The following is part 4 in a series. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

The squad of eighteen formed a broken semi-circle at the mouth of the cave.  The men kept a relative distance, making sure they could both cover each other and not be taken out in quick succession.  Each man locked his vision down his sights.  Umberger was on point, taking a kneeling position.  The whole squad kept their sights ahead, ready to meet whatever may come from the cave.

“Get those light machine guns setup, I want a defensive perimeter before we go in, “McCready ordered.  The four machine gunners set up their positions on command.
“Not eager to go in?  Left your night light at base?” joked Umberger.

“Fear is smart, fear lets you know when there’s danger, and it’s only when there’s fear that you can have courage.  I was never scared of the dark, it’s what’s in the dark that scares me,” McCready said.  He raised his arm “Let’s get it all set up.  They have nowhere to go.”

“Keep it down, Umberger.  Get that Saw up high Everett. Jeffers, yours too,” Sergeant Humphries said to the soldier on his left.  The two machine gun teams lay down prone.  The squad moved with precision and timing.  Umberger was positioned on point, five yards to the left of Mathis, his M4 raised high awaiting what would come next.  The pathway in had been unremarkable, but something about this cave seemed off to everyone.  There had been less and less signs of life as they had gotten closer. There were also more and more signs of death.  There were animal bones strewn about just within the cave, not a sight you expected to see if the Taliban were around.

“Matty, is that, is that a footprint?” Umberger whispered to Mathis, noting a large disturbance in the dirt at the mouth of the cave.  

Three men in perihan o tunban garments ran out of the cave waving their hands. At the head was a man who was signalling indicating surrender and his position as the one in charge. The terrified man mutterd something in Arabic.  Frantic, the three men dropped their AK-74s before throwing their hands high in the air.

“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot,” Jaeger commanded.  The squads kept their guns leveled and formed a circle around the newcomers.  That Arabic indicated he was a foreigner, making him a good candidate for Al Baghdadi.

“It’s him?” Umberger said, confused to see the target make the surprise effort into captivity.  McCready grabbed him, examining the man’s worn and beaten face.

“Don’t shoot. It’s Baghdadi but he’s spooked something good, he’s laid down his gun. What’s that?” McCready asked, holding his gun down “Eyes on the cave. We don’t know who else is in there.”

“What?” Umberger asked, confused by McCready’s lack of command to subdue the prisoners first.
“I said, eyes on the cave,” McCready ordered.  “Davis and Hsu keep watch on the prisoners, everyone else eyes on the cave,” he said while motioning to two of his Green Berets.

Baghdadi clung to McCready’s leg.  He was trying to breathe in slow labored breaths. Something was spooking him bad.  The other two who rushed out with him were in equally bad shape.  By the blood and bruises they had clearly been on the losing side of a fight. The disheveled Baghdadi muttered something in Arabic, pointing back at the cave.

“Really? How many?” McCready asked, brushing off the new capture with one arm.  Baghdadi continued pleading with McCready who pushed him off again.

“What?” McNair asked in confusion.  No answer was given, neither was there time. Out of the cave ran a towering violent and muscled figure.  His matted red hair flowed past his shoulders.  He carried a large lance in one hand, a bronze looking shield in the other.  With a roar he cried out in some ancient tongue, unreconizable to most of the men present.  Turning in a moment he rushed at the gathered soldiers.

“Oh not again,” Jaeger said in an almost resigned voice.  The look of confusion from Umberger shared by the other Rangers was interrupted by the call of battle. 

“Fire! fire quickly, aim for the head and spread out.  Keep out of reach and shoot for the head,” yelled McCready amidst the beginning of gunfire at the command.  The giant raised his spear, covering the distance in a few short seconds.  Bullets pierced through the shield.  The giant thrust the spear with his powerful shoulders straight at Umberger.  As he did, Mathis slammed his body into the private, shoving him out of the way.  Umberger flipped, landing on his side.  He saw Mathis, lying on his back, a primitive lance spearing him.  He could see Mathis’ teeth redden as he began coughing up blood.  Umberger knew he had to keep moving.  He pushed off the ground and grabbed his M4, turning to face the giant pursuer.  The sound of the giant letting out a pained groan boomed through the air.  Umberger’s eyes went wide as he saw the massive man beginning to fall, his head being blown to pieces from being hit with .50 caliber rounds.  He grabbed Mathis and pulled him as hard as he could, avoiding the fallen creature by inches.

“We got more!” McCready shouted.  He raised his right arm, a flashbang fully primed in hand, throwing it into the mouth of the cave.  Two dark shadowy figures lit up for a brief moment, letting out pained growls.  The remaining giants, a male and a female stumbled out of the cave.  Their hair was as dirty and matted as the first.  They began their clumsy run forward, howling at the diminutive men before them.  The male picked up a spear before rushing towards McCready, who gave ground while firing towards the head.  The squad joined in, felling the giant with a fast volley.  The creature fell hard, unleashing a flood of blood from the wounds all over its body.

The female giant turned back towards the cave, preparing to run inside.  McCready tossed a live grenade into her path.  The squad watched as she stumbled, the shrapnel tearing through the muscle of her legs leaving her unable to run.  Things went quiet.  Everyone watched in silence as she tried to crawl towards the cave.  McCready and Humphries motioned the squad forward. The now inducted men stepped forward inch by inch, stopping when signaled just out of the woman’s broad reach.

“Stay out of reach of her arms,” McCready said.  The squad complied with aghast looks and confused words.  She lay in front of them, grasping at them as her vision returned to normal.  Then to everyone’s surprise, McCready began to speak to her in that ancient tongue.  She returned his words in anger mixed with foul spit.
“She ain’t having it.  Hsu,” McCready ordered.  Hsu walked over, stopping only to pick up one of the light machine guns.  His target reached out trying to claw her way over to the man who her massive palms could crush like a tin can.  Hsu continued in confidence, knowing he still held all the cards.  With quiet composure he raised the .50 cal gun and with a single pull of the trigger, shot her between the eyes at range.

“The…..”was all Umberger could muster.  Certain moments in life brought new clarity to old euphemisms.  Here the silence really was deafening, speaking louder than any words could have.  Save for their Green Beret escorts, the world as these young Rangers knew it was shattered.

“Make sure we take a tranq next time,” McCready noted to Hsu, who consented with a quiet nod.  “Well gentleman.  Welcome to the inner circle,” McCready announced to the surviving squad. McNair rushed out from the group towards Mathis.  He knelt to inspect his fallen friend.  Tears welling up in his eyes, he stood up, a mix of pain and rage on his face.

“You ginger son of a,” said McNair, kicking the first of the fallen giants in the groin.

“Enough McNair,” Humphries said with a touch of his elbow.

“Oh let him” said McCready “He’s had quite the day.”

“Fair enough,” Humphries said.  He walked forward, contributing a swift kick of his own to the fallen enemy in front of them.

“Now you can bind them,” Jaeger ordered.