was out here aggressive camping with us lot just to pay the bills.
Flash glanced down at the mags in his chest harness and jerked his head round to the right. ‘They’re getting closer. Toki, we need more ammo. More ammo!’
Toki’s voice boomed over to us above the sound of gunfire, ‘Stand your ground! John’s coming with the ammo. He’s coming!’
I looked over my shoulder and could just make out John’s massive body as he staggered through the mud, his boots sinking deeper with every step. He was trying to run but was almostdoubled over with the weight of the ammo boxes. John was a good laugh. He was from Peckham like me, only from a different estate.
More muzzle flashes kicked off in the darkness as the Talis tried to shoot at us. I raised my rifle back over the wall, aimed at the burst of light and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.
‘Stoppage!’
I needed to let everyone know I couldn’t fire before I took cover and sorted out what had happened. I landed on my arse, cocked the weapon and tried to get my finger in to free up whatever was stuck in there. The hot metal of the working parts burnt my fingers, but I kept on digging. Rounds were slamming into the other side of our wall as the Talis kicked off again.
There was a piercing scream and a dull thud as a body fell into the mud behind me. I already knew who’d been hit before I spun round.
‘Man down, man down,’ I yelled into the air. It was John.
He screamed out in the darkness, his arms and legs jerking about in the mud as he fought the pain. Toki’s voice came over as calm as ever, taking control of the situation. ‘Get that weapon going, Briggsy! Cover us. Flash, with me. Get John.’
Flash broke into a run, bending down low forcover as more rounds slammed into the wall, while Si returned fire from just above me. My fingers kept fumbling with the empty case that was blocking the weapon. I told myself to slow down and stay calm, but it wasn’t working. All I could hear or think about was the sound of John screaming. I knew the screaming was good. So long as he was screaming, he was breathing, and that meant he was still winning!
Toki was on the radio, calling in MERT, the Medical Emergency Response Team. I willed the Chinook to come quickly, lift John out and get him to hospital in Camp Bastion.
The screaming started to die down a bit. Flash must have pumped some morphine into John after plugging up any holes and getting more fluids in to replace lost blood. I could hear Toki clearly as he gave MERT a sit rep (situation report).
‘Confirm. We have a T1 casualty, Tango 1. We need MERT now.’
That wasn’t good. T1 meant we were losing him. He was critical. Flash was thinking the same as me. ‘Where the hell is that Chinook!’
I got the empty case out of the weapon and was back in action.
‘It’s clear, Si!’
‘I’ll get the ammo. We need more ammo!’Si ran over to where John lay screaming and jerking about as if he was getting electric shocks . I scrambled onto my knees just as a three-round burst of Taliban fire hit the wall. I leant my chest into the mud bricks and got the weapon back into my shoulder. I never got to take aim, though. My rifle jolted skywards and a dark mass rose up from the other side of the wall.
Two large hands glued themselves to the front of my weapon. I tried to pull back but lost my footing, and a Tali the size of a house started to climb over the wall. He was using my rifle to help lever himself over.
As his feet inched higher up the wall, he pulled the barrel down hard onto his shoulder, the hot steel singeing the cloth of his shirt. He took no notice as the heat burnt through to his skin. The stench of sweat, cigarettes and burning flesh hit my nostrils, and within seconds the giant hands flailed out again, this time grabbing hold of my chest harness.
I scrambled backwards to escape his grasp, but he was quicker and stronger. He pulled me back towards the wall, trying to force me over with
Flash glanced down at the mags in his chest harness and jerked his head round to the right. ‘They’re getting closer. Toki, we need more ammo. More ammo!’
Toki’s voice boomed over to us above the sound of gunfire, ‘Stand your ground! John’s coming with the ammo. He’s coming!’
I looked over my shoulder and could just make out John’s massive body as he staggered through the mud, his boots sinking deeper with every step. He was trying to run but was almostdoubled over with the weight of the ammo boxes. John was a good laugh. He was from Peckham like me, only from a different estate.
More muzzle flashes kicked off in the darkness as the Talis tried to shoot at us. I raised my rifle back over the wall, aimed at the burst of light and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.
‘Stoppage!’
I needed to let everyone know I couldn’t fire before I took cover and sorted out what had happened. I landed on my arse, cocked the weapon and tried to get my finger in to free up whatever was stuck in there. The hot metal of the working parts burnt my fingers, but I kept on digging. Rounds were slamming into the other side of our wall as the Talis kicked off again.
There was a piercing scream and a dull thud as a body fell into the mud behind me. I already knew who’d been hit before I spun round.
‘Man down, man down,’ I yelled into the air. It was John.
He screamed out in the darkness, his arms and legs jerking about in the mud as he fought the pain. Toki’s voice came over as calm as ever, taking control of the situation. ‘Get that weapon going, Briggsy! Cover us. Flash, with me. Get John.’
Flash broke into a run, bending down low forcover as more rounds slammed into the wall, while Si returned fire from just above me. My fingers kept fumbling with the empty case that was blocking the weapon. I told myself to slow down and stay calm, but it wasn’t working. All I could hear or think about was the sound of John screaming. I knew the screaming was good. So long as he was screaming, he was breathing, and that meant he was still winning!
Toki was on the radio, calling in MERT, the Medical Emergency Response Team. I willed the Chinook to come quickly, lift John out and get him to hospital in Camp Bastion.
The screaming started to die down a bit. Flash must have pumped some morphine into John after plugging up any holes and getting more fluids in to replace lost blood. I could hear Toki clearly as he gave MERT a sit rep (situation report).
‘Confirm. We have a T1 casualty, Tango 1. We need MERT now.’
That wasn’t good. T1 meant we were losing him. He was critical. Flash was thinking the same as me. ‘Where the hell is that Chinook!’
I got the empty case out of the weapon and was back in action.
‘It’s clear, Si!’
‘I’ll get the ammo. We need more ammo!’Si ran over to where John lay screaming and jerking about as if he was getting electric shocks . I scrambled onto my knees just as a three-round burst of Taliban fire hit the wall. I leant my chest into the mud bricks and got the weapon back into my shoulder. I never got to take aim, though. My rifle jolted skywards and a dark mass rose up from the other side of the wall.
Two large hands glued themselves to the front of my weapon. I tried to pull back but lost my footing, and a Tali the size of a house started to climb over the wall. He was using my rifle to help lever himself over.
As his feet inched higher up the wall, he pulled the barrel down hard onto his shoulder, the hot steel singeing the cloth of his shirt. He took no notice as the heat burnt through to his skin. The stench of sweat, cigarettes and burning flesh hit my nostrils, and within seconds the giant hands flailed out again, this time grabbing hold of my chest harness.
I scrambled backwards to escape his grasp, but he was quicker and stronger. He pulled me back towards the wall, trying to force me over with
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