by W. R. Benton
They'd not been in camp over an hour when they heard voices off in the distance speaking in Russian. Quickly putting out the fire, they remained still under the limbs of a huge pine tree. Men were heard moving through the brush and twigs under the snow were snapping when stepped on. Both men under the pine tree slipped the safeties off on their weapons.
There was some loud talking as the men moved, then came a loud command that the Americans did not understand, but the voices stopped. Minutes later, John heard two men speaking in front of the tree they were hiding behind and his gut tightened in fear. He pulled the sheath knife they'd taken from the guard and knew Xue had the bayonet. He prayed they'd not have to use the knives.
The men were still there talking ten minutes later, so leaning over, John whispered in his hand he had cupped around the ear of Xue, “Use your knife and take the man on the left.”
The Chinese nodded in understanding.
They moved out from under the tree and saw the Russians smoking a cigarette and talking. They moved up behind both men and then struck. Xue grabbed his man by the hair, pulled his head back, and slit his throat from ear to ear. John placed his arm around his Russian's neck, pulled him in close and stabbed him four times in the kidney. It was when he tried to cut his throat that the man screamed. His scream was hideous and so loud that it shocked the Americans.
Chapter 4
Quickly stripping the dead of their overcoats, hats and gear, they pulled Simmons out from under the tree and moved south, toward the Russian base. After about a mile they stopped. They were in better shape now, but still no shoes. Both dead Russians were carrying Bison sub-machine guns, pistols, grenades, and night vision goggles. Taking their packs too, they had no idea what they carried, but would find out later when they made another camp.
They found another large pine, but this one had toppled over, so they crawled under the tree and made a small fire. In the dim light of the fire, each could be seen breathing as white smoke appeared to come from their mouths and noses. It was cold.
Minutes later they began going through the backpacks. They found two complete sets of field uniforms, first aid items, socks, face paint and gloves. At the very bottom of each pack they discovered five Russian “Green Frog” rations, so they opened two and shared the contents. Each had a number of magazines for the Bisons, which the men placed in their oversized coat pockets. Simmons could not remember a better tasting meal in her life than that simple Russian ration.
They also found two sleeping bags, two casualty blankets, night vision goggles, and thermal underwear. They gave one set of thermals to Simmons and they split the other pair, with John getting the bottoms. John got a scarf as did Xue and both were glad the garments were wool. They decided one person would guard while the other two would sleep in the sleeping bags. That way each person would get some sleep and warmth. It would be a long night, but they'd survive, or so they thought. Before sleep, each applied camouflage face paint to the other.
It was an hour before dawn when Xue heard movements all around them and he woke the other two. Looking between the limbs on the pine, he spotted five Russians in a group going over a map. He saw no others, and he was wearing night vision goggles. He pulled the pin on a grenade and let two seconds pass before he tossed it near the group. A man carrying a radio must have heard something because he turned and was facing the blast when the grenade exploded, not four feet from him. Xue actually saw the force of the grenade rip the man apart, and it all happened in the wink of an eye. The other men fell too, so John and Xue moved from the pine and using a pistol, shot each soldier in the head. They quickly and expertly stripped them of everything of use, including the boots. The footwear was badly needed by all three. The other Russians they'd killed had boots either too small or huge. Taking the packs, the small group moved east for five miles before settling in under another tree.
They began to go through the Russian gear and they donned most of the clothing they had now. They were warm and while each wore boots, the fit was not perfect. Xue had a pair of boots two sizes too large and John's were a bit small. Only Simmons had a good pair of boots that fit well. They went through the packs keeping anything of use and burning the rest. They were now well armed with lots of ammunition, so they relaxed a little. Each had about a dozen magazines for their Bison sub-machine guns. They also discovered three Claymore like mines, as well as a good dozen anti-personnel mines. Gear and supplies they now had.
At daybreak they began to move and in a fairly rough snowstorm. Xue was using a Russian compass to continue their walk north.
They'd been walking for a good hour when a Russian jet aircraft passed overhead screaming by as the pilot tilted his aircraft to get a good look at those on the ground. The three, dressed as Russians, waved at the pilot, who pulled up and zoomed out of sight in just a minute or so.
John said, “That damned thing came out of nowhere and was less than a 100 feet high too.”
“I wonder how he knew we were here?” Captain Simmons asked.
“I suspect he was told we were in the area, but he must have thought we were Russians or we'd be dead by now.”
“I have a very uncomfortable feeling all of a sudden. Move about fifty feet into the trees. Something is wrong; we're being followed or about to walk into a trap. The little hairs on my neck are standing up. I know I sound crazy but humor me and move.” John said.
“Listen to your feelings. I believe in them.” Xue said as they moved away from the trail.
“Let's eat early and then walk through lunch time.” John suggested as they moved behind a big log that was between them and the trail. In front of the log they placed a Russian Claymore mine and relaxed. “We can go through the backpacks we have and get rid of the stuff we don't need.”
They were about half finished with their meal when they heard and then saw a dog with handler leading a group of men. They looked to be almost a company in size, which worried John. That was almost 100 men.
They'd applied camouflage paint from the Russians back packs to their faces and were wearing Russian clothing, but that'd not throw the dogs off. The white sheets from their hospital beds were now worn over their uniforms, with a slot for the head cut in the center of the sheet, forming a rough poncho looking affair. The earlier snow storm had stopped but the winds were still there, and as John watched, blowing snow covered their footprints from the trail.
The Russians were moving slowly, as if they expected ambush or mines. The dog was barking now and wanted loose from his handler. John knew the second the man released the dog, the brown stuff would hit the fence. The first to die would be the dog and then the highly trained dog handler. After that, he wasn't sure of anything. When the dog got to where they'd entered the woods he alerted and his barking indicated the Americans were close by, but with their tracks filled in with blowing snow the handler must have thought the dog was wrong because he saw no tracks. He pulled his dog away and they continued to move north, with the handler shouting curses at his dog for false alerts.
“This wind is terrible so let's find some shelter and spend the day here.” John didn't bring the dog up.
“We were just saved by the grace of God, I hope you both realize.” Simmons said.
“I think we both know, or at least I do. We were damned lucky the dog handler was inexperienced or we'd be dead right now.” John said as he stood.
“All that matters right now is we're alive and still free. I'll not be a guest of the Russians again, because I've heard they can be brutal when they talk to prisoners. Just so you two know.”
“They treated us pretty good.” Simmons said.
“Only to allow us time to heal. I think they would have turned hard with John. His group, the Aces, caused the Russians many deaths, much money, and much embarrassment.” Xue said, and the Colonel knew he was right.
“Off our right is a thick grove of mixed trees. Move back in there. It's starting to snow again.” John said.
“We'll use the ponchos to form the
shelter and then cover it with branches from pine trees. Once we do that, we'll cover it all with snow. It'll blend right in with our background.”
Later, after drinking some hot tea they sat around the campfire and started going through the backpacks. Any personal letters were kept, because they often indicated the morale of the enemy on the front or at home. All foods and clothing were kept, along with ammunition, night vision goggles, or other gear. It was cold, and at one point they had two fires burning at the same time just to stay warm.
The snow continued to fall and by dusk, a good 18 inches of the stuff lay on the land. The winds died down about an hour prior to sundown, but it was still lung hurting cold. The dead log beside them was huge and it's many limbs would be used to the keep the fire burning overnight.
Overall they were comfortable and in good shape, but the stub on Simmon's arm was bothering her, although it wasn't bleeding and looked fine visually. They'd found vodka on almost every man they'd killed, and in metal flasks marked with an elaborate bird of some kind and the words Russian Army stamped on the bottom. Each flask held about a half pint of the strong brew. They had her drink a bit when her pain grew to be too much.
Two days later they were moving and spotted a farm house off in the distance. Smoke was coming from the chimney, and while it had warmed up a little it was still close to zero during most days, and nights were far below that. The barn also had a fire going and light gray smoke was seen coming from the chimney. They approached with caution, not knowing which side was using the house for shelter. Xue went to scout the place out. Finally, he was able to peek in a window of the house, where he spotted a squad of Russians relaxing inside. He counted 12 men, including a dog handler. A dog lay by the fireplace and appeared to be asleep. Xue moved back to others.
“We'll use grenades on them and then spend a day there ourselves. So, no sign of civilians?”
“Not unless they were in the back rooms. Frost was heavy on each window and it was hard to see. I saw no one but Russians in the living room.”
“We'll take the house, but we'll start by tossing a couple of grenades through windows and then we'll enter shooting. Watch your targets because the owners of the house could still be in there. Let's move. Captain Simmons, you stay here and guard our packs and gear, because you're about half drunk and hurting. I'll see what these Russian men and women have that might be better for your pain. I suspect they are carrying a squad size medical kit and since they are not members of NATO, none of their medical gear and supplies will be marked in English. We'll have to be careful with the meds we use, unless we know what they are. Morphine we can tell by the smell.”
“That's fine. If you'll get me a fire started, I'll wait here. It's strange because it hurts where the arm is missing, but how can that be?”
“Nerve endings, or so I've heard in the past. I don't understand it either.” John replied as he began gathering up what he needed for a fire.
Thirty minutes later the two partisans were nearing the house. The front of the house had two multi-pane windows and each was to throw a grenade through the glass. They knew the two grenades would kill most, if not all, of the men in the living room. Then they'd enter killing. Each room would have to be cleared room by room.
Squatting beneath the windows, John held up three fingers, and slowly lowered them. Both pulled the cotter pins and watched the spoons fly from the explosive. When John counted to three, both men sent grenades through the glass and waited. Two seconds later the sounds of two grenades exploded and they pushed the door open and entered shooting. Men where heard screaming.
“Living room clear!” Xue yelled and moved toward the next room: they found all the other rooms clear and empty, except the last one.
A Russian was standing in front of a large bed as naked as the day he was born, holding a naked lady in front of him. He held a pistol to her head. Laying on a chair was the uniform of a Russian Junior Lieutenant.
The woman was in her late thirties, big chest, narrow waist, and wide hips. Her eyes were green and her hair auburn. While she had a very attractive figure, the fact the officer was going to rape her angered John. He had little use for men who abused women.
John didn't hesitate and walked into the room, ignoring the Russian's threats and raising his pistol fired once, hitting the man in the face. The wall and bed behind him was splattered with pieces of skull, bright cerise blood, and gore. The dead Russian fell to the floor where his body quivered.
The woman stood crying and trembling. She made no move to cover her naked body, her shock was so great. Shots were heard coming from the living room.
“Get dressed, woman, and do it now.” John ordered, as he tossed her a well worn dress from a chair, and then left the room.
When he entered the living room, Xue said, “All dead in here. I would have thought they'd have a guard out, but they didn't. I can't figure that out.”
“Too cold and only fools, like us, would be out on a day like this. Help me drag the bodies outside and then I'll go fetch Simmons.” John said and then asked, “What about the dog?”
“Grenades injured him and I had to shoot him.” They packed the first body out and tossed him beside the house. The bodies would be frozen solid in less than an hour.
“I found a woman in the bedroom, being used by the soldiers. Any sign of her family?” James said.
“Nope but they might be in the barn.” Xue said.
“Or murdered and in a ditch some place.”
“In either case, we'll try to find them. Come, and let's see if anyone is in the barn or maybe dead close by the house.” James said.
They discovered one Russian guard in the barn when they kicked the door in, he stood and raised both hands in the air. He was a Private.
On the ground, sitting on the straw covered concrete floor was a man and two young boys near six or so. All three had their arms tied behind their backs. The man looked like hell and had taken a terrible beating. The two boys had been slapped to hell and back, and their lips were split and bleeding.
Turning to Xue, John said, “Go fetch Simmons and our gear.” He then pulled his knife, cut the bonds on the three and said, “I'm Colonel John Williamson of the United States Partisans.”
The man said, “I'm Edwin P. Drew and I own this place. My friends call me Ed.” He stood talking as he rubbed his sore wrists.
“And the boys?”
“James and John Drew. They're my sons. Have you seen my wife, Sue?”
“She's alive and in the house. I think they were getting ready to use her or they may have already done that. The most important thing is she was alive. How long have you been held prisoner?”
“They broke down the door a little after ten last night.” he said as John walked to the guard and took his weapons. He handed the rifle to Ed. He also took two grenades which he tossed to Xue. The rifle had a long bayonet on the end and before John could say anything, Ed ran the blade through the Russian’s belly. John was fascinated to see the blade appear out his back, with the blade covered in blood.
As the Russian danced on the end of the long sharp blade, Edwin jerked the rifle from left to right hard. The man screamed as Ed pulled the long blade from this body and stabbed him twice more, forcing the blade out his back each time and jerking it from side to side. When he pulled the blood soaked blade from the man for the last time, he gave him a hard butt stroke with the rifle. The Russian fell to the floor where he curled up in a fetal position. He then handed the rifle back to John.
“Why?” John asked as Ed fell limply to a bale of hay.
“The sonofabitch beat the hell out of me, slapped my boys, and enjoyed it. He laughed as he beat me and I was tied up, so I could offer him no real resistance. He's been fatally injured in the belly, so he'll die slowly. I was tied up by him and forced to watch the bastard rape my daughter, Dorothy, and beat on my boys too. All his buddies were laughing and encouraging him.”
“Wait a minute, you have a daughter? We found
your wife, but no daughter.”
“They arrived by truck and after they unloaded, they started raping her. She's only 18 and a good girl, Colonel. The drivers took her with them when they left.”
“If striking him with the gun butt didn't kill him he'll suffer for hours. Remind me, Ed, to not piss you off.”
Giving a slight grin, Ed said, “I'm not really a violent person, but this man deserved what he got, and I promised him that I'd kill him if given half a chance. Well, thanks to you, I got that chance.”
“Bring your boys and lets get back in the house. The temperature is falling and it grows cold in here. As for your daughter, I suspect she's lost to you. I suspect they'll send her to a gulag and they had intended to kill the rest of you.”
“I figure they'll continue raping her until they get tired of her, then they'll either place her in a gulag or cut her throat.” Edwin said as they moved for the small house.
“I'd go get her, but I can't if she's on the base.”
“I don't even know what base these animals are from.” Ed said as he opened the door to the house to see Captain Simmons and his wife sitting at the table having something hot to drink. Ed moved to his wife, now dressed, took her head in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips.
“Ed, it was terrible. I tried to —”
“Ssshhh, that's enough. It's over, and all of them are dead.” He held her head tightly against his chest.
“They took my baby! They took Dorothy!” she cried out.
“Honey, there is nothing we can do. I tried my best, and there were just too many of them for one man to take on alone. It would have been different if they'd not taken my guns last year, but they left us defenseless and unarmed. As it was, I got my ass beat almost to death. I tried to save her, I really did.”
“We'll spend the night here and leave in the morning. I suggest both of you come with us, because the Russians will come looking for the dead troops by your front door.”
“I need to talk with Sue, and see what she wants to do. The two boys will do as they're told.” Sue nodded as Ed spoke.