Field of Vision

Chapter 4: Long Range Support

Nicholas felt sluggish, all the way down to the bone. He sat up slowly, eyelids opening like a garage door. For almost a full minute, he'd forgotten where he was. Then he shot up, looking around so quickly that his eyes hurt. Why wasn't I woken up?!

He sprinted into the pass and found everyone alive and buzzing. There were teams scaling the mountains to some wider ledges, and... "Where's long range support..." his view shifted like those annoying, slow-moving fans.

He advanced slowly and painfully to the center of the movement, and everyone had a job. Someone tapped his shoulder. As he was turning, Ryce was already speaking. "Your team is at the highest point, the narrowest ledges. Perfect for you snipers. The grapple's still in place. If you hurry, they won't take it down and you'll claim third highest ledge." Ryce, seemingly forgetting about the massacre yesterday, spun him around and shoved him in the general direction towards the southeast part of the pass.

He trudged there and examined the sharp rise of the mountain. "Hey!" someone's voice carried down to the ground. "Early bird gets the best nest."

"I don't think that's how it goes..." he muttered, smiling slowly.

Focus. He looked up at the inch-thick rope, feeling around his bandaged stomach.

He gingerly reached out and grasped the rope, approaching it as if in a daze. I can't climb that high... "Hurry up! They're sending the rifles up after you, so hurry!"

Figures. Nicholas gripped the rope and planted his left foot on the mountain. Then his right. He hoisted himself up a little further, bringing his feet up more. Alright, this is easier than I thought. He was giving himself more credit than he deserved. He took nearly an entire hour to get to the top. By then there was very little happening on ground level, and his arms were sore. A little more. He slid his hand up slightly, rearranging his feet and getting ready for the last couple of tugs.

Breathing hard, he advanced the final meter. He collapsed on the two-foot wide ledge, having fifty centimeters of extra space. I need to let my feet hang to fit the rifle. Shivering, he backed up a little. He closed his eyes and lay there for about twenty minutes.

TATATAT of machine guns shattered the calmness. His eyes shot open and he heard shooting ringing through the valley. The blue-yellow uniforms of Nara soldiers were easily identifiable versus the brown-green camouflage of Kunden. Sometimes our pride gets in the way of strategical effectiveness... oh well.

There were masses of them. And crowds of those masses. And mobs of those crowds. A full-on invasion force from Kunden, and our puny recon unit knew it. We knew it, we came anyway. We're going to die for our kingdom. That... that is something I cannot stand for! I will live, and teach these Kunden who's boss!

Something clinked against his feet. Nicholas turned his head around, greeting his power with envy. He snatched it up and threw its stand down, letting the weight bear on his shoulder. It pressed him down, pressing his stomach onto the ice-cold ledge. Ugh!... that'll just have to be. Nicholas inched his rifle forward and finally let it droop slightly over the ledge. He had to use both hands to support it, even if it was just the ten seconds it took to take a shot, and he peered through the scope. BANG!

He threw his rifle into the air, and caught it with his right arm by the scope. He was being dragged down slowly. "Nicholas, dig your feet down!" Right. He used his left hand, drawing out his knife, and sunk it into the rock. At first it chiseled only a millimeter away, but with continuous hacking, he started to make progress. "Ah-" he almost screamed, but he held it in, even if his chest was starting to implode. He almost gave away their position. Never again.