Once Upon a Friday... (#SciFriday entries and other short stories)

#SciFriday Challenge 27 - Signal Astray

"Found anything, Hunter?"

The man entering the shed went directly to the fire pit to warm him. He slowly removed gloves, parka and boots, set them to dry. He left his mask on the stacked boxes by the entry wall, with the others, and aligned his old M1917 with the rest of the mismatched weapons his unit had been able to salvage.

"Nothing!"

Ray's frustration was growing. He was just back from the fifth expedition to retrieve the origin of the signal. They were not able to pinpoint it, but it was there. Other survivors were broadcasting some news and music from hell, though they couldn't reach them. Yet.

Ray's unit was isolated. Five months ago, all went dark. Some higher up decided to press the big red button in their game of war. Politics always seemed like kids in suits, to Ray. They were playing preschool games, a pretend game of being friends and enemies, fighting to know who had the biggest one... kids playing with human lives. But Ray didn't really care, he was paid to do a job, and he was quite busy these past years, seeing as the kids were compensating with the size of their armies.

Five months ago, he was deployed in this godforsaken snow country. His mission had been to retrieve a scientific team supposed to be the Faradays of these days and age. One Rutherford wanted them. Ray was there for an extraction, it's all that counted. His unit was a mix of whatever Joes were available. He came there with a zoo; a dodo, a penguin, a dogface, even a zombie. The last one wasn't the brightest of the lot, but he could carry more than their equipment and he was at least able to follow and stay low in the snow. Ray was a mountain troop, chasseur.

Five month ago, they were slowly advancing in the white immensity, predators circling their prey. Today, Ray was buried in black snow, fighting for survival. All it took was a fraction of second, a finger on a red button, and all major cities blew up in uncontrollable firestorms. Until this fateful day, war was a game of the A power was just but a theory. Now, it was a reality. A sad one at that. All dark and gloomy, and the sooty smoke everywhere.

"Hey Muddy! Crank a bit your Gibbson girl and see what she has to say!"

There had been no communication from base since five months. All the radio was broadcasting was the strange, sporadic news flash and music. The others were getting anxious, and Ray hadn't decided yet on the next course of action.

"We found the target, Hunter".

Two men entered the shed. They set their equipment the same way as Ray did a moment earlier. They were now five in the small space, gathered around the fire. The taller one, removing his gaiters, explained how they found the scientist.

"The guy is hiding in a bunker on the mountain flank. No sight of Ratzis. Just this guy and two or three other, middle-aged. Looks like they got some stack in there."

"If the Penguin is right," the second man whined, "we shall have just grab them and nab all we can. He didn't want to let me get closer to take a better look."

"As if you'd know how to do any recon, Dodo? I thought all the experience you had was in flying..."

"La ferme!!" Ray was getting frustrated.

He turned to the silent man. "Zombie? How many eggs in your basket?"

The next day, they were silently approaching the entrance of a cave. They had seen no trace of human activity in the surroundings. Only some animals looking for food under the coarse black carpet. It was still difficult to breathe without the masks, and the visibility wasn't so great. The temperature was already lower than what shall have been expected for the period, even if they were in the middle of winter.

Ray sent a prayer to every God he knew that the assumption of a food reserve and no enemy troops was true. They really needed a break and some better place to stay until the situation cleared.

The hunter gave the signal to the other to get in position. Muddy on the front, zombie on the left side and himself on the right, the closer to the mouth of the mountain. The two air force guys were on cover. He had a grenade ready in his left hand. Silently, Ray entered the cave. He was standing in a sort of antechamber, leading to a corridor well lighted. That electricity was working here was astounding to him. They might have even more interesting things than the food.

Signaling the others to regroup, as the path was clear for them, the man positioned himself at the entrance of the corridor, surveying for any movement. The unit, even if they were a mismatched group of discarded troops, worked well together. Five month ago, units as theirs were created with elements from different armies and nationalities. Everyone could be a soldier and all were welcomed in the rank, even the lamest ducks of the lot.

Following the light in the corridor, no one in sight and no sound to hear, the group advanced with precaution. They were reaching a dispatching area, a broad circular room with four doors distributed along the walls, when the lights went off.

Retreating, they found their course blocked by a metallic gate closing effectively the path to the outside.

"Looks like we have gotten ourselves some mice, my friends."

The voice came from Ray's left. Probably the first door. The hunter silently took the direction of the man who just entered the room. He was near, he could feel the vibrations of the man walking and he could smell him. If they had food and other interesting things, soap wasn't part of it.

Ray was about to nab the man when the lights came back on. His team was surrounded by three scruffy looking men in what were once pure white lab coat. It was one weird reversal of roles, the prey capturing the hunter.

The men in white, more like dirty grey, had makeshift weapons, part baton with small electric arc at the extremity, and part sword. One of them even had a portable version of a mortar.

Looking intently at Ray, the man who spoke first gave a sign to his comrade.

"Who are you? What do you want from us?" He had assurance in his voice and a look of confidence in the eyes.

Ray didn't hesitate before answering with the truth on the situation. "We were supposed to retrieve and extract yourself and bring you to the Allied side. Most likely so that you could apply your knowledge and work for the scientist on our side. It was five moth ago. We don't really know now..."

Before he could had anything else, Zombie talked for the first time in few months. "Cold and hungry. You have food and technology. We need news from outside." The rest of his unit looked at him dumbfounded.

Once they sorted out that the five men weren't really in any position to bring them prejudice, and that it would be to their advantage to work together, they all went deeper into the caves. The area was in effect a scientific research facility. Further inside the mountain, Ray discovered a Launchpad for a giant rocket. The scientists were working on an atomic fueled launcher, an attempt to send man up in the sky, and to the Moon.

The men of knowledge where not working for the eagle, the enemy, they had their own agenda. They also had technology, as Zombie stated it. A technology that let the soldiers doubtful and awed. When Ray asked the apparent leader about the radio signal, his frustration had grown even more. The man in the lab coat had doused any enthusiasm he once had. He told him that, due to the heavy dust in the air, the signal from the radio could come from anywhere. With the actual climatic conditions, radio signals could travel further than the normal frequency.

The news and music could come from farther away than what they thought. It meant no survivors in the area, but also the possibility of information from the motherland.

Ray was analyzing the new situation and the possibilities of long range radio communication. He could try to contact more people and see from there. Sitting at a table in the large facility refectory, Ray let his mind wandering around. The girl on the calendar was a pretty lot. Mae West had always been a sweetheart, a beautiful lady every man would dream about.

Some static on the line got Ray out of his musing. He froze, listening attentively. Perhaps, this time, he would get more precision from the situation.

"Good Moooooooooooooooooooooooooorning Vietnam!"