The Different Battles Raid
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 12
Tully Pettigrew braced himself against the rolling of the truck and placed a hand on the forehead of his sleeping friend. The hot, dusty trip was taking a toll on the wounded man. Picking up the cloth he had set aside, he wet it from the canteen and began to wipe the beads of sweat from his friends' face.
"Tully?"
"Easy Hitch." He put the cloth on the floor and picked up the canteen. "Here, have some water." Uncapping the canteen, he supported the blondes' head while he drank.
"Where are we?"
"Not sure." Tully responded. "The driver says we're taking a little detour because there was a possible sighting of a German column early this morning. I haven't been watching where we're going but I think we swung west of those hills we were supposed to hug for cover."
"West? Why west, our base is to the east."
"Don't know," Tully admitted, "but that Captain Ellis says not to worry, the escort will get us there safe."
"Huh!" Hitch half laughed. "That'll be the day we trust someone else to keep us safe."
"Don't have much choice Hitch, there's only you and me and the driver in this truck, and between us, we only have two rifles and no extra ammo. We can't do much with that kind of firepower."
"Who's idea was that?"
"Whoever is in charge of our escorts."
Exhausted, Hitch leaned back and closed his eyes. "How many men in the escort?"
"A dozen. Three jeeps with four men each. Our driver says that they are all heavily armed."
"Should be okay Tully, a column of any size will show a dust trail and give us time to hide." Hitch reasoned. He tried to relax and to back to sleep.
"Hang on. We got company!" The driver called from the cab. His radio crackled with a message but Tully and Hitch couldn't make out the words. The truck picked up speed and swerved sharply to the side.
"We're headed west, away from the hills." Tully announced with a catch in his voice. He tried to hold Hitch so he wouldn't be thrown all over the back of the truck. One look at his friends face told him that the blonde understood the warning. They braced and waited as the truck bounced wildly. They waited for their escort to attack the Germans but it never happened.
"Nobody's shooting, maybe they didn't see us." Hitch looked hopefully at Tully for some reassurance.
In answer, the truck slowed to a stop. As the dust swirled around and settled, they heard a familiar voice call out to the driver. The two privates shared a startled glance as they both recognized the speaker.
"Dietrich?" Hitch asked in disbelief.
Tully nodded solemnly as he pushed his rifle toward the front of the truck where it was out of reach. The two men waited silently as the driver followed instructions and got out of the cab. They heard his footsteps as he walked to the rear of the truck. '
"I'm opening the flap." He called, giving them a warning.
"Go ahead Private, we're unarmed." Tully called back as he raised his hands in surrender. Beside him, Hitch made sure that his hands were in plain sight.
The flap opened and the frightened face of their driver peered in. He pulled the canvas aside to reveal a ring of German soldiers holding rifles, all pointed at the truck.
"Come out Privates." Dietrich's calm voice ordered from one side.
"I'm coming out," Tully called, " but Hitch is wounded."
"Come out Private," Dietrich responded immediately, " I'll have my medic look at Private Hitchcock."
Tully carefully climbed over the tailgate, keeping his hands in plain sight. Hands reached out to drag him to the ground where he was searched before being allowed to stand. A German pulled his long knife from his belt and handed it to Dietrich.
The Captain watched impassively as the prisoner was searched and bound. Only then did he step around the tailgate to peer into the truck. The second member of the Rat Patrol lay on a stretcher covered by a blanket.
"Move the blanket aside Private." He ordered cautiously. "Do it slowly please."
Using his left hand, Hitch pulled the blanket off his legs and pushed it aside. Again he raised his hands to show that they were empty.
Dietrich studied the sweat beaded face staring back at him. He noticed the tremors in his hands as the private tried to appear defiant. The wound wasn't evident but the signs of a fever were plain to anyone who had spent any time on the desert. "You can put your hands down Private. I'll have someone help you out of the truck." He called for his medic and instructed several of his men to help the wounded prisoner from the truck.
As his men pulled the blonde to his feet, a cry escaped his clenched lips. Dietrich noticed the bulge around the leg and immediately ordered his men to show more care. They supported the prisoner as he moved to the back of the tailgate. By the time he was on the ground he was sweating profusely and gasping for breath. The Captain had him lowered to the ground where a medic could check his injury. The other two prisoners looked on as Hitchcock was given an antibiotic and a shot of morphine.
Satisfied that all that could be done had been done, Dietrich ordered the prisoners split up. Tully was pushed into the last halftrack in line while the driver was sent to the first one. Hitchcock was placed on a stretcher and loaded into the first one, next to their driver. Dietrich climbed aboard and the column resumed its' journey.
"Where are they taking us?" The freckled faced driver looked nervously around at the stone faced Germans.
"Probably back to their base." Hitch answered tiredly.
"Where's that?"
"Last I heard, about sixty kilometers west of here."
"What happens then?" The driver looked down into the flushed face of the wounded man.
"Don't know." Hitch grunted, tired of talking.
"Will they kill us?"
Hitch looked up at the fresh faced recruit standing above him. He didn't feel like talking but the other private was obviously terrified and imaging all sorts of horrible fates.
"Not likely. The Captain is a decent guy. He'll treat you alright." Hitch paused to catch his breath. "He'll probably send you to a POW camp."
"What about you? Your sergeants aren't going to come to your rescue you know." The private told him in a half whisper. "The Major sent them out on a mission somewhere and they may not be back for a couple of days."
"Shut up Kirkland!" The blonde whispered harshly. "You never talk about anything military."
"But they aren't coming!"
"Shut up!"
"Who's going to hear, the guards don't speak English."
"The Captain speaks excellent English." Hitchcock reminded him.
"But the Captain can't hear us." Kirkland reasoned, glancing toward the front of the halftrack where Dietrich sat with headphones on his ears.
"Ask the guard if I can have some water." Hitch whispered, his parched throat too dry to speak very loud.
Kirkland looked confused at the change of subject. He hesitated and looked from Hitchcock to the guards standing next to him.
Just then the guard next to them called to his friends for a canteen from the rear of the halftrack. They passed it to him and he uncapped it and took a long drink. Recapping it slowly, he watched the prisoners as he did so. He glanced at Kirkland, juggling the canteen expectantly.
"I don't know any German," Kirkland finally admitted, "I wouldn't know how to ask for water."
"Wasser." Hitchcock provided him with the German word for water.
"Wasser." Kirkland stumbled over the pronunciation. He looked over at the guards as they burst into laughter. After having a good laugh, the guard tossed the canteen to the private. Kirkland knelt next to Hitchcock and helped him take a drink.
"How do you know they won't just kill us?" Kirkland asked again, eyeing the guards as he handed the canteen back to them.
"Because we've had dealings with him before." Hitch answered with a sigh, his throat still dry from the fever. "The Captain is one of those Germans who believe in honor and duty. He's caught us before and he's always been decent about it. Now will you shut up, I need some sleep."
Pvt. Kirkland lapsed into silence as Hitchcock closed his eyes and drifted into a restless sleep. The rest of the day passed slowly as the halftrack rumbled across the rugged terrain. They drove all day but they didn't cover much ground since they were weaving back and forth across the desert floor. The medic caught up to them during their stop for lunch and checked on the prisoner. He spoke briefly with Captain Dietrich before returning to his own vehicle. Tully was kept separate from the others during the stop but he was allowed close enough to assure himself that they were safe.
The evening stop for camp was different. Tents were set up, meals were heated, and the prisoners were sent into one tent together. Tully rushed to his friend's side as soon as the guards stepped away from the stretcher. Hitch's flushed face was twisted in pain. Low moans escaped him every time he tried to move even though he was unconscious.
"He needs a doctor." Tully told the guards, pointing to the blonde. "He needs a doctor."
The guards stared blankly at him, watching as he tried to make them understand.
"The doctor is on his way." Dietrich stepped through the doorway of the tent. He knelt next to Hitchcock and placed a palm on his forehead. The heat coming off the skin was high even for someone confined to a hot tent. "The doctor will be here soon and he'll give him more antibiotics. I'll have your meals sent in shortly."
"We need water to keep him cool Captain." Tully placed a hand on Hitchcock's shoulder, noting his rapid breathing.
"Of course." Dietrich sent a man for water. "Where are your sergeants Private?"
Tully shrugged. "Wouldn't know Captain, they weren't with us."
The Captain smiled at the answer. "Of course not Private, they would have never let me take you without a fight if they were there. But I have a feeling that you know where they are."
"Nope, you're wrong Captain, we don't know where they are." Tully gave the German a roguish grin. "But of course I couldn't tell you even if we knew."
"Of course," Dietrich responded with a knowing grin of his own.
The Captain left the tent with the doctor after Hitch had been treated. The guard from the halftrack followed the Captain out talking animatedly as they walked.