Episode 8: Regret's Train

By Leigh Barker

Soldiers - Season 1: Episode 8: Regret's Train

A Bitesize 1-hour read.

Schiller train carrying Big Bertha has set off for Paris and the British Expeditionary Force. The huge howitzer can fire 1000 pound high explosive shells from 8 miles out.

Regret and his pitifully small band of men race after the gun, determined to prevent it slaughtering their comrades.

But Schiller is ready for them - with 400 men and a dozen Maxim machineguns.

Regret will not turn away. He has no death wish, but the consequences of failure would be so catastrophic he must do something, regardless of the cost.

And the cost is going to be high.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leigh Barker
• Release date: Feb 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310590276

Leigh Barker

Leigh was born in Dudley in the middle of England. He has been a merchant seaman, a (useless) electronics salesman, a programmer, and a business analyst. And now he is a full-time writer, but that doesn't make him a bad person.He is presently writing 4 series:Clan, following the adventures of Calum Maclean as he tries to avoid the Bonnie Prince but still protect his beloved Highlands.The Hellfire Legacy Series follows US Marine Master Sergeant Ethan Gill and his team as they take on the jobs too hot for other special forces. They go where they're sent; South America, Middle East, Korea, but their most dangerous missions are on US soil.Volume #1: A Whisper of ArmageddonVolume #2: The Hellfire LegacyVolume #3: The Orpheus DirectiveEden, a three-volume series -Trinity is at war with Lucid, the son of Lucifer, and he will do whatever it takes to win. The Archangel Gabriel has an army but he needs more. He needs heroes, but they are few and far between. Which is why he gets Dylan and co. Not too much luck in Heaven then.Volume #1: Eden's Last HeroVolume #2: WinterwoodVolume #3: Requiem for Eden.Soldiers is set in 1914 and follows John Regret and his 12-man squad on their suicidal mission to find and destroy the German howitzer nicknamed Big Bertha. Find it before it drops it's thousand-pound shells on the allied army retreating across France. A seemingly hopeless mission that just cannot fail.Other occasional series include:Anarchy, the 'completely true' stories of men doing what men do when there's nobody to keep them in check. Create mayhem and behave like monkeys on speed.Coffee Break Reads - each issue has 5 stories short enough to read while taking a break from life. A mix of adventure, love, disaster, and fun. All with one thing in common; for a moment they transport the reader to another world.Episode 1 of each Season is free and can be picked up with other free books at:https://leighwbarker.com/my-library/Just copy the link above and paste it into your browser and you're there...

Book preview

Soldiers

(Episode 8)

Regret's Train

Copyright 2016 Leigh Barker

Published by Leigh Barker at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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ISBN: 9781310590276

Regret’s Train

Regret watched the motorcycle with its mounted Maxim skid across the cobblestones while the rider struggled to pull it back into line and under control. The gunner released the machine gun and held on to the small sidecar seat as the bike pirouetted through a full three-sixty slide. Regret knew that if the rider eased off the throttle, he’d regain control, and the squad would be dead about five seconds later. Regaining control was going to take time, not much, but for the rider it was all the time he had left.

Regret tracked the bike in the sights of his Lee-Enfield as it kicked its rear wheel on the wet stones and started to straighten up. He saw the rider look up from his struggle and his shock as he realised what was happening. The English soldiers should have been running for cover, but one of them was standing right out in the open and—

Regret’s shot ended any thoughts that might have been forming and blew him off the bike. Despite the motorcycle now careering madly towards the advancing Germans, the gunner grabbed the Maxim and tried to bring it into action. He was dead before he fell out of the sidecar and slid across the cobblestones like a discarded bag of rags.

The enemy soldiers ignored the violent end to their comrades and veered away from the town hall towards Regret. Their rifles were already coming up to their shoulders when bullets tore into them from three sides of the square.

Well done, lads, Regret said, and dropped to one knee to present a smaller target. Then he set to work killing as many of them as he could in the time he had left.

Alan waved Lofty and Sunshine off to his left, knelt and began picking off every officer and NCO he could see. Sunshine also knelt and dropped the first two men leading the charge, then stopped and looked up at Lofty, who was standing behind him and firing over his head.

What the hell are you doing?

Lofty stopped firing and looked down with a puzzled expression. Didn’t Sergeant Major Needle always tell us to use whatever cover we could find?

Well, yeah, but what… Christ, you’re using me as cover. Sunshine started to knee-walk away.

Hey, keep still, you’re leavin’ me all naked out in the open.

You two, Alan barked, stop bickering and start shooting. You’re like a couple of old women.

Regret glanced back while he