Lost in Magadan: Extraterrestrials on Earth

The squad began to advance from their hidden positions to the battlefield, where the Germans had just fallen. Slowly, tree-by-tree, they moved through the field of carnage searching for German weapons and ammunition. Mutilated German corpses littered the mountainside, strewed out in twisted and unnatural positions. Most had died from gunshot wounds, but arms and legs, dismembered from the exploding grenades were scattered about. The reality was, without reinforcements, the Americans would soon be out of bullets.

After searching the bloody corpses, the squad was back in their foxholes. Dale’s squad had taken no casualties. He was sliding rounds into his empty magazines, preparing for the next wave, when the lieutenant approached in a semi-run hunching position. It was getting dark, darker than normal; the unseen sun was going down.

“How are your men doing, Sergeant?” the lieutenant asked. He was a lean man, with sandy blond hair. His slim frame was deceiving. Dale knew the Lieutenant was an excellent fighter, with hand-to-hand combat skills that surpassed any other officer he knew. Dale assumed he had obtained these fighting skills prior to entering the army, he figured maybe a boxer or something.

“No injuries, but we could sure use some K-rations,” Dale reported. Generally, the men hated K-rations. They were dry, tasteless, and never enough food for a hungry man. The men preferred C-rations, which, while still not a gourmet meal, offered more flavor and calories.

“We have very little food left and even less ammunition, after this last German assault,” replied the lieutenant. “Unless we get reinforcements, we can’t last much longer.”

Dale nodded his head in understanding. The Lieutenant, kneeling on one knee, went on, “That patrol we sent out last night took severe losses but came back with a German prisoner.”

“Great, another mouth to feed,” grumbled Dale.

“Yes, but we were able to get him to talk. While we are surrounded by heavily entrenched Germans, it seems there may be a pass, a couple thousand feet up the trail, that will bypass the German’s main force. It may be a way off this mountain. I need you to recon that pass.”

“Last night’s recon team lost 43 men?”

“The team was too large; they were spotted. I want your squad to go recon up the trail a couple thousand feet and see if there is a way off the mountain where we can by-pass the German fortifications.”

“We are running low on ammunition,” Matthews objected.

“I can fully equip your squad. I want you and your men to leave once it is completely dark.”

CHAPTER TEN

Dale Matthews and his squad huddled in the center of battalion’s fortification. They were all cold, damp, and famished.

“I have a few cans of C-rations left,” the lieutenant said, handing them to the men. They carefully divided the food the best they could so that everyone got some. The C-rations were designed to be enough calories for one soldier, hardly enough for twelve soldiers that had not properly eaten in three days.

“Can I get some of the meat and beans?” George Murphy asked. “That’s my favorite,” he said with a grin.

“I got a can of meat and spaghetti,” Howard Meyers said. “Anybody want to share this with me?”

“I can help you out with that spaghetti.” Raymond Treadwell said. There were not enough cans for everyone to have their own, so they shared what they had, eating directly out of the can.

“I also have extra ammunition and some new flashlights. These flashlights have red lens covers, so they are harder for the enemy to spot,” the Lieutenant said, as he passed out the lights. The new flashlights were just like the old ones, an olive, drab, plastic frame with a ninety-degree angle on the lens and bulb assembly. The main difference was the red lens covers helped dim the light so that the enemy could not see them from a distance.

“This ridge is about seven kilometers from end to end, with no known roads,” the lieutenant explained. “We are about two thirds of the way to the German fortifications. The mountain is only about two kilometers wide, and, to the best of our knowledge, we are surrounded. Last night, we sent four squads to see if they could get past the Krauts and back to the division, they failed. We must find a way off this mountain. I want you to go up the ridge toward the German fortifications with two objectives. First, I want you to see if there is another way off this ridge; and, second, try to spot any weaknesses in the German fortifications.”

“Roger that, Lieutenant; and thanks for the C-rats,” Dale added.

“Just find us a way off this mountain, Sergeant.”

“If there’s a way, I’ll find it,” Dale replied.

“All right men, finish up your chow, and we will be heading out,” Dale ordered as he scraped the last spoonful of cold stew at the bottom of the tin can. Normally, the men complained about C-rats, but tonight they tasted unusually good.