Special Divisions

The war had been going on for so long no one was quite sure who had started it and why; they still fought though. Young men and all too recently women were being sent to their deaths in droves, fighting battles for no more reason than for the fact each side feared what would happen if they lost.
The story that is about to be told does not start at the beginning, which is generally considered unusual. This starts in the middle of everything; the middle is the best place to enter a war when all things are considered, the first initial shock of the massive loss of life has stopped and the people who got it all wrong in the beginning have started to realise just how big a mess up they’ve made and have started to fix it.

Little was known about the war in fact, two main opposing sides battled for the lands between their great countries and both insisted they had the right to rule the other. The world had been split in two by speeches and arguments; vast armies springing up as both alliances readied to guard against the enemy. No one even remembered who struck first but one day every street between the two seemed to explode into a flurry of fighting; the allied battling in their sleet grey uniforms and the defendants in their splattered green and brown gear, the only way you could tell who was a friend or a foe was what colour they were.

The middle we will start with shall be centre of the bombed out city of Nautik; recently taken for the third time by the allied army. Grey clad soldiers littered the streets like stray dogs, for once their guns lay relaxed by their sides; the moods were mixed along the streets as some wept for fallen friends and some celebrated the victory. For all it was a time for drink however and half standing houses were raided in search of anything alcoholic; after all these years of main cities being taken repeatedly when the old soldiers were being forced out of the houses they left any alcohol behind for the winners.

One soldier that wasn’t joining in with the heavy drinking and resulting scuffles was Simon Moon, or Sammy as his buddies called him. The reason he wasn’t drinking with the others was the fact he had fewer buddies to call him Sammy, he always wanted at least a day of remembrance before attempting to blot out the memories with the rest of the platoon. It was going to take a lot of drink to erase that image of Hot Rhod’s temple exploding in a shower of claret as a bullet cut threw his helmet as if it was made of jelly.
It had been only feet from their cover, seconds after Sammy’s platoon had been ordered to advance; Hot Rhod, Ape, Butler, Roach, Clover and Sammy himself. Sammy remembered in slow motion; breaking free of what little protection they’d had the team ran and gunned blindly towards the horizon as whoever was on the other end did the same. Bullets smacked into the sticky floor as Sammy and the other troops fought to keep moving. It was right then, as Hot Rhod’s boot sunk deep into the ground, a shot with his name on it silently sliced through the air and as Rhod stumbled it clipped his helmet.
Sammy wiped his face out of reflex as he remembered how Rhod’s neck had almost twisted a full circle and sprayed blood in a sickening arc. They couldn’t stop though; if you stopped you’d end up like Rhod or worse. Ape was getting jittery though; he’d been in a few battles but he wasn’t used to death yet, right now fears of his own demise seemed to be driving him to keep moving though. There were more screams in the darkness as people fell to the bullets, somehow Sammy and the rest of his buddies made it across the swampy field; it wasn’t over though, far from it. From here the fighting got worse, small streets made it hard to move and if you went out alone you could get jumped and bluntly beaten to death.

Clover led the way through the abandoned streets, dashing from shadow to shadow and seeking cover whenever a bullet ricocheted off the stone streets; you could never tell where the shot would come from until it hit so in these walled death traps you had to be quick and pray the first bullet missed. I don’t know who was listening to us up there but as luck would have it the first burst caused the bricks of a wall a few feet above Clover’s head to explode; maybe Clover’s luck was real because it gave our group the chance to scatter before the hidden gunman managed to get a better aim.
Ape and Butler had dodged into a small bombed out stone house with Sammy, pressing themselves up against the stone walls as if wishing to meld with the cold rocks. Now was not the time for hiding though, the door was torn to pieces as bullets smattered through the feeble wood causing the small group of terrified men to throw themselves away from the flying splinters. Butler waited by the far window for the third rattle of gun fire before glancing out to try and pin point the source; retreating as far as he could to the safety of the corner he gesticulated at Ape and Sammy. In the special hand movements of men who spend their entire time together and know more about each other than their loved ones, Butler indicated that there was a shooter on the third floor of the building a few doors to the right. It was time for Ape to do what he did best.
Sammy glanced up at the wrecked ceiling of their hiding place, patting Ape on the shoulder he cupped his hands and Ape placed his foot in it without hesitation. Sammy hefted his comrade skywards, Ape wrapping his arms around a half missing beam and hauling himself up to sit on the remains of the second story floor. Ape unhooked his rifle and darted a look out the window himself to confirm the target; he swore softly to himself when he realised he’d get a better shot from the space where a bomb had taken out a corner of the room, it was an all or nothing shot but he’d made them many times before.
Ducking below the window to try and hide his position he scuttled towards the scarred gash in the wall; the floor was missing here too so Ape had to kick away at the crumbling walls until he had a foot hold. He grabbed onto the exposed brickwork with one hand and pushed himself forward; his other leg stretched out and pressed up against the opposite wall to keep him steady. Ape grabbed his gun and held it up and as steady as he could with one hand gripping white knuckled to the wall; he tensed, tossed himself out of the cover and took aim in an instance. A shot rang out and Ape slammed against the opposite wall; brickwork crumbled and Ape was tossed head over heels towards the first floor.

Ape’s decent was brought to a sudden halt as Butler snatched him out of the air, rolling and diving to avoid the falling stones. Butler stood up, clutching the orange haired young man to his chest as he ran for the cover of the building again. Sammy ducked down and rushed towards the two, sweat breaking out on his forehead as his eyes skirted over Ape; he was bleeding freely from a cut on his temple but Sammy couldn’t see a bullet wound.
“Did... did I get him?” Ape coughed, spluttering out a plume of brick dust from his lungs and stirring slightly.
Sammy smiled and stroked the blood from Ape’s head as he glanced out of the window again; there was a slumped figure and a rifle resting on the pavement below “Yeah Ape... Yeah you got him.”

Sammy smiled wryly to himself as he glanced around at the ruined town centre; Ape was a lucky one, but then again anyone who survived the night was lucky. He didn’t know what would have happened if Ape hadn’t made that shot, all three of them probably would have been gunned down there on the spot. His gaze swept over the survivors again but it was impossible to recognise anyone from this distance, everyone was coated with blood and muck. Wrinkling his nose, Sammy turned away to his memories again.

A very bruised and battered Ape was set on his feet, groaning deeply as he straightened his back and sending the cracks of bones slipping into place echoing around the streets. Butler held him up by a shoulder, being careful since Ape winced every time the grip got tighter.
“Ah suck it up ya big wuss” Sammy said softly from his perch at the window sill, keeping watch for approaching soldiers; it wasn’t as if it would make a difference, you’d hear anyone coming before you saw them.
“I’m alright” Ape said after a few seconds, rolling his shoulder to free himself from Butler’s grip and standing full again “I can still out run you any day Sammy.”
“I’d like to see you tr-“ Sammy began before the ground beneath their feet began to shake as if it was made of water.
Everyone was grounded in an instance, Ape falling with a yell of pain and surprise as he clutched his sides tight and staring at Sammy in fear “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!? WE DIDN’T GET CAUGHT IN FRONT OF A TANKER DID WE?!” he yelled over the rumble of rubble hitting the street outside and deep explosions from further on. Clutching the window tight Sammy tried to haul himself up but found the shaking bricks almost painful to hang onto; he got a momentary glance at the sky however, showing the streaming lines of smoke in the air.
“IT’S OUR OWN ARTILLERY!“ Sammy yelled, even though the explosions and shaking had ended a moment ago; the artillery always left damage to your ears for a few minutes “MUST NOT HAVE THOUGHT WE’D GET IN SO SOON!” They all flinched away as an explosion rocked the street and rattled their fillings; dirt was flung into the run down house along with a smattering of blood.

The three intrepid fighters ducked out of the doorway before the smoke had fully cleared, if one had landed so close that meant two things; they were near to the centre, and that more could be coming. As they stirred the dust in the air it began to fall like the bricks it had once been, revealing that the last mortar had levelled the houses opposite; it appeared that the blood currently lining the walls where Butler, Ape and Sammy had been hiding belonged to the dead soldier opposite, since his left hand appeared to be imbedded in the wall along with the remnants of his shattered helmet.
Wind whipped around the streets now, new eddies swirled along the hollowed out streets as nature attempted to clear away the stone from the air. The group shielded their eyes against the sand blasts, squinting in the storm and crouching down to become smaller targets to any waiting gunmen.
It was clear however that nobody was waiting, no guns rattled out and no shouts of pain rang out in the suddenly still air. Ape uncurled and took a few hesitant steps forward, his head jerking back and forth and his gun waving along with it until he froze up and whimpered in pain.
“Stand down soldier” Sammy sighed, passing Ape with easy strides and patting his friend on the shoulder to send another spasm of pain through him “I can’t hear any shots. I think the others are gone...”
Butler dashed silently past Sammy, almost like wind as he ran into the square where Sammy would be resting so soon afterwards. Leaning down Butler scooped a still figure from the ground; they were so perfectly covered with brick dust that it was almost impossible to see them against the stone floor, the figure became defined as he was pulled away however because a trail of blood was left.
Sammy could tell it was Clover before they got within five feet, quickly joining Butler’s side and staring down at his bloodied and mangled pal “Clover. Clover! Patrick!” he yelled desperately. He slapped at Clover’s face with heavy hands, trying to jolt him awake; his vision flashed back to the stripped flesh on Clover’s legs, nothing but bone remained where the left foot should belong.
Clover’s eyes flickered open just before the fifth slap rained down on his forehead, causing him to cringe and swat at Sammy with a scarred hand “Push off Sammy...” He squirmed in Butler’s arms as if trying to get free “Put me down you bloody idiot, I’m fine.” He tried to kick but ended up sending a spray of blood over Butler instead.
“Clover!” Sammy yelled, grabbing the man’s arms and pinning them to his sides “Stay still! Are you alright?”
Clover growled and tried to fight against the restraint, though it seemed to drain him of energy “Coarse I’m alright... why wouldn’t I be alright?” He kicked again, this time the splatter hit Sammy as well “’ere... where’sall the blood comin’ fr’m?” He was getting slurred from blood loss now, his head lolling and his eyelids drooping.
“Clover, you’re legs are blown over” Sammy said as Butler hitched Clover higher, Ape tapping his shoulder and pointing towards what appeared to be a bunch of soldiers camping down in a remaining building off to the side. “We’ll get you patched up I promise” Sammy whispered as they ran off at top speed towards their comrades.

Sammy’s search for solitude was interrupted as an already slightly tipsy friend slumping down on the pulverised pedestal beside him; the men were both as uniform as the clothes they wore, hovering a half a dozen inches below the six foot mark with the fit physique you only get after hauling all your belongings on your back for miles. Both men were so coated with various stains that it was amazing the soldiers could tell each other apart.
“’Ere, Sammy” the soldier mumbled as the stench of beer almost burnt the air, Sammy tried to crack the disguise of slurred speech and slime until the shock of red hair that still shone through told him it was Ape.
“What do ya want Ape?” Sammy asked as he tried to lean back against the remains of the statue that once regaled the city square with some forgotten Lord.
“You ‘eared the news?” Ape said as he took his helmet off and scooped the mud from his bright orange hair “With all t’ese guys gettin’ their brains splattered across the floor, our brave boys at the back ‘ave decided it’s time we got our own member of dem ‘special divisions’.”
Sammy groaned; just what they needed, some wet behind the ears trickster who’d act like a king among men until he wet himself in terror at the first shell barrage.

It was well known that the Special Forces were both armies ace in the hole, they could turn the tables of any battles but they were so rare the Generals didn’t dare endanger them. If they were willing to put this member on the front lines he must be bloody terrible at their job.
Special Forces were a branch of the military which dealt in paranormal activities, or as the everyday soldier put it the “Super Squad”. Once in a while a person was born with the ability to do things far beyond the realm of normal humans, as soon as this talent was recognised the lucky bugger was swept off to some sort of secret training facility.
Compared to these high powered killers, normal soldiers were just cannon fodder to block up the enemy sights before the day was saved by this single powered person. This obviously caused some dispute between the normal troops, who hardly got any recognition for their sacrifices.

“When is he arriving?” Sammy asked, standing up and finding this a nice distraction compared to thinking about his fallen comrades.
“Tha’s the kicker!” Ape laughed out, pulling a bottle of beer from somewhere on his person and taking a quick swig “They should be ‘ere by now. C’mon, since you’re the only sober one ‘ere you’re meeting ‘im.”
Sighing exasperatedly as if to show just how much he didn’t want to do this, Sammy hauled the drunken Ape to his unsteady feet and followed the tottering waltz of a walk towards the edge of the captured city. It wasn’t a very scenic route; not that there wasn’t a lot to see in the city, it’s just many people would prefer to witness nothing and wonder the streets as oblivious as they could to the broken bodies littering the debris strewn floor. It was commonplace for soldiers to trip over, and in some horrible cases step in, dead soldiers who showed the recent fighting in the streets; people just didn’t want to notice them so soon. The further out Sammy and Ape got the thinner the crowds of people were, soon there were only people skittering among the small alleys in search of buddies or souvenirs.
“Damn vultures” Ape grumbled as he tottered on his drunken pins, leering at every fleeing figure as if he’d never mailed home that enemy pistol.

Soon Ape and Sammy stood ankle deep in sucking black mud, overlooking the single road into Nautik and the once green fields that was just as mangled now as the city. You could see for miles out here, but that wasn’t good for anything but fighting now that the land was so pock marked by mortars.
Hot Rhod was dead somewhere out there; Roach had bought it too, they’d found him buried under the rubble where they’d rescued Clover. Clover himself was in critical condition, he’d been in shock when Butler had found him but now he was in full screaming pain; apparently that was a good sign. Butler had disappeared again so he was probably looking after the other fighting boys and handing out the beers; at least it was something useful.
Sammy was quiet as Ape tried as quietly as he could to vomit behind a broken wall, best to get it all out before the new arrival got there. To graduate from the special training facility you usually had to be a Sergeant or better, but since Sammy had seen his own Lieutenant face down in a bottle of whisky these two were better than none.
The truck bounced along the road like a child’s toy, hitting sink holes and rocks until the passenger’s teeth rattled and they’d bitten their tongue four times since the start of the trip. They’d thought it mad to go to the front so soon after graduating but a desire to prove them wrong drove the desperation harder.
The small approaching convoy looked almost comical as the suspension fought against the battering it received, it almost flipped over three times just cresting the first mound towards the solitary standing figures of Ape and Sammy. It screeched to a halt with accommodating thuds and yelps as the single person inside lost their footing and Ape almost lost his lunch again.

Sammy straightened Ape up, standing slightly away so it didn’t look like he was holding up the ginger haired drunk. Snapping his hand up in an automatic salute it took Ape only a second to sober up slightly and follow Sammy’s actions, you had to show these guys respect straight away or who knows what’ll happen to you. The two could hear a rhythmic padding of feet from within the canvassed vehicle, then a large splash followed by less timed squelch of boot claiming slurry.
“Welcome to Nautik sir, nice to-“ but Sammy’s one-size-fits-all greeting halted in its tracks as the new recruit turned the corner from the truck. Ape straightened up more from his drunken slump, then collapsed backwards into the almost quicksand like soil.
It was a woman.
It was a woman member of the Special Forces.
“Oh bugger” Sammy’s face said as he reached down and stopped Ape from drowning in the muck “We’re really up the spout now.”