Field of Vision

Chapter 3: Reconnaissance

After three hours of trudging through the forest, the unit stopped for a break. "Ryce, Owen, and all long-range support squads step forward." The captain ordered.

Nicholas obliged swiftly, Samantha, Wilson, Lauren, Demo, and the trio following.

"Ryce, Owen, you're responsible for taking the bullets when necessary." He briefed. They nod, slinging their auto rifles from their backs to their hands. "As for snipers, you will find a secure position to stay at, but the two bulks over here will be standing by the trio for the artillery support. You will act as our recon's recon squad. When you give the all-clear, Recon will swoop in, finding good places to plant an ambush. The reason you're going in first is for experience, so don't argue, got it?"

The captain's mouth had been running for quite a while so Nicholas's brain deciphered key words and trashed the rest. You're recon, separated from others, all-clear, don't argue. He nodded, as did his companions, and Ryce and Owen put a mile between them. They hurriedly caught up, Wilson in the lead, until they came at the end of the forest. From then on, mountains forged a steep barrier between Nara and Kunden.

Trees had sprouted on the mountain, but mainly it was sheer rock. Not much dirt was on there, except for the weed-infested sections. I remember learning about this mountain range. It was called... called... "Stop daydreaming," Owen snapped, and Nicholas looked his way. He had waited for him, and everyone else was hiking a less-steep but still rigorous hill to get to the 'pass.' Fifty meters' climb to get to the pass, right? Nicholas sprinted up the hill, trying to contain his noise level at a minimum.

A lovely, chaos-ensued gunshot broke his careful tread, and he desperately reached for the top. Keeping his head low, he saw that there were trees on both sides of the mountain, the only cover, but the trio had started rock climbing to a small, natural platform. A flash of a gun caught Nicholas's eye. Someone was down, and someone was pretending to be down. Samantha had started for the trees, while Lauren dropped like a stone, but to Nicholas's relief, fired four consecutive rounds before rolling over to a new position.

Right, Nicholas pulled out his handgun, looking around. Some movement. He fired a second ahead of it, and saw a hand drop into the open. He slid over to the right, keeping his head below sight, and then raised it again. Lauren was still handling it well, the two corpses lay there perfectly still, and Samantha was probably somewhere in the trees.

"Don't just stand there!" Ryce hissed, using his radio with a built-in camera to contact the captain, shouting small phrases Nicholas couldn't catch and occasionally spraying pellets into the tree line.

Nicholas, by now, had slid down to the very edge of the pass, before climbing up and dashing the meter-run into the 'forest.' He safely made it and crushed his back against a tree, using the reflection of his knife to look around. He saw a scope creeping around a corner and brought the knife back.

Unsure of what to do, he hissed, trying to conceal the location of his voice, "Sam!" Waiting cautiously, he moved his knife out again. The scope's gone.

He threw a rock into the shrubbery and heard an explosion of semi-auto fire. Not S-

He was grabbed in a chokehold and struggled desperately. He grabbed his knife, sinking it into the fleshy arm, and it recoiled enough inches for him to turn and push the knife in further.

"Oh God," he said, stepping back, before hugging the ground in time for a gunshot to be heard. He crouched, then stood, before bleeding Samantha. He put his hand on the knife, closing his eyes. Sorry... he unconsciously mouthed it, yanking it out.

"Aah! Ah!!" Samantha shrieked between breaths. By now, Nicholas could hear gunshots peppering the tree, and the enemy was probably moving by cover of sound.

Samantha stood up, using her hurt arm to pick up her handgun, other arm tightly pressing the wound, and looked the other direction. Nicholas took the right. Right, shoot first, kill later. He almost was amused by the irony.

He waited and listened. The gunshots were over. He rolled over to a tree and waited, before coming into a crouch position. Samantha threw some rocks to the tree opposite him. What is she doing?! Nicholas heard the chaos started again and turned his head away, keeping one eye squinting hard and the other forcefully open. He started shooting random shots into some trees until he got a reaction. Something tall banged against something hard. Fourth tree from center.

He turned to Samantha to inform her but she was involved in a one-sided melee. She shoved her opponent to the ground and stomped on their face. Taking her knife, she fell down onto her adversary.

Nicholas averted his gaze and found a nice long barrel looking him in the eye. He grinned. His semi-raised gun shot quickly, before he received a quick, painful, piercing, mini-sized punch to the gut. "Oh," he breathed. As he collapsed, still conscious, he wondered why he was smiling. "I lost the staring contest," he realized, almost chuckling. The pain was immense, like a computer was thrown into his stomach and a corner went through skin. He looked up, and saw a figure leaning against a tree, taken down by an anonymous force.

"God, no, I won't..." Nicholas picked himself up anyway, leaning on a tree, grasping his gut fiercely. His right hand was still clamped to the handgun and he walked forward, little at a time. Then he swung into a tree and waited. The enemy hasn't seen me.

He waited a little while longer and started inching towards another tree, firing wildly into the blank forest in front of him. Resting alongside a tree, he waited. Then he heard some gunshots, joined with unmanly screams, followed by the manliest sounding screams he'd ever heard, with the addition of a couple of dead Kunden ambushers.

"Nicholas, you there?"

He closed his eyes and slowly fell to the floor, back to the bark. "Yes," he finally wheezed.

Someone came. Then, strangely, Nicholas opened his eyes. He looked into the center of the pass. There were the Recon soldiers, on the side where... oh no. Long range support had been engaged in close-range combat. The main unit was starting to swarm over into the pass. Someone dropped to their knees behind him and started moving him around and putting cold, cold, cold, substances on him. He saw the flash from the guns, but never the victims. In a couple of minutes, it was wrapped up.

He was being supported by a medic and was headed for the back of the pass, the Nara side. Mustn't have been the full force. They know that that one group couldn't stop us, and they sent them anyway. There go, what, two dozen lives? Less? Just to... just to spite us. Just to weaken us. They know they can't defeat us fair. Well, well, we'll just play dirtier. Too bad we don't have long range support artillery, that would've helped. But I think we still have Demo...

Nicholas's legs started failing him and was practically dragged to a soft patch on the ground, hidden by the trees. "Thank you," he breathed.

"Don't thank me yet," they said, lifting his stomach and bandaging the wound snugly. "The gel I put on earlier should help you feel good about moving, but rest. I don't know how much blood you've lost."

He walked away, and Nicholas was isolated from the devastation. This unit has been operating for years, probably. It should be decades, now that I think about it. Why send long range support in? Why not have long range support, SUPPORT Recon as they scope it out? Wouldn't that have prevented this from happening? Ugh, well it's too late, complaining won't help... ... Oh my gosh where're the others?!

He moaned, thinking about it. Finally his conscious cleared, and he stayed down. That night, he didn't eat. He simply stared at his bowl. After that disaster, we still have to defeat the oncoming wave and push into enemy territory... god.