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Post by Administrator on Aug 20, 2008 8:19:39 GMT -7
The prize goes to:
Wounds of Sand: The Jungle Scar By “abominabletoaster”
(I've already sent toaster an email and a pm, so hopefully he responds soon to claim his prize).
We enjoyed reading all the stories you guys sent. Jorge especially liked the Nyoka story, as it strayed from the typical continuation that dealt with Sgt. Ben. (Btw its spelled "Nyoka" not "Neoka").
And here are the stories:
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Post by Administrator on Aug 20, 2008 8:21:27 GMT -7
Wounds of Sand: The Jungle Scar By “abominabletoaser”
Vietnam, 1967. Captain Benjamin Fox, a WW2 veteran, is the commander of a company in Vietnam. Fox is respected greatly by the men. They all look up to him, and will follow him into battle anywhere, he’s a soldier’s best friend. One soldier in particular has befriended Captain Fox, First Sergeant Scott Ainsworth. When not searching for the Vietcong, Ben and Scott sometimes talk about their past, and their lives back home. Ben tells Scott that he once had a friend with the same name back in WW2, who fought with him in Africa. He tells him how he came back home for the woman he loved, who betrayed him, and so he stayed in the army ever since. Scott also tells about his life. Scott, a 21 year old guy from Long Island, was drafted into the war. He talks about his family, fond memories of his childhood. He pulls out a photo of his family for Captain Fox to see. Fox gives an odd look which Scott can’t understand. Later on Captain Fox leads the company on a search and destroy mission. The jungle is silent. Then, out of nowhere, bullets start flying. The Vietcong have set up an ambush. Fox always hated fighting Vietcong; their methods were nothing like the Nazis he’d faced before. The company retreats. Fox is fatally wounded coming out of the jungle. Helicopters arrive to evacuate the survivors. Fox is loaded onto the helicopter with Scott at his side. The copter takes off, flying over the jungle as the machine gunner repels the Vietcong firing from below. On board the helicopter, Fox gives his last words, and passes away. Scott is devastated. He notices a photo Fox had been looking at. He picks it up and is in shock. It’s a photo of his mother: Jane. Scott goes on leave, and returns to his home in Long Island. Alone with his mother, he confronts her with the photo. Jane goes into shock, and cries over the news of Captain Fox’s death. After calming down, she decides it’s time to tell her son the truth of everything. She explains how a long long time ago she knew a boy named Benjamin Fox. They went to high school together and graduated in 1940. She considered him a good friend. When the war came along Ben was drafted. One day she got a letter from him. In it was a poem that he had written for her a long time ago. She then knew that Ben had romantic feelings for her. Somehow she sensed it all along. In the letters that followed, Ben told to her all of his feelings. Jane had always liked him anyway and was eager for his return. On the other hand her family was not so excited. Ben was a simple soldier with no college education. Her family wanted her to marry someone with a college degree, someone who was wealthy. Ben was involved in many other battles in the war. He continued fighting in Sicily, survived Omaha beach on D-day, and won several medals. Then, the bad news came. Jane received word that Ben was missing in action, and it was widely rumored that he had been killed. After a few months of mourning, her friends and parents convinced her to date other guys. After a couple of boyfriends, she eventually met Carlton Ainsworth, the man Scott knew as dad. In reality Ben had been caught behind enemy lines, again, this time during Hitler’s last offensive in the Battle of the Bulge. Ben and his squad effectively used guerilla warfare against the Nazis surrounding them. Meanwhile Jane got engaged to Carlton. The war ended and Ben came home. Ben looked for Jane as he arrived at the dock, but couldn’t find her. He went to her house. After a cold welcome from her parents, he found Jane ready to leave on an outing with her fiancée, ready to escort her out the door. Jane was shocked, and Ben was shocked. Jane was practically ready to faint. Her fiancée blamed Ben for making her ill and cussed him out. Not wishing to get in a fight, and seeing how Jane was happy with her new life, Ben willingly left. He stormed back into his house, cursing his old friend Scott for “lying” to him about Jane having feelings for him. Later on that night, someone knocked on Ben’s door. It was Jane. Jane explained to him everything, and that she couldn’t leave Carlton for him. Ben understood, and didn’t blame Jane for it. Jane still felt sorry for Ben, knowing that he truly loved her, and fought for her all those years. Maybe it was that which moved her, or maybe it was the feelings that she held for Ben all along to explain what happened next. Jane told Ben that he must never see her again, and that she’d be leaving his life forever. Ben agreed. Jane then went to Ben and kissed him. It was their first kiss. She proceeded to take off their clothes, and they had sex. The next morning when Ben woke up, Jane was gone. He looked for her and tried searching for her, but to no reward. She had disappeared from his life forever. Saddened and with nothing else to do, Ben continued his career in the army. He continued fighting in Korea and eventually into Vietnam. Meanwhile, Jane quickly married Carlton. They had one son, Scott. Originally Jane had thought of naming her son first son Ben, back when she believed he was dead. But he was still alive, and she didn’t wish to upset her husband. So she decided to name her son after the man who kept Ben alive, Scott. Scott, who had been listening to his mother’s story all this time, didn’t know what to think. His mother asked him, “You wonder who’s your real father now don’t you?” It was hard for Scott. He loved his dad, and it was difficult to hear how his dad wasn’t the first man his mom made love to, or how someone else loved her just as much. At the same time, he couldn’t be angry with Captain Fox either. In fact, Fox had been practically a second father to him. He thought of the lessons he taught him, the beers they shared, the conversations they had, and he just couldn’t blame or shut-out his fallen commander. Knowing who his real genetic father was would ruin it for him either way. “I don’t want to know,” Scott replied, and left.
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Post by Administrator on Aug 20, 2008 8:24:18 GMT -7
Nyoka’s Mission By “Master Chief”
Nyoka returned to his commander, for briefing on where is Emma. Spies reported that Emma was being taken to Germany. Emma knew too much information about the SAS and their activities. If the Germans torture her, and got her to spill the beans, hundreds of agents would have their lives in danger, and vital missions would be postponed. The commander told Nyoka he would have to go into Germany and rescue Emma. Nyoka was didn’t want to go because he didn’t know what Germany was like. He preferred fighting in Africa. But the commander told him that he was one of the best agents they had, and they needed the top agents for the mission. Getting in Germany was very hard. Nyoka and the other SAS took a crash course in being German, learning language, codes, stuff like that. They captured several German planes and flew them to a small airfield near where Emma was being held. Once they landed at the airfield, they pretended to be Nazis. Nyoka cut off the radio to the base, and then they killed all the Nazis. Half the agents defended the base while Nyoka and the others went to go get Emma. Still in German gear, they managed to get inside the German base easily, but when the Nazi officer refused to let them see Emma, they shot him. They quickly got Emma out, with some other prisoners from the underground France. By now, the Nazis knew they were there, and when they got back to the airfield, several trucks of Nazis pulled up and started shooting. They wounded one of the French prisoners, who rather being captured, blew himself up with a grenade when the Nazis got too close. They got back into the planes, but by now some Stukas arrived the divebomb the base. One agent used an anti-air gun to repel the Stukas and let the other agents take off. Nyoka flew one of the planes with Emma in it using a machine gun and they shot down the Stukas. All agents escaped and they had a dogfight trying to escape Germany, but some British Spitfires came to assist them and they all made it back to England to prepare for the next mission.
Note: We took the liberty of changing "Nyoka" to its correct form of spelling. Other than that nothing was changed.
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Post by Administrator on Aug 20, 2008 8:25:32 GMT -7
Wounds of Sand Part 2 By “Lord Revan”
Ben finds himself as a NCO assistant of Lieutenant Troy Mendez, who leads a platoon through Sicily and into Italy. His platoon found themselves in a difficult situation when faced with the Winter Line. The Germans had taken up formidable defensive positions, stopping any allied advance into Rome. During a failed operation against the Line, Ben and most of his platoon were captured and held as prisoners of war. At first, Ben and Troy thought it would be better to wait out until the allies were able to break through and rescue them. After all, Ben wanted to stay alive to get home to Jane. It soon became clear that the Germans wanted to take them into Germany. Troy convinced Ben that they didn’t know what fate awaited them in the Axis interior, and chances were that Ben could be killed anyway in a labor camp and not even have a chance to see Jane again. They decided to risk it and plan an escape. At the same time, a gang of Italian locals in the underground were making a plan of their own. Aniello Spilotro, the mafia boss, hated the fascist regimes as they made hell for him, and always favored his competitor: Don Gastione. Business was bad, and Spilotro wanted his rival eliminated. When Spilotro heard that there was an allied POW camp nearby, he came up with a plan. He’d release the POWs and blackmail them into eliminating Gastione for him. One night, while Ben and Troy were planning their own escape, the mafia sent in some girls to German camp to entertain the guards and get them drunk. Once most of the guards were drunk, the mafia was able to move in and take out the remaining opposition with little resistance. They released the POWs and, at gunpoint, forced them to go back to the mafia HQ. Once they arrived at the Spilotro’s house they were treated to a grand feast. It was the best meal they had since they left America. Spilotro spelled out his conditions. His gang would provide the platoon with safe refuge and help them to escape under one condition: that they kill Don Gastione in their allied uniforms, so that his death can be blamed on the allies. If they refused, they’d be sent back the Nazis where they’d face certain death. They talked it over. While they didn’t like the idea of an underground operation in their uniforms to be blamed on the America, they had no other choice. They agreed to Spilotro’s terms. They were given tommy guns and other allied equipment the mafia stole, and went to plan the actual operation. The mafia would hide the allied soldiers in the trunks of their cars, and escort them to the outskirts of Gastione’s villa. Once Gastione was killed, the platoon would go back with the mafia, who would then work to take them back to allied territory. Eliminating Gastione was no problem for the battle hardened platoon. They lost just one man during the operation. When they returned for their ride back, they discovered that the Spilotoro’s men had left and abandoned them. Apparently, Spilotro wanted to make sure that his gang was not suspected of any involvement. Now not only did the platoon have the Nazis chasing them, but Don Gastione’s mafia too! They made their way south through the Italian countryside. They eventually made it to the Nazi side of the Winter Line. Beating up some guards and taking their uniforms, they made it over to the other side safely.
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Post by Administrator on Aug 20, 2008 8:25:54 GMT -7
How Wounds of Sand Ends By “MaxImusMan”
Ben continued to fight in the war in Sicily, and eventually took part in the D-day invasion, landing on Omaha beach. For the first time since Kasserine Pass, every member of his squad was killed but him. Teaming up with some survivors on the beach, they fought there way into a bunker which was causing heavy casualties. Ben was among the first to charge into this bunker, since he was armed with a Thompson. Ben took out a room full of Nazis, but one came from behind and shot him in the arm. His comrades continued the fight, while a medic took care of him. Unfortunately, one Nazi had managed to hide in the bunker, and killed the medic. Ben quickly pullet out his Colt 45 and killed the Nazi. Ben eventually recovered from his wound and continued to fight in the European theatre until the war in Europe ended. He returned from WWII and married Jane. They have a happy life, almost out of a fairy tale. They had two daughters, and one son who they named Scott. Ben stayed in the army and lived in Germany for a long time as part of the occupation army. Ben left the army in 1955, and they settled in Alabama where Jane had some relatives. Later on, their son Scott fought in Vietnam. His eldest daughter married Scott’s best friend who was also in the army, in the same unit that Scott was in. Disaster strikes the family when Scott gets killed in battle. As for the other couple (Ben and Jane’s daughter and Scott’s friend), they had a son of their own who they also named Scott. He eventually grew up to be a pilot for the US Air Force, taking part in Desert Storm. Before he got too old, Ben took his family on a trip to the American Cemetery in Tunis, where he visited Scott’s grave. It’s the first time he paid respects to him since Kasserine Pass. “I kept your promise” Ben said.
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Post by abominabletoaster on Aug 23, 2008 14:46:48 GMT -7
Got the email. Thanks! I do like Master Chief's story though, since it does focus on another character besides Ben.
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Post by Lord Revan on Sept 2, 2008 19:35:24 GMT -7
Not bad abominabletoaster. Congrats to you.
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Post by Sir George, Spanish Rebel on Sept 3, 2008 18:41:58 GMT -7
Props to everyone on their effort! Each story had something special.
p.s. we are very excited about our next project, and im sure you guys will, too. so stay tuned!
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