Sleeping Light

By:AliasCWN

It was a dark and stormy night. Well, it was dark, and it was night, but it wasn't really stormy. There were clouds obscuring the millions of tiny points of light that were the stars from the men sitting around the campfire. And the moon only occasionally managed to find a hole in the cloud cover to shine down on the group around the fire. The quick little bursts of wind on the ground did not seem to reach the sky because the clouds moved lazily, taking their time as they rolled from east to west.

The wind did carry the cold air across the desert floor now that the sun had dropped out of sight. Jackals yipped in the distance, calling to others to join in the hunt. The men around the fire, new to the desert, huddled close together to try to recapture the warmth that they had cursed all day.

"How can it be so hot and then drop to freezing so fast?" One young soldier asked aloud, not really expecting anyone to have an answer.

"The sand reflects the heat." Tully Pettigrew explained from his seat near the fire. "At night it cools down fast because the sand doesn't retain any of the heat. Didn't supply issue all of you heavy coats and underwear?"

"Yeah." The soldier replied, rubbing his hands together near the flames. "But I packed it away until the cold season." The soldier made a face at Tully's look of surprise. "Hey, no one told us that the seasons change twice a day around here."

"I'd dig it out if I were you." Tully grinned. "Keep it handy. You get accustomed to the changes but you still get cold." To prove his point Tully blew out a breath and watched it turn to mist in front of his face.

"How long have you been out here Pettigrew?" Another soldier asked curiously.

"Long enough to know better." Tully smiled in a friendly manner.

Several of the soldiers yawned widely, followed by others who seemed to be having trouble staying awake despite the cold.

"You guys know to sleep light, right?"

"Why?" Someone asked. "We haven't seen another living soul all day."

Tully looked out into the dark beyond the camp. "The desert can hide things where you least expect them." He looked back at the expectant faces surrounding him.

"Like what?" A skeptic demanded.

"Like hauedags." (Tully pronounced it hoe-dags)

"Hauedags?"

Tully nodded, his expression suddenly grim. "I shouldn't talk about them, its bad luck."

A chorus of protests met his statement. Hushing the rising voices, Tully gave in.

"Okay, okay, just keep it down. Sound carries on the desert, especially at night." At that moment another jackal yipped in the distance. The soldiers neared Tully jumped at the sound.

"Relax." Tully told them. "That was a jackal and from the sound of it, it was a long way off."

"How can you tell?"

"Experience." Tully answered. "We hear jackals quite a bit out here. They're not dangerous as long as you're healthy or armed."

"What about hauedags?"

"Hauedags? You don't usually hear them until it's too late. And they don't care if you're healthy or not." He added. "Heck, they don't even seem to care if you are armed." Tully lowered his voice, forcing those around him who wanted to hear to crowd closer. "Hauedags like to catch you off guard. They usually jump at you out of the dark but they've been known to hunt in the daytime too if they are hungry."

"What do they eat?"

"Whatever they can catch." Tully replied with wide eyes. "They aren't incredibly fast but they can run for long distances. They're strong, really strong. They have these long curved claws that they use to catch and hold their prey."

"What do they look like?" A hushed voice reached Tully from out of the sea of faces around him.

Tully shuddered. "They're as big as a large man." The private indicated wide shoulders. "They have pig-like faces with long snouts. Long, sharp teeth, sort of like a dog's, with large canines. Their hands are almost human except for the long curved claws. They have red eyes and they run and walk on two legs like a person."

"Aw, you're just trying to scare us." A rather large private scoffed. "There isn't any such thing." He asserted positively.

"Tell that to the guys who got ripped apart." Tully answered solemnly. "We were camped on the desert one night, a night a lot like this one. The camp was quiet; everybody was tired and sleeping soundly. I guess that's why we never heard it. The next thing I knew there was this blood curdling scream. Everybody jumped to their feet and grabbed their rifles, but there was nothing there."

"So how did you know that it was a hauedag?" Someone asked in a shaky voice.

"I didn't." Tully shrugged. "I'd never seen one or even heard of it." The others started to relax at Tully's admission, until he continued. "A couple of the other guys had to explain it to me. I was skeptical too," he eyed the large private, "but I couldn't deny the destruction that it left behind. Two guys were dead, all ripped apart. There were long cuts in their bodies, like someone had used a razor sharp knife. They bled out pretty fast, not that t6hey felt anything, they were unconscious when we found them. I guess it was one of them that we heard scream. The supplies we were transporting were ripped open too. Some of it was missing. It would have taken several strong men to have carried that much off in such a short time."

"Did you ever catch them?"

"Catch them? We didn't even go after them. We'd already lost two men; those supplies weren't worth any more lives."

"How do you spot one?"

Here again Tully shrugged. "You keep your eyes and your ears open for anything out of place. At night, especially on a dark night like this, you sleep light and keep your weapons close at hand."

"But during the day you can see them coming, right?"

"Nope." Tully explained. "They blend in with the sand. You have to watch for movement that doesn't belong. You can't get so used to seeing tumbleweeds and dust devils that you ignore other little movements."

There were nervous looks exchanged between the listening men. One of them picked up more fuel and built the fire a little bit larger. The flames flickered and reflected off of the anxious faces.

"So what do we do to protect ourselves?"

Tully looked around, making sure that he had all of their attention. "Like I said, you stay alert. Don't let your guard down. Out here, if you get complacent, you die, or someone who's counting on you does."

Some of the men nodded, eyeing their companions to see if they agreed.

"Tully!"

The sound of Troy's call made several of the men jump in surprise.

"Yeah Sarge?"

"Relieve Hitch on watch. Moffitt will spell you in three hours."

"Right Sarge." Tully reached for the rifle by his feet and stood up. "You guys remember what I said, sleep light." Without another word he waked out of the circle and went in search of Hitchcock. He was grinning when he called out to let the other private know that he was coming.

"What's got you looking so happy?" Hitch asked. "I didn't realize that you enjoyed standing watch so much."

"Those guys." Tully nodded toward the men huddled around the fire. "Sarge was worried that they wouldn't stay alert: I think he's in for a surprise."

Hitch glanced down at the fire and the men sitting around it. Several of them held rifles in their hands as they crowded together for warmth. Surprised, he returned Tully's grin. "I don't think that he'll get upset when he finds out."

"You never know with Sarge." Tully grinned mysteriously in the darkness. "Sleep tight Hitch…but not too tight."

"Yeah I know, this is bandit territory. I didn't see anything, it looks quiet, but take care Tully."

"Will do." Tully replied. "You'd better get to bed; Sarge wants to get an early start in the morning."

"Doc says we should reach the base by late afternoon, barring any complications." Hitch offered. "These new guys don't know anything about the desert but they seem to be willing to take advice and learn."

Tully laughed, confusing Hitch.

"Did I say something funny?"

"No, just thinking of a story I heard a long time ago. I'll tell it to you sometime."

Hitch yawned, too tired to try prying the answers out of Tully. "Okay, I'll see you in the morning."

Tully began to walk the perimeter of the camp, keeping his movements slow and quiet. Hitch made his way to the camp and decided to check for any coffee before he turned in.

"Hey Hitchcock."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that Pettigrew will be okay out there all alone?"

Hitch lifted the pot and found it empty. Grunting in disappointment, he prepared to head to his bed. "Tully will be fine; he's done this hundreds of times. If he needs anything, he'll let us know."

"What if there is something out there?" A small voice whispered.

"Then Tully will shoot it." Hitch responded, not sure just what it was that had them worried. "I'm turning in, tomorrow is going to be a long day. Things only get more dangerous from here on out." Hitch was surprised at the startled reactions to his comment. "We're getting closer to German territory." He explained. "You do know that the Germans are the enemy, right?"

"Sure we do, we're not stupid." One soldier snorted. "But they're not the only danger out there."

"Glad to know that you understand that," Hitch smiled at the speaker, "you'll live longer that way." He didn't see the nervous glances as he turned and made his way to his jeep to get his bedroll.

"Bank that fire!" Lieutenant Dade called as he approached the small group of men. "Better yet, put it out. The desert is a big place but we're not the only ones out here. A fire draws the wrong kind of attention." He went on to explain as the men groaned.

"How are we going to keep warm Lieutenant?"

"Try going to sleep." Lieutenant Dade suggested. "Roll up in your blankets and sleep close together. You need your sleep to stay alert tomorrow anyway. This convoy rolls out at the crack of dawn tomorrow, we don't want to get caught sleeping." The lieutenant walked on, leaving the soldiers to douse the fire and talk amongst themselves.

Tully passed close enough to hear the Lieutenant tell the men to go to bed. He smiled to himself in the dark and made a mental note to warn Moffitt not to startle any of the new guys while he was on guard. Three hours later he heard Moffitt's soft call as he approached.

"Hey Doc, everything is quiet. There are some jackals hunting in the area but they haven't sounded alarmed about anything."

"Not exactly a reliable early warning system Tully." The Brit warned.

"No." Tully admitted. "They may not see everything but if they do sound an alarm, it works for us."

"Unless we're the ones they are worried about."

Tully chuckled softly. "You'd know the difference Doc." He started to turn away when he remembered his earlier decision. "Hey Doc," he waited for Moffitt to look at him, "be careful around the new guys. Some of them are jumpy and a lot of them took their rifles to bed."

"Thank you for the warning Tully, that's good to know. At least they aren't getting complacent."

"No, they aren't doing that." Tully agreed. "Good night Doc, I'll see you in the morning."

At dawn the next morning the camp was stirring. Lieutenant Dade went around making sure that all of the men were awake. Men groaned as they rolled out of their blankets and the cold air it their bodies. Someone started a fire to heat their breakfast and make that all important coffee.

Tully had their own fire going with water heating for coffee and tea. He poured a cup and had tea steeping when Moffitt got off of guard duty.

"Here Sarge."

"Don't call me Sarge." Moffitt answered automatically. He smiled as he saw Tully's mischievous grin. He took the cup and sniffed at it in appreciation. "Are you having tea too?"

"Yeah, I kind of got used to it. Sarge and Hitch will still want coffee though." Tully answered.

Troy walked up with Hitch by his side. Tully poured them both coffee and handed each of them a cup.

"Thanks." Hitch smiled as he took his cup.

"Tully."

Tully looked up at Troy's serious tone. "What's the story with the hauedag?"

Tully's eyes widened at the question.

"Sarge?"

"I heard part of the story when I walked past the fire last night." Troy explained. "What are you trying to do, get someone shot?"

"No Sarge!" Tully explained hurriedly. "You said to make sure that these guys didn't get complacent. I was just doing my part to keep them on their toes."

Troy snorted.

"Hauedags?" Moffitt asked in confusion.

"Hauedags." Troy confirmed with a shake of his head. "Tully has these guys looking over their shoulders for some imaginary creature."

"Is a hauedag a Kentucky boogeyman?" The British sergeant asked with interest.

"No Doc." Tully shook his head. "We don't have hauedags in Kentucky."

"Where did it come from then?"

Tully grinned. "I was in basic training with some guy from up north somewhere, Pennsylvania, I think, and he told me about them. We went out drinking after graduation and he was drunk and started talking about hauedags."

"And you thought that it would be a good idea to scare these guys?" Troy demanded.

"They aren't complacent are they?" Tully grinned.

Moffitt raised his eyebrows at Troy. "He does have a point."

"One wrong move during the night could have got you shot." Troy argued.

"He did warn me to be careful." Moffitt defended his driver. "And no one actually got shot."

"Yet." Troy growled. "Okay, enough, let's move on: how does it look for today?"

"No definite threats." Moffitt answered. "Of course, surprises are always possible." H smiled at Tully. "Lieutenant Dade seems to have a good handle on managing the convoy and the soldiers are surprisingly receptive to advice."

"I like them." Hitch added. "They're friendly and they don't act like they know it all already."

"Coming from you, that's quite the compliment." Moffitt noted as he patted Hitch on the shoulder.

Hitch blushed and shrugged. "It's the truth."

"Whatever." Troy responded. "Let's eat, we need to scout around before the convoy pulls out; Lieutenant Dade will have the convoy ready to go in less than an hour."

Ten minutes later, their meal finished, they started the jeeps and began their recon. When they returned with nothing to report, Lieutenant Dade ordered the convoy to move out. Single file, they followed the road leading to their new base. The jeeps scouted ahead and behind, checking the sides frequently for signs of enemy activity. The day wore on and the rays of the sun beat down on the trucks, heating the enclosed interiors.

The soldiers riding in the back fanned their faces and sipped from canteens refilled at every rest stop. More experienced soldiers had regaled them with tales of heat exhaustion and dehydration. They had also warned them that sometimes while under attack you didn't have a chance to refill the canteens from the barrels. As a result they made sure to top off the containers at every opportunity.

Sweat poured from their bodies, stinging their eyes and soaking their clothing, but still they struggled to stay alert, helping each other. They took turns sitting by the tailgate, watching the desert for anything out of place.

Troy was talking to Lieutenant Dade during one of their stops to col the engines. Tully and Hitch were going over their jeeps, checking their gas and water. They were interrupted when a young private ran up to them to report seeing movement on the hills a short distance away. Troy and Moffitt looked at each other, an unspoken agreement reached before Troy turned to the Lieutenant.

"We'll check it out Sir; this is bandit country." Troy nodded to his drivers. "Keep the convoy here Lieutenant; keep the drivers in the trucks and the motors running. If we give the signal, I want you to make a run for it. We'll do our best to cover you."

"All right Sergeant." The Lieutenant began to issue orders. Within minutes the convoy was impatiently awaiting the next command,, loaded and ready to go.

The Rat Patrol headed away from the hills where the private reported seeing movement. Circling around, they came in slow and quiet. Despite the well maintained engines, the jeeps still made a certain amount of unavoidable noise. As they came within sight of the suspect hill they spotted a small group of Arabs riding away. Brandishing rifles over their heads defiantly, the bandits rode hard for the hills further in the distance. The jeeps parked on the top of the hill and watched them go until they were well out of sight.

Lieutenant Dade was standing on the running board of the lead truck when the jeeps returned.

"You can head out Lieutenant." Troy called as Hitch pulled his jeep up next to the truck. "There was a band of Arabs up there, probably bandits, but they're gone now. Your guy spoiled their surprise when he spotted them. That was a good job by the way."

"I'll tell him you said that Sergeant, he'll be pleased. These guys look up to you and your men."

"We're just doing our job Lieutenant. We just happen to have a bit more experience on the desert than they do right now; they'll learn. I have to admit; I'm impressed with them too, they seem eager to learn."

"I keep telling them to listen to the voice of experience, that's how you stay alive." The officer acknowledged.

"It is." Troy agreed. "Unfortunately, not everyone subscribes to that belief." Troy glanced back the line of trucks. "Time to move Lieutenant. We'll circle around and keep an eye out in case they decide to return."

The jeeps roared away and the trucks began to move. Lieutenant Dade stayed in the lead truck, watching the road ahead. Occasionally he would spot the two jeeps darting around, but mostly they seemed to have the desert to themselves. When the Rat Patrol had been assigned as their escort, he had been concerned that they would not be able to provide adequate coverage for such a large convoy. Not only were they delivering fresh troops to the base, but they were also carrying enough supplies to last those troops for a month. That many supplies required a lot of trucks to carry it. He worried that the two jeeps would take up positions in front and behind the convoy and stay there. It hadn't taken long to figure out that they had no intention of staying in one place too long. Their scouting forays had been reassuring, giving him the sense of safety he wouldn't have felt if they had stayed close to the rucks. Even now, with them nowhere in sight, he sensed their protection and felt safer for it.

That sense of well-being evaporated in an instant as one of the jeeps ran straight toward them looking like it meant to hit them head on. The sergeant was waving his arms wildly, shouting something that was lost in the noise of the truck.

"I think he wants us to get off of the road Lieutenant." The driver stated uneasily, torn between watching the jeep and looking over at the officer sitting next to him.

Uncertain, Lieutenant Dade reached for the radio to tell the trucks to stop. A geyser of dirt erupted just behind the speeding jeep, causing the jeep to swerve crazily. The force of the explosion was followed by the sound of another incoming mortar round.

"Get off of the road!" Lieutenant Dade screamed into the radio. "Scatter!" He turned to tell his own driver to leave the road but the truck was already aimed at the open desert. Behind them the other trucks were doing the same. They were still moving forward but no longer in any type of grouping.

Another mortar hit the road next to one of the trucks. The driver swerved and increased his speed. They were all varying their speeds and changing directions often, trying to avoid being predictable. Still, another mortar hit the dirt right behind a truck carrying supplies.

As Lieutenant Dade clung to the dash of his truck he watched as one of his vehicles took an indirect hit, damaging a wheel and leaving it incapacitated. As he watched, the driver jumped out and caught a ride with the next truck to pass near his position.

The sounds of heavy machine guns caught his attention and he tried to locate the jeeps that he knew were out there. There was a flash of a reflection on one hill just before a jeep jumped the top of the dune with its gun blazing. A body rolled down the slope, coming to a stop at the bottom. The jeep turned and rejoined the fight, going into combat on the other side of the hill where the Lieutenant couldn't see what was happening. To his relief, the mortar fire slowed and then stopped altogether. The trucks were still moving across the desert, afraid to return to the road. Looking back, Lieutenant Dade could see a second truck abandoned behind them.

As the sounds of battle faded away the Lieutenant got on the radio and asked for status reports. He already knew about the two lost trucks. To his relief, he hadn't lost any men; their only casualty was a minor shrapnel wound that the soldier had reported had already stopped bleeding. He was still assessing the damage when the jeeps reappeared, first one, then the other.

Troy had his driver pull up next to the truck so he could talk to Lieutenant Dade.

"You can get back on the road now Lieutenant. The mortar crews are all dead."

The Lieutenant immediately called all of the trucks to get back in line.

"How bad Lieutenant?" Troy asked, eyeing the radio.

The Lieutenant smiled. "It could have been a lot worse Sergeant. We lost two trucks but the drivers were picked up. One man reported minor shrapnel wounds. If it's safe to stop, I'd like to have a medic look at him."

"Sure Lieutenant, and while you're doing that I'll have Hitch and Tully take a look at the trucks. Maybe they can be salvaged. At the very least, maybe we can salvage some of the supplies."

The officer nodded and started issuing orders. Troy motioned Tully and he had Hitch lead them back to the abandoned trucks.

Lieutenant Dade was watching the medic clean the injured man's wounds when Troy returned. He and Moffitt climbed out of the jeep and watched the medic for a moment.

"Well Sergeant?"

"It could be worse." Troy repeated the officer's words from earlier. "One truck is done, the engine took some shrapnel. The other one needs two new tires but it will run. As soon as Tully and Hitch get the tires changed you can move that one up into line."

"I'll have some of the men dig out some spare tires for them. Each truck only carries one spare." The Lieutenant offered.

"Don't bother." Troy explained. "They'll take the tires off the truck we're leaving behind. I told them to salvage anything they can before we leave it." Troy eyed the trucks still in line. "I don't suppose that you have any spare room in any of those other trucks?"

"We can shift things around and maybe split most of the supplies between the other trucks." A sergeant volunteered. "We may not be able to get all of it in but we can get most of it."

"All right," the officer agreed. "Get to it; I don't want to sit around here too long."

Eager hands helped change the tires to get the salvageable truck back into line. Others helped to shift the load from the damaged truck into the other trucks. It was a tight fit but they managed to save it all. They used up every bit of space, including some in the jeeps, but they saved it all.

"Thanks for the warning Sergeant." Lieutenant Dade said as he watched his men work.

"We gave you the warning, but it was your fast response that really did the trick." Troy admitted. "If your guys had been slower to react, the Germans would have had time to correct their aim. They could have done a lot more damage. You can be proud of your men Lieutenant."

"I am." The officer admitted, "but I have to admit, even I was surprised at how alert they we and how fast they responded."

"Hauedags." Troy responded.

"Hauedags?"

"That's a conversation for another time Lieutenant." Troy explained. Hitch and Tully drove up with the jeeps. "Let's roll Lieutenant, we have a convoy to deliver, and we don't know if that mortar team had time to call for help."

The Rat Patrol chased off a German patrol less than an hour later. They reported it to the lieutenant and it was decided that they should leave the road and take an alternate route to the base. In doing so they bypassed another German mortar team waiting for them along the road. They pulled into the base several hours late but still before dark. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they jumped to the ground.

Tully and Hitch took the jeeps to be serviced while Troy and Moffitt accompanied Lieutenant Dade to the commanders office to make a report.

As they were leaving the commanders office Lieutenant Dade pulled the sergeants aside. "Hauedags?"

Troy sighed as he looked at Moffitt. With an encouraging smile from the other sergeant, he started to explain.

Tully and Hitch headed for the mess hall to get something to eat. They were seated, eating their meal when they sensed someone behind them. Tully looked up, and up, to see the large private who had been skeptical of his hauedag story.

"Can we help you?" Tully asked innocently, taking note of the gathering crowd behind them.

"You lied to us."

"Did I?"

"There's no such thing as a hauedag." The big private growled. His anger was reflected in the faces of the men standing behind him.

"How do you know?"

"What?" The private asked in surprise.

"How do you know?" Tully repeated. "Just because you never saw one doesn't mean they're not real. I've never seen wind either but I know that it exists because I can see its effect on things. I can feel it in my face. You wouldn't claim that wind doesn't exist would you?"

"You know what we mean." The private insisted. "You told us about them attacking a convoy and killing two guys."

"Oh that. Well, I admit, I was wrong about that. It turned out; we found out later, that Arabs killed those guys with knives. We found the tracks where they loaded the supplies onto horses to carry them away."

"Why did you try to scare us with the hauedag story?" Someone demanded.

"I wanted you to stay alert." Tully explained. "Tired men get careless sometimes. I wanted to make sure that you didn't get complacent."

"Well it didn't work." The large private insisted. "We didn't really believe you anyway."

Tully shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. All I needed to do was to keep you alert until we reached the base. It worked. You saw those Arab bandits before they killed anyone. You set a new record for reaction time when you were attacked by the Germans. We all made it here alive." Tully shrugged again. "Mission accomplished."

The big private looked a if he wanted to argue.

"He's right Jer." Another soldier spoke up. "We were more alert after that story. Who knows, maybe we would have slacked off if he hadn't told us that story."

Jer, the big private, looked undecided.

"Come on." Tully grinned. "No hard feelings. Let me buy you supper."

"The food is free." Jer growled.

"Okay." Tully smiled. "Get your trays and we'll share our table." He indicated the empty seats at the table.

Jer hesitated, watching Tully, then he smiled. "Okay, we'll be right back. Turning away, he led the others to the food line. Tully and Hitch made sure that the seats remained empty until their return.

Once they were seated Tully raised his drink. "A toast, to hauedags and friends."

"To hauedags and friends." The others repeated, lifting their drinks in salute.

"What the heck is a hauedag?" Someone at the next table demanded to no one in particular.