Znakes in the Grass


The heat was incredible, burning Rhine’s face as if he had stuck his head inside an oven. The normal heat of the Afghan desert was complimented by the flames licking up from the burning Humvee. Through the flames, Rhine could see the corpse of one of his men burning in the passenger seat. The head of the corpse suddenly turned to Rhine, smoldering flesh tearing as the neck twisted his way.

“Why did you bring us here Rhine?”

Rhine attempted to bring his M-4 up to fire but when he pulled the trigger nothing happened. The corpse was out of the Humvee now, quickly approaching him as he tried again and again unsuccessfully to get his rifle to work.

“WHY DID YOU BRING US HERE?!?” The corpse screamed in his face.

Lieutenant Rhine sat up with lightning speed, his body covered with sweat. He looked down to see his .40 caliber Sig Sauer pistol in his right hand. The nightmare had been so real, he almost swore he could still feel the flames and smell the burning flesh.

“Eaaaaaasy Lt. you’re alright. Just a bad dream, that’s all, everything is fine” said a Ranger to his left, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Jesus, you would think we had enough nightmares while we are awake these days” Rhine said, holstering his pistol, throwing the blanket off of him, and climbing into a seat.

They were in the back of one of their trucks, situated amongst the platoon’s collection of gear. Rhine hadn’t wanted to sleep but Rhodes had informed in as polite a manner as possible that he was no good to the platoon after going 72 hours straight. In as professional a manner a possible Rhodes then told him that if he didn’t volunteer to sleep on his own, his next cup of coffee would come laced with Ambien .  Rhine rubbed his eyes and began to put on his body armor and get himself situated. The squeaking of brakes announced that they were coming to a stop for some reason. Rhine grabbed his SCAR and peered out of the back of the truck. The small convoy had pulled off to the side of the road and Rangers were hopping out, forming a security ring around the vehicles. Rhine climbed out of the truck and approached the cab as Sgt. Rhodes exited.

“The kids need a potty break?” He asked.

“We saw a couple trucks on the road side, thought we should stop to see if they needed help” Rhodes informed him, pointing to two large green cargo trucks ahead.

“Well let’s go lend a hand” Rhine replied as they began walking forward while still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

A platoon of infantry stood along the roadside facing a field of tall grass, awaiting orders from a young Lieutenant to their front.

“Lt. Rhine, 2nd of the 75th, you guys alright?” Rhine offered as he approached.

The young Lieutenant looked around and realized he was being addressed before replying . “Lt. Andrews, 1st brigade, 4th Infantry division. We are fine; just got orders to clear this field. There are reports of large number of Z’s attacking refugees on this stretch of road. We were just about to get started”

“You are gonna take your guys in to this field?” Rhine asked incredulously.

“Yea, we spotted tracks heading in to the grass, we were gonna follow them till we spot these things”

Rhine noticed one of the Sergeants behind the Lieutenant roll his eyes at the last comment. Obviously Rhine wasn’t the only one who could see the stupidity of this plan.

“Let’s take a walk and go over this plan of yours, maybe I can help” Rhine offered; putting a hand on the Lieutenants shoulder and leading him away.

Once they were out of earshot of the collection of soldiers, Rhine turned to the man.  “I didn’t want to correct you in front of your guys, but you can’t seriously be thinking of walking them in there. Have you ever heard of the expression “snakes in the grass”?

“I gotta be honest, I was in OCS 3 days ago and now they have me running an infantry platoon. I was going to lead an engineering unit, not combat infantry. I am in way over my head here” the lieutenant replied while shaking his head in frustration.

“Ok ok, listen, it doesn’t matter what your specialty was yesterday, you are an infantry platoon leader today” Rhine said, putting a finger to the chest of the young Lieutenant.  “You need to accept that change and do your job right. You are forgetting to use the greatest asset you have in your arsenal. Forget that rifle and your body armor, your greatest weapon in this fight is right here” Rhine said, stabbing the man in his Kevlar helmet with a rigid finger. “You need to use your brains and attack these ghouls with logic. You go against them with your brain turned off and you are only setting the dinner table for them. You get me?”

“You’re right. What should I do instead?” The Lieutenant asked.

“Watch and learn, remember you need to pick your battles carefully. Fight them on your terms, not theirs”

Rhine began walking toward the collection of soldiers with his new pupil hot on his heels.

“Riley, get over here! I want you up on top of the cab of this truck spotting for us. You men, get ready, we are going to draw these bastards out. Burn em as soon as they exit the grass.”

Rhine opened the cab of the truck as Riley; his platoons designated marksmen, climbed on top of the truck’s roof with his sniper rifle.

“Call them out as you spot em Riley! Here we go.”

Rhine began frantically hitting the truck’s horn, sending shrill blasts through the morning air. After ten seconds of horn honking, he heard Riley call out from the truck’s roof. From his perch, though he couldn’t actually see the ghouls through the morning fog and tall grass, he could see the wake they left as they moved towards the soldiers. The swaying grass and trampled path they left behind them gave away each of their locations as if they were holding up bright orange flags. It reminded him of the shark fins cutting through water he had seen as a kid surfing in San Diego.

“Contacts in the field moving this way; ten, fifteen, twenty plus contacts moving this way. Twenty five yards and closing”

“Hey they come, single shots, fire as soon as you have a clear line of sight” Rhine hollered.

They came out of the grass ready to eat, emerging and picking out soldiers they intended to sink their teeth into. The line of soldiers opened fire, dropping them as they each came bursting out.

“Thirty five, no forty contacts!” Riley yelled, opening fire with his silenced M110 rifle.

They were coming out of the grass in groups of three, four, and five as the soldiers began increasing their rate of fire. Ghouls collapsed face first in the dirt as the supersonic rifle rounds greeted each emerging Z.  Rhode’s moved along the line of engaged soldiers, his deep voice urging them to “keep it up” and “hold the line”. The sounds of gunfire from down the road drew Rhine’s attention at his Rangers began engaging Z’s who had been drawn to the sounds of the horn and were attacking from down the line and across the other side of the road. The level of gunfire reached its peak, the time between gunshots becoming indistinguishable before eventually slowing to an occasional gunshot here and there. Finally the assault ended as Riley reported seeing no more moving grass trails. Rhine descended from the truck’s cab and slammed the door.

“Ya learn something new every day huh? Good luck Lieutenant. Keep that brain switch in the on position and you will do fine.  Oh and next time if you aren’t sure, just burn the goddamn field” Rhine said as he, Rhodes, and Riley turned and made their way back to their convoy. They left the new Lieutenant standing by his truck, his jaw dropped and mesmerized by the display of carnage along the roadside.

“You think he learned his lesson Lt?” Riley asked, opening the door to his Humvee.

“I think so, but let’s get a move on in case Zack proves me wrong.”


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