This post was inspired by today's 5-minute writing prompt in the Freewriters Community - NUT
Enjoy !
Image by Artur Pawlak from Pixabay
"How's it going down there, Bob ?"
Fred leaned out of the Challenger tank's turret, looking down at Bob on his knees in the mud struggling with a two-foot long spanner.
"Bloody nut's stuck, Fred ! What muppet thought it was a good idea to leave this piece of junk in a field for storage for twenty years, then stick it in a ship exposed to sea-spray for a month-long transit to a war zone. The nut is rusted solid and corroded by salt water."
"Well jump up and down on the spanner until it moves, dammit. We're out in the open with a thrown track. We're a sitting duck. If you can't get that tensioner working PDQ, we're gonna have to abandon ship and leg it out of here."
A call came from the other side of the tank. It was Dave, the third member of the crew.
"RPG !"
Bob and Fred swore loudly and dived for cover as the missile flew towards their tank. Fred dropped down into the turret and pulled the hatch shut after him. Bob threw himself into the deepest muddy rut he could see.
There was a massive bang, a flash, and the clang of metal breaking in all kinds of ways they weren't designed for. Something whirred through the air and buried itself in the ground six inches from Bob's head, covering him in even more mud.
After counting to ten, and wiggling his fingers and toes to see if they were all there, Bob looked around.
The tank was still there, but two front wheels were missing, completely gone, torn metal of their mountings all that remained. The side skirts were a crumpled mess a few feet away. And there, on the ground.... as Fred emerged to see what was left of his tank, Bob picked the thing up and waved it with a grin.
"Tensioner's come free, Fred ! Nut's not stuck any more... it's completely gone." he called with a sardonic laugh.