Uprising
Page 47
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Captain Redgick paced nervously around the command center, waiting to hear something, anything, regarding reinforcements or any sort of acknowledgement from the higher-ups in the Citizenship Inquisition and military. His apprehension went on a steady incline since the last communication with Alpha Base. He had held off on the full retreat, waiting for some sign or response from Alpha regarding the reinforcements.
Of course, he had no inkling that his primary staging area had already been compromised; he was far too preoccupied with whether or not the people up-above would be willing to send extra help. He didn't care any longer if they were angry with him for his failure; he was only concerned about whether or not they would believe him, and further whether or not they would honor his request.
Redgick hoped that they would let him know so that he could, at least, get himself and the rest of his people out safely. He expected signs of an attack at any moment. Everyone in Gamma was on edge, unassisted by Redgick's constant nervous pacing and apprehensive attitude.
He had been walking outside, keeping watch and ordering his men to increase patrols every now and then. His paranoia grew, at that point, to start worrying about sharpshooters, so he had ducked back inside and avoided the windows.
The thought of demolitions and explosives then entered his mind, so he tore the commendation pins from his collar and shoved them in his pocket. He unzipped a portion of his jacket and mussed up his hair. Looking in the mirror, he noted with satisfaction that he looked like a common soldier. Mostly, he thought. He walked back outside and dispersed orders that no one was allowed to salute him. His soldiers nodded, and, in one case, one fellow was stupid enough to salute in response, which earned him a brief but intense tongue-lashing.
He leaned up against the brick wall opposite from the command center, staring in a northerly direction down the empty street. Exhaustion from being awake all day and most of the night crept through his body along with the strung-out feeling gained from adrenaline-high crash. His eyes slid closed, and he took a few deep breaths, feeling himself relax ever so slightly. Maybe they won't-
"Enemy contact! We have enemy-" Redgick's eyes popped open as the radio crackled out the few words before cutting off into static. He ran back into his command center, heedless of any earlier concerns.
"Report!" he shouted.
"Southside patrol has spotted enemy movements, sir!"
Southside, he thought. Shouldn't they be attacking from the north? That's where-
His thought process was cut off by another squawk through the radio. "This is northern patrol reporting contact with the enemy! Shots fired, we are pulling back to base!"
Redgick cursed and slammed his hand on the table. He ran outside and bellowed, "We have enemy troop movement to the north and south, closing in! It is vital that this," he stabbed a gesture at the intersection just north of the base, "road remain clear and covered for the retreat." He could hear the light chatter of weapons fire not far distant. He gritted his teeth and gripped his own weapon. He ran back inside of the command room and barked, "Send one message to Alpha. Tell them we're pulling out." The tech nodded and did as he was told. To the rest, Redgick said, "Get as much of this packed up here as you can; we're getting out of here."
There was a deafening explosion just outside of the base. All of the remaining glass in the windows of the room shattered with the force, and a wave of heat washed over Redgick. He could hear a few screams of his men outside. Shouldering his weapon he dashed out into the street. A mass of yelling men seemed to be boiling out of buildings less than a block away, deadly weapons fire blazing towards the scattered group of soldiers.
Redgick hit the ground as the hail of ammunition swarmed overhead, several rounds impacting the sandbags he ducked behind. He grabbed the machine gun from a man killed by the explosion and propped it up on the edge. He popped up and squeezed off a few bursts into the crowd of advancing soldiers; satisfaction filled him as he saw a few of them fall. He screamed and fired more bursts into the oncoming soldiers with the heavy caliber weapon; several fell. A light spray of his own blood spattered his face as a bullet grazed the back of his hand on the weapon. He yelped in pain and dropped back, breathing hard. He looked up at one of his men, firing out of cover. Blood burst from the man's neck as he caught a round in the throat.
Redgick jumped to his feet and started running. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Everyone pull back! Retreat! Head towards Alpha!" He ran in the center of ragged groups. This kept him for the most part from direct harm as he ran, occasionally turning around to fire a few rounds backwards.
As he did this, he noticed the radio operators finally coming out of the abandoned base with packs and armfuls of equipment, running right into the advancing soldiers. Redgick gasped when one foe whipped out a long combat knife and drove it into an operator's chest. The mortally wounded man put on a surprised and terrified expression, dropping his armful of equipment and staring, open-mouthed, at the wound before crumpling to the ground. Redgick fired his weapon into the swarm of soldiers, but he could hear screams of his remaining men as other enemy soldiers poured into the remains of the base.
His group of soldiers, entirely scattered and nearly hopeless with individuals getting cut down intermittently, ran down the street towards the east in a rabble. Redgick fled with them, icy fear gripping his heart as he continually heard bullets whiz overhead or strike one of his men. He tried to get a rough estimation of how many men were with him, but there was too much panic and too little ability to concentrate. He continued running, hopelessness seeping into his weary, defeated body.