The House

The Colonel’s house was surrounded by other houses except on the Southeast flank. There’s only a wall out there, separating land owned by farmers and the compound. To the front of the house, that is the East, there’s a house with a caved-in roof. Looks like a close call on them. Mortars, I think. Attacks on military bases have increased in frequency, making daily patrols necessary, but on a housing complex? I mean come on. There were a couple of waypoints up to the North, with one going westwards, that narrows down to one heading South. These waypoints are closely guarded, with entrance to the Compound from the Northwest guarded with Marine personnel, as well as the exit, to the far West.

There were low fences around the house, made out of cement, the kind you see on old rural house. The house itself would be the designated inner compound, along the fence, with the main objectives being there, namely the Colonel and his family. Before we came in, these parts were being guarded by a platoon of Marine Recon and several extra Marines. With the Colonel going away, he’d need an escort from these Marines. Therefore, he called upon us to be a replacement squad. When we arrived, they explained that we were to be put in the escort’s previous position, the front yard of the house. Our post would be along these low fences. Grey team would be facing the Wall, Blue facing the mortared house, and Red facing the waypoint to the North. But in the meantime, we stayed well inside that fence.

“Damn, Mick. We were cities apart, yet here we are now, defending some people only you know,” Ryan said to me while I watched the sky turn dark.

“I don’t even know half of them,” I replied, implying that I only know Grace and her dad, not her boyfriend nor her mom. I don’t even remember her dad’s first name. The thing is, they all know me.

“Do you happen to have a cigarette?” he asked

“I thought you don’t smoke,”

“I do now. Also, I think Buck would need some,”

I flicked the flap of my pocket to get the cigarettes out. It’s called Republic, kind of the most common local cigarette brand. No smoker would decline an offer of one, unless they are quitting—or quite picky, like Anna. I also got a lighter out. A generic lighter, nothing unusual. “You need a light, too?”

“I think so,” taking one of the cigs and putting it in his mouth. Leaning in to get a flame, he continued “I’m taking these to Buck then. Thanks,”

I nodded. My finger fidgeted with my rifle’s safety. I wanted to smoke, too, but not now. I felt like something’s missing; something I haven’t done. Then I figured that we need to do a little more briefing. I called up to the other team leaders.

“What do you think we should do now?” I asked both of them, having no idea.

“Shouldn’t we set up our default positions in case of an attack?” Anna suggested.

“That should do,”

“Wait, how do we set up our positions while not being in said position?” asked Buck

“Just tell the guys where to move in a defensive scenario in a briefing,”

“When are we briefing them?” asked Anna.

“Right before the Colonel’s departure?” said Buck.

“What if an attack comes before that? Guys would be unprepared,” she protested.

“Maybe we can brief them this evening, just before sunset. How about that?” I suggested. They both agreed. “I think separate briefings would do. No need to gather them up,”

That afternoon, the guys are having quite of a good time. Good food, good laughs, all the things that had not been there in weeks. They even made some new friends. And maybe, just maybe, they had a good sleep that night. After all, they did need some sleep. Guard shifts at my place must’ve been tiring. We’re not freeloaders though, we tried to offer some guard shift, sometimes waking up at night and just wander around, smoking. There it is again, the sound of distant battle. We were to sleep outside, of course, to the left and right of the porch, except Anna. At that moment, watching my guys sleep seems... calming.

Took a little sleep, I woke up just as the Sun showed up. From the porch, it looked like the Sun had blessed us with its warmth. Reminds me of that 60’s song, The House of the Rising Sun. Well, this house would be a ruin for many poor boys, I’ll tell you that.

I proceeded to walk around when I saw Anna leaned against a wall, smoking a Lucky Strike.

“How’s your sleep?” I nudged her arm.

“Anxious,” she answered with a little chuckle. Her red hair was kind of messy, “but better than these few weeks back. Felt like there’s one thing less to worry about, but I don’t know what that is. How’s yours?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Too excited, I think. Heart pounding, blood flows faster to the brain, you know. Had to smoke before I can go back in,”

“Isn’t smoking making your heart rate even faster?”

“It made my head lighter, though. Easier to fall asleep with,”

“Makes sense,” she said, tidying up her hair with a comb she brought from home.

“You think we need to teach the guys about the guns again?”

“Yeah, a little adjustment to the new weapons would be nice.”

“Alright, then. Shall we?”

She nodded, taking a last drag from that smoke, then flicked that butt away.

We woke Kris, Mark, and Karl up. Everyone else had been awake, but not present. Either they were taking some dump or having some tea. Within 15 minutes, we managed to gather them up. Some still pillow faced, some more took a cigarette. I then continued about how we are going to train them with their new weapons. But we can’t really fire those weapons in here, as it might cause confusion.

“We’re doing a dry fire drill this morning,” said Anna. These guys didn’t seem bothered. Guys had training at my place, so it’s not such a nuisance anymore. When it was considered—for me and Anna—to be enough, we called it off. It was around thirty to forty minutes, just to dry fire and try to reload as fast as they can. After that, we kind of tried to fraternize with the Marines. Those guys are all we had, anyway.

We didn’t really have that much of a contact with the Marines. Only a handful of them knew us, like a Sergeant Major Harris Weiser, Sergeant Peter Stubs, and Lieutenant Tom Lichtsteiner. Sergeant Major Weiser was the Colonel’s staff, so he’d be handling us while the Colonel is gone. Lt. Lichtsteiner was in charge of the defense of the house, and Sgt. Stubs would be our squad’s link to the other squads. We then proceeded to call ourselves the 5^th Squad, as there are only three to four squads per platoon. Sgt Stubs got us around and introduced us to other Marines.

“They’re here to replace the squad that is escorting the Colonel in two days,” Stubs explained to his fellow Marines. “They had joined their respective local militias, so they do have experiences,” he added. That afternoon, we decided a little more team briefing would be needed in preparation for the job. The thing is we have no idea when the enemies are planning on attacking the compound; well, no one does. But we sure do have some time, at least today.

“Now if you would please follow me,” said Stubs. “We’ll have a bit of a crash course on first aid.” Roger that, I guess.

----

The sky turned orange as the Sun set. As dusk followed, it turned into a reddish color—beautiful, but quite scary. Gives me the anxiety I haven’t had in months. This is going to be big, I thought to myself. The Colonel would be departing at tomorrow, around 2PM. We then proceeded to deploy our teams to the designated position. Anna was seen directing her team’s base of fire.

“I knew you had something for that girl,” Grace said, startling me a bit. Staring at the same sky, she was standing there all this time and I didn’t notice.

“Anna? No... I was just… what are you doing in that gear?” trying to change the topic.

“Oh, it’s only one of those vests with steel plates in them. You know, for protection,”

“Very well, then. Isn’t it a little bit heavy, though?”

“Well, it is, but... it’s still better than no protection,”

“Good thinking,” I smiled, then continued to enjoy the skies.

“Mike?” she called, with a very lovely tone. It’s been a while since anyone called me Mike.

“Yes, Grace?” I answered

“Ease up on it,” she rested her palm on my shoulder, “Don’t force yourself,” she added, “I don’t want you to take this personally. Don’t do it for me, do it for my dad,”

“I can’t promise you that,” holding that hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle double-tap. “I’m doing it for all of you people in the house. This house is the objective. Whoever it is inside is my responsibility. Besides, I do love you,”

She paused, with her eyes wide. She wasn’t ready for that, I think.

“Just let me do my job. Okay?” I said, walking forward to Kris’ position and checking on him. Grace seemed to just stand there and watch. Makes me wonder what she was thinking about at that point. After a while, I eventually went back to where I stood with her. “Look, I realize the risk of this job. I know you do, too. But at this point, I don’t even care anymore. As long as you all live, that is. That’s the only way I can function properly in here,”

“Wouldn’t it be... too much? I mean, yes, I know you love me and all, but you have your own life, Mike. You deserve to live it,”

“Try saying that again,”

“You... have your own life?”

“Exactly. It’s my life, and it is up to me how I want to live it,” I insisted, quite proudly.

“Very well, then. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” She seemed worried, still.

“I won’t,” letting out a little smile

She then proceeded to go back inside the house. She really seemed upset, though, and I don’t blame her. I then continued checking out on Kris. He had his gun on its bipod—with it being deployed down, resting on the fence. On his pos, there was this little green bush that bothers him as it restricts his movements.

“How do I not get bothered by this little bush while it limits my field of fire?” he asked, with a thick West Seedland accent.

“I think you shouldn’t use the bipod when you lean it up against the fence. That way, you can drag it along while you stay still, improving your field of fire,”

“You got a point there,”

“Besides, having your bipod down and using it on the fence would increase your profile, making you an easier target,” I added

“Roger that,” Kris said, folding his bipod.

I reckoned I’d check on the heavy support guys. Franz did what I told Kris before, resting it on the fence with the bipod staying folded. I figured we might need one of those pintle mounts, but then dismissed the idea after remembering that will hinder Franz’s mobility. Karl stood by him with belts of ammunition hanging from his neck. No need to do that now, actually, but I think he’s just getting prepared. The fence on Franz’s side is a little bit clearer from greeneries, making him and Karl more mobile. Buck is visibly standing behind those two, around two and a half meters away. He had his rifle slung upon his back, smoking a cigarette. He seemed to be a little more laid back than the others.

But that was it. We are now in full condition, ready for anything. We know our guns, our gears, and our objectives. We stopped thinking about the risks, agreeing that it will hinder our performance. We agreed that this house must be protected at all cost. This House of the Rising Sun will not be a ruin for many poor boys, as long as we’re still standing; even though God and I know I’m one.

The Marines are always ready, though—it is their only job detail anyways. That’s what they do before we came. Lt. Lichtsteiner tried to organize the defense, and seeing our pattern, he sort of said that it is not enough if we are to guard the fence alone. We’re too spread thin, because the fence is around 40 meters long, curving with three sides, with us covering each side. We need extra men, he said, but only two; one to guard each point separating all sides. He then detached two men from his platoon to help us. Corporal Ruud will be between Red and Blue teams, and Private First Class Steph between Blue and Grey.