The Devil's Bridge by Minor Stuart

Author:Minor, Stuart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven.

Jack dozed in the long grass, his body hot from the sun as it stood high above the horizon. Despite the sound of gunfire echoing across the plain, he could not keep his eyes open, the need for sleep robbing him of all senses as his clothes dried on his skin.

He stirred as something stung his arm, his eyes glancing at a small mosquito that was sat on his wrist.

He flicked it away, before rolling onto his side and nudging Fred in the arm, the big corporal groaning as he lay with his helmet pulled over his face.

'Any word about the attack?' Jack asked.

'I ain’t heard owt, now for Christ’s sake let me sleep.’

'Sorry,' Jack replied, his eyes glancing to the top of the bank where a swarm of flies hovered above the bloated corpses that lay on the road.

He reached into his pocket and removed a damp cigarette, the tobacco doing little to soothe his nerves.

He blew smoke through his nostrils and watched it climb above his head, the smell helping to mask the foul odour of the dead as they rotted in the stifling heat.

He looked at his blood stained clothes and felt revolted by his appearance, before turning as the sound of racing engines echoed across the plain, his eyes watching as two twin engined fighters burst from the sun and plunged towards the bridge.

Jack scrambled to the top of the bank as the lead aircraft released a bomb, the explosive tumbling into the river, before exploding with a savage roar, the sound of a Bren gun crashing in Jack's ears as Sid fired after the machine as it turned low above the bridge.

'Stop wasting fucking ammo,' Fred cursed, his eyes following the second machine as it swept towards the bridge, the air cracking as the tail gunner fired a burst across the road, forcing the men to take cover.

Jack ducked down into the grass, the sound of an explosion echoing across the river as the bomb burst in the water.

'Couldn't hit a barn door,' Fred commented, as the two aircraft climbed into the sky, their engines racing as they faded into the distance.

Jack rolled onto his back and relit his cigarette, his eyes glancing at his friends as they sat dull eyed beneath the road, their minds locked in their own thoughts as they sweated in the searing heat.

His eyes fell on Evans as he sat alone amongst the men, the officer staring at his boots as he toyed with a blade of grass.

His face was wooden and Jack could see the torment lying behind his youthful eyes as he gazed into nothingness, the weight of his responsibility bearing down on him like a lead weight as he sat beneath the burning sun.

Jack looked up as Shorthouse moved amongst the sections, the NCO slipping on the long grass as he made his way towards Fred.

'Ammunition count,' he said, as he dropped down amongst the men.

'Same as it was last night,' Fred replied.

'Same as it was last night?' Shorthouse asked, his face pulled in disbelief.

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