A sniper. One of the most feared and loathed classes in this whole war. I smile. It’s nice to be recognized, sometimes. As I crouch in our battlements, I keep a watchful eye over the other team’s entrance and battlements. Of course, there’s nothing I can do if they decide to slip through the water access, but hopefully the night guard and the sentrygun down there can handle them. I’ve been here for nearly six hours, and any normal person’d be bored out of their mind. Not me. I actually like the graveyard shift. The only bad thing about it is when those red pricks decide to attack. I’m usually getting my beauty sleep. Of course, after three months at my position, you learn to get by with three hours of sleep.
An hour later, I bring my rifle down to rub the condensation off its scope. I’ve got a bit of a headache, so I bring my pack off my shoulders and grab a couple of Tylenol I keep in there for events like this. Candy, I like to call it. Bringing the scope back up to my eye, I peer into the entrances of Red’s fort. Sitting there are eight shiny little cylinders, four in each door. Pipebombs. A nice present for anyone trying to bust in the front gate without an invitation. There’s probably a demoman in there somewhere, just waiting…though this isn’t a regular occurance. He’s gotta be tired, maybe even asleep. Bringing my rifle back up toward their battlements, I start to do a quick sweep of them just as I hear a slug go ‘WHEET’ straight pass my ear. It takes all my self-control, but I freeze, knowing that if I move, any decent sniper’ll notice my motion and I’ll be dead before I hit cover. Slowly I bring my rifle back around and catch a shadow that wasn’t there a minute ago. Aiming just above his head, I charge my rife. He’s still oblivious to the small red dot getting brighter above his head…until it lands on his forehead. He starts to leap up, but it’s too late for him. I release my trigger and the bullet lances straight into his skull and he falls to the deck of the battlements, his rifle making a loud CLACK as it hits the concrete.
This is bad. The noise no doubt alerted that demo-BOOOOM! Any thoughts in my head are torn out of it as the demoman detonates his pipebombs. I start to charge my rifle again, and just in time, too. Here he comes, looking for anyone...but there’s nothing for him to see. He starts laying his lethal cylinders again, but as he drops his third one, he never gets a chance to drop his fourth. My bullet saw to that. Radioing in, I call to my mates. “Sniper one here, demoman down, red entrance. I’ve got fire support if you need it...the whole Red team has to be up from his blast. I also got their sniper in the battlements.”
“Sniper one, this is commander. We’re moving in. Provide any cover you can give us. 2 soldiers, 2 heavys, medic, pyro, and demoman are going in.” So. I’ve given them their entry. Now to see that they make it there intact. All the lights in Red’s fortress snap on with blinding intensity, revealing an overweight guy with a big gun in their entrance. I charge my rifle as my friends run out of our entrance. The heavy’s gun starts to spin up, but it never fires. Another textbook headshot, and my friends are clear. I return my gaze to the battlements, to see one--three--eight rockets lance up to them, blowing a poor demoman to bits. Unfortunately, not before he tossed out a MIRV grenade.
“SQUAD! GRENADE!” I scream. They scatter. The two heavies jump off the bridge, into the water. One soldier doubles back and sprints, the other running forward, past the grenade to relative safety. The demoman also leaps into the water, followed by the medic. The pyro, reluctant to enter the water, hesitates, then doubles back. Not fast enough. A blinding explosion, and he flies through the air, tumbling, to slam into our battlements. I risk a glance at him. He’s dead. “Squad, pyro down. Heavies, demo, med in the drink, soldiers in the open.” I radio. Two scouts sprint with blinding speed out of our entrance as the soldiers move in. I can hear loud explosions and gunfire from inside the Red fortress…our assault has begun. What follows in three minutes of garbled radio chatter and the sounds of guns, grenades, and death.
“Medic! Help me!”
“SG in their flagroom! I need support!”
“Where’s that goddamned heavy! We need him! Heavy fire in the ramp room!”
“Look out, EMP!”
“Scatter!”
“Scout two, I’m hit pretty bad…Oh, no--*boom!*
“Entryway secured!”
“Aarrgh! Sentry in the *gunfire* Ughhh..”
“Clear the room! MIRVs going in!”
“Soldier down! Medi-AAARR!”
“Medic here! I need some help! AARG! *gunfire*”
“SG in flagroom destroyed! Scout, go go go!”
Then, over the loudspeakers: “Your team has the enemy flag!” I see two snipers move onto their battlements, followed by a soldier. He’s the dangerous one. My rifle, fully charged, finds his forehead, and fires. He drops, and I dive off to the side as two bullets impact where my head was a split second ago. Automatic gunfire comes from Red’s entryway. I see the heavy, charge my rifle, and-“POP.” I grunt in pain as the bullet from red’s sniper slams into my leg, but keep my aim and watch the heavy fall. I drag myself to cover and start screaming for a medic as I try to stop the bleeding. I catch one scout fly out of Red’s base, but with no flag, followed by another, carrying red’s flag as he runs for our entrance. Next, a heavy. But he just caught two sniper rounds to the back. He’s dead. Another figure sprints out, fast. Must be the medic. I start to drag myself to the ammo room, where I can get a medkit. I see the scout carrying the flag rush onto the battlements. Wondering where the other scout went, I continue pulling myself toward the ammo room. I see another scout. There he is.
At this point, I remember three things. One. We sent in two scouts. Two. The medic died. Three. One of the scouts died, too. I start to pull up my auto rifle, just as a fourth fact enters my mind. Scouts don’t carry knives. I pull the trigger, riddling him with bullets, and he collapses backward. Sighing in relief, I start to pull my way past the spy’s dead body, and I hear the words “Your team captured the enemy flag!” Grinning in relief, I reach the door to the room and open it, just as I feel a knife enter my spine. He feigned! I realize. As my vision fades, I hear the auto sentry in the ammo room activate and hear the spy’s cry as he is filled with lead. A small victory. I thought, as my vision went black and my brain shut down.
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