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Apache_Longbow
02-24-2004, 09:07 PM
Okay, here is about half of my competition story. I'll post the rest sometime soon, but for now enjoy what is sure to be the winner :p (actually probably not, I haven't written in a while so I'm not at the top of my game :().

Meaningless Revenge

Upon reflection, Alex Gomes realized that he really wasn’t any better than his prey. He, too, was out for revenge, and wasn’t just defending his country anymore. It was a little bit late to get sentimental now though.

Way too late.

He stood at the edge of an open doorway, flying high over the blistering cold winds of Mother Russia, the home of all things evil in this day and age. As an Allied Forces special operations paratrooper, he was about to jump into enemy airspace and risk his life, not for his country, but for himself. As he used his muscular legs to push off from the floor of the airplane and begin his free-for-all descent towards the enemy guns, intent on killing him once he got into range, he once again conjured up that horrid image in his mind. Her gorgeous blond hair, soaked in the blood left from the wounds. Her neck, slit and deep red, and the rest of her body, sprawled across the ground and swimming in a pool of blood. The sight was unbearable, and he pushed it aside and tried to focus on the mission, for some reason thinking that he could avoid the pain his dear Eliza's death had caused. Those Russian bastards will pay tonight. No one in a red uniform is leaving this base tonight, he thought in a fit of rage, still hanging helplessly in the still night sky. He looked over his equipment and decided it was about time to open his chute, which he did promptly. The parachute unfolded and abruptly retarded his fall. How he was truly a sitting duck.



Sergey Ivanovich Petrov sat at his own cold, gray table in the middle of the semi-crowded mess hall. The black bread the cafeteria was serving today was especially dry, but then again he never truly remembered, in his decade of being a conscript in the Soviet army, where the bread had even held a touch of moisture. He looked around to make sure none of his superior officers were watching, and then discreetly took a swig from the liquor flask which he always carried around in the inside pocket of his coat. The sip wasn’t much, but it kept the inside of his mouth from drying up into a desert-like state, and it was good, strong Russian-made vodka which would no doubtedly make his day go by quickly in a slightly hazy fashion. Yes, he thought as he took another bite out of the horrid bread. Just another day in the ****ty life of Sergey Petrov.

Sergey had done mostly the same thing everyday, and it had been that way ever since he had been transferred to this base a little over a year before. He had enjoyed a prosperous and happy life with his beautiful wife, who had been putting on weight steadily he remembered, but had been looking as gorgeous as she had ever been to him. She had been his companion, friend, lover, and mother of his three beautiful children.

Then the war had started. And the Americans came rolling in.

****ing Americans, Sergey thought as he scratched his beard, mostly a monstrosity of black hair – something every true Russian man should have, he thought – that was beginning to be speckled with lighter hairs, a testament to the stressful life the man had lived over the past few months. They thought that they would stroll right through our home country with their vast technology. Petrov smirked inside of himself. He knew how foolish the Yankees were. They knew nothing of the struggles that Mother Russia’s people went through, nor did they know about the enormous pride swelling in the heart of every true soviet. We showed them what this country is about. Our brave men sacrificing their lives and beating back the Allied fronts time and time again. Sergey had himself fought against the American army a few times. The last battle they met in he tried not to remember, but once it was on his mind, how could he possibly forget?

He remembered it well, too well for his own good. The deep cold that had pierced through his hands, the bullets flying all around his head, not finding their intended target despite the alleged “advanced technology” the Americans used. Sergey’s own rifle that day had been primitive, almost on the edge of obsolete compared to the weaponry of his enemies, but he had still managed to kill 10 soldiers with it. The Americans didn’t kill half as many men in his entire platoon.

Then things had gone wrong. The cowards had been retreating. They were finished, beaten down mercilessly by the valiant Russian defense. And suddenly the power had gone out. A group of Navy SEALs, a group of only FIVE DAMNED MEN! Thought Sergey as the anger spread throughout his body, had snuck inside the base and disabled power. And as the conscripts stood around in helpless disbelief, American harrier’s and swooped in and destroyed the base. When the smoke and ash had cleared and all the fires were put out, everything had been destroyed but for a handful of soldiers. Sergey had hurried back to his residence, only to wish he had died in the bombing and hadn’t had to live and see the charred corpses inside, all that remained of his dear wife and the rest of his family. He had cursed god and America and the allies and even his home country for even starting the war and causing all this to happen. Eventually, though, he realized that none of the cursing and swearing and hatred was going to bring his family back. He still kept all of those things though, because everything involved - except for Russia, he had decided – still deserved it. And every night he still wept, missing his wife more an more as the days went by, wishing he could see her smile and tell her he loved her just one more time.

He would have wept right there in the cafeteria, but he knew the only good it would do was maybe add a little bit of moisture to the bread. He took another bite, only because wastefulness was a “don’t” in the Soviet Army, and took another quick sip from his flask before finishing off his late dinner. As he stood up, he heard the emergency alarm sharply, even through the thick walls of the building he was in.

So the Americans are coming eh? Perhaps I will be able to get a little revenge tonight. Sergey grinned, and hoped that the extra dose of vodka wouldn’t throw off his aim too badly.

Wesforce
02-25-2004, 04:38 PM
Yay! The first entry.

So much anger and hate. Can't our lads just settle down for some vodka and the swimsuit issue of Pravda or something? :p

Artificial Idiot
03-08-2004, 01:54 PM
Sorry I took so long to get around to reading this, but now I have.. I love it! Very good story A_L, a lot of talent there! :)

sterio
03-09-2004, 05:40 PM
I'm looking forward to reading the second half. While I don't really enjoy war stories or FanFic based on games, including most of the stories here, I do like what you do, that is, you point out both sides of the story, and how sad they are, how both men are fighting for personal reasons, how war gets out of hand.

Apache_Longbow
03-10-2004, 06:09 PM
Thanks all. And now, for your reading pleasure, The Conlusion! :D

__________

Gomes sat uncomfortably in the air, not because his harness was ill fit, but because there was just something about bullets flying by you every few seconds that was unnerving. He was dressed almost entirely in black, and his parachute was colored the same dull nothingness, because some tech weenie miles away had sat at his computer and determined that that color was the hardest to see at night, at least by the naked human eye. Any communist barbarian down on the ground who had been issued a set of thermal or night vision goggles could see him plain as day, which made the tech weenie’s job unimportant and inconsequential. And no matter what color he could possibly be wearing right now, Gomes knew he was still a sitting duck for another minute or so until he could get on the ground. He was also smart enough to know that the closer he got to the ground, the more accurate the shots from the enemy rifles would be.

He continued to drift through the cold, still air as he looked down below. The landscape was beautiful, a thick forest of evergreens lightly swaying at the tips, and breaking up only to make room for the large area needed for the base itself. That, too, was something to marvel over. Though not as modern as it’s American counterpart, Russian architecture had its own beauty and brilliance that sometimes sacrificed beauty for functionality, and because of that became more beautiful still. Attack dogs littered the landscape, large Siberian huskies who’s sole purpose in life was to sniff out enemy soldiers, like himself, and put an end to their lives. The dogs were huge and powerful, and the only thing that would remotely be able to stop them was a bullet, and even that might not put an end to their onslaught if it wasn’t placed in the right spot. Taking on animals trusting only their instincts, an enemy with a thirst for blood and no fear, was almost scarier than taking on the humans themselves. Then again, there were more humans than dogs.

Gomes knew his jet-black sub machinegun was more powerful than a single standard-issue conscript rifle, but going up against hundreds of them was an entirely different scenario. Russia’s war doctrine was as old as it was simple: Just throw as many men at the enemy as possible and wear them down to exhaustion and eventual death. It had worked for a long time, and the Soviet Union’s leaders didn’t feel the need to change it now. Gomes knew that saying was distinctively American: If it aint broke, don’t fix it. Of course, it didn’t matter where any sayings or any doctrines came from. The fact still remained that he was an enemy floating in the sky and superior numbers were on the ground, foaming at the mouth and waiting for that first chance they would get at snuffing out his still-young life. He just breathed deeply to relax and remembered why he was doing this.

The image only needed to be stirred in his memory for a split second before he regained his raging intensity. He only lost it a little when the first shots of the night broke through the silent darkness.

*****

On the ground Sergey was already at work. He had already unloaded a clip at anything he thought he saw move in the sky, and was now busy reloading his standard-issue rifle. He hoped to whatever God was real – if there was one – that he had hit something in that goddamned sky. He didn’t really care if it was an American or a stupid bird. He wanted to kill something this night.

As he brought his rifle back up to it’s firing position, he thought once again of the memories that had returned to him over his wretched meal. These Americans deserved to die, deserved to feel the pain of losing their lives at the hands of this foreigner. In their eyes he might not be anybody of importance, but Sergey Ivanovich knew that this night he would make himself be known to the lousy Yankees, and if all things went well, his face would be the last thing they would ever remember.

*****

Gomes’ feet touched down on the damp grass not a moment too soon. His combat boots sunk into the soft earth as he unhooked himself from the bulky parachute and flicked off the safety switch on his gun, moving forward towards the enemy lines that had failed miserably to kill him while he was in the sky. Too bad for them, he thought as his feet worked quickly beneath him, seemingly without the consent of his brain. They should’ve killed me when I didn’t have the chance to fight back. Now they’ll pay for everything. For this war, for my dead friends, but most of all for Eliza. You ****ers will pay the ultimate price!

He’d waited patiently for the moment all night, and now it was finally here. His emotions had caught up to him now, his nervousness evaporated in the heat of the moment, but not all of his thoughts.

“Enjoy hell, you commie mother****ers!!” he shrieked at the top of his lungs as his trigger finger came into contact with the thin metal strip hanging down near the handle. The gun, slung over his right shoulder, kicked up in protest as its contents of ammunition was dispensed in a matter of seconds. Whether his aim was good or not was of no concern to him. He continued to run as fast as he could while simultaneously reloading his gun, almost instinctually after all the years of training. He successfully got more ammo into the gun and brought it back to his shoulder, scanning the battlefield for the closest, easiest thing to kill.

*****

Sergey saw the enemy put his head down for just a second, and knew it was his chance. Now out of bullets, he took out a nine-inch knife similar to the American standard-issue Bowie, and brought the bloodstained blade upwards. He charged towards the enemy with all the quickness and power his aging frame could muster, and reached the man just as he had finished reloading his previously empty rifle. Sergey used his powerful upper body to bring the freshly sharpened knife crashing down, connecting with the enemy in the left portion of the chest, somewhere that was bound to be close to his beating heart. Petrov gripped the handle once more and pulled out the blade, readying himself for another strike.

*****

The searing pain was almost too much to bear. Gomes screamed at the top of his lungs, feeling the cold metal shoot through his chest. He felt his heart almost stop, and he knew that it was the end of him at once. The blade slid through his chest cavity, this time coming out, and Gomes was able to stay conscious long enough to look up at the face of his killer. The man was older, there was no doubt of that, but Gomes couldn’t really see his face through his hat and thick black beard. The man had vodka on his breath and fire in his eyes, but it didn’t matter anymore. Alex new he was as good as dead, that it was only a matter of time before he bled too much and became just another frozen corpse of the many littered across the battlefield. It’s not fair, he thought as his body became weaker as the moments passed by. All I wanted to do was avenge Eliza, and I’ll die before I have the chance. He cursed out loud, yelling at God in such a way that he was sure he’d end up in hell now. There was just one thing left to do – if he was going to hell, he might as well take someone with him.

With all the strength he could muster, more from his heart than from his body, he brought the gun up and pointed it at the chest of the man in front of him. With his last breath he squeezed the trigger, and when it was over his head plummeted to the ground, splashed in the blood of his enemy. It was ironic that he had missed Eliza so much after her death, and he truthfully did die of a broken heart, pierced by the dagger of an anonymous soldier as well as the loss of her.

*****

Sergey felt the gaping, crimson hole in his chest and collapsed. Was this really it? There had been no glory, no satisfaction at the death of this enemy. He had envisioned this moment forever, waiting until he had the chance, but now that it had come and gone he knew that revenge was meaningless. All he had done was to cause this enemy’s family, as well as his own, to go through all the grief and sorrow he had experienced himself. He knew nothing of the man who lay dead beside him, but he knew that their deaths had been in vain. Nobody was coming back to life, to meet them. They were just another death, a statistic in the massive war that was bigger than either of them.

Sergey clutched his heart as he drifted away into nothingness. His eyes closed, his breath stopped, and his body went stiff. Finally, he was free of the stress and worry and pain he had lived through.

At least one good thing came of his death, though. As his spirit left his corpse, he was reunited with wife, and he wept in his dreams, not out of sorrow, but out of joy.

Apache_Longbow
03-15-2004, 03:54 PM
I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that this was actually going to be read. :shifty:


:p

Artificial Idiot
03-15-2004, 03:57 PM
It's pretty good, Although, the ending is somewhat predictable.

Doesn't seem to be the same standard as the first part, but still... not a bad story. :)

Apache_Longbow
03-15-2004, 04:13 PM
Yeah, I had to wrap it up and not make it too long. I need to work on better endings, and this wasn't a very well thought out plot as I was trying to write it all in time.

Artificial Idiot
03-15-2004, 04:29 PM
Well, maybe you could come back to it one day. Give it an ending it deserves! :)

Apache_Longbow
03-15-2004, 05:29 PM
Well the deadline has been extended...

I'll see what I can do :)

Bean
03-15-2004, 06:16 PM
Its good apache, I like. (not that that matters a whole lot)