Battle in the Ashes by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone [Johnstone, William W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Published: 2011-05-14T17:07:38+00:00

They had not gone a thousand yards before the point man dropped down, the others following.

The point Scout silently wriggled back to the main body. "Blackshirts," he whispered. "Looks like a big bunch of them."

"Go around them," Ben said. "To the east. Coop, pass the word. Anybody makes a noise, we're all dead."

It took them nearly half an hour of slow and silent moving, being very careful where they put a boot down. By the time the Rebels had worked their way clear of

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the Blackshirt encampment, the smell of nervous sweat was becoming sharp in the surprisingly cool night.

A mile away, behind them, hard gunfire splintered and fractured the night. A few hundred yards in front of them, sudden movement and the sounds of boots hitting the ground flattened the Rebels out, still and silent, hearts thudding heavily. Sharp commands came to them and then a Blackshirt patrol came running past, heading for the gunfire. They were running so close all the Rebels could feel the impact of boots upon the earth.

"Move out," Ben whispered. "Straight east. These sons of bitches are all around us." He didn't have to add "be careful."

A hour later, the Rebels came to a tiny creek, the water no more than a few inches deep, and took time out to splash cold water on their faces.

"Where in the shit are we?" Cooper whispered.

"Alive," Jersey told him.

They walked on. They were bone tired and nerve-taut, but each careful step put them that much further away from enemy territory.

Just before dawn, during a much needed rest period, Beth suddenly perked up, sniffed, and asked, "What's that smell, General?"

"The river. I smelled it a few minutes ago. That's why I called this break. I want to wait until light to look it over. I think we're clear. I think I know where we are. If it hasn't been blown, there should be a bridge about two miles to the east of here."

"I sure could use some hot food, clean socks, and a bath," Cooper said.

"The bath, I certainly agree with," Jersey stuck it to

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him. "But stay close, you smell so bad you're keeping the mosquitoes away."

"You're just too kind to me, Jersey," Cooper popped back, putting a hand on her knee. "I always knew that deep down you really cared."

Jersey looked down at the hand on her leg. "I'll break it, Cooper."

He removed his hand. Quickly.

"Sleep," Ben put an end to the harmless bantering that had been going on between the two for years. "All of you. I'll stand first watch."

The team slept until the warm rays of light filtering through the trees woke them. They looked around. Ben was gone.

The first team to have bugged out of the town had reached a Rebel patrol and reported. Ike had flown in to where Ben was supposed to have been, a few miles north of I-20, and was studying a wall map.

"If they made it through all those patrols and gun-ships," he said, "I figure they should be at the river by now.

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