Last Night Another Soldier (7 page)

I wiped the sweat off my mud-caked face, and tried taking deep breaths to calm my breathing. It wasn’t working. ‘Toki, they’re getting closer, mate.’

‘We are all right, Briggsy. They’re just firing into the dark, trying to flush us out.’

‘They will soon. It’s nearly first light.’ I was beginning to wonder if we were going to get out of this one. Another twenty minutes or so and the sun would be up – and there was no way we weren’t going to be seen.

Flash was obviously thinking the same thing, and when he spoke, I could hear that he too was breathing heavily, which made me feel a lot better. ‘How we going to stand our ground until the Apaches get here?’

‘Mate, soon as it’s light, they’ll be able to see us,’ added Si. He sounded as scared as the rest of us. ‘Mate, we’ve got no ammo.’

We fell silent for a moment, and waited for
Toki to come up with something. I was desperate for him to come up with anything that sounded like a plan.

Just then, two of the Taliban started shouting at each other in between firing off a few rounds across the maize. They definitely had a plan, and chances were it involved us.

My heart was beating even faster by the time Toki finally spoke. ‘OK, listen in.’

We all moved an inch closer to him so as not to miss a word. ‘Soon as it becomes light enough for us to see where we are going, we move to the edge of the maize and take cover in the irrigation ditch that runs in the open ground. That way we can wait up until the Apaches start hosing down the fields, plus we don’t need to worry about getting hit by their rounds. Then, once they’ve done their bit, we can start moving and link up with Sergeant MacKenzie. Any questions?’

I had one. ‘I’ve only got four rounds left – that’s it. What happens if we run into them on the way out?’

There was a short pause before I heard the sound of grating metal. ‘Fix bayonets,’ came the reply.

I didn’t keep mine in its metal sheaf like Toki, so I pulled my bayonet out from where I had jammed it into the webbing of my body armour.
I twisted it into the barrel of my rifle, and checked and double-checked it was on tight.

This was getting really scary. I’d never actually used one before, at least not in real life. I’d only done it back in the UK while we were training. We’d practised screaming at sand bags as we charged towards them making what was supposed to be a terrifying face. You had to put on a war face to frighten the enemy as well as rev yourself up a bit. That way you’d be able to do the business with your bayonet when you finally reached him. It was all a bit of a laugh in training. I never really thought I might have to do it for real.

Si was feeling the pressure, too. ‘Mate, we’re outnumbered. There are shedloads of ‘em out there.’

Toki’s voice remained calm as ever. ‘If we move through the maize slowly and quietly, we shouldn’t bump into any of them. But if it kicks off, we’ll take them one at a time. That’s right, isn’t it, Briggsy?’

I managed to mumble a yes, but it didn’t sound very convincing.

Toki ignored my fear and carried on. ‘In here, they’re going to have to be within a metre or so before they see you. And when they do, you got to be quick. Remember, grip the weapon. Get
your body behind it, the butt tucked in under your arm. Ram that lump of metal into him before he has a chance to do anything to you. Aim for the centre of what you can see of him. His bones and kit will resist a little, so keep your body weight behind the weapon. Take him down, leave him dead or alive, and just keep moving on. Fight your way out of the field and take cover in the ditch.’

Flash spoke quietly but urgently. ‘It’s first light, Toki.’ He was right. The eight-foot-high maize field was beginning to take shape.

‘You ready?’ Toki fixed his eyes on Flash, who took a gulp of air before he answered slowly and steadily, ‘Ready.’

Toki then checked out Si, although to be honest, when his reply came he sounded less sure.

Toki then fixed his eyes on me. ‘You ready?’

My mouth was so dry I couldn’t get the words out.

‘Briggsy, you ready?’ he repeated.

I swallowed hard and tried to sound confident. ‘Ready.’ It was more of a squeak than an answer.

Toki started to move through the maize, ‘Single file, behind me.’

Flash and Si fell in and I followed behind, each of us a couple of metres behind the other. We needed to be spread apart as much as possible to prevent a burst of Tali fire taking all four of us down at once, but not so far apart that we couldn’t see the next man in front.

The maize rustled as we pushed ourselves through. I held the pistol-grip of my rifle with my right hand. My left was around the barrel, keeping the bayonet raised, ready to take on anyone who came near. I desperately hoped they wouldn’t. With just a few rounds each, staying hidden was going to be our greatest weapon.

As I inched my way slowly through the field, a head of corn banged against my shoulder and made me jump like a startled rabbit. Even a snap of straw under my feet made me flinch. I could still only see about two metres ahead of me, but I could hear all four of us breathing heavily.

Every so often the Taliban would let out one of their bloodcurdling screams and a whole load of them would open fire with their AK47s. We would duck down automatically every time
it happened, praying that the rounds weren’t heading our way. Toki kept us moving forward as quickly as we could
.

All of a sudden, Si screamed out, ‘Contact right! Contact right!’ All four of us turned. I could just make out the shape of two men as one of them fired wildly in our general direction. We all fired a few puny rounds into the thick maize as they zipped past us then quickly disappeared.

‘Out of ammo! RV. Get to the RV!’ shouted Toki and we broke into a run. I was still last in line, huffing and puffing, sweating in my body armour and helmet, terrified I might get left behind.

There was a burst of fire from the Taliban to my right, then an ear-piercing scream stopped me in my tracks. It came from one of us.

‘Man down! Man down!’ I crashed through the maize to try to reach whichever one of us had been hit, but I still couldn’t see through the thickness. Toki’s voice hit me from about five metres ahead. ‘Keep moving! He’s dead. Go, go!’

More fire came from my right as I carried on running, jumping over Flash’s body on the way. He was face down, soaked in blood. More fire followed from the left, and then from behind. I still couldn’t see anything except maize.
Another round of fire burst out from ahead of us. I started to panic. ‘Toki!’

Before I could decide which way to run, Si was screaming at me. ‘Briggsy! Left. Tali, left! Look left!’

There was a Taliban just a metre to my left. Dark eyes wide open, teeth bared, his beard glistening with sweat. There was nowhere to run.

I don’t know who screamed the louder, but both of us yelled at the top our lungs as we hurled ourselves towards each other. I gripped my weapon and lunged as hard as I could. The bayonet made contact with his chest. His dark eyes took one last look down the barrel of my weapon as his shirt and skin resisted for a second before giving way under the bayonet’s blade. I heard a squelch as the cold, hard steel resisted a little against bone.

I pushed in harder, my war face now just inches from his as we both screamed at each other. The bayonet forced its way past his ribs and rammed all the way home into his chest. He gave one long scream as his knees buckled and he fell backwards, pulling me forward with him
.
There was no way I was going to let go of my rifle.

It was then that I realized my bayonet was stuck in his chest. My rifle was practically standing upright all on its own now that the
Tali was down on the ground.

‘What you doing? Leave him! Come on!’ Si’s voice hovered between exhaustion and panic.

‘I can’t get it out. It’s stuck in his ribs!’ Si took hold of my rifle’s grip, putting his hands on top of mine.

‘Pull, Briggsy, pull!’

We pulled together, wiggling and twisting to pull the blade free. There was another squelch and a rasping noise as the bayonet slid out stiffly from between two ribs. I stood stock still, watching the blood drip slowly down the blade.

Si’s voice cut through my daze. ‘Run, Briggsy, run!’ More rounds came from all directions. I scanned every shape ahead of me but still couldn’t see him. ‘Where’s Toki?’

‘Keep going!’ Si was panting so heavily he could hardly speak. ‘Do as he said, the RV!’

I increased my speed to catch up with Si and we ran the last ten metres together to the edge of the field. In the distance, I could hear the two Apache attack helicopters approaching. I scanned the horizon but couldn’t see them. It didn’t matter.

They would arrive soon and sort this drama out good style. I scrambled quickly into the cover of the ditch, and slid down the mud until I was up to my knees in cold water.

The two of us crouched in the ditch, our helmets sticking up over the top just enough for us to make sure no Talis were following. Not that we could have shot them anyway.

Si was right next to me, still panting after the run. ‘Mate,’ he whispered in between gulps of air. I turned my head. The sweat dripping down his face was turning the streaks of mud to a wet paste. He gave me a big grin, his jagged white teeth flashing against his shiny skin.

‘Happy days or what, we made it!’

I grinned and nodded, but to be honest I didn’t feel the same relief. I could only focus on one thing. ‘Where’s Toki?’ We looked back at the field, scanning every inch of maize.

‘Look!’ Si’s arm shot out as he pointed. ‘Edge of the maize. Half left.’

Sure enough, there was Toki, bent forward with Flash’s body draped around his shoulders. I jumped and waved my arms in the ditch.

‘Toki, quick. Over here!’ As he looked up to hear where my voice was coming from, he
hitched Flash further up his shoulders and headed towards us.

‘Woah!’ Si gripped his weapon tightly but remained stock still. ‘Talis!’

Four Taliban had sprung out of the maize. They didn’t appear to be taking aim with their AKs, but were running straight for Toki, and they were catching up with him fast.

Like Si, I too was frozen to the spot. Couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, could only look on in terror. Si’s voice came through in short, sharp, terrified bursts. ‘Mate, what do we do? What do we do?’

As the Taliban closed in on Toki and Flash, they began to scream out. It sounded like Indians attacking a wagon train in one of those old black and white westerns. Toki dropped Flash to the ground and looked wildly about him. He swung his weapon up, ready to fight, his bayonet glinting in the early morning sun. ‘Come on, you bastards! Come on!’ he screamed back at them. He had worked out what was happening before we did.

I felt Si grip my shoulder. ‘They’re not shooting …’

My eyes didn’t leave Toki as he stood over Flash. A wave of panic spread through me.

‘That’s because they’re trying to take him!’

As I watched Toki stand his ground waiting for the Talis to come to him, something shifted within me. It began to rip through my heart and churn my guts, twisting and turning inside. Without thinking, I began to scramble up the bank.

‘Where you going?’ Si already knew the answer.

‘Come on!’ It didn’t matter whether he was going to follow or not.

‘Mate, we only got bayonets.’ Si’s voice was pleading, but he was already scrambling up the bank to join me.

I looked across the hundred metres of open ground at Toki, preparing to fight to the death, and a wave of emotion blasted through my body. It seared through my lungs, roared through my throat and finally broke free. ‘Bollocks!’ I screamed and broke into a run.

I kept my focus on Toki as I raced across the field. He stabbed his bayonet at the first Taliban, who dropped to his knees, wounded in the shoulder. But the other three were too quick. They kicked and punched Toki to the ground, took hold of his arms and legs, and started to bundle him back towards the maize. As they dragged him off, Toki writhed and screamed until the tallest one hit him over and over again
with the butt of his rifle. The tall one then ran back to help his injured friend, who’d got hold of Flash by one of his heels. Flash didn’t resist as they dragged him off in the same direction as Toki. He couldn’t. But he lifted one arm to protect his head as it banged against the rocks jutting out of the ploughed field. He was still alive!

As I ran towards my mates, it was as if my head knew what my body wanted to do and it just sort of happened. All sound became muffled. I was sure Si was following me, but I couldn’t actually hear him. I knew I was screaming out loud, but I could barely hear any sound come from my mouth. The Apaches must have been approaching, but I wasn’t aware of the roar of their rotor blades. I was running in slow motion and all that mattered was getting Flash and Toki back, nothing else. I had to get amongst it. I had to help them. I couldn’t have stopped myself even if I’d wanted to. I just kept on running, kept focusing on Toki and Flash getting dragged closer and closer to the maize, where they would be lost to me for ever.

This time my war face just happened. I didn’t have to think about it, but I knew it was there. I wasn’t scared of the Taliban or frightened of
dying. There were more important things to think about: my mates.

I took the final few bounds towards them and crashed into the tall Tali who was dragging Flash. My bayonet slid into the side of his chest like butter. It must have helped that I was running at full speed when I smashed into him. I didn’t even slow down to take aim. The Tali fell backwards slowly, screaming. Or at least he looked like he was screaming as he had his mouth wide open
.

Out of the corner of my eye, I was aware that Si was taking on the wounded Tali, but I kept on looking at Toki. He was being dragged by his arms by the other two and they had just reached the gap in the maize.

I set my sights on the one nearest me. With my rifle gripped firmly, just like Toki said, I aimed for centre mass and charged. Concentrating on my target, I was barely aware that I was screaming my head off.