It had been a tough day. Woke up with the alarm at an unearthly hour and on the go since then. They had news about movement near the snowline. He had immediately proceeded with a few hand-picked men. Before you could say anything, they had vanished in the predawn mist.
The men were getting restless. A whole squadron had been wiped out. And for what? For being humane to these inhumane creatures? They neither had compassion, nor any human emotion.
Under the new directions the locals were being skilled, educated and provided medical aid. The door to the medical inspection room had been flung open and the Regimental doctor along with the compounder, patiently listened to the bedraggled women, children, and the odd men. They checked their vitals, scrutinised wounds, and dispensed medicines along with all the medical dos and don’ts. The young officers were skeptic, but who would listen to them? The orders had come from the ministers.
Dawn rose to a staccato of machine gun firing. The cold-hearted enemy believed it was the best time for an attack. Catch them with their guard down. For a moment the Commanding Officer wasn’t sure whether it was his nightmare or reality outside his tent. Without wasting a moment, he had flung on his coat and picked up his pistol. Miraculously his feet found themselves a pair of shoes to sneak into. The bloody carnage, the shrieks of pain mingled with screams of blood curdling regimental battle cry. They were sitting ducks; advantage was with the opponents.
Well, they would pay for this swore Captain Swarn Singh!
The Alpine woods, green and fragrant, under the blue sky was a picture of Nature at its beautiful best. The buzzing bees, and flitting butterflies were unaware of the hotbed of scorpions, lying in wait for an opportune moment. Their shiny, new weapons, winking in the sunbeams that rarely found their way to the floor of these woods.
Captain and his men, were quietly melting in the shadows, in communication, yet not evident. Well trained, highly motivated, and now doggedly determined. Now was not the time for doubt or self-doubt. He looked around, trying not to stir, staking his men, and wondering how much longer he would have to wait. Looking at the patches of sky, visible through the tops of the canopy, here and there it was clear day light was fast receding. If they could achieve their goal, during daylight… it didn’t matter, they were equally efficient in the dark. Though they could do with some of those fancy night vision glasses the enemy had.
The silence and the peace was punctuated with a bird call… followed by another further away! His ears perked up; it wasn’t the season for koels! His mind was thinking calmly, as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He sought and found his mates as they silently moved towards the calls. Was it a trap? Could be… but they were not birds either!
As the determined men, patiently took up their position, peering around, taking in all details on ground, and around, they heard the bird call again, followed by a cough quickly clamped down. 2 o’clock! Eyes focused sharp, mind clear they moved stealthily. Split in two groups… The sinking sun showed them it was with them as it glinted on the barrel of the sleek new gun, giving away the position…
A deafening silence crushed the next bird call, followed by the thundering, angry bark of a machine gun and yells in a foreign tongue! But the soldiers knew what it meant… “We are surrounded, the Indian Army is here… Run!” The peace was shattered! Human shrieks and battle cries rent the scarlet hued skies as the earth swallowed the rivulets of crimson. The lone survivor, barely a teenager raised his hands sky high, shouting, “Don’t shoot… I surrender!”
Photo by Andre Ouellet on Unsplash for representation purpose.
