“Archer, the Lieutenant is in trouble, give me covering fire,” shouted Chard.
Turning around and dropping to their knees for increased stability they provided covering fire for the retreat. Chard emptied two complete magazines from his Sten gun whilst heavy bursts from Archer’s Bren gun tore into the groups of creatures. The first burst was wide but the second succeeded in knocking down several of their pursuers. Archer took careful aim with his Sten and loosed a couple of rounds taking a chunk of flesh from the corpse holding onto Lieutenant Harvey. Harvey, now free of the creature, grabbed Humphreys and the small group carried on towards the buildings.
The small number of buildings formed the heart of the small French village. The area itself looked completely unspoilt from the ravages of the war. At this time of night there were no people wandering about and the narrow roads were deserted of the few vehicles you might expect to find. At the centre of the village the three small roads joined together and the most prominent building was a kind of vehicle workshop. In front of it were a few old tractors and an old, rusty looking truck. Running alongside the road were a number of small houses that eventually led to a small grassed area and then a church. Behind the church were a number of small farm buildings, though there was no immediate sign of the main farmhouse. A low wall ran around the church though it had a few gaps, some deliberate and others from lack of maintenance. To the distant side of the church was a graveyard that disappeared into the cover of a number of trees. It looked like a vicarage or other large house was positioned behind the trees. In the other direction a boarded up petrol station betrayed a time when there was better access to both labour and machines.
The Allied soldiers crossed the road and rallied outside the church where cover appeared plentiful. Before the officers arrived the men were already preparing to defend the perimeter. The walls provided ample cover and a convenient place to rest firearms. Private Wilks, hearing the groans from the wounded Martinez went over to see if he could help.
“Anything I can get you?”
The American soldier responded with a moan.
“It’s my leg, it’s starting to hurt like a real bitch!”
Wilks bent down and sniffed the wound; he had to force himself not to turn away from the stink. This was just what he had been taught back in England, the smell of decay. It was odd though; he didn’t remember being told gangrene would kick in so fast with a wound. Looking in his pack he found some morphine and gave the American the quick injection he needed to take the edge off.
“That’ll help for a bit, I’ll get the Lieutenant to have a closer look when he gets here.” Martinez acknowledged with a thumbs up.
Chard and Archer reached the wall and leapt over it as soon as they got there. Archer immediately swung his Bren machinegun around and placed in on the wall. He called out to the riflemen who joined him.
“Chuck me some mags, I’m getting low here.”
Each man carried spare clips for the unit’s machinegun and conveniently the gun took the same ammunition as the Lee Enfield rifles carried by nearly half the unit. Chard grabbed the spare magazines and placed them on the wall next to Archer. Clarke, Gardner and Harris with their Enfield rifles then joined them at the wall. The men spread out with about six feet between each man. They were ready.
The rest positioned themselves between the church and the wall, covering all possible angles into their position. All the soldiers were now inside the secure position, apart from the officers and Smith who were bringing up the rear with the wounded Humphreys.
Smith could see the last of his men leaping over the wall ahead and it looked like they had finally found a position they could successfully defend. The sound of the creatures was getting worse and each time he checked over his shoulder the number of them seemed to have increased. Forgetting about shooting them he used his last burst of energy to manhandle Humphreys up onto his shoulder and then jogged the last hundred yards. The two officers ran with them, firing the odd shot with their handguns as they ran. Up ahead several dazzling flashes glittered then the whistle of bullets as the riflemen fired with great precision right between the officers to hit the creatures behind them. Smith grinned to himself; all that training was finally paying off. They were now at the wall and Smith literally threw Humphreys to the waiting arms of the soldiers at the wall. He then leapt over the wall, followed by Lieutenant Harvey and Captain Scott.
Chard moved over to the group and explained the situation.
“Martinez is in a bad way and you brought Humphreys back. The bad news is we lost quite a bit of our heavy equipment back there.”
Smith looked at their position, then back at Chard.
“Still got the mortar?” Chard nodded.
Smith considered their position for a moment and then spoke to Lieutenant Harvey.
“We have a decent position here for now, but we’re going to need something better and soon.”
Captain Scott added, “I agree, if we get stuck here and the sun comes up we’ll be sitting ducks from Fritz,” he looked up to the church tower.
“What about inside this church?”
Lieutenant Harvey agreed, “I suggest you take the wounded and the girls and get them inside. The high walls and windows will make the doors an easy bottleneck for those bastards.”
He pointed to the creatures that could just be made out far in the distance. Smith arranged the details.
“We’ll leave Clarke, Gardner, Harris and Archer on the perimeter, the rest can get inside for now.”
Harvey nodded in agreement. “Reckon you can get Trent and his rifle up in the tower?”
Smith looked up and shrugged, “I’ll see what I can do.” He moved off to make the arrangements.
At the wall Archer slammed in a new clip onto his Bren gun and pulled back the bolt. This wall was the first line of defence for the church and Archer would be damned if he was going to let one of those things make it anywhere near them. He looked off to his right, Clarke and Gardner were both leaning against the wall, watching the horizon the same as him. Looking to his left Harris was a little more casual, smoking on a newly lit cigarette whilst watching off to their left.
The church was as expected, well constructed. Though it likely saw few people during the occupation it was in generally good condition. The roof was intact and the stained glass windows all remained. The entrance to the church was through a stone porch that led to a large doorway, protected by solid wooden doors that were reinforced with iron bands and studs. Luckily for the soldiers the church doors were open, something Smith made a mental note to rectify. Smith pulled back his bolt from the safety slot cut into it, the first round slid into place. With his weapon ready he entered the building first. Jones, Lewis and Wilks followed close behind and immediately fanned out to check the building was safe. The church followed the traditional basic design with the altar off to the right whilst the tower was to their left.
The doorway the men passed through took them directly into the centre of the nave. Smith stood there so that he was in the exact centre of the church, he turned in a full circle, noting any points of interest to his men. With an unknown number of hostiles outside it was important that they established a defensive position that could be held for an indeterminate amount of time. There were two main aisles running along the northern and southern parts of the nave. Each of the two long walls featured two tall windows, each a good four feet above the ground. Smith noted their height with satisfaction; they would be a decent obstacle to the things outside. Looking ahead Smith could see the chancel, the traditional space around the altar at the liturgical east end of any traditional Christian church building. In the centre was the altar, a large stone item that commanded this part of the church. Opposite the chancel was the tower, a cramped but thick walled part of the church with a dark entrance at the rear leading to the staircase.