A Blur-red Xperience

A voice.
YOU HAVE TAKEN THE LEAD.
And a hell a lot of noise.

Yes! A deeper sense of victory. Something I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Behind a mounted machine gun I rampage through the dirt in which along with the worms men crawl to get to me. My reinforcement had re-spawned on the other side of the barn. I had to hold the fort till they came. Their dying words still rang through my ears. I had to do this. We could not afford to lose this lead.

Let me tell you all what happened. It was raining heavily. Our forces had been deployed in the greenhouses. We didn’t have any Intel on the Marines except that rookie Private SHIVA aka SangiMangi was in their team. But we were told by our commander zeek that they show no mercy towards us and that we should do the same. We were a team of three. Vikash was always at my back. We went on every mission together. This one was supposed to be the last one. Or so the angel said as we made our way to the western turret. Commander zeek led us there. We moved quietly through the grass. Oh the smell of grass. Green green grass with fresh mud splattered up to the tip, coupled with the smell of new rain. Heavenly. I took cover behind tank by the barn. Then came the signal.

“CHARGE”, yelled zeek.

zeek led the charge while I flanked from the left. The marines were camping. They didn’t expect us so soon. We had the advantage and we made the best of it. I launched a grenade and it took out two of the rotten scum. But there was a third. I had the misfortune of meeting him on a container ship some time back. It was not pretty. I know what he could do. The horrors he unleashed with his Red Dot aim attached AK-47. He was known by many names, but the one I know is “chaz”. As I fearlessly advanced firing my AK-47 at him he retorted to his oldest tricks. He fell down and armed with a semi automatic he took aim for a head shot. I knew it was over for me.

And then I heard the shot. But no pain came. Was I in heaven? I heard a voice above the ring in my head. It was zeek. Was he dead too. I saw him have a head injury. What was he shouting?

“Do not charge in open space!!”

He looked furious enough for me to know that I was alive. But he was satisfied too. We had the place we wanted. Now we camp.

I took position near the gun. Vikash watched the stairways and zeek looked on. It was silent. Not the peaceful kind. The kind of silence that precedes death. They were coming. Now we wait.

Then I saw. Another nemesis. Corporal Prasanna entering the barn. I aimed, and fired. I have no memory of what happened next. I distinctly remember a fear. A fear an old Alpha lion has before it loses to the Alpha lion of another pack. And I remember futile efforts of Vikash trying to blast with rocket launchers out off the turret they now had in their possession. How did we lose it? Or did we charge out of camp to the eastern turret to gain back the lost lead? Then the angel told me,” You have 5 minutes”

Was this the end? Are we to go out losing fighting for a cause? In the end, the 3 hours were a Blur.

PS: We later found out that sleeping beauty FINALLLLLY (ash) aka Ashrrith was there in the other team. Or else. Or else… well that is for another day’s entry into the Blurred Xperience.