Closed Military Base

Jeff looked at the clock and it was still before midnight. He hated these night shifts. Lucky for him there were only three in a row. And after this series only one more before they were leave the base. It was beginning December and before January 1^st the base had to be dismantled. In the previous months all the other soldiers left the base leaving the last 10 behind. All they had to do was to make sure the contractors did their work. That’s why Jeff hated the night shift, because nobody would come at night. Everybody worked during daytime, but rules said they would be two guards at night at the main entrance. Officially they also had to walk around the fence, but that would be impossible to do with only two guards. And the base was at this point nothing more that three buildings with nothing much more than just the bricks and a roof. In one of the buildings the remaining soldiers slept, had their washing facilities and some sort of an office, consisting of a simple desk and a telephone. All the other buildings were gone by now. Nothing more that huge piles of rubble waiting to be use as a foundation somewhere.

Jeff looked at his mate Tim who was sleeping in his chair. Wherever he was he could sleep very easy, but Jeff couldn't  Maybe 5 minutes but no real sleep. Tim sat there with his legs stretched and spread and had his arms crossed. Tim and Jeff met years and years ago, when they both joined the army only a few months after each other. They were roommates for a long time, when they stayed at the academy. Here in the base all the guys slept in one large dormitory. In the next year they would go separate ways, because Jeff decided to quit the army. All the cost cutting made the army a employer with much lesser employees and not much to do. And Jeff was offered a position as private guard near his hometown. He sure would miss Tim because they have been good friends. They shared a lot of fun and were there for each other in serious conditions. With Tim sleeping Jeff could take a look at him with being embarrassed or being caught. His thin legs covered by the army pants, his arms being thin and almost hairless in the t-shirt. In general people described Tim not as hot, but when he laughed it was overwhelming. Whenever he wanted to attract a girl he just had to laugh. Jeff lost count of all the girls Tim dated. But mostly after a few weeks he lost interest so it ended quickly. Jeff has a clue that Tim knew that Jeff had a crush on him, but it didn't matter him. He even encouraged that by walking around with only his underwear on and “by accident” letting Jeff touching his body. But Jeff decided not to give in and just ignore it even it took much self control.

In the last months they had a radio on while going through the night shift, so it was easier to let the night pass. Tim woke up, stretched his arms. He made some coffee for them and they chatted for a while. Tim asked if Jeff would take a nap, but he just couldn't  So Tim continued for another nap. Jeff walked around outside their little office and stepped back inside to listen to the radio and daydream over a lot of things. Very quick the subject changed again to the guy next to him. Suddenly Tim woke Jeff up, who has fallen into sleep also. It was almost 6:30 and they supposed to be replaced by the next shift at 6:00 and nobody turned up. Tim guessed the other guys are making fun of them by letting them sitting in the guardhouse. Officially they weren’t allowed to leave the house until the next patrol was there. But Tim suggested waking the next guys up. Maybe they been drinking last night and forgot to set the alarm. Normally the early shift wakes up at 5:30 and the remaining guys around 7:00. Tim took his stuff, jacket and gun with him so hadn't to come back to pick these up. Jeff stayed on guard, thinking about the fun the other guys are making of them. But after another 30 minutes nobody showed up and Jeff started to get worried. Wonder which trap the guys have set up for him. He decided to check it out and left his position against all rules. The light in the dormitory was on, so somebody woke up, probably by Tim. He opened the door and he smelled something funny. He saw only four guys in bed, so the other ones would be in the shower or toilets. Jeff decided to make some fun himself and shout loud “WAKE UP YOU LOUSY IDIOTS”. Nobody reacted, so he walked to the first bed where Chris still slept. He pulled away the blankets and was shocked when he saw Chris there in his boxers with a few holes in his chest and the mattress colored red with blood. The right arm of Chris fell off to the right side of the bed. Jeff felt the body of Chris and it was still a little bit warm. He felt a cold shiver in his spine, thinking about the other guys. He ran to the next bed and pulled the blankets of it. There was Josef lying on his stomach naked with three holes in his back. They always laughed at Josef because he slept in the nude, but he managed to do so without showing his ass and naked front to the other guys. Jeff went to the next bed and saw Jack lying there with his eyes open. He removed the blankets and discovered also three shots nearby the heart. Jeff wondered how the killer managed to do that without anyone trying to run or a least to get up. Jack’s body was also a little warm. In the next bed was Stan, who was fully under the blankets. Maybe he tried to hide that way. When Jeff pulled away the blankets he saw Stan in his boxers. One shot in the forehead and one in the heart. At least they didn't suffer. The next bed was empty, because Georg was lying next to it on his stomach. One hole in his back which seemed a exit hole. He turned him around and saw another two shots in his heart. Jeff had no clue what happened but he had no idea if he was in trouble as being the next victim. He pulled his gun when he continued to go to the bathrooms. There were no showers running. Jeff opened the first toilet which was empty. He opened the next one and found Christopher and Timothy there. Christopher was lying in the corner of the toilet and was naked, because his underwear was on his ankles. Timothy was lying on top of him also naked. He knew what they were doing there, since there were some rumors lately about these two guys. He knew Christopher liked guys, because they had an affair a few months ago. And now his former lover died on a toilet with several bullet holes in his body. Jeff could only hope that at least one of the guys got off before their lives ended there.

Jeff walked on to the rear exit of the building with his gun drawn. Just outside of the building there was Nicky lying fully stretched. Seems like he was shot in the back while trying to run away. There was an unexpected high doorstep at the rear door. Jeff went outside and saw how Nicky was there in his white briefs. He turned him around and was surprised that Nicky was still alive. He tried to say something and Jeff put his ear against Nicky’s mouth. But then a bullet hit the open door, just above Jeff’s head. Jeff was terrified and dove back into the building staying low at the floor. He bowed over the doorstep and took Nicky’s legs to shove him inside the building. When he was half way in he heard a soft moan. Jeff realized he forgot to lift Nicky at little bit up so he hit the doorstep real hard. Jeff took him by the hips and lifted him up. But suddenly, Nicky was hit by a bullet in his back and his body responded once more before lying still. Jeff pulled Nicky completely in the building and turned him around. His beautiful body was damaged a lot. Jeff’s anger grew more and more. Now only Tim was missing. Only thinking about what happened to him was too much. His heart was beating like an idiot.

Jeff made his way through the backdoor staying low. His gun ready to fire. He went into the directory from where the last bullet came. There wasn't much daylight at that time, so he had to look very carefully. He crawled to a tree to hide again. There was a pile of rubble, where Jeff saw some movement. He couldn't see who or what it was. He walking in that direction ready to fire his gun.

Suddenly Jeff was surprised by some movement elsewhere behind him. Quickly he turned around and he fired to the person moving. It seemed a hit, because that person fell on his knees and after that fell on the ground. When Jeff approached his heart skipped a few beats, because now he saw it was Tim. He shot his best friend! He ran the last meters to him and picked him up carefully. Tim was still there, because he looked at Jeff, who couldn't speak at all. Jeff held him in his arms. When his voice returned he only kept saying how sorry he was for what he had done. Tim had tears in his eyes but still smiled a bit. The smile everybody loved. Jeff let go all the distance he kept for years and told Tim how much he loved him. He held him tight and all what Tim did was smiling. Then Jeff kissed Tim on his lips. Just when he thought that Tim answered the kiss he looked into his eyes and found them closed. Tim’s head fell backwards and it was clear he just died. Jeff could only cry and shout how much sorry he was. He carried Tim into the building. When he was at the doorstep of the backdoor he felt a bullet hitting him in the back. He dropped Tim, who landed partly on top of Nicky. Jeff also fell on his knees, but the bullet just hit him in the lower back. But there wasn't anything he wanted to do. He got up on his feet and turned around. He went standing in the door with arms and legs spread to give the killer a good view where to hit him. He stood there for several seconds before the next bullet arrived in his body. He held on, waiting for the next one. Very quick that one came and hit his heart. He fell backwards on top of Nicky and Tim. His body twitched and shook several times, before his heart stopped working. Shortly after that he died.

The killer came from his hideout and checked if the three guys were really dead by firing another bullet in each body. No reactions anymore. The killer collected all the guns and uniforms he could find before leaving the base. When the first contractors came and found the base closed they alarmed the police, who found all the dead ten soldiers later that morning. There was no clue who was behind the killings. However they found out that the sleeping soldiers were gassed before killing them. The military base was closed within 3 days.