The North (#wattys2016)

Chapter 13

“Get Cruze on the radio,” I said into my mouthpiece.

“Roger that,” replied Melanie.

I handed my map to Dawson and pointed to our position. “We’re less than five clicks from Airdrie. We’ve gotta bug out now.”

All the color drained from her face as she stared at the map, and I could have sworn I saw her gulp.

The radio squawked in my headset. “Cruze here … what’s going on?”

I pressed the PTT button. “Creeps. At least two dozen and probably a shit pile more. You were right, Cruze. I should have picked another spot.”

“Stand by,” Cruze replied as I peered out through my periscope. I could see about two hundred meters into the distance and I spotted another throng of creeps heading up through a dried ravine.

The radio hissed again. “Well we’re in the shit now so it doesn’t matter who was right or wrong. We can take down these creeps, no problem, Dave.”

I shook my head. “The sound of our gunfire will bring every monster within earshot, Cruze, we can’t stay here. Get your people up, make sure the hatches are locked tight – we’re leaving in five minutes.”

“Roger that,” said Cruze.

“Wake up Sid and Doug,” I said to Dawson. “We’re getting the hell out of here. There’s another few dozen coming up through a dried-out ravine.”

“Will do,” said Kate. She shook the pair. They were snoring loudly, almost in unison. “Stand to! Stand to! Stand to!”

Sid scrambled for his carbine, elbowing Doug Manybears in the left cheek. “Wha – what?” he said dreamily.

Doug pushed himself upright and wiped the sleep from his eyes. “Is it my shift again … no wait, I already did a sentry.”

“We’ve got company. Check the hatches, get your shit in gear and get this carrier going,” Dawson said firmly. “We’re leaving in five.”

“What’s going on?” Doug yawned.

I climbed down from the turret. “Creeps. A couple of dozen bearing down on us from Airdrie.”

Sid slipped his left foot into his combat boot. “Airdrie? We might as well have the words free food painted on the sides of the carriers!”

“Yeah, well, I did a shitty three point resection when I picked this spot,” I said angrily. “Cruze called it right and I should have freaking listened.”

“Fuck me, I gotta take a dump,” Sid grumbled as he climbed into the turret. “Let’s get clear of here - my piss bottle is full and I don’t have another one. I was looking forward to a nice peaceful crap at first light. This blows on an epic scale!”

Doug Manybears scrambled into the driver’s hatch as I checked on Jo. She was huddled in the rear corner of the APC, sound asleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake her up, so I tucked her poncho liner around her shoulders and then crawled over to the crew commander’s hatch. I cursed under my breath at my bonehead move. I probably should have cut myself some slack, given that the only map and compass work I’d ever done was a few patrols on exercise in Wainwright or Suffield, but I wasn’t about to allow myself that luxury. It didn’t matter that I had less than a year of service under my belt, or that I might have been the most organized person in Sergeant Green’s section; we were miles away from safety, a throng of creeps was bearing down on us fast and if I was responsible for getting us into this situation, it was up to me to get us out of it.

I peered through my crew commander’s periscope while Doug primed the engine. The creeps were less than ten meters away and I could easily make out their gaping mouths in spite of the darkness. I grabbed my headset and slipped it over my head, then flipped on my radio set. A blast of white noise shot through my ears as I slammed my left hand on the volume knob to turn it down.