Annihilation Prequel - Psychic Beginnings (17 page)

AG said, “Who is the Black Witch?”

Lt. Bates sighed, “She’s used to draw our troops into ambushes. When Charlie captures any of our troops, they’ll turn them over to the Black Witch to do her magic. She holds them outside our bases and announces all day that she is going to kill them slowly that night. She then starts torturing them by cutting pieces off and burning their extremities. They always die slowly and screaming at the top of their voices. Their suffering is what pulls our troops out to try and save them. Waiting for them is a specially trained battalion setup to ambush anyone that attempts a rescue. We’ve learned that to go after our captured soldiers is suicide. Even if we managed to get close, she would just shoot the captives in the head before she escapes. She is one sadistic bitch.”

AG slowly shook her head, “She blames us for what happened.”

Bates nodded, “She certainly does and she names the toes she cuts off after her daughter and grand-child.”

Daniels said, “Word has it that she’s up in your neck of the woods so be careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“That battalion is set up to capture our soldiers alive so that she’ll have all she needs to do her dirty work outside our bases . They’ll be looking to capture some of our soldiers.”

AG turned and ran from the room. He came in Omaha’s office and said, “I need to get back.” Omaha looked at him and AG said, “What’s wrong?”

“It appears your dumb ass Lieutenant had gone and got himself and a squad captured by the Vietcong.”

“What squad!?!”

“Sgt. Gomez, son.”

“Get me back!”

“There’s nothing you can do Gardner. She has them and is announcing her plans.”

AG leaned over Omaha’s desk and said, “Sir, no one but me can do anything! Now get me back!”

Omaha stared at him and then nodded at the corporal AG had run by barging into Omaha’s office. AG turned and ran out. Omaha slowly shook his head. Gardner was a dead man if he went out after the witch. He looked at the four beams AG had hit with knives and decided that maybe there was a chance. He contacted Captain Green and told him Gardner was coming back.

A
G arrived at Gibraltar an hour before sundown. The Huey lifted and he could hear the witch’s amplified voice telling everyone what she was going to do to Lt. Bingham as soon as the sun went down. AG hit the ground running toward his bunker and was greeted by Sgt. Slade, “That’s far enough, AG. The Captain has ordered no one to go after them.”

AG looked Slade in the eyes and said, “Being arrested for hitting a NCO is not going to be something I worry about, Sir.”

Slade stared at him just as Captain Green arrived, “Gardner, you will not go out of this base.”

Sgt. Gomez and Jackson ran up and Jackson said, “It was just as you said. The Lieutenant had to prove something and walked the squad into a trap. The Sagent and I were the only ones to escape.”

AG turned to Green and said, “If you were being held down there, would you want us to just listen to your screams? That witch has Charlie and I made a promise that I intend to keep. That stupid Lieutenant deserves it but the others don’t, Sir. Now either you are going to trust me to make this happen or you are going to have to shoot me to stop me. What’s it going to be?”

Green stared at AG and knew he meant it, “It’s suicide, Gardner. You don’t stand a chance; there’s a battalion waiting down there.”

“I’ll try not to kill them all, Sir but I can’t make any promises.”

Green shook his head and looked at Gomez who shrugged, “What can we do to help?”

“Come with me.”

AG ran over to the mortars and began adjusting them. He went to the edge of the sandbags and looked down at the jungle below the camp. He saw six dim black lines going into the jungle below. As he stared the black lines grew darker and changed into arches that went high and then into the jungle. Another talent had revealed itself. He came back and made several adjustments to six of the mortars. He then went to the mortar rounds and went through them until he found the six he wanted. He placed one round beside each mortar and said, “When I go over the wall, I want you to fire all six of these rounds simultaneously.”

Green stared at him and nodded.

AG looked at Gomez and said, “I need an M60 machine gun, one can of rounds, and a bag of thirty bayonets.” Gomez did a double take and AG said, “Now Sarge.”

AG went in his bunker and put on his vest and colored his face with white paint. He grabbed Charlie’s samurai sword and put it over his shoulder. He came out just as Gomez and Jackson arrived with the M60. Gomez said, “I’d like to go with you.”

Captain Green shook his head, “Permission denied. You’re filling in for the Lieutenant and I need you here with the platoon.”

Sgt. Slade said, “I’ll go.”

AG stared at him and said, “You’ll only slow me down.”

“You need someone to carry the gun and bayonets. I’ll stay out of your way.”

AG stared at him and said, “You will do exactly what I tell you and nothing else?”

“I will.”

“Come on, the sun’s getting low.”

They ran over to the sandbagged wall and AG said, “Here’s how we’re going to do it. When I go over the wall, you’ll follow and grab the gun and bayonets. You will then climb on my back and hold on. Is that clear?”

“How are we going to get to the jungle?”

“Just do it!”

Slade nodded and AG looked at Captain Green, “If we’re successful I’ll launch a green flare to let you know that we’re coming back. Cover us.” Captain Green nodded and AG pointed at the mortars, “As soon as Slade clears the wall, Captain.”

• • •

The Witch watched the captured American soldiers and smiled. They were sitting on the ground and bound to posts; they were scared. She had watched them as she announced what she was going to do to them and determined what order to follow to get the most out of their deaths. The tall one wanted to go first and end it quick but she was going to save him for last. He should be ready to scream once the others were done. The Lieutenant was petrified and had already soiled himself. He would make the most noise and he was going to be the first to her party. She kept telling him that if he could scream loud enough, she would make it easier on him. He soiled himself again and she decided that scaring him more would only make things smellier than they already were. She looked up at the sun as it touched the horizon and smiled; not much longer.

Charlie listened to the other members of the squad tell the Lieutenant what they thought about his leadership skills. They told him what a coward he was and how he put his precious career over their lives. They said they were glad they were going to get to see him die for his stupidity. Bingham, for his part, knew they were right and saw his death in front of him in a middle aged Vietnamese woman who was sharpening her blades and oiling her pliars.

• • •

AG went over the wall and Slade came over behind him. Slade grabbed the mini-gun and black bag of bayonets and climbed on AG’s back as he bent down waiting. The sound of the mortars let them know that the rounds were on the way and Slade felt AG straighten up and start moving toward the Jungle. Something was wrong. The jungle was getting closer much faster than it should have. He waited for the mortar rounds to hit and they did just as they were halfway down the hill. They entered the jungle as the sound of the blasts dissipated. Slade knew that Gardner had made that run in less than six seconds, which was just not possible. Gardner dropped him off his back and said, “Follow me as quietly as possible. I want you to leave these white strips of cloth on bushes as you move forward and wait where I tell you to and guide the squad back to this point; understand?”

Slade nodded and Gardner disappeared in front of him as the sun went below the horizon. Gardner had taken six bayonets out of the bag before he left and Slade picked up the bag and M60 and quietly moved forward, placing white strips on bushes.

• • •

AG went into the super slow motion domain and moved forward at a speed that was unbelievable. He stopped and took a bayonet and threw it up toward the top of a tree. A sniper had heard noise below and had looked out from the branch he had tied himself to and a bayonet went through his left eye. He collapsed and hung on the branch. AG moved quickly forward and came to the first machine gun nest. He stepped in as the three Vietcong were getting up from hitting the ground as the mortar rounds arrived. AG drew the samurai sword and took off all three of their heads. He turned and threw another bayonet into another sniper above the nest and moved forward. He shifted to the right and threw six knives at a squad of North Vietnam regulars, hitting all six in the throat and used the sword to take out the other five. Another bayonet went into the trees and he moved forward again. So far only four seconds had passed since he left Sgt. Slade and not a sound had been made by those he passed.

Sgt. Slade followed and began coming up on the ones AG had killed. He saw they had not been able to make a sound and the numbers of dead Vietcong was staggering. Suddenly, AG appeared in front of him and took the bag of bayonets, “Continue on this path, Sergeant.” Then he disappeared. It was starting to get dark and he was finding dead men all along the path he was following. This was frightening. It was as if Gardner was an invisible monster killing everything in his path. He continued to put white strips on bushes and tried not to look at the silent dead soldiers scattered along the path.

• • •

Major Huang watched the witch prepare the Americans for slaughter and shook his head. He despised the barbaric brutality used by humans on other humans. This was not honorable and he chose not to witness it. He had been ordered to go with the witch wherever she went and see to her safety. The leaders in Hanoi valued her as a great tool against the foreign invaders. He sighed and knew it was just about time to start the butchery, so he got up and left the small clearing and went out to check on the perimeter defenses to the north. He saw the two guards that assisted the witch in her tasks smile at what was coming. Those two were as bad as the witch. He entered the edge of the jungle as the first scream rang out.

• • •

Slade heard the scream and knew he was close. He almost dropped the M60 and can of ammo but suddenly saw AG in front of him again; he grabbed it before it fell. Slade looked at AG and backed away. His white face and body were covered in blood and he looked like a demon from hell. AG took the M60 and said, “Go back two hundred yards and wait. If no one comes in fifteen minutes, leave and go back to camp. Take this and use the flare to let them know you’re coming.”

Slade took the black bag from AG and saw there were no more bayonets in it. He also noticed that there was blood all over the knife vest he was wearing. He took the black bag and Gardner disappeared again. He turned and retraced his path and saw more dead Vietcong he had not seen before. He knew there were more than a hundred and not a sound had been made nor a shot fired. He continued to move forward and count dead bodies.

• • •

The Witch said, “Good, good, very good; that was an excellent scream, Lieutenant. Would you like to see the two little fingers I’ve removed?”

She held them up in front of Bingham’s face and ran a needle through them and hung them around her neck. Bingham’s face was ashen and he watched as the witch grabbed one of his feet and hold it up in front of her, “Now which toe shall I take for my daughter? Let me see; how do you Americans do it? Oh yes; this little piggy…” and she cut the little toe off his foot with a scalpel. The scream was incredible. The witch smiled, touched the cut with a hot iron to scald it shut, and waited for his screams to subside. She reached for the other leg and felt something on her shoulder. She turned and saw a long blade that suddenly went up to an inch from her right eye. She froze. The blade tapped her on her shoulder and she turned and saw a blood covered being standing between her two guards. As she watched, the heads fell off her guards and their bodies collapsed to the ground. A hand quickly went over her mouth before she could scream and squeezed hard enough to almost make her pass out. The blood covered being dragged her over to the bound soldiers and cut the bindings on the tall one and handed him the sword. Before she could move a knife with a needle point was one inch from her eye again.

“Charlie, cut the others loose and get them moving on the path leading south of here.”

Charlie said, “AG what are you doing here?”

“Charlie, shut up and do as you’re told. Now move.”

Charlie cut the others lose and went over to their weapons that were stacked close by. AG said, “You won’t need those going out. Follow the white strips until you get to Sgt. Slade; he’ll take you the rest of the way.” AG looked at Bingham who was almost delirious in pain and tapped his foot with his boot. He screamed again. AG thought about leaving the Lieutenant behind and say he was too wounded to move. As he thought about the idea, something inside him rebelled. AG said, “Two of you grab the Lieutenant and take him with you.”

The men just stared at AG and then they saw his expression and moved quickly to move the injured officer. “Charlie, wait for me for about twenty minutes. If I’m not there by then, launch the flare and get to the camp.”

“I won’t go without you.”

“Yes you will because you follow orders when no one else will. Now get the men out of here.”

Charlie stared at AG, turned, and led the seven men out. AG turned his attention back to the Black Witch and said, “I should just kill you but I don’t believe in killing those that are being used through manipulation.”

The Black Witch stared at the blood covered white being and sneered, “I’m not forced to do anything.”

‘You do this because of a lie. You think it was the Americans that killed your daughter and her child.”

“I’ve seen the recording.”

“I am going to ask you three questions that you should have asked yourself but didn’t. Your daughter was a very smart woman; why did she go out of a door into the middle of a firefight when there was a back door she could have used to escape?” The Witch continued to glare but AG saw her thinking.