CERPEN "THE CHOKEPOINT"

THE CHOKEPOINT

Corporal Ramsey bends on his knees, trying to catch a breath that might be his last. He’s coughing blood, caused by a fatal wound on his chest. It was an exit wound, and he was lucky enough to be alive even for just a moment. It was raining; thick mist shrouded the area Bradley’s Squad was on. Sergeant Bradley closes his eyes as he watches one of his men getting killed in front of his eyes, by his own indecency. His command and his bad call led his company to the enemy’s chokepoint, where there were ambushed by the enemy’s recon unit. The second shot from the church tower window marks an exclamation of Corporal Ramsey’s demise, a clean shot right between his eyes.

“Sh*t! Ramsey!” Cry Private William.

“What do we do now, Sergeant?” Ask the squad’s medic.

“Try to get a hold of yourself, Private. We can get through this.”

Sergeant Bradley tries to reassure his squad. “We have to get through this.”

The projection of his family appears before his eyes as he speaks. That’s what he always wanted, seeing his family just one more time if he – by any chance – did not make it. Bradley gave command to William to check the situation. William peek through a small gap on his covering position, he got his eyes on the church, where assumes to be the sniper’s vantage point. The mist was already dispersing; gives a better view for William and the enemy sniper.

“He was really good for making a clean shot through the mist.” The medic said

“Shh! I’ve spotted movement!” Exclaims William, as he readied his rifle. “It looks like he’s moving away from the window.”

“Are you sure?”

“Affirmative, sir,” William said. He has enhanced eyesight that enables him to spot small things in faraway places, or seeing through a thick mist, smoke, and heavy rains.

“If only we’re not separated from the rest of the Company.” The medic murmured to himself.

“Stop complaining Hudson,” Sergeant Bradley took out his GPS, “We’re still far away from the destination point. We’ve been stranded too far from the actual exfil.”

“Being cut off behind the enemy lines is sucks, man. I wonder how the others are doing. Did they make it?” said Private William.

“The only thing that matters now is our own survival, private. We have to find a way to get through those Japanese.”

“Sir,” William nodded.

As they about to move, they heard from far away, a Japanese chatter, and a lot of footsteps. The only assumptions they made is the Japanese Sniper has reported in. Now they bring reinforcements. The only choices left is getting through them, or turned back and live another day. However, Bradley and his squad is not in a good position to go anywhere. It’s the only cover between them, the Japanese and the open area surrounding. Bradley throws up a flashbang grenade, and he and his squad make their way to the nearest building. It’s the safest place they ever been since they landed in Seattle, or what’s left of it. Japanese really did some destruction around here.

“Great, we’ve been sent here to assist the resistance force, now we’re the one who desperately needs help.”

The Japanese chased Bradley and the other to the hotel they were at. Bradley’s flashbang distraction seems not working as well as he hoped it would.

“The rest of the army is on the other side of the city, right now we’re concentrating on taking our guests out.” Bradley said.

“They’re too many, sir!”

“We used this apartment as our advantage, Private William. If we get separated, we meet up at the rooftops after its clear. Move!”

Three men versus twelve others, Bradley, William, and Hudson do what they can, used everything in their possessions, even scavenge some to defeat the oncoming Japanese soldiers. Lurking in the dark corner, setting up traps, using the rooms to make distractions and move to the other via hole in the wall, they manage to kill some of them silently, and hides not all, but some of the bodies of possible. The last remaining Japanese who found the bodies of his comrades begins to panic; William slit his throat, therefore killing the last of the pursuers. They meet up at the rooftops, Bradley notice that Hudson is absent.

“Hudson, come in.” Bradley tried to contact Hudson through the comm system. “Hudson!”

“Sarge, I heard footsteps.”

From the door that leads to the rooftops, a man appears. Not Hudson, instead Japanese soldier wielding a Katana on his right hand, and Hudson’s decapitated head on his left hand.

“Goddamn, Hudson,” William took out his gun pointing it at the Japanese in anger.

A sound of a siren can be heard from the street below, it’s a sign of the resistance. They came to help, with the rest of the US force with it. They were looking for Bradley and his squad. The battle has been won; they rescue the resistance force and took back Seattle. While William and Bradley are distracted by a relieve sight of friendlies. The Japanese took out a grenade, pull its pin out and run with great speed towards William, and tackles him therefore sending William and himself falling from the rooftop. The grenade explodes in mid-air killing them both. The army extracts Bradley from the hotel. After giving a full report to his superior officer, Bradley retrieve a new squad, and new orders.