Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Witching Hours

By Suzie2b

The Rat Patrol was sleeping in another wadi. Hitch was on watch at the top, staring out at the desert. Thick clouds shrouded the moon and stars, making the darkness complete. He lit a match to check his watch—it was straight up midnight. After blowing out the small flame, Hitch looked out at desert again. Suddenly a flame flickered to life. It was only maybe a mile away. He watched it for a minute as the flame grew into a large fire, seeing occasional plumes of sparks rise into the air. With binoculars he could just make out a person sitting close to the fire throwing something into the flames to cause the sparks.

Hitch frowned and moved quickly down to their camp. He knelt next to Troy and gave his shoulder a gentle shake as he spoke with quiet urgency, "Sarge, wake up."

Troy slowly rolled onto his back as he opened his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"There's something you should see."

The sergeant followed Hitch back to the top of the wadi as Moffitt and Tully sat up and looked at each other.

Troy stared through the binoculars as Hitch said, "The fire appeared right at midnight."

Another plume of sparks rose from the flames as Troy said, "It's just someone playing with a fire, Hitch."

Moffitt and Tully appeared as Hitch said, "Don't you think it's kinda strange for someone to start a fire right at midnight out in the open like that?"

Moffitt asked, "What's going on?"

Troy passed the glasses to his fellow sergeant as he replied, "Someone's started a fire out there."

Moffitt took a look, then said, "Rather odd."

Hitch nodded. "That's what I thought."

Tully said, "Not real smart havin' a bonfire out where anyone can see it."

Troy said, "Yeah, but there's no law against it."

"Should we go check it out? Could be someone needs help."

"Not now. We'll check when it gets light. If they need help, they'll still be there. Tully, take over on watch."

##################

The sun was coming up. Troy and Moffitt were at the top of the wadi.

Hitch was making breakfast while Tully started the coffee and asked, "Think whoever was out there is still around?"

Tully set the coffeepot on the fire as he said, "Probably not. That fire went out at 2am."

"It 'went out'?"

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, it just went out. It didn't 'die' … it was more like someone snuffing out a candle." Troy and Moffitt returned to camp and Tully said, "Coffee'll be ready in a minute, sarge."

Hitch asked, "Are they still out there?"

Troy said, "Doesn't look like it. When did the fire go out?"

Tully said, "Right at 2am."

Moffitt smiled slightly. "The witching hours."

"The what?"

"The time between midnight and 2am is known as the witching hours. That's when the magic is supposed to be at its strongest."

Troy snorted, "You want us to believe that whoever was out there was a witch?"

Moffitt chuckled. "I'm just telling you what I know."

"Well, we'll check out the area after breakfast."

##################

The jeeps stopped when they found the charred remains of a fire. There was no sign that anyone had been there recently. The sand was smooth and undisturbed all around.

Moffitt said, "The wind probably wiped out any tracks."

Tully commented, "There wasn't any wind last night."

Hitch nodded. "Yeah, it was unusually calm last night."

Troy looked at Moffitt with a bit of a smile. "You never should've mentioned that 'witching hours' thing." Then he looked at the privates and said, "Whoever was here is long gone and without a trail to follow there's no way to know which way they went. Let's get going. We're headed east to Salalah."

Tully started his jeep, but Hitch's wouldn't turn over.

"I thought you checked everything out before we left, Tully."

The private turned the jeep off then climbed out, saying, "I did, sarge. Everything checked out just fine." Tully went to the other jeep and put the hood up as Hitch joined him. "What did it feel like?"

Hitch shrugged. "It felt like there was no power to the starter."

Tully started looking over the engine, then spotted the problem. "The alternator wire's come off." He examined the wire with a frown and said, "Huh, that's strange."

"What is?"

"This wire didn't just come off … it's been cut."

The sergeants went to have a look and Troy asked, "Are you sure?"

Tully gave a nod. "The other part is still connected to the alternator. It's a clean cut."

Moffitt asked, "Can you fix it?"

"I think so. I can strip both ends of the wire and put them together with some electrical tape."

Hitch agreed and said, "I'll go get the tools and tape."

Tully used a screwdriver to retrieve the piece of wire from the alternator. With his knife he stripped the plastic covering off the ends of the wires before he carefully twisted the two pieces tightly together. He reconnected the wire to the alternator. With that done, Tully said, "Give it a try, Hitch."

He got in behind the wheel and pushed the starter. There was a slight hesitation, but then the engine turned over. Hitch grinned and said, "Bertha, you're back!"

Tully started wrapping his handiwork with electrical tape. "Well, it should hold until we can replace it."

Troy smiled at his men. "Okay, let's shake it."

##################

When the Rat Patrol reached Salalah, Troy and Moffitt went to retrieve what an informant had for them. They met the Arab in a crowded bar. The sergeants sat down on either side of Yusuf, who smiled and said in very good Queen's English, "Hello, my friends. It is good to see you again."

Troy said quietly, "We were told you have something for us."

Yusuf moved carefully under the table and put a small canister in Moffitt's hand as the bartender set drinks down in front of the sergeants. After the bartender walked away, Yusuf kept his voice low as he said, "Other than knowing it is microfilm I have no idea what it is. I was only told it is important."

Troy looked at Moffitt, who nodded to indicate he had the canister. Troy picked up his drink and took a sip, then said, "Your payment is in the usual place."

Yusuf said, "Thank you." Then he sighed. "I look forward to the day I can return to England to live in peace."

Moffitt smiled. "I too am looking forward to that, Yusuf. Let's hope that it will be soon."

Yusuf finished his drink in one last gulp and said, "Until next time, my friends." And then he was gone.

Troy and Moffitt stayed there for a few more minutes, taking an occasional sip of the drinks they'd been given. Then Troy put several coins on the table and they left.

The sergeants hurried back to collect Hitch and Tully so they could head out. However, when they rounded the corner, Troy and Moffitt saw the privates were being held hostage by a gang of Arabs, who were ransacking the jeeps. The sergeants drew their side arms as they approached. The Arabs that were holding knives against Hitch and Tully's sides got the others attention when Troy and Moffitt were noticed.

Seeing only the knives, Moffitt asked in Arabic what they were looking for.

The Arabs turned and one told Moffitt that they had been told they would find Americans here with supplies that were needed by his people.

Moffitt asked who had told them that. After the Arab answered, the sergeant frowned as he suddenly went to the jeep, handed one of the Arabs a single crate of K-rations, and two of the six blankets they carried. He told them that if they left immediately, they would be allowed to live.

The gang knew they could do nothing against the guns pointed at them and left with the items they were given.

Hitch and Tully began to pick up their supplies to stow back in the jeeps as Troy asked, "What happened?"

Hitch said, "They just appeared out of nowhere, sarge."

Tully set another of their crates of K-rations in the back of one of the jeeps. "Don't know what they were looking for. They could seem to read the printing on our stuff."

Moffitt said, "They were told that we were here and we would have supplies they were in need of."

Troy asked, "Who told them that?"

Moffitt hesitated, then said, "A Nigerian witch by the name of Kwento. They met her out in the desert. She 'read the flames' and told them we would have what they wanted."

"A witch, huh?"

"From Nigeria."

Hitch said, "Hey, maybe that's who we saw last night."

Moffitt said, "If it was, let's hope we don't see her again."

Troy looked at his fellow sergeant. "Don't tell me you believe in witches."

"I've heard stories. Nigerians believe heavily in magic."

Tully asked, "What kind of stories?"

Moffitt replied, "The kind where an accused witch is stoned to death without trial."

"But if she was really a witch, wouldn't she be able to stop them with her magic?"

"That's always been my thought too, but it's their belief, not mine."

Troy sighed. "Okay, let's finish picking things up so we can get out of here."

##################

That night was spent in the cover of some old scrub next to a sand dune. Tully was on duty watching the moonlit desert for any signs of the enemy. All of a sudden, he saw a flame. As Tully watched, the flame grew into a bonfire. Then sparks began to fly. He lit a match to look at his watch—it was midnight. "Oh no."

Tully hurried down to camp and woke Troy. When the sergeant opened his eyes, Tully said quietly, "She's back."

Troy sat up. "Who?"

"That witch from Nigeria. She's out there with another fire and sparks are flyin'. And she showed up right at midnight, sarge."

Hitch sat up and asked, "How in the heck did she get out here?"

Troy got to his feet. "It can't be the same person. Let's go take a look."

The four Allies went to the top of the sand dune. Sure enough, there was a fire maybe a mile out from their position. Troy took the binoculars as another plume of sparks went skyward. He could make out someone sitting close to the fire. Handing the glasses to Moffitt, Troy repeated, "It can't possibly be the same person."

Moffitt peered out at the bright spot the fire made. "There's one way to be sure. We go ask."

"I'm not ready to go out there for that." Troy looked at Tully. "You've got another hour on watch. Are you going to be all right?"

Tully nodded. "Sure, sarge, I'll be fine."

"Then let's go back to bed."

An hour later Moffitt appeared to relieve the private. "Time for some sleep."

Tully shook his head. "I'll stay for another hour."

Moffitt knew the answer, but asked, "Why?"

"I wanna see what happens at 0200 hours."

Moffitt said nothing and the two of them waited until their watches told them it was 2am. As they watched, the fire flickered slightly, then went out. Moffitt and Tully simply looked at each other.

##################

The next day, after breakfast and clean up, Hitch and Tully checked the jeeps over. Everything was in order, gas tanks and radiators filled. They drove out into the desert hoping to get to base with the microfilm by the end of the day. This time they didn't go out to check on where the fire had been.

Two hours passed without incident, but then Olive and Bertha began to overheat at the same time. When Tully and Hitch stopped, steam began to billow out from under the jeeps hoods.

The hoods were pushed up and they waited until the hissing steam stopped before trying the radiator caps. Using rags to protect their hands from the heat, Hitch and Tully opened the radiators … and found them both dry.

Troy frowned. "I thought you two filled them this morning."

Hitch said, "We did. Just before we left."

"Then how…"

Tully said, "They shouldn't be bone dry like this, sarge. There's no way we wouldn't have noticed a problem before the water was all gone."

Hitch added, "It's like all the water boiled away in a matter of seconds."

Moffitt said, "Why don't you fill them again and check for leaks."

Hitch and Tully filled the radiators and thoroughly checked for leaks—there were none. No one voiced what they were all thinking.

Another two hours and Tully noticed another problem. When he inspected the engine, he found a hose had let go. "I don't have a spare, but some tape should fix it good enough to get us home."

Hitch mentioned, "That doesn't look like it just gave out."

Tully nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. It looks like it's been sliced."

"It's like someone doesn't want us to get back to Ras Tanura."

"I'm really trying not to think about that."

The rest of the day went much the same. One jeep or the other would get stuck in the sand. The wire that Tully had fixed in Hitch's jeep "broke" again … the electrical tape was gone and the wires separated. By the time the sun was going down they were too far from base to keep going. Another wadi and another night in the desert.

##################

That night, Troy made sure he was the one on watch at midnight. At that time, a fire burst to life and sparks soon began to fly up into the sky. The sergeant marched down to camp and woke his men. "Let's go!"

Moffitt asked, "What's wrong, Troy?"

"I've had enough of this. It's time to confront whoever's out there."

Tully said, "It's the witch again."

Troy growled and turned towards the jeeps. "On the double. We'll come back for our stuff when we're done."

Hitch and Tully drove out to where the fire burned. Troy and Moffitt were in the back manning the 50s just in case there was trouble. When the jeeps were turned off, the Allies could hear the woman sitting close to fire chanting in an unfamiliar dialect and throwing a powder in the fire once in a while that caused plumes of sparks. She didn't seem to notice the four men were there.

They all got out of the jeeps and Moffitt tried one of the Arabic dialects he knew. The old woman continued to chant as if they weren't there. Moffitt tried a different dialect, asking her who she was.

This time she stopped and turned to look at them before she answered the question. Then went back to her chanting.

Troy asked, "Who is she?"

Moffitt said, "The witch Kwento."

Hitch and Tully looked at each other and tightened their grips on the machine guns they held. Troy's frown deepened as he said, "Why is she out here alone?"

Moffitt asked the question, which Kwento answered. Troy looked at Moffitt questioningly and the sergeant said, "She says she's not alone." Troy, Hitch, and Tully quickly looked around, but saw no one in the dark. "She says the spirits are with her … doing her bidding."

Troy stared at the witch, who was again chanting and making sparks, and growled, "And what would that be?"

Moffitt asked the question and this time the woman answered in English, "I am trying to drive you out of the desert."

All four of the men's brows went up in surprise. Troy asked, "How are you doing that?"

"You have been experiencing it, have you not?"

"Are you talking about the problems we've been having with our jeeps?"

Kwento gave a slow nod. "Yes."

Moffitt asked, "And it was you who sent those Arabs to steal from us?"

"Yes."

Troy questioned, "Why are you trying to drive us out?"

The old woman replied, "If you leave, the war will end. Your enemies will leave here and our lives will again be as it should be. Too many people have fallen because of your war. It is time for it to stop."

"Do you really believe you can get rid of us with magic?"

"It is not what I believe…" Kwento pointed to each of the men and continued, "It is what you believe."

Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully looked at each other. Moffitt asked, "Are you the one we've been seeing the past few nights?"

"I am."

"How are you able to follow us? I see no horse or camel."

Kwento simply said, "I am witch."

Troy decided he'd had enough. "Okay, lady … for one thing you're not going to drive anyone out. Eventually, someone is bound to believe you're a witch and just shoot you…"

"You do not believe?"

"No I don't. The best thing you can do is quit following us and just go home."

Kwento said, "I cannot go back to Nigeria."

Moffitt asked, "Why not?"

"I am witch."

Troy snarled a warning, "All right, my men and I are going to leave now. If I ever see you again, I'll be the one that shoots you. Do you understand what I've said?"

Kwento gave a slow nod. "I understand."

Troy turned to walk back and get in the jeep. "Let's go."

By the time they returned to their camp and climbed to the top of the wadi to check, the fire was out.

Troy searched the moonlit desert with binoculars, but saw no one. "Looks like she's gone."

Hitch questioned, "Think she'll leave us alone now?"

"She'd better. I meant what I told her."

"But what if…"

Troy growled, "Don't go there, Hitch."

Tully ventured, "How do ya explain what's happened with the jeeps, sarge?"

"A coincidence."

"But that wire and the hose…"

Moffitt said, "I'm afraid Troy's right. A string of accidents doesn't make it witchcraft." When there was no more argument, he smiled. "Why don't we go get a few hours of sleep?"

Troy gave a nod. "Good idea. Tully, you're on watch."

"Right, sarge."

After two hours, Tully started down to wake Moffitt for next watch. He was just a few feet down the slope when he felt the sand shift under his feet. He tried to catch his balance, but it was like something (someone?) was pushing the sand out from under him. Tully went down. He sighed and got to his knees, but before he could get to his feet the sand shifted violently and he found himself rolling head over heels to the bottom of the wadi.

The yell that Tully let out woke Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch in time for them to see the end of his trip down. When his friends got to him, Tully was sitting up spitting sand and waiting for the dizziness to pass.

Troy asked, "What happened?"

Tully replied, "I was coming down to wake Moffitt for watch and the sand shifted … It was like I was being forced to roll down. There was no way I could stop."

Moffitt questioned, "Are you all right?"

"I think so…" Tully took Hitch's offered hand and stood up, then yelped in pain when he put weight on his right leg. He said, "Maybe not as much as I thought."

"Hitch, go build up the fire." Moffitt put an arm around Tully and said, "Let's get you settled over there."

Troy got on the other side of Tully to help support him. "Don't put weight on that leg."

Once he was settled on a blanket near the fire, Tully said, "My ankle doesn't feel broke, but it sure hurts."

Moffitt carefully removed the boot and sock from the quickly swelling right foot. Hitch knelt down with a flashlight for extra light. Moffitt felt Tully's foot and ankle, trying to ignore the hisses of pain from his friend. Bruises were already forming. Finally, the sergeant sighed and said, "Well, I don't feel anything broken. It appears to be a bad sprain."

Hitch said, "I'll get a med kit."

Moffitt nodded as he glanced at Hitch. "There's not much that can be done." He looked back at Tully and said, "I'll wrap the ankle and give you some aspirin."

Troy said, "We'll stay here until it's light enough to get going."

Hitch handed a med kit to Moffitt and said, "I'll put on some water for coffee and tea."

Moffitt was beginning to wrap an elastic bandage around Tully's foot and ankle as he said, "I'm up for watch after I finish here. Why don't you and Troy get some more sleep?"

Hitch shook head. "I'm wide awake now. I Don't think I could go back to sleep any time soon."

Troy said, "I'm not sleepy either. Let's just stay together and wait for the sun to come up."

##################

Just as the sun peeked over the horizon Hitch was starting breakfast and Troy made another pot of coffee. He straightened up after setting the pot of water on the fire and noticed Moffitt at the bottom of the wadi where Tully had landed.

Troy walked out to join his fellow sergeant and asked, "Anything wrong?"

Moffitt replied, "I was just looking at the marks Tully made on his way down."

Troy looked and frowned curiously at the shallow "trough" that started near the top of the wadi and ended a few feet from the bottom. "What about it?"

"It looks strange … as if someone had been pushing him down the hill."

"Don't start with that, Moffitt. It was an accident plain and simple."

Moffitt wondered aloud, "But what if it was witch Kwento getting one last jab at us?"

Troy shook his head. "Please don't tell me you actually believe that."

Moffitt smiled. "No, not really, but she did say something about believing that the magic is real." He turned and looked at the privates as Hitch handed aspirin and a canteen to Tully, who was now sitting up. Moffitt said, "They don't really admit it, but they do believe it."

Troy turned to look at his men. The two youngest members of the Rat Patrol looked down right innocent when they weren't being attacked by the enemy. "You really think so?"

"They're young and still somewhat impressionable. They saw the 'witch' up close, heard what she said. The fires suddenly appearing and disappearing, the sparks … and how do you explain how she got to each place where we were making camp?"

Troy snorted softly. "I can't. But I'm not going admit it to Hitch and Tully. That would be liked admitting Kwento really is doing witchcraft. I'll just stick with everything being a 'coincidence' or an 'accident'."

Moffitt chuckled. "I suppose that would be the safest way to handle it."

Hitch had returned the fire to finish breakfast. He was dishing up a plate of eggs and spam for Tully as he called, "Food's ready! Come and get it while it's hot!"

Troy smiled. "Hungry?"

Moffitt grinned and said, "Starved."