It doesn't go well at all.

“Anyone see anything?” Graeber was low as he called out. He didn’t see who was hit, but whoever it was was wailing in agony.

“No one break cover!” Heinrich crawled on all fours towards Graeber, the tall brown grass in his helmet waved frantically. “No one break cover!!”

“Sanitäter!” The man shot by a sniper screamed. “Sanitäter!!”

Bruno was somewhere near, but he hadn’t moved or said anything since the rifle cracked and their comrade was shot. Graeber looked around carefully, trying to spot where he thought he heard the sniper shoot from. Then, just as he wonders if he is correct in his assumption, one of the squad members breaks cover to help the shot man.

A quick flash pops into view from a bulge in the earth. The yelling from earlier explodes as a now second man begins wailing. A curse leaves Graeber’s mouth as he reaches Heinrich. “I saw it! I know where he is!!”

“Then get him!” Heinrich hissed. “Get him and beat the shit out of him! I’ll pull his fucking eyes out! Where is he!? WHERE IS HE?!!”

Graeber cringes when the third shot splitters the trees he’s close to. “Beneath the trees. Tucked in all the dead Earth.”

“We found him!” Heinrich announced to the others, laying low. Another shot echoed; it was the 4th bullet in a magazine of 5. “Everyone rally up to me and give suppressing fire!”

There was no response, just more wailing. “Damn it all!” Heinrich peeked but stopped before he could break his concealment. Graeber sighed, fixing his bayonet while discarding his webbing. “We’ll just have to rush him. There’s nothing else we can do.”

“Do you think the sniper has reloaded?” Heinrich was rightfully worried about getting shot. “What if they’re waiting for us to break cover next? It’s unlikely we haven’t been spotted.”

The risk was significant, but time was running out. There were two wounded and bleeding. “I’ll go up first and go right. You’ll break cover and go left.”

“I’ll go right,” Heinrich says. “There’s not a lot of cover on the right, and I’m smaller than you, so I’ll fit behind more of the rocks.”

“You’ll have to go after the sniper then,” Graeber explains. “Can you—“

“Yes, yes! I’ll kill that fucker! Give me your grenades, and let’s do this quickly.” Heinrich reaches for Graeber as they exchange the gear they still have on their person.

Graeber is still the first to break cover, and as predicted, the sniper takes a snap shot at him. The bullet cracks over his head as he breaks into a deep and prominent sprint toward the nearest rock that can cover him. Heinrich is next, but there’s no follow-up. It’s safe to assume the sniper is caught reloading. Heinrich continues to close the distance while Graeber stretches further left, hoping to get the long flank on the sniper.

The ground below Graeber vaguely throbs as the thumps from the grenades echo in the open air. He becomes aware of how fast his heart is racing and how central his mind is on the task— he ramps up his speed, leaning forward while pushing his legs to work faster. He lunges, literally jumping between spots whenever he’s leapfrogging to the next position of cover. Despite the frantic display of movement, there weren't any follow-up shots from either the sniper or Heinrich after the grenades. All that remained was crying out for help and medics.

Graeber slowed but still jogged towards the tree where the sniper was. Heinrich was nowhere to be seen, but as he got closer, he heard struggling and whispered curses being spat. When he arrived, he saw Heinrich, but helmetless and without rifle. He was on top of the sniper, **** them with his bare hands. The earth beneath them was disturbed, and a little ways were the impacts of the grenades.

“Kill him!” Graeber shouted.

“It’s a girl!” Heinrich struggled and then gasped. He fell back and held his side. “Bitch! She just stabbed me!!”

Graeber shouldered his rifle as the girl stood up. Red hair stuck out from her army cap as her eyes started wildly at him. In her hands was a knife, bloodied by her attack. “Don’t move!” His tongue butchered the language, but she remained frozen.

“Shoot her!” Heinrich held himself. “Shoot her!”

“No!” Graeber flared. “We should take her back and question her. There’s no telling what other traps she and her comrades have laid out for us to stumble over.”

Heinrich suddenly forgets the girl and gasps when he sees his hands. “Fuck! Fuck! Oh, fuck! I’m bleeding badly! Oh, fuck!”

Graeber doesn’t move his eyes from the sniper, but he does move forward. “Where’s your medical?”

“Left it!” He whimpers. “Oh, God!!”

As Graeber glances down at Heinrich, the sniper bolts away, her back turned flat against him. Graeber snaps a shot, but it misses due to her sudden zigzag. He curses and is about to give chase when Heinrich grabs his boot. “Hilf mir, Graeber!”