Ambush

Ambush

It was Sergeant who came up with the plan. “Look,” he said, “we’re going to have to be a good deal more aggressive if we’re to get out of this one. If we stick together and attack as a body, we’re bound to prevail. I’ll go first and then the rest of you follow. Just do as I do and we can’t lose.”

The squad looked unhappy with the idea, milling about and mumbling their doubts in hushed tones. Corporal spoke out above the muttering, “I dunno, Sarge, it might be better to stay hidden and hope they don’t notice us. We’re totally lost and could be far from any possibility of rescue. If we can hold out here for a while, maybe the General will get through and tell us what to do.”

“No chance of that,” answered Sergeant. “The General was put in another cell when we were captured. They deliberately separated him from us before they moved us all out and brought us to this place. No doubt they were intending to dispose of us before we managed to escape. Now they’ll be looking for us and our best chance is to take them by surprise with a concentrated attack when they appear.”

At that moment, Fuzzer, the lookout, emerged from the undergrowth. “One of them coming,” he warned. "Out in the open ground and walking this way.”

Sergeant spoke urgently to his troop. “Right, we need to act now. I’ll distract him by charging straight at him and you lot wait until I’ve engaged before you make the attack.” He gave them a fierce look before adding, “Don’t let me down. I said together and we’ll need all of you. We can win this one.”

He turned then and began to creep through the undergrowth. The troop waited a moment, looking at each other in doubt and dismay. Then Fuzzer moved to follow Sergeant and, one by one, the others accepted their fate and began the crawl towards the open ground.

When they reached the edge of the cover, Sergeant parted the foliage ahead of him and watched as the enemy moved towards their hiding place. He was unaware of their presence, seemingly preoccupied with the ground before him. The troop regarded their task with trepidation, all too aware that they had lost all previous encounters with this adversary.

But Sergeant was coiling himself like a spring, ready for the dash into the open and the attack. After a quick glance to left and right to ensure that the troop was in position, he launched himself from the undergrowth and sprinted straight towards the enemy.

To the troop’s surprise, the enemy did nothing on seeing the Sergeant charging towards him. He stood there as though frozen with surprise, moving only when Sergeant leapt to attack him. In moments they were grappling, the enemy’s greater size making it clear that Sergeant’s chances of victory were slim indeed.

Impelled by the urgency of the situation, Fuzzer and Garfield sprang from hiding and ran towards the fight. Now the others realised the wisdom of Sergeant’s insistence on their sticking together and they emerged to join the race to assist their Sergeant. In moments they had the enemy surrounded and were attacking his feet and legs.

In his surprise at the sudden attack, the enemy released his hold on Sergeant and the whole troop was able to concentrate their force on their adversary. The battle was over very quickly, the enemy retreating to the car and producing a large cardboard box, into which he placed each kitten with care and soothing words.

In the box, as the car hummed its way to salvation, Sergeant accepted the congratulations of the troop. “I told you this would work if we stayed together,” he said. “The enemy is a total sucker for cuteness and, as long as we acted with common intent, the outcome was never in doubt. Well done, comrades. This victory is just the first of many.”


Word count: 667
For The Writer’s Cramp, 06.16.22
Prompt: Kittens ambush a lone driver.