Ghosts of War
By Sajjad Tameez
Ghosts of War
Sajjad Tameez
Copyright 2012 By S.TAMEEZ
1942, in the heat of the War, many things happened and stories of sacrifice, death and heroism, loomed in the thick clouds of smoke that covered parts of Britain but there was one story that was never told, well, not until now - the story of the Alpha Rescue Team and the accounts of the terrible things that happened on 13th February that year.
The cold war was at its coldest and although, things were beginning to look up for Britain, rivers of casualties were still pouring in and the bloodshed seemed far from over. No one really imagined how bad things would get; for most, it sparked so fast that they remained in shock long into the war.
The cutting air still tasted bitter from the Great War, the earth was still recovering and soldiers never really overcame the shell-shock but among all of this, there was a new threat, a threat so great that it sent shivers down the Captain's back when he read the classified documents.
'What is this?' Captain Barnes asked, with his eyeballs looking like they were ready to pop.
'This is what we are faced with right now!' A smartly dressed man replied.
'Where is this happening?'
'In Germany. The coordinates are all there.'
'What's the plan?'
'Get the team together, brief them on the mission and stop this before... well you know what the outcome could be!'
Barnes nodded and the man dressed in the black suit stood up and shook his hand vigorously, 'God be with you.'
Barnes stood up and looked at the picture frame on his wooden desk. He hadn't seen his wife and two kids since the war started and for the last three months he hadn't received any letters, so he often found himself talking to the picture. He removed the black and white photo, folded it carefully and placed it into his pocket, knowing that he may never return to see them again. He imagined that this is exactly how his father must have felt. He stormed out of the office and shouted, 'assemble the team and get them all in the briefing room in an hour!'
Within forty-five minutes, a group of three men and one woman were sitting on the metal chairs in the room. This was the Alpha Rescue Team. A.R.T was formed at the beginning of the war and was generally considered as non-existent. They had many aliases, ranging from The Specialists all the way to Ghosts of War - a team of skilled soldiers that had already completed a fair few spy missions, they tactically eliminated individuals from inside Germany and provided valuable intel that foiled many blitzkrieg operations, all of which changed the course of the war.
'Afternoon ladies and gents.' Barnes said as he barged into the room like a tank, kicking the scattered chairs out of the way. He stood at the front of the room, flustered, 'listen up, your country needs you more than ever! It seems as though the enemy are adopting a new tactic and it isn't pretty! We have had word from a spy that there is a secret lab in Germany that is conducting some experiments in advanced weaponry and explosives. They have abducted some of the world’s greatest scientists and are holding them captive, doing their dirty work. Now, we need to get in there and put a stop to this!' Barnes looked around for a reaction.
'About bloody time!' One of the men said, 'I'm getting fat here – I need some action!'
Barnes grinned lightly, 'we leave in two hours, so if anyone needs to go to the little boys room then...' he stopped in his speech when he noticed Nicole, the only woman in the room, with her eyebrows raised.
'Excuse me, or the little girls room, then go now, coz it's going to be a long one! Ok, Lance and Patrick, sort the communication gear. Nicole and Ryan, you're on weapons duty! Let's move!'
Barnes was right about the journey, it was long and uncomfortable; the sky was dark and dangerous, the weather was merciless and their enemies were disguised as their shadows.
The roar of the engines left an annoying ring, echoing in their ears long after they hit the ground. The deserted area was covered with burnt grass and naked trees - the smoke-filled air made it impossible to see in the distance.
'The air will cover us! Now let's move!' Barnes shouted and disappeared into the distance.
They soon approached a large building in the middle of nowhere, they hid behind some trees and Patrick peered through his binoculars, 'it's difficult to see anything, we have to get closer.'
Nicole pointed at the watch towers, 'I can't see anyone on guard.'
'Ok, we are going in, keep low and out of sight!' Barnes ordered and shuffled forward. The building was grey and gloomy – and looked dead.
'You're sure this is the place?' Ryan asked, scratching his black stubble.
'Yeah, this is it. Now, we need that door open.
'I am on it!' Nicole whispered, already picking the lock.
Inside, they were all hit with a sickening smell and a dull flicker of lights.
'Looks like someone beat us to it!' Patrick remarked, looking around at the broken tables and shattered glass spread across the ground. Further in the building, things just got worse – torn electrical wires, burst pipes and blood splatters all over the walls.
'What the hell happened here?' Nicole whispered.
'We need to keep going and see if there are any survivors?' Barnes crept into the darkness. They entered a large lab covered with damaged equipment and the remains of human corpses.
'It looks like we're too late!' Lance said, lowering his rifle.
'Take a look at this...' Nicole shuffled through documents scattered all over the tables. There were images of people looking like they were asleep, their faces were pale and sucked in.
'It seems that they weren't creating any super weapon, they were doing experiments on people.' Nicole began reading the notes in the documents aloud, 'the P2 drug was a success, all nine subjects reacted exactly the same: immense strength, speed and endurance. There is no sign of side effects and brain activity seems normal.'
'Ok... what now?' Lance asked.
'Shh!' Ryan listened carefully.
'What is that?' Nicole whispered, but before anyone could reply, the glass door on the side shattered – two snake-like arms came through and grabbed Patrick's neck and yanked him aggressively out of the room.
'What the hell was that?' Lance shouted. They struggled to chase after Patrick and whatever it was that sucked him out. Lance raised his gun to shoot, 'no! You might shoot Patrick!' Barnes shouted. After running up a metal staircase and through two dark rooms they caught up to Patrick, who was lying on the floor, unconscious.
Nicole checked on Patrick while the others stood guard.
'He's got a pulse.' After a few seconds, Patrick opened his eyes and gasped for air.
'You're ok... just breathe.' Nicole reassured.
'What was that thing?' Barnes asked.
'I... I don't know, it looked like a man, but he was boiling hot and his eyes were bright red.'
'I say we get the hell out of here!' Lance suggested.
'We have to finish the mission!' Barnes said, 'we're not going anywhere.'
'Are you kidding me? Did you not see that thing?'
'Yeah, I saw it and that's exactly why we have to finish this.'
Patrick got to his feet and gazed around at every one.
'Hey soldier, you ok?' Nicole asked Patrick.
'I'm fine... I feel fine.'
'Good. Now, we are going to have to keep alert and search this place.' Barnes began walking further into the room.
'Am I the only person that gets the impression that there's no one here to save?' Lance looked around anxiously.
'Listen...' but Barnes was interrupted by a scream that echoed through the room. They all raised their guns and looked around frantically.
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They could hear loud breathing that sounded like it was right next to them.
'What is that? Lance shouted. Ryan shown his torch at Lance, he stepped back in horror when he noticed something hideous standing behind him. It looked like someone had dug up a grave and brought the rotting corpse back to life. It's towering figure and torn face shook them.
'Run Lance!' Ryan shouted. But it grabbed him and with its mouth twitching uncontrollably, it threw him across the room. They all began shooting at it but it ran so fast that it was like blur. It circled the room, almost like it was taunting them. They were all panicking except Patrick, who remained completely calm. He stepped forward and grabbed it and, miraculously, they both began to wrestle each other and almost at equal strength. They punched and kicked each other endlessly, until Patrick eventually pinned it down on the floor and removed his pistol. He shoved the barrel into its drooling mouth, breaking its rotten front teeth, he pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot bounced off the walls penetratingly and the sight of that thing’s brain all over the floor was enough to make anyone uneasy.
Patrick stood over it like a statue, as shocked as everyone else at how he did that, or what possessed him to even try.
'Are you ok?' Nicole asked, noticing Patrick’s heavy breathing and the pebbles of sweat spawning from his forehead.
'What? Yeah... I'm fine.'
'Take a look at this...' Ryan said as he noticed an audio recording device. Barnes lifted the flashing device and pressed play. There was a loud beep and an