Shadows and Light
By: AliasCWN
The German base was quiet. Their panzer division had tangled with the British tank force in the area and managed to drive the British back to their starting point. Tired men sought their bunks secure in the knowledge that they had faced the enemy and won the battle. Their commander had patrols out making sure that the British didn't attempt another offensive while they slept the sleep of the victor.
The moonless night didn't bother the German guards on duty. As long as the desert was so dark there was little chance of enemy tanks attempting a sneak attack. The enemy, like their own troops, didn't like night driving; it was a risky business, hard on both men and machines.
Unfortunately for them, not all of the enemy conformed to the normal way of doing things. Some of them were willing to take risks that so called 'normal' soldiers found unacceptable. As the guards patrolled in the dark, thinking the base was safe from attack, four of those risk takers watched their every move.
The guards walked along the walls, meeting at the corners. Not exchanging a word, they turned and headed back the way they had come. In the wee hours of the morning they weren't required to march sharply to impress their commanders. Staying alert was more important than looking snappy as they patrolled the walls.
One of the guards yawned widely, trying to cover the yawn with his hand. He shook his head to try to wake himself up to continue to the corner.
A shadow crossed the wall behind him, followed by a second. He paused as he heard a small sound, turning to look for the source. By then the two shadows had blended into the darkness next to the buildings used as storage sheds. Not seeing anything suspicious, he hurried on his way to meet the next sentry at the corner. The young soldier knew from experience that his sergeant would not be happy if he found out he had been slow on his rounds. As his footsteps pounded the sand, two more shadows slipped over the wall and joined the others.
The sentry paused on his return trip, looking once again for anything out of place. Everything looked the same as it had every other time that he had passed this point. Not daring to be late, he hurried on his way. Behind him, the shadows flickered with movement and then all was still again.
An hour later the new guards arrived to relieve the ones on duty. The young sentry joined his companions who were headed for their beds.
The new sentries paced the same route as the earlier guards. Older and more experienced, the new guards were more alert, checking every noise and shadow carefully. Coming to the end of their sections, they turned and stepped sharply back the way they had come.
Out of their line of sight, the shadows flickered with movement again. Just the barest of change in the shadows and they missed it. The lead shadow held up his hand to signal a stop. They gathered in the deepest, darkest place they could find and whispered among themselves.
"These guards are more alert than the last ones."
Troy glanced at this watch. "We don't have a lot of time. Those charges are going to go off right on schedule."
"Once they do this whole wall will be lit up like daylight. They have spotlights mounted on top of every building." Mark Hitchcock pointed out.
"Hitch is right." Moffitt whispered softly. "And they'll have search parties combing every inch of this base."
"I know." Troy sighed, watching the guard closely.
"Maybe we could set off a small charge someplace else to draw them away." Hitch suggested.
"An explosion would sure light a fire under them." Tully drawled in Troy's ear. "But is that such a good idea?" He rolled his matchstick between his teeth and ducked as the guard passed in front of them.
Troy watched the guard too, his mind working furiously.
Tully looked away after the guard passed. When he glanced back toward Troy, the sergeant had a feral smile on his face. "What do you have in mind Sarge?"
Troy quickly outlined his plan. Tully nodded silently and moved off down the street. Moffitt followed to cover him as he put Troy's plan into action.
Troy checked his watch again. The time was passing quickly and they needed to be over the wall before the charges they had planted among the armored vehicles began exploding. Troy knew all too well what their chances would be if the Germans were alerted and turned on the search lights before they got over the wall.
A slight rustle behind him alerted him to the return of his two men. Tully gave a slight nod and crowded closer to the wall to give Moffitt more room to hide in the darker shadows.
The four men waited silently, each one keeping tabs on the nearest guard. Tully and Moffitt turned to look toward the other end of the street.
The darkness was unbroken except for the occasional burst of light as someone entered or left a building, opening the door and letting the light inside escape. Troy looked at his watch again and then looked at Tully. Tully shrugged, as confused as Troy.
"I'll go look, be right back." Tully whispered. Troy nodded and turned toward Moffitt. The Brit nodded and silently followed Tully.
Tully and Moffitt retraced their earlier steps, checking to see why their planned distraction had not worked.
Slipping into the empty building they had found earlier, Tully knelt next to the pile of straw he had tried to set on fire. Making a new, larger pile, he found some dry wood and cut it into shavings using his belt knife. Adding it to the pile, he pulled a match from his pocket. Looking to Moffitt, he waited for the sergeant to give the all clear. At Moffitt's nod he flicked the match to life and touched it to the shavings. Reaching for the weapon that he had leaned against the wall, he took one last glance at the small fire. The tiny flames were already licking greedily at the shavings and the straw on top. Using his boot to push more straw toward the fire, he nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave.
Moffitt watched his actions while keeping an eye out for any stray German wandering the dark street. When Tully indicated that he was ready to go, the sergeant took a quick look in every direction before leading the way back to where Troy and Hitchcock waited.
Troy acknowledged their return with a nod and another glance at his watch. He frowned at the time, worried that they were cutting it too close. The guard was still walking his beat as if everything was normal.
"Sarge!" Hitchcock called urgently. The faint whisper drew all of their eyes. Hitch had his attention centered on the guard by the wall.
The guard had stopped his walking and was staring toward the buildings. He sniffed the air, still looking into the darkness. Glancing around, he lowered his rifle and took several steps toward the buildings. He paused again, looking to locate his fellow guards. The sentry on the other end of the street was still approaching at his normal pace. His step faltered as he reached a spot near where Tully had set the fire. Turning toward the buildings, he too stopped to sniff the air.
A light flickered among the buildings. It quickly brightened the dark street. The guard yelled as the fire reached the walls and quickly claimed the abandoned building as its own.
The sentry in front of them yelled to the other guard, asking what was wrong. The other soldier called back that the building was on fire. Running forward, the guard went to see the fire for himself. There were shouts from the darkness as others discovered the flames. The guard ran toward the building, watching as the fire spread rapidly.
Behind him, four shadows crossed the open space and slipped over the wall while he was busy elsewhere. The four shadows dashed from cover to cover, making for the deep wadis outside of the base. Hidden among the brush and scrub trees near one of those wadis were two heavily armed jeeps covered by nets to disguise their outlines.
Fire alarms were now wailing as soldiers raced to extinguish the fire that had gotten a good start and now lit up the moonless sky.
The four shadows had just reached their vehicles and were removing the covers when the first explosion rocked the ground. More explosions shook the sand under their feet as the rest of the charges detonated.
Troy glanced back toward the base and smiled, his white teeth gleaming like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. His sun darkened face blended into the darkness making his grin look like it was floating in midair as he turned.
"That ought to slow them down for a bit." Troy turned and climbed into his jeep. "Let's get out of here."
As the jeep engine started, purring softly in the night air, Hitchcock glanced toward the glow in the night sky. "Who was there Sarge, you or me?"
Troy grinned and grabbed for his hat as the jeep jumped forward into the dark.