Chapter Four: Baptism of Fire
Mighty was sitting in a circle with a few other soldiers, Ray and Espio among them. They were playing another game of cards, texas hold 'em this time. It had been a week since they had been shipped out to the Dragon Kingdom. They had met their new C.O. a few days before, and currently he was consulting with military intelligence for news on the NDA troop movements in the jungle. Mighty lit a cigarette, as he had grown accustomed to them in the last few days. Inhaling, he removed it from his mouth as he looked at his cards. It wasn't the best hand. Exhaling smoke, he folded. Amidst groans from the others, Espio won that round. He calmly collected his winnings as a soldier ran up to the tent.
"Hey, guys! Erikson's back from his meeting! Orders are to get suited up and prepared for combat!" The soldier rushed off to tell those who weren't at the tent, as the game quickly dispersed. Each soldier ran to their bunk, pulling on their uniform jackets and undershirts, grabbing M-16A1 rifles and ammunition, attaching holsters and supply packs to their belts, grabbing knives and tying bootlaces as quick as possible. Helmets were placed on heads, some strapped others not, canteens were filled and rucksacks were pulled on. In five minutes, the entire platoon was suited up and ready for combat. Mighty rushed out of the tent, heading to outside the where everyone else was gathering, the command tent. Erikson stood there, waiting for the full platoon to gather. He spoke, his voice clear, deep and commanding.
"We are being sent on a search and destroy mission to seek out and raid a NDA jungle camp. Essentials only, as usual. I will be in command of this incursion. Now, fall out!" The platoon saluted, and, with Erikson and a few corporals at the head, marched out of the camp. They hiked over one of the hills near the camp, and within about five miles they were at the edge of the thick jungle. Erikson raised his hand for them to stop and gathered the men before him.
"Split into three groups. I'll take these men", he pointed to Vector, Bronson, and a few others, "And corporal Diaz will take this group. The rest, head out with corporal Johnson". The platoon split up, each taking a different entrance into the undergrowth. Mighty and Cody found themselves together with Espio, while Ray and Vector were off in separate groups. Mighty checked his M-16A1 again. It was the third time he had checked it, but he wanted to be sure it was in working order. The night before, he had used the cleaning kit Knuckles sent him to throughly clean it before putting it back together again. He wanted to be certain it would fire when he needed it to. His Colt M1911A1 was tucked neatly in its holster, the strap snapped into place. His canteen was full, tucked into its pack on his belt. He had a few grenades hanging from his rucksack, and his combat knife was sheathed. Cody and Espio's equipment was the same, the only difference being their main rifle. Cody had for his main armament a M79 grenade launcher, and subsequently, he carried a few extra rounds for it on a bandolier. Espio was carrying his regular M-16A1. The groups leader, a grey wolf named Krakhauer, carried an M-60, bandoliers of ammo wrapped around his chest. The other members of the group had either M-16's to M2A1 sub-machine guns. They made their way silently though the dense jungle, Krakhauer slicing at obstructing vines with a machete. The tangled mess of vines, creepers and trees blocked at all but the faintest glimmer of sunlight, though rays fell through holes in the canopy at random. Some of the men were swatting at bugs and insects that flew by. By now most of them knew they might carry tropical diseases, such as dysentery and fever. They had to be silent, Krakhauer relaying orders through hand signals. Mighty wiped the sweat off his forehead, though by now each man had a layer of sweat running down his skin. When they reached a clearing, Krakhauer signaled to stop, consulting his map. Cody sat and took a drink from his canteen, careful not to drink too much. Soon enough, the signal was to march on, this time in a different direction. By now, Espio was carrying his rifle around the back of his neck, both arms looping over it, so his hands were by his head. They'd been marching for quite a few hours, Krakhauer in contact with the other groups via radio. Mighty opened his canteen and took a quick swig of water, ignoring the metallic taste. He put the canteen back in its pouch, and fell to the ground. Blood flowed from his stomach, and he realized he'd been shot. He heard the sounds of gunfire all around, as the group returned fire. He didn't seem to care. His mind was blocked by the sheer agony of the wound. It felt like a knife made of burning lava had been stabbed violently into his stomach, and was searing is flesh from inside. He tried to move, but found he was weak from blood loss. He felt something grab him and drag him to the side, and a familiar face appeared in front of him. Espio was staring at him, shaking him, talking to him. As he came into focus, he was able to make out a few words.
"Johnny…. -ear me…. Wak… Medic….." He tried to move, but Espio stopped him. When he began to slip off, Espio shook him harder and Mighty felt his hand over the wound. Espio applied pressure, trying to stop the bleeding, and as his face came into ficus again, he saw Espio was crying, the first time he'd seen him do so. His mask of calm broken, Espio cried out for Cody who ran over, firing off a burst before diving next to them. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he saw Cody grab a small pouch from his belt. He opened it, pulling out a bottle of antiseptic, which he handed to Espio. Cody then opened Mighty's jacket and ripped his shirt, holding out his hand as Espio handed him back the bottle. Mighty vaguely saw the bloody rags of his shirt from his position, as Cody applied the antiseptic and pulled a bandage out of his pouch. He wrapped it around Mighty's stomach, making sure to tie it tightly when he finished. Cody said something to Espio, and the two picked up Mighty, supporting him between the two of them. Cody grabbed Mighty's rifle, slinging the strap around his arm before they moved on. Mighty saw that they were still in the middle of a war zone, and tried to come back to his sense, to get over the pain and weakness. His half closed eyes shot open and he broke away from Cody and Espio, swinging his rifle off his shoulder and into his hands. It was still loaded and he was thankful for that. Tuning out Espio and Cody's yelling, he quickly scanned the surrounding jungle. Krakhauer was dead, he saw his body lying in a pool of blood. He was able to trace the muzzle flashes of enemy rifle into the trees, and opened fire. He hit two of them, and one fell from the tree with a final scream. He ducked back behind the stump Espio had dragged him to, and let out a harsh breath. Espio and Cody ran over to him, dodging a burst of fire from another tree.
"Johnny, jesus! You scared us there! First you fall like a stone and were ambushed, next you fucking start shooting!" Cody was yelling at him, shocked he was conscious. Mighty nodded, groaning as he adjusted his position.
"Gotta fight back, man… They got Krakhauer." Cody swore, while Mighty fished out his canteen and took another drink. Espio was firing from behind the stump, trying to get a good aim. Cody shook his head at Mighty again and reloaded his grenade launcher. Mighty ducked out to the side and fired three bursts. He hit one on the ground, while Cody brought down the tree of another with a shot from the grenade launcher. Espio was able to get a good shot, and took out the remaining one in the trees. Another soldier off to their right, hiding behind a rock, hurled his grenade at the brush and screams rang out when it exploded. Mighty ducked back in, as Cody let out a nervous breath.
"Ok, we've gotta try and hook up with the other groups, otherwise we're gonna get lost in here. If Krakhauer's dead, his map must be blood-soaked by now. We'll have to hope his radio's still good. Espio, Mighty, cover me." Nodding, the two laid down a hail of cover fire while Cody darted out and dived next to Krakhauer's body. He checked his belt and pockets, grabbing the radio and rushing back. He was hit in the arm as he doe behind the stump, and cursed. He tossed Espio the radio and Mighty another clip of ammo.
"I grabbed a few clips from his body, just in case. Espio, radio Erikson and tell him Krakhauer's dead and we're pinned down." Espio nodded once, and began trying to contact Erikson, while Mighty ducked back again, coughing violently. Cody opened his jacket to check his bandages, sighing when he saw the blood wasn't seeping through. Espio put down the radio.
"Erikson's pinned down as well, but I've got their position. He says to try and contact base for evacuation. However, he was unable to give me the frequency for the base, so our only option is to rendezvous with him and the rest of the platoon."
"Why don't you call him back and ask for the frequency?", Cody asked, while mighty continued to fire odd shots into the brush.
"Because, the radio's dead. Did you grab Krakhauer's map?"
"No, I couldn't see it. I think it was shot when he was, or else its covered in blood by now." Espio thought for a moment, then said,
"Then we meet up with them. John, can you walk?" Mighty had ducked down again, clutching at the bandaged wound.
"I don't know… I'll try." He slowly stood up, stumbling slightly as Cody helped him the rest of the way up. Espio looked around for other members of their group, but all he saw was corpses strewn about the clearing. Some belonged to them, others to the NDA. All of them lay in pools of blood, a few limbs scattered around hole in the ground Cody's grenade launcher had blown. A few soldiers had lost their helmets when they fell, one of them near where the three of them crouched sporting a bloody bullet hole where a shot had felled its owner. One body was strewn out in a crawling position, a trail of dried blood leading from its head and knee, while a pool formed underneath its stomach. Espio, having regained his composure, took it all in in a glance, no emotion on his face. Mighty was still off valance, and Cody helped him walk as the three made their way out of the clearing, towards where the rest of the platoon was.
Ray and Vector were pinned down, the hail of bullets whizzing past them as they tried to get to the rest of the group keeping them behind their cover. Ray was panicked, but Vector was near hysterical. He looked around for his rifle, but he couldn't find it. Eventually, he drew his colt, and gulped as he held the cold steel of the barrel in his hands. He couldn't believe he was actually thinking of doing this. He didn't want to kill someone. How could he? For all he knew, what if he killed a man with a family, or someone who had friends, or… He snapped himself out of it. He checked to see if the pistol was loaded, like he'd been shown in boot camp. Ray was clutching at his rifle, waiting for the right time to dart across the gap and shelter with the remainder of the group, Erikson included. Vector, his hands shaking, raised the pistol and popped up behind cover, careful to keep his head low. He spotted a NDA soldier sneaking through the jungle toward Erikson's position. He aimed at him, trying to steady his hands. At the last moment, he looked away and the report of his pistol rang out as a cry of pain was swallowed in a sickening gurgling noise. Looking up, he saw that, whereas he had meant to shoot the soldier in the chest, he had shot him in the neck. His mind instantly thought of Charmy, hit in the temple and the neck. He sank back down behind cover and retched. Ray waited for him to sit back up, and motioned for them to move now. Nodding absent-mindedly, Vector followed him as they both ran towards their destination. Ray cried out when they were halfway there, clutching his knee as he fell to the ground. Vector made it to the group, calling out for Ray, his voice distant. Ray struggled, and finally crawled over to them, while other members of the platoon provided cover fire. A lynx helped Ray over, and a medic began examining the wound on his knee. The bullet hadn't shattered the kneecap, but it had done some damage. Nothing permanent, but it would take a while to mend. Ray was wincing with pain, his leg on fire as the medic began treating the wound. Vector was still in shock, looking at the gun he had used to shoot the soldier in the neck. He holstered it shakily, retching again. Ray's leg was still bleeding, the medic trying to pull the bullet out, Ray screaming in pain while he did so. Finally, the medic cleaned the wound, tossing the bullet aside as he bandaged it. Blood was soaking the bandages already, but it stopped spreading after a few minutes. They were still pinned down, when suddenly, out of the brush, Espio, Cody, and Mighty began opening fire on the NDA's position. Cody was reloading his grenade launcher quickly, while Mighty, his strength about half regained, was yelling psychotically as he fired wildly at the soldiers who were trying to flee. Espio rushed over to the huddled group, quickly saluting Erikson and helping drag them out towards Mighty and Cody. Mighty tossed aside his rifle when he ran out of ammo, using his pistol to pick off the remaining soldiers. He let out a harsh sigh, and looked over to see Ray being supported between Espio and Vector. He holstered his pistol quickly and ran over to him.
"Ray, are you alright?"
"Yeah… Just got hit in the knee. i'd say you're in worse shape." And indeed he was. Mighty may have regained strength, but it was leaving him almost as soon as he had recovered it. Fresh blood was soaking out of the bandage on his stomach, and he retched from the pain. Cody helped him stand up, dragging him as the remnants of the platoon gathered themselves and made their way to a clearing here Erikson called for a medivac chopper. Only later did they find out that the other group had been wiped out entirely, Bronson along with them. Mighty often wondered what had been in the letter Bronson received, but now it seemed the answer died with him. The battered group was helped into the helicopter, Mighty and Ray strapped down to stretchers on the sides of it. Mighty took a last drink from his canteen before he passed out, the sound of the chopper dying as he closed his eyes.