Stars And Stripes

Chapter 3: Retaliation

Daniel slowly peered outside of a window, checking for any immediate threats. "Looks like we're all clear," he whispered.

He turned to look at Jenkins and Varson, the sniper they had assisted earlier at the beach. Jenkins gave Daniel and thumbs up and continued to eat the candy bar he had scavenged from the deserted gas station store.

The three had escaped the beach and quickly made their way into the city, which had been evacuated hours before they had arrived in Huntington. They took refuge in the nearest building once Daniel felt they had put enough space between them and the beach. They had been holed up in the small store for a couple hours now.

"How much ammo you guys have?" asked Varson. He reorganized his tactical vest, making sure to put his extra ammo where he could easily reach it. Varson had been issued an M40A5 for his role as a sniper, so he was on his own when it came to sharing ammunition.

Daniel counted the magazines he had left after the beach encounter. "About six mags."

"Four on me," said Jenkins, shifting uneasily in his spot on the floor.

Daniel took one of his magazines from his pouches and slid it to Jenkins. "Go easy on the ammo," he said. "Single fire if we need to, but let's try to keep low until we can make it back to the FOB."

"Where is the FOB anyways?" asked Jenkins, out of the loop as usual.

"About four klicks east of here," replied Varson. He was busy reassembling his weapon; he had just finished cleaning it. "We should probably get a move on soon. It's almost dark and we're not supplied for a night op."

Daniel had to give the man respect, he was logical and methodical, the perfect soldier. He hadn't lost his cool yet, always seemed collected. Daniel nodded towards him. "He's right."

Daniel stood to his feet, motioning for the others to do the same. "Keep quiet," he whispered, walking towards the exit. He glanced through the glass door before opening it, checking for danger. He took a few cautious steps from the building, bringing his weapon to his shoulder, scanning the area. Taking one hand off his gun, Daniel motioned the others outside. They quickly, but quietly, took up positions to either side of him.

"No offense bud," whispered Varson. "But I think I should take point, seeing as I have this handy dandy degree in Army Sniper Training School-ness."

Daniel couldn't argue with that. Varson was trained to be stealthy and see things that others couldn't. He gave Varson a nod and grumbled, "Lead on, soldier boy."

Varson took off in a slow jog, trying to balance out speed with stealth. The sun was almost completely gone, with only a few rays of sunshine to light up the city. Varson followed the road, sticking to the left side, along the building walls. Huntington was a busy, building filled city, so almost all the streets were jampacked with stores and restaurants.

There was no sign of the alien that had attacked Charlie Company, there wasn't even signs of the rest of Charlie. The streets were void of people, their cars packed neatly long the edges of the road, and the stores left intact with zero ransacking. It was a ghost town.

Daniel followed a few meters behind Varson, scanning buildings with his weapon, and Jenkins followed Daniel, covering the rear. Varson approached an intersection and stopped at the edge of the buildings, right before the intersection. Daniel slowed his jog and quietly crept up to Varson.

"You see anything?" Inquired Daniel, catching his breath in deep gasps.

Varson pointed to the wall on the other side of the intersection. "Right there, the white wall. There's pockets from gunfire. Signs of a firefight, but no bodies or blood."