Another Exhausting Mission

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 3

Dietrich's column cleared the rocks surrounding the waterhole and headed for the nearest German base. The desert was flat at first but soon gave way to rolling hills and deep wadis. The hills gained altitude as they went and gaps separated the numerous mounds.

Dietrich had been thinking about the trap he would use to catch the other 'rats' and he had a plan all worked out. Thinking of his prisoner, he twisted around to check on Troy. The sergeant had his head back against the metal behind him and he was sound asleep. Twisting even further the captain checked on the rest of his column. The line of vehicles was winding its way around another of the dunes that popped up to pepper the desert floor.

As he looked back, he saw one of his men suddenly stiffen and point to the outer edge of the dune. Dietrich turned his head in time to see a group of horsemen charge at his column. Before he could turn back another group raced out in front of his halftrack and began to fire at his men. His driver was one of the first to fall.

The Arabs swept past the halftrack with rifles blazing. His men in the rear fought well despite being surprised. The first wave of horsemen swept past as Dietrich reached for his sidearm. One of his men fell from the rear and landed nearly on top of him, knocking his luger from his hand and onto the ground outside of the vehicle. The next wave of horsemen buried it in the sand as their horses thundered past. Several of the horsemen tumbled to the ground while their horses ran on.

The rest of the column had reacted and the firing was deafening. More Arabs poured from wherever they had hidden and rode along the length of the column firing wildly. As even more horsemen appeared the drivers who were still able began to take their vehicles around the disabled ones and run from the fight.

Grabbing the rifle the fallen soldier had dropped, Dietrich took aim at the Arabs. His first target took a head dive off of his horse after Dietrich fired. His second target managed to cling to the neck of his mount for several strides before he too fell to the ground. The captain was looking for another target when he sensed, rather than saw, someone climbing over the hood of his halftrack. Twisting around he tried to line up for another shot. The Arab was faster and swung the barrel of his rifle. The barrel connected with the side of Dietrich's head and the captain was out of the fight. He dropped to the floor of the halftrack with blood flowing freely from the cut on his temple.

His lieutenant glanced at the halftrack as his driver took him forward. His captain was crumpled onto the floor with blood everywhere. From what he could see as they rumbled past there were no survivors to save. Waving his driver on, he mourned the loss of his commander as he led the survivors from the scene of the ambush.

The Arabs gave chase but after nearly a mile of running full out their horses were too tired to continue. Since they could no longer hope to catch the armored vehicles the Arabs stopped and dismounted. They continued to fire at the fleeing Germans until the column was completely out of range.

Dietrich woke up with Troy slapping his face.

"Come on Captain, wake up; we need to get out of here!"

"Troy?"

"Yeah, it's me," Troy confirmed. "Come on, we need to move!"

"How did you get free?"

"Never mind that, we need to move!" Troy repeated, tugging on the captain's arm.

"Move? Move to where?" Dietrich shook his head to clear it.

"Anywhere," Troy insisted. "Those Arabs are going to get tired of chasing your column, and when they do, they're going to come back here to pick up their dead and anything they can steal. When they start searching these vehicles for contraband we don't want to be here."

"I believe you are right," Dietrich agreed. He tried to push himself to a sitting position but stopped when his head started to spin.

"Here, let me help you." Troy reached for the captain's arm again. "How's the head?"

"Telling me loud and clear that it's still there."

Troy chuckled. "You must have one hard head. I could hear the thunk from where I was sitting."

"Let me untie your hands," Dietrich offered when he noticed that Troy's hands were still bound.

"It can wait," Troy shook his head. "We aren't going to have a lot of time here and we need to get away from these vehicles. I don't hear any more shots so they may already be on their way back."

Dietrich leaned on the door and looked out across the desert. He couldn't see his column or the Arabs but he did see a cloud of dust rising from the desert floor. His heart raced as he realized that the dust was getting closer.

"Help me down Sergeant, I think they're coming."

Troy steadied him until he reached the ground. He put his hand to his head and felt the sticky wetness there. That touch sent a wave of pain across his head that threatened to send him back into the darkness of oblivion. Grasping at the door, he supported himself until the dizziness passed.

"Come on!" Troy urged. "Put your arm around my neck" Using his bound hands to grip Dietrich's hand, Troy supported the German as they moved around the halftrack. Troy led them to the base of the nearest hill. It was a tough climb with Dietrich staggering and dragging Troy down with him frequently.

"Sergeant, I need a rest," Dietrich panted.

"When we get to the top," Troy answered. "We need to keep moving."

Dietrich nodded and kept climbing. When they finally reached the top of the hill he collapsed to the ground.

"Stay here, I'm going to go back for some weapons," Troy explained.

"I'm sorry Sergeant, I should have thought of that earlier."

"We couldn't have carried them earlier," Troy reasoned. "We both needed our hands to climb."

"We should have tried to start the vehicles," Dietrich gasp. "My driver was killed but I think the halftrack would still run. We could have driven out of here."

"I tried," Troy answered. "A bullet must have hit the engine. I tried the others too, none of them started."

"You tried them?"

"Yeah."

"Is that why you came back for me; you couldn't get away on your own?"

"You're not helping my chances any," Troy growled. He turned to head back down the hill. "Get down!" Diving to the ground, he pushed the captain behind a rock.

"What is it?" Dietrich asked breathlessly.

"The Arabs, they're back," Troy hissed.

The two men kept low and watched as the Arabs collected their dead. The bodies were loaded onto nervous horses and a couple of the men took charge of the mounts.

"Do you think they'll leave now?" Dietrich whispered.

"Maybe," Troy whispered back. "But I'm betting they'll search the vehicles first."

"They won't leave us any weapons."

Troy was watching the Arabs intently and didn't turn as he answered. "Right now I'm more worried about them leaving us water."

"They don't usually take the water cans," Dietrich replied. "Even if they do, my column will come back for our dead. We can survive that long without water."

"Maybe," Troy answered absently.

At Troy's tone Dietrich looked up sharply. "What is it? What do you see?"

"They're searching the vehicles," Troy explained, "and they found that bloody handprint you left on the door of your halftrack." Troy glanced back to see Dietrich pale. "Let's just hope they don't decide to investigate."

A shot rang out and Dietrich jumped. "What was that?"

Troy didn't look at the captain as he answered. "They must have found a survivor I missed. They just shot one of your men. Either that or they shot him to try to flush you out. Maybe they think you'll show yourself to protect your men."

"To protect men already dead?"

"The shot may have been an attempt to convince you that there are survivors." Troy continued to watch and give Dietrich updates. "Some of them are leaving."

"That's good news isn't it?"

"Who knows," Troy shrugged.

"They aren't coming up here."

"Not yet, but they aren't looking up here either."

"Then they don't suspect that we're up here," Dietrich decided.

"Or they just don't want to give themselves away until…" Troy paused.

"Until what?"

"Let's go!" Troy urged. "They sent some of their men around the hill to come up on the other side. They'll head us off and we won't have an escape route."

"Are you sure?"

"Move Dietrich!" Troy pulled Dietrich to his feet and gave him a shove.

They cleared the top of the hill and were started down the other side when the horsemen arrived. Troy froze as the Arabs started their charge up the slope. Glancing over, he saw Dietrich give him a slight nod. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the two men raised their hands in surrender.