Story of the Week

David Arnold, a finalist in the Narrative 2015 Winter Contest, holds a doctorate in higher education and is the author of numerous scholarly and professional articles. During the Cold War, he served as an army officer in the United States and in Europe. He is also an award-winning cartoonist, and one of his children’s stories was anthologized in the collection Highlights for Children. He lives in the bluegrass country of Kentucky with his wife.

Freie Gruppe

A Story

by David Arnold

The dug-out cavern is low and oppressively dim. Water drips from foam-stone walls and gathers in vehicle tracks on the crumbling floor. The platoon has been here too long. Staying in one place is a bad idea. There is no certainty that the cavern is safe. It has been here too long too. Their huge wheel trains loom around them in the darkness. Only four cargo carriers are left. The darkness is broken only by the work lights around A-3’s open engine hatch and by the light spilling out of the platoon’s unauthorized command vehicle. It is an old Serbian BDRM that they call the Winnie. A maintenance sergeant stole it from a cannibalization point. Nobody can remember his name. They should have been moved a week ago.

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