Retaking the Island Chapter

Vollantrodha was an island formed from the volcanic lava rocks and basaltic sands, covering a mountainous layer of coral and sand. The island was once a group of smaller islands until three small volcanoes erupted, causing an earthquake. Vollantrodha's three volcanoes collapsed as they erupted, spilling vast amounts of lava into the ocean. The lava dried up, connecting the islands with a large land mass of basalt and lava. Each volcano shrunk as the land mass pushed them down into the ocean's crust. Lava mixed with the water creating more of the soil that built up into the basalt and lava rocks seen on the island's surface.

            The inhabitants of the island were a peaceful people whose culture and economy centered around trade, and the luxury of tourism. Vollantrodha was known for its hospitality as a vacation spot. The Anori are the famed inhabitants of the vacation island, who ran the island like a luxury hotel. None of them had any fears of invasion until a generation ago when the Vullanese Empire tried to expand her borders across the Valde Sea. The Baedur Corsairs intervened in defense of the Anori and another group called the Anomaths. The Anomaths are an indigenous people who live in sea shell houses on the southern coasts of Vollantrodha. Baedur Corsairs enjoyed the luxury of the island and fought savagely to push the invaders out. To keep the island defended from invasion fifteen towers were constructed along the western coast. For decades the citadel towers provided a strong defense against invading armies...'

            "Stop reading Chiecra and pay attention!" Allen joked, snatching the hand guide from Chiecra's hands.

            "He's looking for a place to relax when this is all over." Aibeth replied inclining another joke on the Corporal.

            "Nope just reading about the island, and the locals." Chiecra responded reaching over Azdar to retake the guide from Allen who leaned over Javan.

            "It reads like a brief article with limited information about each subject." Allen said as he passed it over to Vaed, who sat across from him aboard the Krua Toa Gunboat. Vaed flipped through the guide before tossing it back to Chiecra. Nineteen Vestrisian Vanguards sat in the stolen Gun boat with their own equipment. Two Eladrins, motorized bikes with a mounted machine gun on the passenger seat, strapped to the floorboards.

            Chiecra sat with the guide in his hand, which he found aboard the Toshim barge. His friends teased him over the guide while others conversed with other issues. He sat idly not caring to respond to any of them. He thought about the dream that may have foreshadowed something in the near future. Then he thought about the Zuni-Pucks Cecile and Lelflow whom rushed around doing various tasks in his mind, and there was Heather sitting on a rock overlooking a meadow. He had great desires to be with the three females. Chiecra imagined himself with the girls on a sunny day in the country. Nothing could be more perfect than spending a day with the two Zunia-Pucks and Heather. It was clear to him that the war needed to come first, since both the Gantronese and the Nazdar would send army after army to conquer Vestrisia.

            "Another minute and we're on the beach!" the boat driver hollered.

            "Okay boys get ready to land on the beach. This boat may not be suitable for landings, but we will drive them onto the beach. Once you're on the beach move inland. Clear out any resistance you come across and avoid the towers as much as you can." Ilkez prepped the squad for the landing.

            The gunboats approached the beach of the island, which was barely visible in the fog. They all felt lucky to encounter zero gunfire as the boats neared the shore. Each Krua-Toa ran over the sand barges getting stuck on the sand. The fog still covered the entire landing zone giving the Vanguards cover from enemy eyes.

            Squad 1 jumped from their transport onto the beach in the thick fog. Ilkez led his squad on the beach towards the citadel towers. Eighteen Vanguards stormed the beach with five thousand others. The fog hid them all as they moved through the beach. There was nothing but white smoke in their view for multiple paces. Chiecra heard the roar of the ocean's waves hitting the sand and the sounds of the sand crunching under their boots. Each sound made a pleasant feeling sink into their veins. A relaxed feeling came over them for a few moments for the reality of the war diminished that pleasantness. Twelve yards away they saw a strange set of walls emerge out of the fog. Behind the walls were hundreds of shadows oblivious to the landing.

            All five thousand troops in the landing took positions behind the set of walls that appeared to be formed from the volcanic rock. With the fog to their advantage they fired with little warning to anyone. The fog began to clear as the shooting took place. The strange walls turned out to be barriers of dried lava extending upright like waves in the ocean. Each barrier stood about four feet high and stretched out six to twelve feet in length. The Vanguards manned the first row of barriers. The barriers did not align side by side like a wall. They appeared more like a complex of short walls stretched out with gaps every few feet. About four rows of barriers stood between the landing forces and the Gantronese.

            Vanguards and Corsairs were now visible to the enemy as bullets shot from their weapons. A thousand Gantronese laid out in the open with tall citadel towers behind them. Hundreds fell dead as the rest went for cover. It was not easy for the Gantronese to escape death from the overwhelming barrage. Hundreds more died every passing second; being shot from behind. The Vanguards and Corsairs massacred the Gantronese in twenty seconds. They ceased fire as the last Gantronese fell on the hard dry surface. It was a brief shootout that warned the enemy of their presence on the island. Five thousand warriors advanced through the walls. Chiecra rushed forward with his squad mates carrying all of his equipment. He could see the citadel towers not far from the beach, standing nearly a hundred and thirty feet wide. Ten out of fifteen of the citadel towers lay in enemy hands. They were still a great distance from the citadel towers with a massive field of brush that stretched out four miles long and three fourths of a mile thick. No one hesitated with the advance towards the towers. They moved through the brush as though it did not exist.

            No fog, or forest could hide them this time from the enemy spotters. Sniper fire forced them down in the brush as the sounds startled each soul. The deadly fire flew over their heads as a hostile greeting. Several men were hit by snipers, each death was at a random part of the ranks.           

            "Keep low, Keep low!" commanders shouted orders to get down as the sniper fire increased. Bullets rained down on the landing forces keeping them from advancing on the towers.

            Chiecra remained where he was, hidden underneath the brush. He prepared his sniper rifle and began hunting for the enemy snipers. As their bullets continued to rain down on the Vestrisian forces, Chiecra scanned the towers one by one. He could only see three towers in his line of sight through the brush. Chiecra covered the scope with a thin layer of cloth and searched up and down the first tower. He found two snipers on top of the citadel and one on the eighth level. The tower was full of windows situated three of four levels apart, perfect for a sniper position. He killed five more marksmen before switching to the next tower. There were no snipers to take out on the top of the other tower. Chiecra found another marksman on the tenth level who was just about to fire another round.

            On his third round up the tower he heard other snipers doing the same as he did on other towers. His sniping decreased the enemy's reign of terror from the towers. He observed the way the Gantronese cautiously fired their rounds. Each shot was spread out over a long period of time. On the sixteenth level a sniper had his rifle sticking out of the window, which gave away his position. Chiecra watched the fool get dominated by another marksman from somewhere else in the area.

            Snipers exchanged fire for half an hour. Most of the landing forces made it out of the brush and engaged another barrier of defenses. Chiecra laid there listening for the distinct sound of sniper fire. He heard nothing else but the rapid shooting up ahead. The coast seemed clear, giving Chiecra a chance to run forward. In a split second Chiecra got up and sprinted towards his fellow soldiers. He exited the brush onto the hard surface of lava. This hard surface spread out from the brush to the towers that could be seen as giants towering over the area. Chiecra joined his squadmates at a pile of rocks and large shells. He took a spot next to Viktorov and Azdar. They were caught in a shootout with a large force of Gantronese hiding behind barriers of crates, rocks and stone walls.

            "Thanks for the support. That was you who took out the snipers right?" Azdar complimented.

            "The first one to react to them. How many did we lose?" Chiecra asked.

            "Not many, Nildut is down and Silver has a shattered shoulder blade." Viktorov replied before returning fire.

            "Care to join the fight Corporal Gwynor?" said a snide Liviscart from Chiecra's left, three bodies away from him.

            "Isn't that the reason why I'm here?" Chiecra replied as he tossed a grenade over a rock. A small explosion devastated several Gantronese, forcing others to take cover. Vanguards and Baedurs waited for the enemy heads to appear as shootouts occured around them. Three dozen heads popped up to return fire and dropped down again for good. Vanguards exchanged feedback and locations of enemies as they held their position.

            "Thanks I couldn't get him." Azdar hollered to Viktorov who shot a rifleman harassing some men.

            "Toss a grenade over there!" Crowley yelled to a private who had some grenades with him.  A few grenades were tossed at some Gantronese.

            "One o' clock, one o' clock!" Someone yelled over the shooting. There was a Gant shooting over the walls at the men coming on to the beach to Chiecra’s left.

            "Someone get a machine gun over here!" An officer hollered after a bullet skimmed his helmet.  

            "Keep throwing grenades, that'll devastate their ranks!" Ilkez yelled encouraging the landing party to throw grenades.

            "Two on the right, now get the four on the left!" Silver-Oak screamed above the noise as four Gantronese shot up seven of their men.

            The shootout became a forensic battle as bullets and grenades soared in the air. Only a few Gantronese successfully fired back, evading death several times. Rapid machine gun fire and rifle fire filled the atmosphere of the beautiful island's beach.

            It was clear that the Corsairs and Vanguards made head way against the Gantronese. It was clear to see what was behind the towers. A complex of condos, and beach houses with barracks stretched across the landscape. The vanguards tasted victory in their mouths as they over powered the Gantronese. Many stood up to watch whoever was still shooting eager to see them defeat the Gantronese. Chiecra and his squadmates egged the remaining Gantronese to keep fighting. Shooting died down as areas became clear of enemy combatants. There was no other choice but to wait for them to give up or die on their own time. Slowly the Gantronese took theirown lives one by one.

            To the dismay of the five thousand man landing force, fifteen thousand Gantronese emerged out of the complex area in flight from another force. The speed they were running indicated they were falling back to the towers. Vanguards and Corsairs held their ground, shooting at every enemy that came near the towers. Not one returned fire as they ran straight for the citadels. Several hundred made it to three of the towers. About two thousand others replaced the previous defenders. The rest of them dropped to the ground and others carried tables for cover. Chiecra noted the tables were stolen from the condo complexes to be used as defensive barriers against the Vestrisians. Gantronese set up the stolen tables like an overlapping defense to protect them from enemy fire. As new barriers were set up Gantronese forces pinned down their enemies. Machine guns kept them at bay. Ilkez crept his way under the heavy shooting flying overhead. He made it to his squad taking cover behind barriers of stones and concrete walls. They turned their heads on him. Each one desired good news under the heat of battle.

            "Listen up another twenty thousand Gantronese just landed south of our positions. Be prepared for an increase of Gantronese forces!" Ilkez hollered.

            "Be ready for more of them?" Allen cried in disbelief.

            "There's nothing we can do about it now, sit tight and hold the line!" Ilkez ordered.

            "Is there any good news?" Javan asked.

            "Forty thousand Vestrisians are making their way around from the north. In a few hours we'll be reinforced here. Just hold the line, no objections that's an order!" Ilkez returned to his post leaving his squad under the fire.

            "You heard the Captain hold this line!" Liviscart commanded, enforcing Ilkez’s orders.

            Chiecra and eleven of his comrades exchanged bullets with the enemy dealing the most damage. Rounds hit many targets killing and wounding the Gantronese. Their line of defense held out long after the Gantronese received reinforcements, which they distributed along the ten citadel towers over a course of two days of fighting. Chiecra shot multiple targets that joined the Gantronese in their section. An hour passed in the battle with hardly a dent in the opposing sides. There was hardly even a dent in the Vanguard's ammunition.

            "Where are the rest of our boys?" Vaed hollered at the four friends. Azdar turned to answer his question.

            "If you can tell us which tower we are at, then I'd be obliged to tell you!" Allen yelled over the shooting and screams of men dying and those in pain from their wounds.  

            Vaed shouted his answer as he fired the mg. "We are at seventh tower. Now tell me where our boys are."

            "Give me a sec," Azdar hollered back. He checked his com-link for radio signals. After a minute, he found something.

            "They are ten minutes away!" he hollered excitedly.  

            "Increase the storm boys the cavalry is on its way!" Vaed shouted at the Vanguards.

             The squad increased the rate of their fire. Chiecra killed a dozen in less than half a minute as they forced the enemy down again. Dozens fell as an impact of the increased rate of fire. Shells hit the ground bouncing all around their feet. Clips dropped as new ones were loaded in. Gun barrels heated up from the continuous rate of shooting.

            Adrenaline rose up from the heat of the battle's atmosphere. Chiecra began to feel an overwhelming amount of energy that took control over him. It was the same feeling from the underworld that took control of Chiecra's body. This time his spirit did not leave his body nor did he black out. Great power entered Chiecra through the joy of battle.

            He experienced another berserk moment that gave him a vast amount of power. In a rush of rage, Chiecra launched after the Gantronese with a knife and bayonet in each hand. His arms attacked every enemy in his view. He chased them around stabbing and cutting various targets. A score of Gantronese died by his hand. His fury gave his colleagues the upper hand. All around him bullets flew by killing those he missed. He did not stop the rampage for he was unable to do so.

            It was impossible to stop the berserk even when he had no one else to kill at the base of the seventh Citadel tower. His destructive urge turned him towards the eighth tower, which was now overrun by Corsairs and Vanguards. His rage stopped when someone touched his shoulder.

            Thanks to his berserk rampage the landing forces were able to overcome the odds and turn the tide. Reinforcements arrived in time to witness a breach in the enemy line. They arrived from the east and north surrounding some twenty thousand Gantronese. Each tower fell back into Vestrisian hands as they moved down the front Thousands of Gantronese died as they were overrun. Their forces decreased in number in the hopeless turn of the tide. Vestrisian and Baedur forces closed in on the Gantronese, decreasing the territory until they were packed together like sardines. Their tightly exposed formation resulted in mass casualties down to the last man.