Cold Hatred (Book 2 & 3 of the Damned of the 2/19th) -Updated and Rewritten

Chapter 7.4

The sound of ringing steel sounded as my knife fell from my grip and onto the frozen tile.

My ears were ringing, and even though I could hear someone talking even though the words were just noise.

...we're in bad trouble...

....Anthony, I love you...

...we're gonna die, aren't we, brother...

...fuck you and your snowmen...

...US Rangers, we're here to get you out...

Hands grabbed me and turned me around, shifting to grab my arms and shake me. I struggled, not seeing anything but the killer in the cold weather mask. I couldn't move, I couldn't fight, I couldn't do anything but open my mouth and suck in air to start screaming. A sudden sharp impact against the side of my face snapped my head around as LT James slapped me across the face.

"Corporal Stillwater. Corporal Stillwater!" LT James's voice carried the whip-crack of command as he finally reached me. I closed my mouth and blinked a few times. "Lock it down, Corporal. You have fellow soldiers who are counting on you. Push back the memories and come back, I need your help."

I shook my head like I was trying to shake off a hard right hook to the side of the head. I knew I was shaking as he let go of me and took a step back. "On line, on time," I managed to say.

"That piece of equipment has some significance, Corporal?" he asked me.

"The killer that attacked us last month wore one just like it," I told him. "It was bloody like that about halfway through it."

He squinted outside in the snow and dark for a moment. "Let us withdraw to the CQ Area and make plans, Corporal. Our position here is tenuous at best."

I didn't trust myself to speak, just nodded and followed him into the Orderly Room. Nancy and I waited while he locked the door. The temperature was dropping fast as we moved into the hallway that separated the Ready Room from the Orderly Room and offices. Bomber stood there with my knife in his hand, trying to watch the door to the Ready Room, the Orderly Room hallway, and the back door all at the same time while keeping his back to wall instead of the stairwell door.

"Are we fucked?" Bomber asked.

"No, Specialist, we are not 'fucked' in my opinion," LT James said from behind me when I opened my mouth to tell Bomber that we were probably screwed. "However Corporal Stillwater and I have managed to ascertain that we are indeed not alone in here as I had suspected."

"So what does that mean for us, sir?" Nancy asked. She pulled open the stairwell door at the LT's motion.

"We are in imminent danger, with no outside communication, no way to obtain extraction from our situation, and without reinforcements," LT James said, his voice clipped and steady, moving into the stairwell. I noticed he glanced beneath the stairs as well as up the middle of the stairwell to ensure the stairwell was clear. "Many of the soldiers have critical injuries, including Corporal Stillwater, who should be in ICU, so we will approach this from an offensive mindset to offset our weaknesses."

"What do we do, sir?" Bomber asked, shivering as a gust of wind from the broken window blew over us.

"We carry out our mission and carry on, Specialist," the LT said, pausing just before the door closed with a crash and a scream drifted down the stairs. "There is little else we can do."

"Roger that, sir," Bomber answered.

"Corporal Stillwater," the LT said as we headed up the stairs.