Rule of Four (Damned of the 2/19th Novella)

Ice and Cold

Was that the boogeyman?
As a matter of fact, it was.
--Halloween, 1978

CQ Area
Barracks Area
2/19th Special Weapons Group Area
Secure Area
Alfenwehr, West Germany
23 November, 1988
0115
Day One of the Nov 88 Incident

The ice lashed over me as I slammed my back against the door just in case. I'd gotten my arm up in time to protect my face, and even with the insulated field jacket over my BDU top and longjohns top, the cold seemed to strip away flesh and muscle to leave my bones aching like they were full of ground glass. The door against my back was a slab of ice, leeching away my body heat, making it feel like my heart had to struggle to beat.

The two men were still standing there, cursing. The Specialist's hand went to his jaw as he gave a cry of agony.

I could see muscle tissue, fat, and blood all frozen where the black frost had eroded it away.

"THIS WAY!" I shouted, my unwounded hand jamming into my thigh pocket.

Both men responded instinctively to the snap of command in my voice, struggling around the CQ Desk, their limbs numbed and shocked by the explosion of black forst.

I stripped away the plastic with my teeth, spitting it on the floor. The saliva froze in mid-air and bounced away on the ice glazed tile. I stuck the plastic in my mouth, crunching the glass ampule and shaking my head quickly.

Blue light started glowing from the chemlight held between my teeth.

The Private and the Specialist moved up near me. I jerked my head and the Private held out his hand so I could spit the chemlight into his hand.

"All right. When I move from this door, we have to move fast," I told them both.

The Specialist's face wasn't even bleeding, despite the fact that the skin had been abraded away along his cheek and jaw. His eye was still good and he stared at me wide-eyed.

"We got lucky. He was two seconds from yanking your guts out," I told him. He just nodded, his mouth working soundlessly.

shock

"Right now, all three of us are alive. It must have taken him earlier, when he was alone," I said. I pointed at the doors to Titty Territory. "OK, when I move, we go through this door."

The Private looked at me, then at the door, then nodded, understanding showing in his eyes.

"We go up to the fourth floor, we should be good up there, heat rises," I said, making running motions with two of my fingers.

Both men nodded.

Pebbles of frozen blood were sticking to the exposed muscle and greasy looking fat on the Specialist's face.

Both men moved by the door, setting themselves to take off in a sprint.

"NOW!" I shouted.

Both men didn't bother waiting for me. They lunged through the door, slamming them to either side as I spun away from the stairwell door and followed. The lights flickered as I passed them, the first two exploding as I ran underneath them. I put on more speed, ignoring the burning pain in my leg as the lizard slapped down the combat button and held it there, cranking dials up, flooding my system with endorphins and adrenaline.

They were fast, sprinting for the far end, all of our boots thudding on the icy tile. I was gaining, rapidly, more acclimated to being up on Alfenwehr than they were. They were already panting as I passed them a half dozen steps from the door, despite the fact my knee brace was making popping and grinding noises and my left foot was dragging slightly.