GATE - War of Two Worlds Part 1

V01 - Chapter 5 RM

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--- Coan Forest ---

April 25th, 2025

As Vanguard-7 drove down the dirt road, it had been about six hours since they left Fort Alnus. So far, their mission has been very uneventful. They have only passed a farmhouse with some kids working in the fields.

While looking out the window, Major Sharpe looks at the trees for anything that is suspicious.

As Vanguard-7 moves along, they suddenly hear a loud roar. Before anybody could even speak, a large beast flew right past them with incredible speed.

Sharpe's second in command, Second Lieutenant Charles Johnson speaks through the team radio. "Did everyone see that?"

"How the hell didn't we see that sir?" Private Second-Class Marvin Scott said.

"It a fucking dragon screaming and flying around," Andrew said, "It sounds like a big one."

Sharpe grabs his radio. "Stay calm and keep an eye out. I think it went..." he stops as he is interrupted by Andrew, "Standby."

"Sir, look to the left, smoke," Andrew said as he pointed in the direction.

Both he and Alicia look to the left and see smoke. It seems like it is only a few kilometers away behind a tree line.

He thinks of every possible situation on why smoke is coming from there. It could be nothing, but it is most likely some town or village. If there is smoke, that usually is a sign of trouble, but so far, they have not seen anything. At least in that direction, it may be something worthwhile checking out.

Sharpe orders for the Vanguard teams to recon the area, find out what is around Alnus, and report back. If anyone ran into the enemy or found themselves in a dangerous situation, they would fall back to base. There is so little the US and Army knows about this world; they are literally writing the rules book as they go. Still, if that is a village, they seem to be in trouble. There is no way he can just pass that up.

He speaks into the radio again, "Rangers. To our left there we see smoke. We are going to check it out. Stay sharp and watch for snipers."

"Snipers?" Andrew asked, "That is my job."

"An arrow can act as a sniper," he responds.

The Vanguard-7 convoy heads in the direction of the smoke.

While the team is separated into three vehicles, he can feel the tension among his Rangers. Everyone wants to see something besides trees, maybe some action — anything to end the boredom.

As they approach the location of the smoke, he begins wondering what happened to the dragon. Andrew had said dragons can breathe fire, and while that is only in fantasy stories, Sharpe has no reason to believe that it is not true in real life. With this dense tree cover, if the dragon decides to attack, they will never see it coming.

Once they arrive, all they see is burnt buildings. The ground is black, scorched from whatever that dragon did. Burnt skeletons are everywhere, both humans and animals alike. Everything in the town is destroyed, and the area is completely lifeless.

"We're not in Kansas anymore," Scott said over the net, most likely making a pop-culture reference and then making a smart-ass joke comparing it to his current surroundings.

"Watch your language, Scott and show some respect," Randy said to him, working to maintain order.

"Sorry, Sergeant Major," Scott replied.