Time War: Onslaught

by Nick S. Thomas

  “All right, if we can’t destroy you, then we’ll damn sure disable you!”

  He rushed to the stairs and went for the ground floor. The building was shaking from the roar of the engine and heavy tracks. He jumped out through the front window to find himself at the rear quarter and far from the machine guns of the beast. It had stopped as if to wait and watch for any more sign of him. He armed another charge and slipped it in between the overlapping wheels just under the right track. He quickly leapt back in through the window.

  The charge blew, and he looked back with glee to see the track had blown and unravelled. Unfortunately, before he could enjoy his moment, the turret began to turn far quicker than he had expected. He could easily have gotten out of the way, but for some reason he was frozen. He had never come up against such a powerful weapon of war that could not be defeated by his own hands. The turret tracked until it was in line with him, and the gun began to lower.

  “What are we even doing here?” he asked himself quietly.

  For a moment he did doubt it all. For all their individual ability, they seemed small compared to the vast scale of the war and the Nazi war machine. He couldn’t move a muscle, but just as the gun lowered, he saw Rane descend onto the turret. He landed with such force that the heavy tank seemed to rock slightly. Rane put his hands on the commander’s turret and ripped it off its hinges as if it were made of tin. He threw it aside, and it smashed in through a window to disappear into a nearby house. He looked back at Corwin with a smile as he held out an armed grenade and dropped it in through the open hatch.

  “Go, I’ll handle this!”

  Corwin did not hesitate now, for he knew how important it all was. He watched Rane jump off the vehicle and heard heavy impacts and cries of pain as he engaged troops nearby with little but his bare hands. But then he was gone from view. Corwin rushed on out of the back of the building. Six Germans were encircling the entrance, all with their weapons aimed at him. He was fast, but not fast enough to close the distance. A gunshot rang out that went through two of them, and then another less than a second later through two more. The two survivors turned to face their attacker, but at that moment a jeep tore into view and ran them down before sliding to a halt. It was Badcock.

  “Why did you come back?” Corwin asked.

  “I am not a coward. I wanted you to know that.”

  Corwin smiled as he took his seat, and they tore off into the distance. He watched Lecia climb down from the elevated position she had saved him from, and carry Beyett on towards Travers’ jeep that was awaiting her. One last shot from the Tigers rang out and trees burst a few metres from Corwin. He felt a sharp pain; a thick piece of tree bark was embedded in his right arm.

  “Motherfuckers,” he snarled and ripped it out of his body. The blood began to flow. He looked back to where Lecia had been only to find the view obscured. He assumed she had gotten out, but she had not.

  Lecia opened her eyes. She was on her back and in agony. Something had hit them hard. She turned her whole body to look around, but before she could see anything at all, a jackboot smashed into her face and knocked her out.

  “Guess that didn’t exactly go to plan?” Badcock asked.

  Corwin spat out over the jeep as he took back some water and they bumped over the rough terrain.

  “We’ll be back, and they’ll pay.”

  “I thought you were some kind of super soldiers? We got our arses handed to us down there.”

  Corwin could not disagree with that.

  “What has it come to?”

  Badcock looked back to him for answers to his own question.

  “We have Dohman. That is what we came for.”

  “All that to get one driver, that may or may not know, or be willing to help us find Hitler? Too many maybes.”

  “Oh, he will talk, believe me. Everyone talks.”

  They continued to soar into the distance at such speeds that no one could hope to follow, and were soon covering their tracks. Corwin knew they’d fucked up, but he couldn’t admit it. He had underestimated the Germans, and he swore to not do so again.

  CHAPTER 10

  "We have to stop and patch that up."

  "Just keep going," Corwin insisted.

  But Badcock brought them to a standstill amongst some dense trees, now that he was happy they had covered enough distance. He pulled out his shell dressing and began to unpack it, as Corwin wiped blood from the wound. It was still seeping badly.

  "You're lucky," said Badcock.

  Corwin laughed.

  "How?"

  "Well, it could have been your head."

  Badcock wrapped the wound quickly and with precision.

  "You've done this before?"

  "Motor racing can be as dangerous as battle," he laughed, as he finished up and jumped back into the driver's seat and got them back on track. They had made it less than half the distance to Celine's camp, and it was a long and arduous trek back. It was late into the afternoon when finally they pulled into the camp. One of the jeeps had a hole right through an armoured screen, and the Browning had been knocked off from the impact.

  "Everyone okay?" he asked, noticing most of his team were huddled around a fire. He looked back; one jeep was missing.

  "Where is Lecia?" he asked.

  "Not back yet," said Chas.

  He felt his heart sink at the prospect. Rane came to meet him and thrust a hot cup of tea into his hands. He took it and slumped back over Badcock's jeep, watched the trail. He waited there, and almost an hour had passed when he heard Frasi whistle to attract their attention. He couldn't even see their elusive friend, and yet he was out there somewhere, keeping watch. Corwin leapt off the vehicle in anticipation, but as the vehicle came into his hearing distance, he could tell something wasn't right. The engine was knocking and spluttering, and something was dragging or catching on the vehicle, too.

  It slowly rolled into view, and it was in a bad way. There were bullet holes all along the body. The offside wing had been torn off, and a log was now tied to the hub where the wheel had been attached. The spare wheel was missing, and there was only Travers at the wheel. There was no one else.

  "Where are the rest of them?"

  But Corwin was too impatient to wait for an answer, as the vehicle rolled to a halt and the engine cut out. Travers looked exhausted, and his uniform was soaking with blood.

  "Where the fuck are they?"

  Travers shook his head as Corwin rushed in to confront him. He looked shell shocked, and as Corwin approached, he noticed a body in the back. It was Dohman, tied up and still breathing.

  "You said you wanted him. I got him," said Travers.

  The Sergeant tried to get out from the vehicle but dropped slightly as his legs gave way. Corwin caught him and held him up. He was weak and still bleeding.

  "Get us a hand over here!"

  Chas and Celine rushed to his side with two others and a German stretcher in hand.

  "Let me take him. We can help," said Celine.

  Corwin stepped back and let them get to work.

  "Where is Lecia? Beyett, Vi?"

  Travers shook his head.

  "Dead?"

  He shook his head once again and coughed up blood. He was visibly in a real bad way, but Corwin had to know.

  "Not last time I saw them, but they were taken."

  Corwin felt both anger and despair building inside him.

  "We need to get him inside now!" Celine said.

  Corwin let up, but Travers stopped those carrying him to say one last thing.

  "I am sorry."

  "For what?"

  "For not bringing everyone back."

  "You did great, but get some rest. We aren't done with you yet."

  They carted him off, and Corwin looked back to the others. Nylund seemed the most scared of them all.

  "Had to be something or someone pretty tough to take them alive," he said.

  Corwin could see the team was at the weakest they had ever b
een, not just in personnel, but morale.

  "So what now?"

  "We carry on the mission, Porter."

  "And leave our own behind?" Nylund asked.

  He hated himself for having to do it, but he nodded in agreement.

  "We have come too far to fail now. Trust me, I want to head on out there and find them myself, but we have a job to do."

  "I don't fucking believe it!"

  Corwin couldn't see where Nylund was going with this, but let him continue.

  "You are forgetting why we even came here. It wasn't to find Hitler. It was to get Villiers, and now we have half the team we arrived in this fucking time with, and still we aren't any closer. Do you even know what you are fighting for anymore?"

  He had to think hard for a minute, as he was distraught and feeling the pressure. But that soon turned to anger when he caught sight of Dohman. He rushed over to the jeep and hauled him out, throwing him down into the mud.

  "We paid a dear price for this asshole, and I for one want my money's worth."

  Dohman was helpless and terrified, but none of them had any sympathy for him. Corwin booted him in the stomach and then retreated back, pacing back and forth as he tried to think a way through their mess. Harland approached and kicked Dohman in the head and opened up a wound close to his eye. He went to stamp down again, but Corwin stopped him.

  "Enough!" he cried.

  Nobody said a word, and so they waited for his next move.

  "We didn't start this war or want it. We didn't even sign up for it. But we're in it now, whether we like it or not. We still need to find Villiers, but we have to accept he isn't the only problem. Our ancestors fought this war because it was worth fighting for the freedom of the civilised world."

  A number of them watching had no idea what he was talking about, but they didn't question it.

  "We know Hitler is a monster, and we know he must be stopped. However powerful he used to be, Villiers has projected him to new heights. Right now we have a lead on how to find him, so let's stop wasting time worrying about what has been, and focus on what is in front of us."

  "So we just leave our own?"

  "Forty-eight hours, Nylund, that is the time frame we have to find Hitler before he vanishes from our reach. Find him or not, once that time is gone, we will turn our attention to finding our people."

  "And if they can't last that long?"

  "They can handle themselves. They'll have to," he added and then turned his attention to Dohman.

  "You know where Hitler is, so tell us now!"

  Dohman was wincing in pain, but he looked up into Corwin's eyes, and his fear seemed to melt away as he began to laugh.

  "What is so goddamn funny?"

  He kept laughing in an uncanny way, but then he spoke, "You? You band of rejects think you can take down the Fuehrer?" he asked and laughed again, only this time even louder.

  Corwin drew out his DTM and went to fire a shot into his leg when he stopped and thought for a moment if he could be more valuable. Dohman saw this hesitation, and a sneer appeared on his face.

  "No, you need me, don't you?"

  Corwin was sick of his arrogant tone and squeezed the trigger. The shot went into the German's kneecap, and he screamed out in agony.

  "What are you doing? We could have used him to get close to Hitler," asked Nylund.

  Corwin shook his head. "He must know by now that his friend has been taken, and any return would be treated with suspicion. Maybe if we'd snatched him like we had planned, then that could have worked."

  "I am sorry we failed," Chas said quietly.

  He could see she really meant it.

  "No, it was not your fault. We tried to do what we weren't made for. We tried to be spies and play it quiet. That’s just not us. It's time we stopped playing by other people’s rules. Hunter, Tano, Beyett, Vi...Lecia, down to almost half strength, and we haven't achieved a fraction of what we should have. Let's stop fucking around and go straight for their jugular. It's time to do what we were born to do."

  Dohman was still wincing with pain, and Corwin kicked him over onto his back.

  "You are going to tell us where we can find Hitler, and how we can get to him."

  "Why would I?"

  Corwin rested his foot on the man's wounded knee and pressed down. He began to squirm.

  "Because if you don't, then you are no good to us, and you see that woman?" he asked. He was pointing to Celine. She had stepped out from a shelter and was covered in Travers' blood.

  "You and your friends raped and killed everyone she ever cared for. I will leave you here at her mercy."

  From the look on Dohman's face he knew Celine from reputation, and he now looked more terrified than ever.

  "Tell us what we want to know, and I'll ditch you a few miles from a town with your own kind. Don't, and you will experience the level of pain and suffering that you have caused on others."

  Dohman seemed almost convinced, but still held his tongue as if he was on the fence. Corwin lifted his pistol and fired another shot into his other kneecap. He screamed out in pain once again, but he looked up to see Corwin was quite ready to shoot him once again. He began to cry through both pain and fear.

  "Okay...okay. I will tell you. But if you go, you will all die."

  "You leave that up to us."

  Dohman shook his head in disbelief.

  "Last chance," added Corwin.

  "Give me a map," he snapped.

  Nylund pulled one out and dropped it before him. Celine joined them.

  "I know who this is, and you are going to let him go? He deserves nothing more than to feel a fraction of the pain and suffering him and his master have caused upon us."

  "Your choice," added Corwin.

  Dohman studied the map and then placed a bloody finger down on one point. Corwin leaned in. He was pointing to a tall mountainside to the south. There was nothing marked there at all.

  "What is that?"

  "You wanted to know where the Fuehrer is. That is it."

  Porter stepped forward and snatched up the map, looking at it with suspicion.

  "Bullshit, there's nothing there."

  "Not on any map that you will ever see," he replied arrogantly.

  "What is it?"

  "A bunker facility, the likes of which you cannot imagine. You'll never get in there alive, except in shackles."

  "And you are positive he is there?"

  "For the next couple of days...yes, he will be."

  Corwin lifted his pistol to Dohman's head and pulled the trigger. The shot went straight into his brain but did not exit. He dropped down limply to his back and was dead.

  "Why did you do that?" Nylund asked in amazement, "You said he could live."

  "No, I told him what he needed to hear. You think I care if he lives or dies?"

  "The age of honourable warfare has gone."

  None of them doubted Celine’s words.

  "But he could have at least been useful," stated Nylund.

  Corwin shook his head.

  "He had nothing more to give, and he was a liability we can do without."

  "Really think he was telling the truth about this mountain fortress?" Porter asked, "Sounds like my kind of place."

  "I don't see why he had any reason to lie to us."

  "I have heard rumours of somewhere like this," said Celine.

  "What do you know?"

  "Nothing more than hearsay, but it sounds like just the same place."

  Corwin thought about it for a minute. He wanted nothing more than to go back to the town where they had last seen Lecia, and follow whatever trail they could find, but he knew they had to go on. He took in a deep breath and slowly looked around at all their faces. Most wanted the same thing, but not for the same reasons.

  “We have a pretty good idea where Hitler is. Who knows, maybe Villiers is even with him? We’ve been strangled and held back since we got here. Fighting regular Joes everywhere we go. We were born and bred for gr
eater things. It’s time to stop playing by other people’s games and sing our own tune. I mean to go after Hitler and tear his head off his neck, who is with me?”

  All but Nylund roared with excitement at the prospect; who seemed to eventually clap merely to go along with the rest of them.

  “About time we stopped fucking around,” said Porter when all the noise had died down.

  “Damn right,” replied Corwin, “Time we stop pissing around in the dirt and start making some real difference in this war. Celine, how long will it take us to get there?”

  “It’s a long trip, and slow if you want to avoid trouble. You won’t make it by morning, and we cannot risk travelling in those parts in the daytime. The planes in the sky would spot us long before we get anywhere near it.”

  “Then we rest tonight and set off tomorrow. Take this night as the rest and peace we all need. Clean your weapons, and ready yourself for the battle we were made for.”

  The group split apart as the sun went down. The only fires burning were those concealed within shelters as to not be seen from the air, but Corwin sat out on the bonnet of the jeep Badcock had driven him out on. It was cold, but he didn’t even notice. He couldn’t even bring his mind to the mission ahead. All he could think about was Lecia.

  “You okay, Captain?”

  He hadn’t noticed Badcock beside him. He was so preoccupied he had not even heard him approach.

  “You want to go after the girl, don’t you?”

  Corwin looked at him in surprise, as if he had seen right through him. He didn’t see any point in denying it, so he simply nodded in agreement.

  “Yeah, I remember that feeling. It’s worth fighting for.”

  “I’ve come a long way to get this far, and I am not willing to let her go.”

  “How did you ever end up with women fighting alongside you? I mean, sure we have women serving, but not like her.”

  “Lecia.”

  “Yes, Lecia. That would never be allowed in the British Army.”