Freedom Fighters

58. Bay of Pigs II: Abandoned

"Sir! Sir!"

The signaler shook his battalion commander's shoulders, trying to wake him up. Dario woke up in abrupt fashion, bleary-eyed and groggy. He saw the face on his concerned signaler, and rubbed his eyes.

"What is it?" Dario asked, shaking away the fog in his head.

"Sir, a transport ship carrying ammunition came."

Dario looked out to see the sun still shining bright in the sky. The village seemed relatively quiet. He reached for his water canteen and some biscuits in his vest. His whole body was aching, and he could feel a dull itch along the length of his back. 

"How long was I out for?

"Three hours, sir. The ship came an hour ago. Commander Alvarez organised a team to go out to the beach to retrieve the ammunition crates."

Dario nodded. He hoped that his commanders had managed to grab some sleep, no matter how much. He gnawed on the hard biscuit. "Anything else?"

"Sir, a message came from the 4th battalion. They are requesting for ammunition resupply at the moment."

He wondered how Rodrigo was faring. If the enemy he had faced here was any indication of their quality, Rodrigo should not have too much trouble. 

Feeling his stomach grumble even after a packet of biscuits, he decided to grab a field ration pack from the pile on the table, and stuff it into his vest's side pocket, before heading out. He found Commander Alvarez at another rustic hut, consuming biscuits and coffee powder. 

He greeted his second-in-command, "How are you doing, Alvarez? Catch any sleep?"

Alvarez, a hardy soldier in his early thirties, responded. "A little. I'm hanging in there."

"Great. I'm heading to Palpite to deliver some ammunition to the 4th. Can you hold the fort here?"

"Sure. But why don't you let someone else do it?"

"It's fine, Alvarez. It's just a short trip, and I want to see how Rodrigo's doing."

Dario then organised a squad of men to load crates of ammunition up a large truck. There seemed to be a current lull in battle, and he was unsure as to the reason why. Up in the sky, a skirmish seemed to be taking place as planes engaged each other in dogfights. 

Once the truck filled up with ammunition crates, they closed it up, draping the canvas over the back of the truck. Dario got into a jeep with a few men, and drove off behind the heavy laden truck. 

Dario left his rifle standing between his legs. While admiring the view of unsullied nature, he took out his field ration. He tore its top flap off, and started pouring its contents into his mouth. He swished the sludge with his tongue, tasting the salty and meaty stew before swallowing it. The calorie dense ready-to-eat meal filled him up quickly, and pumped a new surge of energy through his veins. 

The sound of gunshots became more and more apparent as they got closer and closer to Palpite. The town came into view after twenty minutes or so of leaving the fishing village. 

It was a quiet rural town with sparse huts dotting the agricultural landscape, or at least before war came to its doors. Now, it was a hub of violent activity. Potholes lined the fields, and soldiers ran about its dirt roads. The hard fighting seemed to have been contained to the front of the town. The truck stopped by the first series of houses they passed by. A group of soldiers stood there on guard. Dario got out of his jeep, and the sergeant in charge of the checkpoint saluted at sight of Dario. 

"Sir!"

"We are here to deliver ammunition as requested."

"Yes Sir! I have been informed to receive it. The truck can stay here, and we will do the unloading."