Tales of the Forgotten (5 page)

7.

His
fantasies were quickly crushed when they rounded the bend and found the lonely
Forward Operating Base. Brooks pulled the vehicle into cover just shy of a mile
from the gates. They exited the Defender and observed the FOB cautiously
through their binoculars. Just as Brad had seen it last, the base was a mess.
The front gate was hanging open and, from their high angle, they could see that
most of the tents had been knocked down or badly damaged. They spotted no sign
of movement, but they were still wary and decided to tactically approach
Bremmel. They left the Land Rover hidden where Brooks had parked it and
prepared to move in on foot.

Each
man carried a large empty duffle bag on his back as they slowly walked in a
column down the approach to Bremmel. Brooks walked point while the rest of them
followed. When they got closer to the gate, they began to smell the telltale
stench of death. Near the first set of concrete barriers that stood in front of
the base was a large truck in the ditch. Brooks put up his fist to signal the
rest to halt as he approached the rear of the large vehicle. He lifted the
canvas flap covering the truck and, after a quick look inside, shook his head,
signaling the truck was clear, and they walked past it.

The
team moved slowly to the barrier and saw bodies strewn around it, torn apart by
heavy weapons fire. There was a tangle of corpses forced through, and into, the
camp’s barbed wire barriers. Brooks paused to remove his wire cutters, and,
while Sean held the wire steady, he cut a path through it. They moved past the
wire to the first set of concrete barriers. Shotguns lay on the ground with
spent shell casings nearby. Sean stopped to pick up a spent shell and looked at
it. “Rubber bullets, poor bastards,” he said while tossing the shell back to
the ground. Hasan reached down to retrieve one of the Mossberg shotguns.

“Don’t
bother, Hasan, we don’t have the ammo for them,” Brooks said.

They
moved further in toward the gates, cautious not to step on the rotting bodies.
Brad paused to tie his shemagh over his face; the smell was beginning to get to
him, and he felt the urge to vomit. Brad looked up and saw the silent barrel of
a machine gun poking out from the guard tower, the gunner long dead. Bodies of
those in uniform were now mixed with the dead civilians. They moved to the
gates and saw another large cluster of the fallen.

Looking
at the spot where the camp’s security must have made their last stand, Sean
turned and faced his men. Looking at Brad and Hasan, he asked, “Are you two OK
to continue inside? Brooks and I can do this alone.”

“No,
I’m okay. I have your back, let’s just keep going,” answered Brad.

Hasan
nodded and pulled his rifle into his shoulder, obviously afraid.

“Okay
then, let’s keep it tight. If we have problems, we bound back to the gate and
haul ass for the Land Rover,” instructed Sean. The team once again fell in line
behind Brooks, who slowly walked through the gates. Brad could see many
scattered bodies around the grounds of the camp.

Just
inside the gate, a 9mm pistol sat on the ground next to a pair of badly
trampled bodies. Hasan reached down, grabbed the weapon, and dropped it into
his duffle bag. Then they walked on down the gravel road that led through the
center of the camp. The only sound was that of the wind beating the torn tent
fabric. Brooks led them to a point near a concrete bunker and took a knee.

The
team huddled together and Sean asked Brad where the communications shack was
located. Getting a working battery and charger for the satellite phone was a
priority; after that, it would be food and ammo. Brad pointed to a building up
the road, and Brooks once again stepped off first to lead the way. When they
got to the building, Brooks held up his fist again. He pulled his silenced
pistol and looked to Sean who did the same.

“You
two stay out here and watch our backs. If you see anything, don’t call out,
just tap on the door. Okay?” Sean said to Brad and Hasan.

Brad
nodded and took a knee in a location where he could see all approaches to the
building. Hasan did the same on the opposite side of the door. Brad watched as
Sean and Brooks opened the door and disappeared into the room, feeling guilt at
his joy that Sean hadn’t asked him to help clear the building.

Brad
heard the footsteps of the SEALs fade as they walked deeper into the
communications shack. He jumped when he heard two muffled gunshots come from
inside, followed by two more. Brad was growing anxious and was debating whether
or not he should go in and check on the SEALs when the door slowly opened and
his friends walked out of the building.

Sean
came out first with Brooks following; they walked forward and took a knee on
the road next to Brad. Sean looked at Brad and shook his head. “No good on the
batteries. That place has been torn apart. Where is the supply building
located?”

Brad
looked down the street and pointed to a large, steel-sided pole barn. “That’s
brigade supply; anything we need, we should be able to find in there.”

They
got back to their feet and followed Brooks down the road.

Brooks
raised his fist again and they all took a knee. Brooks pointed ahead and he
showed two fingers. Puzzled, Brad looked in the direction he had pointed but
didn’t see anything. He slowly moved forward to Sean. Sean pointed his rifle in
the direction and Brad looked down the barrel. Off in the shadows of the blast
wall, two uniformed figures were standing as still as statues staring back at
the wall. Brad lifted his own rifle and through his advanced optics he could
see they were primals, but they weren’t moving; they just stood as if
meditating.

Sean
signaled for Brad and Hasan to stay put as he and Brooks moved forward. Brad
watched the two men silently slip ahead. When they were within ten feet of the
primal they let their rifles hang from their tactical slings and drew their
knives. Taking the last few steps, they dropped into fighter’s stances and
stabbed the primals through the backs of the head in perfect timing. They
caught the bodies, slowly lowered them to the ground, and made their way back
to the team. Brooks gave them a thumbs up and continued toward the supply
building.

The
supply warehouse sat at the end of the street where it dead ended— right at a
large set of sliding doors that could be opened for trucks making deliveries.
In the center of the sliding doors was a smaller steel entry door that
currently was hanging open. The team moved slowly to the open entrance. Just
feet from the door they all took a knee. Sean gave the signal for them to stack
up and they quietly entered the open warehouse.

Once
inside, Sean stopped and turned back to quietly close the door; he then turned
the bolt to lock it behind them. “I don’t want nothing sneaking up on us while
we’re shopping,” Sean whispered.

The
supply building was really more of a large garage that had been subdivided by
cages. The cages were filled with shelves and stocked heavily with supplies.
They were hit with the smell of stinking bodies and human waste that always
accompanied primals. The room was nearly blacked out, but Sean shook his head
at Brad when he went for his flashlight. Instead, they pulled on their night
vision goggles. Brad suddenly felt bad for Hasan, who was behind him and blind
in the darkness. He grabbed the man’s hand and indicated for him to hold on to
the back of his jacket. Brad made a mental note to find Hasan some goggles of
his own.

They
crept into the warehouse, stopping frequently to listen. When they reached the
first cage door, Brooks went to open it and found it latched from the inside.
He let his rifle hang from its sling and gingerly reached far inside the cage.
Stretching for the latch and twisting hard, he was just able to reach it. He
tugged at the latch and heard the click as it unlocked, then pulled his arm
back through the cage and opened the door. They all cringed when it gave a loud
screech as it swung open.

They
froze in place and listened. After a moment there was a thump in the back of
the cages and a primal came walking from around a large set of shelves. It was
blinded in the blacked out room, and several times it bumped into the walls
making more noise. Brad watched it in the green glow of his goggles. It was
sniffing the air trying to find its prey, but the hunt didn’t last long. Once it
got close enough for Sean to have a confident shot with his suppressed MK23, he
killed it with a single round to the head. The thing teetered for a second then
fell to the floor.

They
listened quietly. Brad hoped that the others couldn’t hear his heartbeat, and
wondered how much worse it must be for Hasan with no night vision at all. They
heard another tumble of objects and a second primal staggered around the
corner. Sean waited and watched as it walked towards the first. Sean took
another shot, dropping it to the ground. Before Brad could let out a sigh of
relief, a third primal rounded the corner. This one was moving faster and
tripped over the second downed primal before Sean could pull the trigger. The
primal moaned when it hit the ground and twisted hard, trying to rise. Sean had
to fire twice to connect with it. There then came a louder crash of boxes and
objects from behind the shelves.

“I
think things are about to get difficult,” Brooks whispered as he signaled for
them to back up, closing the cage door and pulling on it until he heard the
click of the latch resetting. Brooks took another step back until he was online
with Sean, then both of them holstered their suppressed MK23s, lifted their
suppressed MP5s, and turned on the weapons lasers. Invisible to the naked eye,
Brad saw the IR beam illuminate from the front of the submachine guns through
his night vision goggles.

There
was another loud clattering of objects from behind the shelves, then the loud
moan the primals used to announce the hunt. At first they came around the
corner two at a time, then they seemed to all rush at once, fighting each other
for a chance to be first to get at the men. As quickly as they came, the SEALs
lined them up with the beam and with quick pulls of the trigger sent the
primals tumbling to the ground. Soon there was a pile of bodies at the corner,
and the others were falling and tripping trying to get to the team. Sean and
Brooks made easy work of putting them all down. As suddenly as it had started,
it was over, and again the supply building was quiet; at least
was
,
until the pounding started at the door behind them.

First
it was a thud against the steel door, then another thud followed by the
pounding, and finally, the frenzied banging and snarling that let the men know
a mob had gathered outside. Brad turned to look and saw to his relief that the
door was well built and holding. He looked to the right just as the thunderous
pounding started to resonate from the large sliding cargo doors. They were
rattling hard but were also holding. Brooks rose to his feet and walked to the
doors to ensure they were bolted and tightly secured. He pulled out plastic
chemical light sticks and began snapping and shaking them until they glowed a
fluorescent yellow, then tossed them around the room. Hasan, relieved by the
illumination, relaxed his grip on Brad’s back and stood upright.

“What
do we do now?” Hasan asked.

“Well,
looks like we have gotten ourselves into a bit of a predicament. Brooks, can
you get to some high ground and see what we are dealing with outside? I’ll take
these guys through the cage and verify it’s clear,” Sean said.

“On
it, Chief.” Brooks dropped his pack and made for a narrow ladder that led high
into some storage spaces in the rafters. Sean looked back and spoke to Brad and
Hasan, who were still standing in disbelief, looking like scared children.

“You
two ready for this? Let’s move through this mess.”

“I’m
ready,” Brad whispered back, his voice barely audible over the pounding and
moaning outside.

Sean
reached through the cage door and undid the latch. He turned on the flashlight
attached to his MP5 and Brad did the same, lighting the way. They now could
clearly see the mess that was in front of them. Ten to twelve primal bodies lay
twisted and contorted at the end of the narrow walkway and the corner to the
storage area. Sean quietly walked past them, being careful to keep his feet far
away from the pile, ever cautious that one might only be unconscious.

They
wound around the pile and turned the corner into the shelving area. The stench
of body odor and human waste hit them hard. They all pulled out scarves and
wrapped them tightly around their faces. Creeping down the narrow aisle, they
made their way to a void in the storage area where they found tattered cardboard,
clothing, and human hair.

“Looks
like we found us a primal nest,” whispered Sean. “This must be where they went
to sleep during the day. The warehouse door was open … so there must be another
way into this cage.”

The
area was a mess and covered with feces. “Careful not to get any of that on you,
it may be contaminated,” Sean called out as they made their way through the
void.

 Entering
the storage shelves, Sean slung his rifle and reached onto a shelf to turn on a
battery-powered lantern, illuminating the space with a soft white light.