Part Four: Where the Hell are the Guns?
The battle caught up to me far faster than I had hoped. Less than twenty five minutes later I could hear distant gunfire. It became louder and louder as I neared it. I walked cautiously through alleyways, with my body pressed against wall after wall, house after house. Now and then I could hear Ishbal's loyal militia units moving down the main streets to the front lines. When I heard them, I ducked into dumpsters, making sure my weapon was cocked. I could take two or three of them before they got to me. Of that, I was sure. My uniform was completely in tatters, so I shed my jacket. My skin was exposed to the hot dry air. The dusty air tortured the hundreds of small cuts all over my body. I slung my blue jacket over my shoulder. After it had slid off a few times, I decided to tie it around my waist. Several minutes later I knew I had to be near the train station I had arrived at. The gunfire was so intense all around me, I began to panic, knowing I would be unable to fight in my condition.
I was three city blocks from the train station. Mortars were falling all around me. Heavy machinegun fire erupted from the buildings around me. I could hear trains arriving on mass. Things had obviously gone badly. I hadn't run into a single friendly patrol. The people of Ishbal were obviously overconfident in their victory, having pushed us back so far. They failed to realize that heavy reserves were held back, and were now, by the sounds of it arriving at the station. Company after company would arrive. An entire division would be committed if needed.
I ducked into a dumpster. Running out into the middle of a firefight would make short work of me. I decided to wait until nightfall, then I could sneak through the front line. The battle raged on without me. I tucked my head against my chest. A stray mortar shell would tear the thin steel dumpster to pieces. I tried to sleep, but the gunshots rang in my ears. I tried to reply the previous day's events in my mind, but I couldn't seem to put everything together. The pain of my broken eardrum kept my eyes open. The machinegun fire died down as the sky grew darker. The Ishbali militia had little in the way of tracer bullets, or spotlights. An assault at night would result in a one sided slaughter. I lifted the lid on the dumpster and rolled over the top back into the alley. I crept on my knees, knowing that the militias had probably tripled patrols now that the front line had quieted down. I'd be tortured to death for information that I didn't have if I were captured. I heard muffled footsteps coming towards me. I pitched my body up against the wall, and readied my weapon. As they came closer, I heard whispered voices. They spoke familiar words in a western accent. I was about to be rescued. I spoke quietly, "Corporal Taybor, 608th Foot!" I was quickly overwhelmed from all sides, and forced to the ground. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my skull, and drifted back into unconsciousness.
I woke up not long after I had been knocked out. I could tell, the air felt the same of my face. Cold and frigid. Nights in Ishbal contrasted the days a great deal. Hot dry days, cold frigid nights. I opened my eyes and found myself in a field hospital. I could hear the trains closer than ever. I realized where I had been taken. I tried to sit up, but I was quickly pushed down again. "Hold on Corporal, don't move, we're still checking you out." I saw the face of a doctor. "You took an awful blow to the head, those 22nd boys sure can be rough. You can understand though, they didn't want to take any chances in the dark." I tried to reply but I couldn't force any words out. The doctor smiled at me. "Don't try to talk, we've got you drugged up something else. Try to sleep a few hours more, those drugs wear off fast. It's a good thing too; it looks like you'll be back on the line in the morning." I rolled my eyes back into my head, and closed them gently. The drugs brought sleep quickly.
The same doctor awakened me before daybreak. His black hair glistened with sweat. "Corporal Taybor is it?"
"Corporal Taybor, 608th Foot." I replied. The drug had obviously worn off.
"I've got someone here who wants to speak with you, are you coherent?" The doctor's voice became very firm, and he looked directly into my eyes.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Who was it that wanted to speak with me?" I lifted my head and glanced around, but my neck was almost too stiff to move. I could see a familiar face, yet I could not put my finger on just who it was.
"Corporal Taybor is it? I heard you came back from Bismallah Street almost in one piece. I just came to see how you were doing." Lieutenant Hanley spoke far more firmly than he had before. I imagine he spent the entire day with a rifle, sending platoon after platoon into the fray. That would toughen a man up fairly quickly.
"I'm doing fine sir, just stiff is all." I spoke the truth, I could barely move.
"Can you tell me what happened out there? You're the first one back. The militias cut all the communication lines between this station, and our outposts. We're blacked out, and for some reason, our artillery still hasn't showed up. Every mortar team we had deployed in the field has been captured for all we know. It won't take long for those bastards to figure out how to use them. The foothold we have here at the station isn't big enough to hold off a mortar barrage for long." He started to speak quickly; he obviously had little control over what he was saying. He was just speaking his mind, getting all of his frustration out. "We lost at least six companies today. It seems as though the came out from underground. That's why the streets are so quiet, they are moving through a tunnel network. Probably the old sewer system. If we just had some heavy artillery. If we had our guns we could pound the streets, and cave in the sewers. Artillery, or alchemy. Either way, we need to block those sewers. I suppose what I needed to ask you was, did you find any entrances while you were out there?"
I rolled my eyes back into my skull again, and thought deeply. "The objective. Bismallah Street. The headquarters. When the mortars started in on the position they must have gone somewhere." I thought hard, trying to recall every moment. "First they must have tried to reinforce it. Then they withdrew." I did recall seeing their numbers fluctuate. "They cut everybody to pieces. Our own weapons… rockets… machineguns. They cut everyone to pieces. Then the house fell down." I had a hard time recollecting everything out loud. I felt it was strange that I was not overcome with emotion. "There must have been an entrance in the headquarters. The foundation was strong. I just got out of there."
"It's okay corporal. You did just fine. Get some more rest, you're going to be very busy in the morning." The Lieutenant looked back towards the doctor. "Will he be fit enough to move at daybreak?"
"It's doubtful. He will need a couple of days to recover properly." The doctor seemed very concerned. Almost as though he didn't want his hard work put to waste.
"Hopefully our trucks can be unloaded from the trains by then. Hell, hopefully our guns have showed up by then." The Lieutenant turned to leave. "Rest up Taybor. By the way, congratulations, you're a Sergeant now."
The doctor's head hovered over me again. "Did you hear that, they must really be short of experienced men. You better rest up, it looks like they're sending you out again."
I cringed. Nothing could be said, nothing could be done. I didn't want any more responsibility; I just wanted to be sent home. My injuries were severe enough. I just wanted to go home. Things didn't appear to be going my way. Or had they? It appeared as if I was the only one saved. Everyone was dead, Leoni, right before my eyes. He died the way he always wanted to. He held the line to the very end. I couldn't have done it. I could barely react. All I wanted to do was sleep. I didn't want to think anymore. I didn't want to think about what happened. I just wanted to sleep, and go home.
Sleep didn't come to me again. I was issued a new uniform showing my new rank, and another rifle was thrust into my hands. I slid a 16th round into the chamber and stepped out of the field hospital. "Sergeant Taybor!" The Lieutenant shouted. "Saddle up, we're moving out ASAP. You're with me. Our armored trucks arrived in the night. Still no guns. You know what that means?" I looked out towards the battered street in front of the station. "We're taking the tunnels Sergeant. We are taking them with what we have." He smiled a bit when he saw my reaction.
I strode towards Hanley, my rifle slung over my shoulder. "And my platoon?" I was weary to take command of more men.
"You won't be leading a platoon Sergeant. I want you no more than two meters from me at all times. You're going to be my advisor." We started walking towards the waiting trucks.
"But sir, I really don't know anything, I mean, I didn't see anything. I'm sure you have a better understanding of the situation than I do." It was a strange request. He knew that I knew very little.
"You're good luck Sergeant. You came back. Hopefully you'll do it again. For some reason, God smiled on you, so you're coming with me. Maybe some of it will rub off. I just got this command, and I'm not about to die and lose it all!" We stopped next to one of the waiting trucks. I counted seven in all. Standard armour plated five-ton trucks. The armour would deflect small arms fire, but it wouldn't' do much good against rockets. "Mount up, you're sitting in the middle." He grinned.
"Yes sir." I opened the truck's front door, and scooted over next to the driver. Hanley got in next to me. I looked over at the driver. He had obviously spent the night on the train. Had hot food, and gotten some decent rest.
"Driver, sound the advance." The driver honked his horn on the Lieutenant's order, and the convoy moved forward. "Listen up Taybor, I'm going to fill you in. Seven trucks, six of which are fully loaded with infantry. In the seventh, we've stored a little surprise for the people of Ishbal. Although no artillery showed up, we pulled a quad 20mm gun off one of the trains. It's mounted under the tarp. If the shit hits the fan, they're going to tear off the tarp, and tear up the opposition. Now, what we have here are 90 men armed with close quarters weapons. Sub machineguns, grenades, swords, and bayonets. We're going to hit the tunnels fast and hard. Back to Bismallah Street, right into the heart of their network. Our objective is to plant charges along the tunnels, and cave in a good 200 meters or so. That will give them something worth digging through until our artillery shows up. Central City has promised us Alchemists, they are en route. The artillery will show up first, and I don't plan on leaving a damned thing for the alchemists to do. The Colonel has reinforced my company, and he has given myself, and yourself the honour of being the vanguard of the entire operation." I was dumbfounded at this point. The Lieutenant had transformed before my eyes, from a stuttering buffoon into a battle hardened commander overnight. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had changed just as drastically. All of my emotions had left me. I was indifferent to life and death. I was indifferent to Leoni's loss. "One more thing Taybor, if I go down out there, you're in charge. Understand? If I go down, you finish the operation, and you get everybody the hell out of there. By the time we get back from this excursion, Division claims it will have captured at least 10 blocks in each direction from the station. That should be enough of a foothold to pacify the rest of the city if we play our cards right."
I nodded, and lay back in my seat. The tiny view slit the driver was using to see past the armored windows passed out of my line of sight. I closed my eyes, and waited.