Nathan Jones - Determination

“I’d definitely say it’s our best shot,” Trent agreed. He started sliding down the hill they’d been observing the depot from, roughly south and a bit west of it. The hill wasn’t very tall, but it was close to a rise that ran southeast all the way from the southern slope to the base of the hill before petering out. The enemy to the east couldn’t see anyone moving behind that rise, but from their higher elevation on the southern slope Trev’s and Jane’s sentries and patrols could easily see the rise and the terrain beyond.

They’d moved along the rise reach this spot, and agreed it was fairly reliable. Reliable enough, in fact, that it would probably be their best bet for sneaking into the camp when the time came. It also helped that once they got closer to the slope they’d be in range of a few hills at its base. Trev had put Rob Jonas with a team on the southernmost one, to cover the last few hundred yards of their retreat and give warning of any blockheads approaching.

Trev, Jane, and the other three members of their team followed Trent down, waiting until they’d made it behind the rise before getting to their feet. Then they started at a jog towards the hill where Rob’s team waited.

They were halfway there when the main channel abruptly exploded with chatter. Cutting over it came one louder voice he thought might be Graham, the demolitions specialist. “Is anyone out there?” the soldier yelled. “I repeat, is anyone south of Huntington?”

Motioning for the team to duck behind better cover for the moment, Trev toggled his mic back to that channel. “Trevor Smith here, half a mile southeast of the slope south of 31’s canyon.”

There was a brief pause, broken by the sound of gunfire over the radio, before Graham answered. “We’re about a mile east-southeast of you and running hard for the mountains. It’s pretty bad terrain for vehicles so we don’t have that problem, but a swarm of blockheads on foot are hot on our heels. Can you get to us?”

“On our way.” Trev motioned to his team, feeling his heart begin pounding. This was his first engagement since the failed ambush outside Cedar Creek Canyon, and it sounded like Graham’s people were in bad trouble. If they went after them they might end up in the same situation.

Still, he had to try. He wasn’t going to be like Vernon, watching people on their side fighting a stone’s throw away while he stayed safely back. He reversed direction and ran back the way they’d come, trusting the rise to hide him and his lookouts to the northwest to give warning of approaching danger. His team followed in their usual formation, moving quietly in spite of the fast pace.

He had a vague idea of where Graham might be. There was a place not far past where the rise ended where they could break south to meet up with him. Better yet, it led to a good vantage: a spot overlooking a ravine between two hills, where they should be able to lay down cover fire against the pursuing enemy and give the Marines some breathing room.

After going for about five minutes Jane volunteered to pop her head over the rise and see what things looked like. Graham had been giving a running commentary on their progress, and Trev had directed him and his soldiers towards the ravine.

When the redheaded woman scrambled back down her expression was grim. “Trucks are circling the bad terrain to cut Graham off. They can’t really block our retreat to the mountains if we go due west from here, but they’re going to reach the top of the ravine before us. The Marines are going to be in a shooting gallery.”

Trev relayed the information to Graham even as he broke into a sprint, finishing with: “Keep your head down, but make sure they know they’ve got you pinned so their attention is on you.”

“I’m guessing they won’t be confused on that count,” the demolitions specialist replied.

That didn’t seem like it needed a response. As they ran Jane spoke to the team. “We’re going to pop up behind the blockheads cutting off Graham’s escape. They won’t have any good cover from this direction, so we should be able to wipe them out and give the Marines time to reach us.”

“Unless they know we’re here and keep going right to the rise,” Hans muttered.

Trev put on an extra burst of speed. “Hopefully Graham will let us know if they do.”

The rise petered out ahead, and they found themselves ducking through clumps of sagebrush in deceptively flat terrain. In fact there were all sorts of bumps and dips in the ground, but using them to stay out of sight slowed his team’s progress to a crawl. Ahead he heard the sound of gunfire.

“Whatever you’re planning, do it quick,” Graham said. “Blockheads are coming at us from both ends of the ravine, and as soon as they climb up the sides they’ll be shooting down at us too.”

Trev poked his head out of a low depression in the ground, then ducked down again quickly. The blockheads were less than a hundred yards away, now. As he’d guessed, they were focused on the Marines in the ravine with their backs to his team.

He looked around at his companions. “Take them all out before they know we’re here. We can’t let this turn into a shootout.” He receive five nods of acknowledgement, and after a few deep breaths popped up with his rifle ready and opened fire.

Under his team’s barrage a dozen blockheads dropped within ten seconds, and Graham’s soldiers cheered and bolted for safety, staggering up the ravine through the opening created by the cover fire.

The position was terrible for the dozens of enemy soldiers pursuing them up the ravine, the same poor position Graham had been before Trev’s team showed up. Even so, the chasing blockheads might have been a problem if they kept going after the Marines. Luckily instead they broke for any cover they could find.

Trev supposed they’d already learned plenty of hard lessons about pushing hard into areas where the military was set up to push back. They had no way of knowing whether this was a desperate last ditch cover action to save Graham’s men, or a carefully prepared ambush they were being led into.

He kept shooting along with his squad, getting a few hits on any blockheads that couldn’t find cover quick enough or had anything sticking out from their hiding spots that could take a bullet. He even hit one enemy in the head when the man popped out to shoot at Graham. It was the exact same spot the idiot had just popped out from, and Trev had the shot lined up before the blockhead even showed himself.

In just over a minute Graham’s people had safely joined Trev’s team in the depression. After one last barrage to encourage the blockheads to keep their heads down, they all bolted back for the rise. It was risky going until then, seeking any cover available but mostly hoping to speed and their head start to stay ahead of enemy gunfire.

To his relief the blockheads were slow to open fire again, and by then his and Graham’s teams had reached the rise. At that point they’d bought themselves a few minutes of breathing room with good cover, so now it was time to make themselves scarce. Some of the Marines were wounded, including Graham, so Trev’s team moved to give them shoulders to lean on as they staggered towards the safety of the mountains ahead.

Trev got a grateful look from the demolitions specialist as he got under the wounded man’s arm. “Thanks. And for more than just the shoulder to lean on. We lost half our guys just trying to run.”

Trev winced. Graham only had five men with him, but it figured they were part of a larger squad. The demolitions specialists were too useful to venture out without an escort. “Who was with you?”

The Marine gave him a troubled look. “The entire 2 ndSquad. Williams was escorting us as we put down mines on one of the roads the blockheads were using regularly. We were planning to blow up a convoy this time.”