and Caryn's reactions. Still in a crouched position, I lean over to pick up my rifle an-
*BANG!*
"RAYNER!" I hear Caryn scream. Pain explodes from my shoulder, as well as blood and some flesh. I fall over, blood steadily gushing from my wound. I glance at the treeline, searching for the gunman.
'THERE!' I see him, the fire creating a glare on his scope.
"LEX! UPPER TREELINE! NORTH EAST!" I scream.
He wastes no time in sighting up in the direction and firing. He doesn't let up until he sees the silhouette of the gunman and his rifle fall from the tree. He hurries to my side to assess the damage I sustained. A 7.62 round dug itself into my right shoulder, creating a nasty hole.
"You think you'll be alright?" Lex asks, concern finding it's way onto his face.
"They're gonna need to shoot me a helluva lot more to keep me down, sir." I respond, flashing a toothy grin of my own through the excruciating pain. He smiles, relieved that I'm tougher than I look.
"How's the girls? They okay?" I ask.
"Yeah, they're fine. Veronica was grazed, but nothing serious. Caryn's a little shaken up, but more or less perfectly fine." Lex shrugged. "Anyways, get up. We're gonna fan out and search for survivors." He finishes, offering me a hand. I take it, and am pulled off the ground onto my feet. I retrieve my fallen rifle, holding it gingerly as to not cause anymore pain in my shoulder than I have to. Caryn comes to my side, observing the wound.
"You sure you're gonna be alright?" She asks meekly.
"Yeah, I will. Let's just get this search over with and return back." I say, earning a concerned look from her. I shrug my shoulders.
'Not a whole lot I can do about it now. Just gotta grit my teeth and bear it until a medic can take a look at it.'
Caryn and I walk to what was their shoddy defensive line, comprised of leaves, dirt, and thin wood. It was designed to blend in with the forest, but now it was burnt black. The corpses of our enemies were charred beyond recognition, most of them dying trying to put out the flames.
"War truly is Hell…" Caryn mumbles to herself. 'You're Goddamn right it is.'