Chapter Two: Battle Of Cologne Street
Mike squeezed the trigger of his rifle. It bucked into his shoulder. The bullet struck a Russian sergeant in the back. The man went down screaming. He fired again, putting him down for good. The other soldiers scurried for cover, behind cars or trees. A deafening fusillade of automatic fire filled the air. Barely able to hear, Mike fired again and again. Enemy rounds smashed into the window glass. He ducked, glass raining down on him. He could hear Jacob and Ryan yelling and shooting down the hall.
Keep shooting! Think later, just keep fighting! He quickly reloaded his .308 and took aim again. He took a deep breath. Then another. His nerves calmed. Looking through his scope, the rest of the world seemed to melt away. Only his target existed. He fired. A soldier dropped. He ducked as more rounds slammed into the wall behind him.
"They're coming this way!" Ryan cried over the walkie. A squad of Russians were making for the front door, covering each other with suppressive fire. Ryan and Jacob dropped two but the rest were still coming. Suddenly, they were beneath Mike's gun. He couldn't shoot at that angle. Shit!
The front door exploded. Heavy footsteps and angry voices filled the air. They were coming down the hallway. Mike crawled over to the opposite wall. He steadied his rifle on his knees. Stay calm! I won't let them get me or my friends!
"Do not move!" The soldier hollered as he poked his AK into the room. His eyes burned with a cold hatred. Mike had no doubts the man was prepared to murder him where he sat. His age would not matter.
"Screw you!" Mike pulled the trigger. His world went silent. A terrible ringing filled his ears. The man staggered backwards, blood pouring from a hole in his chest. He swung his AK around. In his deafened world, Mike only saw the tracers sparking from the barrel. Mike felt the heat as the rounds burned past him. They would find him. He would die right here…
Suddenly, the Russian spun and fell dead. Blood soaked the carpeting. Mike stared in shock as Ryan stood over the dead enemy soldier. "You okay, dude?"
"Y-yeah, I think so, thanks!"
"Cover the door, let's go!" Jacob yelled as he ran down the hall. Without a word, the two boys followed their friend. They took positions behind an overturned coffee table. A burst of enemy fire took out the living room window. Mike shot down two more Russian soldiers making for the front door.
"Boys, get out of the house!" Dad ordered. As one, all three boys crawled to the back door. Bullets ripped through the air as they entered the backyard. Jets screamed over head. It sounded like a nightmare version of a Fourth of July fireworks display, but these fireworks were deadly.
"They got tanks!" someone screamed, "tanks are coming!"
Oh god no! Mike came around the front just in time to see a gigantic armored vehicle trundle down Frankfort Drive and onto Cologne. It moved on giant tires, had a hull shaped like a boat. On top was a powerful looking cannon. Bullets pinged off it's hull as if they were spit wads. That cannon swung around and took dead aim at his house.
"Move!" Mike said as the tank opened fire. Chunks were ripped out of the house. Glass shattered. Flames raged inside. Without pausing, the Russian armor rolled down the street, firing and firing. Houses exploded. People died. Mike could smell fire and smoke. We can't fight that! Now what?
Mom came stumbling out the backdoor, covered in soot and coughing but she looked unharmed. Mike ran to her. Benny barked at the top of his lungs. He jerked his leash right out of Mom's hand and raced out the open gate.
"Benny!" Mike cried. He started to run after him but his Mom grabbed him, holding him back.
"We'll get him, Mike, don't get yourself killed!" By now Dad had reappeared in the backyard, breathing hard and carrying two of the Russian's AK rifles. He gave one to Mike.
"You boys get the hell out of here!" Dad said, "just go! Go to the mountains, where we hunt. Don't come back till we call you."
"Dad no-!" Mike started to say. Dad put one of his massive hands on Mike's shoulder and gently squeezed.
"Go son," he said, "before they kill you too. Mom and I will stay and take care of the little kids. And find that dumb dog. Now go!"
Mike gave him a quick hug. Mom hugged him and Jacob and Ryan too. Then the boys ran out of the yard, refusing to look back. They had to move between houses and cut through backyards to avoid the Russian tanks. Gunfire still crackled through the air. The sounds of the Russian armor attacking houses made the ground shake. Mike's heart stopped with each thunderous kaboom.
"So, what now, man?" Jacob said as they walked along a side street. They stuck to the woods to avoid aircraft. Mike checked and rechecked the AK's magazine. It was fully loaded. He had never fired one of these before for real, outside of video games. It felt strange to be holding an enemy weapon. One that had killed his neighbors.
"We do what my Dad said," Mike replied, "head for the country and wait. This'll end sooner or later."
"That could take months!" Ryan shook his head and turned to his friend.
"Dude, once the Army gets here-"
"Assuming we got an army still!" Jacob said, "maybe the Russians took it out somehow, what if they're all dead?"
Mike sighed. "Stop it! Let's just worry about staying alive right now. The military will be here, okay? It might take a while but they'll be here."
"Sorry, Mike. I-I'm just really screwed up right now," Jacob said with a tired smile. Mike could hardly blame him. His mind was a jumble of thoughts. Were Mom and Dad okay? Where was Benny? Worst of all, I killed people today! Really killed people. I'm only 16. But this was a war. Those Russians were trying to kill him and his friends and family. You did what you had to do. You're a soldier now.
They walked for hours, making very little progress as they constantly took cover from Russian armored vehicles or trucks. Still there was no trace of US forces. Jacob and Ryan fell in behind him, constantly on the lookout. The AK was starting to feel heavy in Mike's hands. What if Jacob's right? What if they used some kind of weapon on our troops? Where are they?
"Mike, look!" Ryan shouted, pointing skyward. Mike looked up and grinned as he saw aircraft contrails twisting and turning against the blue sky, like a gigantic spiderweb. Fighters engaged in dogfights. There had to be hundreds of them!
"Holy crap!" Jacob exclaimed. "They came! I've never been happier to be wrong!" The boys stood, transfixed by the silent battle raging far above their heads. A puff smoke and an angry red fireball burst into view.
"I really, really hope that was Russian," Ryan said. Jacob pointed to a small speck streaking towards them.
"That's ours!" he said, "F-22 Raptor!" Mike ducked as the jet roared overhead by only a few hundred feet. A missile leaped off it's wing and slammed into the Russian MiG it was chasing. The jet exploded with a sharp kaboom! The F-22 pulled a victory loop and raced back into the sky. All three boys cheered and laughed. The fight was not over yet!
"Now that was the coolest thing ever!" Jacob exclaimed.
"It sure was," Mike said, "let's get going. They'll find us standing out here."
The sun was going down by the time they reached the farmlands outside of Arcadia. It was getting too late to move and Mike worried about where to spend the night. His stomach was empty too. They needed food. But from where? It's too dangerous to keep walking after dark, we could walk right into a Russian patrol.
"Anyone else as hungry as I am?" Mike mumbled, mostly to himself. Ryan and Jacob both nodded. Neither boy had had dinner that night. Ryan stopped as they passed an empty farmhouse. The front door was wide open. He scratched his head for a moment.
"We can get food in there," he said. Mike stared at him.
"That's someone's house, we can't just walk in and take stuff."
"Why not, the people are gone."
"Commonly known as stealing."
"Commonly known as survival, Mikey!" Ryan replied, "we'll write down the address and pay for whatever we take. We're only taking food, not looting the place."
The boys stepped carefully into the abandoned house. In the kitchen, Ryan and Jacob filled Ryan's backpack with bread, fruit, protein bars and some water bottles. It felt wrong to just take stuff from someone else's house, but Ryan was right. It was about keeping themselves alive. It wasn't like they were hurting anyone.
"I'm thinking we should just stay here tonight," Mike said. It was by now pitch-black outside.
"Yeah, me too," Ryan said and Jacob nodded, looking around.
"How 'bout the barn?" he asked, "the Ruskies might look for us in the house." The huge barn looked in good shape. Mike forced the door open. Inside it was stacked with farm equipment, tractors and four wheelers. A ladder led up to the loft. Shutting and locking the door, they sealed themselves in for the night. They ate the food they took and settled down to sleep.