War was usually an uneventful thing for some people. Some might go to battle and kill their first human, but most of the time, they would patrol around open areas to see if there were any enemy forces to neutralise and ensure their power was embedded in the area. The Registan Desert was one of those places. Flat desert with miles upon miles of sand that the eye can see. Unremarkable and uninspiring to the people in Benjamin’s squad.
He looked out of the window of his Humvee, trying his best to stay vigilant during the entire drive. Everyone talked about the most mind-numbing topic just to pass the time. Someone talked over the radio about Marvel movies while the other couldn’t shut up about the upcoming Batman vs Superman movie by Zack Snyder. Ben hated sitting back and listening to them talk about their favourite superhero character. At one point, he almost exploded in a fit of rage to tell everyone to stop talking about it. However, he found what was left of his restraint and started counting the date at the back of his mind.
Today is June 2nd, 2015. That is 30 days to be somewhere else. That will be the 2nd of July, 2015. On that day, I had 15 days before I had my mandatory rest. July 17th…
Ben’s mind kept droning on about the dates and when things would happen, no matter how minor it was. He just wanted time to fly by so he could get to base sooner and do anything else but soldiering. When counting dates failed, he would remind himself about how his team in Khost during night operations would shoot flares in the air at a specific spot to illuminate the entire city. However, for the past three days, his team kept accidentally hitting the same guy’s market stand made of banana palm leaves.
He couldn’t understand how his flares kept hitting that one banana stand. Ben was almost convinced it was ordained by God to torment that one person, or at least they had to keep paying the merchant. If he had to guess, the merchant possibly made more money during those three days than he ever did selling bananas. That one banana stand was the only thing flammable in Khost, and it always caught fire when he was in Khost. A story Ben would keep close whenever he wanted to retell his time in Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, in the distance, he noticed a dust storm heading towards his convoy. Groaning as he had to stay put until the storm washed past them, which meant he had to be in the desert for longer than expected.
Ben reached for his radio to relay his orders. ‘We’re stopping here, just until the storm gets past us.’
The convoy comes to a stop. Everyone sat back to reread orders or a magazine they took with them, the gunners hopped down and closed the hatch, and Ben died inside as he counted the seconds he spent in the desert. He just wished he had brought his Nintendo DS to play during the wait. Though at the same time, the gunner’s hatch was dodgy at best, and sand would get into the Humvee and cover everything. So, there was a good argument that bringing his personal device to cure boredom would be a bad idea.
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As expected, the dust storm caused the Humvees to shake. Rocks pelted against the hard metal and reinforced glass. The force jolted some soldiers awake if they tried to doze off. Not like sleep was possible during a harsh storm in the middle of nowhere. Nor when there are those willing to fight for their land.
War could come in many forms, battles even more so. In a mere second, an RPG slammed into the Humvee’s side but didn’t detonate. Before he or his team could yell contact, the Humvee leading the convoy erupted in flames.
‘Contact right!’ Ben shouted before jumping out of the Humvee and into the storm. Firing his M4 rifle at where the gun flashes were coming from. Trying to combat the enemy and hopefully kill whoever was attacking them. But the storm was blinding, Ben couldn’t see anything, and he couldn’t see the enemy. Bullets whistled and cracked all around him as the battle became fiercer.
Ben had to think fast. His squad was struck hard, and they needed to get out of there. Casualties were mounting, and he was unable to formulate an effective counterattack. The enemy was possibly entrenched in their positions, and the storm was giving them additional cover. The only thing he could do was retreat. But retreating under heavy fire and blind would require his squad to have assistance, something only he could provide.
‘Squad! Retreat, retreat! I’ll hold them off, get out of here!’ Ben ordered before rushing over to the burning wreck to get cover to divert the enemy’s attention to him. The fire burnt his back and darkened his vest, but he couldn’t care less. His team was in danger, and he had to do something about it. With zeal, Ben laid down fire and lobbed grenades at the enemy. Some of his men wanted to say something, but with only seconds to choose, they chose to follow their orders and retreat to base and away from the place of ambush.
Coughing from the dust filling his lungs, he watched as his team retreated in their Humvees. Ben had to go through his trial by fire, or in this case, a trial by sand. A man would be forged in the desert, and as he ran into the eye of the storm. He ran while bullets flew around him, one grazing his arm. None of them slowed him down when he had a chance to survive.
