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Read Ebook: The Bridge by Revelle G G Emshwiller Ed Illustrator
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Ebook has 894 lines and 31816 words, and 18 pages
THE BRIDGE
BY G. G. REVELLE
Two low flying interceptor jets screamed overhead, climbing for much needed altitude as they headed out to sea. The Captain took off his steel helmet and looked up at the thunderous roar just before he leaped from the still moving jeep. When his feet touched the ground he moved quickly, shouting orders at the olive-drab truck convoy he had been leading. He pointed his finger at the side of the road where he wanted the small stuff. The "duce and a half's" he directed to the opposite side of the road. Then he put his helmet back on.
He watched as the troops quickly dismounted and assembled. He lighted a cigarette while he waited for his three officers. Only then did he look at the Bridge.
The massive steel structure spanning the river was six lanes wide, cantilever style with curved upper and lower cords. The Bridge looked trim and new. It was the Captain's responsibility to see that it stayed that way.
He stuck the cigarette in his mouth and reached inside the rear of the jeep and checked his radio set. It was set on K channel, 29.2. He expected no messages, except in an emergency.
While he had the time he took a yellow sheet of paper out of his pocket and read the words pasted on it for the fourth time. Somehow they never changed; they always read the same. And each time he got a sinking sensation in his stomach when he read them.
Captain Alfred Lowary put the yellow paper away quickly when the three junior officers of the Battery reported. He returned their salutes in a lazy sort of way. He took off his helmet again.
"The orders are the same as briefing," he said. "Lieutenant Kastner will take the third platoon across the river to the West side. The second platoon, Lieutenant Tudor, will move North of the entrance on this side and take up position in reserve. Lieutenant Meyers will set up defense on this side." He inhaled on the cigarette and looked at Tudor. "Place your machine guns carefully. I want a cross-fire on that slight bend on the road down there."
Tudor nodded.
The Captain pinpointed Meyers with his eyes. "You've got the 'hot-spot'.... Just remember.... No one gets on the Bridge!"
"But--" Meyers began.
"No buts. I said no one. Understand?"
Meyers' "Yes, sir," was barely audible.
"Any questions?" the Captain asked.
They shook their heads negative, except Meyers. He said, "Just one thing, Captain."
"What's that, Lieutenant?" Lowary asked.
"Are we supposed to shoot our own people?"
Lowary's face grew hard. "If we have to, Lieutenant," he said. "If we have to." The tone of his voice told them that he wanted to avoid any discussion on the subject.
There was silence. Finally Lowary said, "That's it, then. Let's move."
The Officers saluted and began to move off. Tudor took two steps, then halted and returned. "How much time do you think is left, Captain?" he asked.
Lowary took in the man's square face, the set of his jaw. Tudor was ex-combat, infantry during the last war.
"Who knows, Lieutenant! Minutes ... or hours. It all depends on how strong the enemy is, how fast they're moving, if they are sending a boy to do a man's job."
Tudor looked down the river in the direction of the City some thirty miles away. He seemed to have difficulty finding words. Lowary knew what he was thinking and it made him feel weak and inadequate.
Lowary said softly, "We knew it would come some day, didn't we, Tudor?"
Tudor faced him. "I guess we did ..." he hesitated.
"Well?"
"I just didn't think I would draw this kind of duty. I don't mind fighting, I've had my share. But I guess I feel as Meyers does. This will be something new for me, shooting my own people."
"Perhaps we won't have to," Lowary said.
Tudor stepped back a pace and gave him a salute. "You don't believe that any more than I do, Captain." He began to walk away swiftly.
Lowary watched him go and he wondered how many men in the Battery were thinking the same thing? It could create a serious psychological block. Damn it. It was bothering him too. But he could do it if he had to. He knew he could.
The jeep was opposite the bridge entrance when he halted it momentarily. Lieutenant Meyers was busy talking to a machine-gunner named Morgan. As Lowary recalled, from what little he had seen during the three weeks he had been commanding the outfit since his transfer from the middle west, Morgan was a conscientious type of soldier. Meyers was making a good choice for such a delicate position. He moved on.
The tires made a low singing sound when he rolled on the bridge, heavy tread pounding on steel grating.
A sign attached to an upright girder caught his eye. He smiled sardonically and he wondered what the author had in mind when he phrased it.
It said: IN EVENT OF AIR ATTACK--DRIVE OFF THE BRIDGE.
The Captain shook his head.
When he got to the center of the bridge he halted the jeep. He got out and crossed over the lanes to the south railing and looked down at the gray water. It looks muddy, he thought. A wide, muddy snake winding its way down to the City. He looked at the horizon. He couldn't see the City but he knew it was there. He wondered for how long!
It will light up like a torch, he thought. One huge sheet of red and orange flame a mile high, like the gates of hell swinging open. Then there would be nothing but a towering mushroom of black smoke to mark the spot of the largest City in the world.
He found his hand clutching something in his pocket. He took it out and looked at it. Then, bitterly, he put it away. It was the yellow sheet of paper again. To read it would be torture.
Lowary ran the zipper up on his loose fitting green field jacket as a sudden chill took him. He blamed it on the nonexistent wind as he lighted another cigarette.
The sound of a motor caused him to look up. He narrowed his eyes, looking at the far end of the bridge. It was Lieutenant Kastner; he could tell by the foot resting carelessly on the outside fender. Kastner drove as though he were resting in an easy chair with his feet nestled on a hassock.
Kastner swung out of the jeep loosely, with the grace of a well coordinated athlete. A wide grin split his face.
"Just on my way to report to you, Captain. Everything is set up on my side."
Lowary smiled. He had been on his way to check Kastner. Lowary took in the blond man's well proportioned body. Kastner looked like the recruit ad on a "wild-blue-yonder" poster.
Kastner's eyes left Lowary's face. The Captain followed the other's gaze upward. Two long, white vapor trails were cutting across the blue sky.
"They're ours," Kastner said. "They're heading North by East, toward the ocean." He looked at Lowary. "Maybe they can stop it before it starts!"
"Maybe," the Captain said softly. In his heart he knew it was only a faint hope. The Air Force never tried to conceal the fact that some of the enemy could be expected to sneak through in the event of attack.
"I don't think we'll have much trouble at our end of the bridge, Captain. I don't think anyone will be fighting to go in that direction," he nodded down the river, in the direction of the City.
"I guess not," Lowary said absently.
"This waiting can be murder," Kastner said. "It just doesn't seem right, waiting to be clobbered. Sitting here until they drop one down our throats before we can fight back."
Lowary smiled bitterly. "It's always been that way, Kastner. I suppose it always will be." Lowary squashed the cigarette butt with his heel.
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