Chasing Liberty // Countryhumans North Korea fanfiction

The Hunt

    “See anything out there?”

   “Nope, nothing,” the soldier from the National Defense Army’s 1st Infantry Division replied to his ally, squinting out into the dark forest that separated them from the Taeryong River.

    “Then come on, let’s get away from these hills,” the other man said. “Some of the commies could be hiding here. I don’t want to get ganked while taking a piss.”

     The first man 'tsk'ed as he redid his pants. “Any word from the Yanks in charge?”

    “Not since the order to retreat,” the second one replied as they started to meander away from the edge of town. “Comms with the other Corps have gone to shit. That Paik seems to think we’re going to break through here, though.”

    His friend kissed his teeth. ”Yeah right. At the rate things are going, we’ll be lucky if the damn commies leave any of us alive. Think we should cut our losses?”

    There was a distant smacking sound, followed by the other man’s fading voice. “Talk like that again and I’ll report you. You know what happens to deserters.”

     “I was just joking,” the assaulted man muttered, and his next words were lost to the night, and the far away gunfire in it.

     After a few minutes, North Pyongan poked his head out from behind a woodshed, scanning the nearby houses. Nothing moved in the dirty, desolate streets.

    ‘Clear,’ he signalled, and ten men, plus Chagang and Liaoxi, slid from the ruined buildings on the edge of town.

     They had surrendered Yongsan in the afternoon, and the first renewed assault had taken place a mere two hours later. It had failed, but under its cover, Task Force Manchuria (or Task Force ‘Revenge On That Murdering Bastard,’ as Yun Chang-gil called it) had advanced from their initial hiding place in the hills that bordered the river, to one of the streets on the edge of Yongsan.

    North Pyongan’s idea to hide out of town had been a correct one. One of the first things Paik Sun-yup’s men had done was go door to door to search for remaining soldiers.

     It made him think of he and his sister hiding in that couple’s house in Anju, and what may or may not have happened to them.

    However, it seemed that there were no civilians left in Yongsan. Or if there were, they were keeping an extremely low profile.

    Chagang crept across the street, ducking into the cover of a small yard. After a moment, he gave the signal, and North Pyongan followed.

    Painstakingly, the entire half of their task force followed, holding tight to their rifles and machine guns to prevent them from rattling. Back where they had come from, the second half, led by Yun Chang-gil’s commanding officer, would be doing the same, though they did not have so far to go.

    As they neared the center of town, their pace further slowed, now faced with patrolling soldiers.

     At the sound of nearing voices, North Pyongan ducked into the remains of a house, hiding behind a free-standing wall. Liaoxi, who had been halfway across the road, quickly darted back, squeezing in next to him.

     They watched as a squad of four went marching by, rifles in hand.

     “I fucking hate this, man,” one whined, his head twisting this way and that. “I feel watched all the damn time.”

    “It’s the civs,” one said dismissively. “They’re still skulking around. Caught one guy rummaging through a house earlier.”

    “Did you kill him?” another asked, sounding bored.