The Lowly Sentry[LEWC]

Darkness descends, and it is all quite on the Western Front. Or so the slumbering army thinks? There is a siege taking place from a stealthy foe. This adversary is a master of deception and camouflage. Most lines of defense and preparation are useless to stave off the nightly ambushes, and even the most astute sentry usually misses their frequent assaults.

I happen to be one of those lowly sentries. My forward operating base has been besieged for the past few months without me even knowing it. This enemy is as cunning and stealthy as a ninja or special operations soldier. In other words, you never see them coming. Slowly but surely, an opponent is rendered incapacitated, and ultimately their base becomes overrun. Subtle hints will present themselves with time, but are often mistaken for something else.

Mysterious battle scars would show up, but no signs of a battle taking place? I, like so many others, was naive to the warning signs. As far as I was concerned, it was not what I thought it was. I thought to myself, not on my watch! However, my cat was delivering actionable intelligence by demonstrating a vigilante attitude. Perimeters were set up in heavily fortified locations like the bath tub or standing watch in highly defensible locations like the center of the room. Needless to say, I ignored the Intel reports, because cats usually have agendas of their own.

Therefore, I maintained my normal defensive maneuvers, but the evidence of midnight warfare continued to present itself. So, I decided to perform a fact-finding mission of my own, and analyzed intelligence reports from various sources about this allusive adversary. Again, I refused to heed the voracity of the intelligence reports. Surveillance continued to take place as it had before, because attacks were continuing. Cross referencing efforts were exhausted, and the usual suspects were ruled out? Even the most sophisticated enemy gets sloppy. Fortunately for me, I noticed movement along the perimeter. I had to take a double look. I was fortunate enough to capture the intruder, and decided to call in reinforcements.

Within a day or two, reinforcements arrived. A man the size of a mountain entered my base of operations, and performed an audit of my defensive capabilities. He interrogated the prisoner, and told me that I may have been overrun. The prisoner did not give up any secrets to their inquisitor. Further analysis took place as a precaution, and without any evidence of enemy infiltration showing up. To be on the safe side, he set up a strategy to eradicate the allusive opponent once and for all. It was to happen a day after the 4th of July 2012. The reinforcements did not arrive. Perhaps the bombing raid got cancelled as result of inclement weather or some other technical difficulty?

I remain besieged. The night attacks have continued, and sleep has been a hard thing to come by. Paranoia and insomnia have set in. This adversary was even emboldened enough to present itself during times of high alert. There was even movement along the perimeter as I type this SOS from my command post. Who knows how long the cat and I can hold out? I await confirmation of future reinforcements. A bombing raid is set to commence some time next week? Morale is in short supply at the moment. As I continue my futile efforts to maintain a modest defense, I think back to the days of my youth, and a general talking about a war story of old. My grandmother used to say, “Sleepy tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Awesome! They are terrible, and I have had to deal with the aftermath, after a hotel stay last year. Brutal

reply to post by SUICIDEHK45


They are! I am going insane over here. Man, I hope the reinforcements arrive next week like the necessary parties have emphasized? If not, I am resorting to setting up claymores full of DDT. Thanks for the reply!

reply to post by Jakes51


Oh major eeewww! How can you keep a sense of humor while under siege like that? Love the bathtub sentry post part. Is the poor sentry cat wearing camo or does he have to face them commando? Even though I feel for ya, I smiled at your descriptions.

reply to post by Jakes51


What a cleverly written story, which kept me hanging till the end. Then I had to re-read. Very well done. SnF.

Ewwww! But very well done!

reply to post by aboutface


All I can say is that the cat is a she. Other than that, anything else about her whereabouts or disguise is strictly classified. She is on assignment in a undisclosed location. The onslaught continues unabated. I have tossed this base like the police looking for evidence more than a few times. These buggers are dug in deep.

I hope when the reinforcements arrive they are equipped with insect napalm or even a mini neutron bomb full of insecticide? I am glad you enjoyed the story. Don't get me wrong, I am very upset over this. However, I thought I would add a little levity to a personal story about apple seed sized blood suckers. In a perilous situation, the best we can do is just laugh at it and not take it too seriously. I hope you never have to deal with them. They are hard to kill, and spread like wildfire.


reply to post by Druid42


Glad you enjoyed the story. These things are so creepy. Sleep with one eye open.

reply to post by Jakes51


S&F

Very good story! I enjoyed it very much.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment!