Will+Low-Beer's+Short+Story

The deafening crack that shook me from my sleep was followed by a blinding white light. My head spun on a swivel, trying to escape the burning rays that seemed to eclipse the small patch of tangled Vietnamese forest I was sitting in. Bullets that resonated like a tightly wound violin string played past my head, and into the abyss over my left shoulder. My M-16 lay at my feet, and I quickly scooped it up tucked it back in the crook of my shoulder and fired aimlessly into the lurid denseness around me. A pause, I could barely make out the sargeant as he held up a closed fist. Hold position. Now coming into focus, I could see the men around me, all of us, the members of the 22nd platoon, inhaled on the same breath, and held it, waiting for whatever lay on the other side of the embankment to make itself visible. When nothing came, the sargeant signaled to the 60mm mortar team to drop back, and then sent a small assault team up the left flank. We intended to smoke them out, but even the best laid plans rarely followed through in the Brush. One of the men in the small fire team must’ve tripped a claymore, because the 7 figures that were outlined against the stark night disappeared in an orange flash as a spray of ammo jumped out from the area just beyond our line of vision. Instinct pushed me to the ground and sat on my back as I forced my rifle up and let fly 3 short bursts. Pause, I pushed myself up from the damp ground and tore around looking for any sign of an approaching enemy. My gaze finally came to rest on sarge. An open hand, palm down, sliding forward; stay low and advance. I crept forward on all fours, careful to stay within the tree line. When we reached the south side of the bank, we held. Not a man moved an inch further than he was instructed. When sarge reached the head of the line, he cast around the lot of us, meeting eyes with everyone to ensure we were all paying attention for this next command. Suddenly his hand flew into the air, hovered, and descended forward in a single chopping motion. Push. In unison the men arose from the soggy earth, and trotted forward into the sullen obscurity that lay ahead. I pushed enormous leaves out of my way, and was in the process of shifting an unusually large one when a young face broke into my frame of vision from the other side of it. Even in the dim moonlight, the stark whites of the boy’s eyes sat back carved into his deeply tanned face. His expression mirrored my own, so much so that if a third party was to stumble upon two of us at this intersection, he would’ve sworn that we were twins. We simply stood there for a moment, shock forcing us to drink in each others presence. I began to lower the leaf again, not really thinking about what I was doing, but rather hoping that if I lifted the leaf back up in another moment the boy would not be standing there. The leaf fell back into place and then exploded as a bullet ripped through it and took a chunk of my ear with it. I fell to my knees clutching the side of my face as rifle sounds flared up all around me, like a jazz band picking up a new number. Spouts of light burst from high-up in the foliage, and I could just make out the captain’s voice amidst the gunfire, “Charlie in the trees!” The warning registered quickly for most of the unit, and the rampant fire quickly subsided to short controlled bursts, the result were deep low thuds, multiple large things hitting the ground in every direction. I pulled myself up, scrambling for my rifle which lay a few feet away. I hauled it up by it’s sling and drove forward into the thickness. The dense foliage beat against my thighs and chest as my feet dug deep into the sodden path. Fifty meters ahead I saw a break in the jungle. A clearing, sitting there like some tiny piece of heaven that had fallen from the sky into this god forsaken land, and come to rest within my reach. I covered the distance in what seemed to me to be a few hours, but in reality couldn’t have been more than a minute. The air in the clearing seemed thinner and easier to keep down. I drank it in, and then quickly turned my attention toward the rim of trees 20 meters on my left, where 4 figures had just emerged and were making toward my position. I dropped to the ground, laying prone with my rifle aimed down range. I couldn’t make out if they were friendlies or not, and the time for decision making was rapidly approaching its end. I hesitantly called out the passcode, “Th-Thunder!” The darkened figures perked up, like a pack of dogs who’ve caught the scent of game. I waited with shallow breath for the response call “Crash” and when it didn’t come I prayed it was only because they hadn’t heard me correctly. My optimism got the better of me, and I yelled out louder than before, “Thunder!” The 4 shadows picked up their pace, now having me transfixed in their path. My grip on my rifle tightened, and my right eye peered down the sights of the M-16’s barrel. Moonlight silhouetted their shapes, and for a moment they looked less like men and more like white-washed sheets bound tightly around wire thin frames. Ghosts. Within the jungle a trip flare was set off, and the light flooded out into the open clearing, revealing the hardened faces of 4 Vietnamese soldiers. Our eyes connected, our convictions abandoned us, we let loose hell upon each other. The figure to the far left caught a bullet to the head, jerked up and splayed out sideways. I felt hot wet lead enter my shoulder like lightning splitting a tree, I transferred my weight to my left side and spit out 4 more bursts that clipped another one in the leg, forcing him to one knee, and a final burst that removed his jaw from it’s frame. Another bullet found my right thigh, I couldn’t feel it. I fired out 2 more shots to empty the clip, and then I waited. The two men reached where I lay a moment later, one started to quickly utter a command to the other, his eyes never leaving mine the entire time he issued it. The man to his right, then reached down to his side, and withdrew a long thin blade which glistened with malice in the pale moonlight. He fixed his bayonet carefully but quickly and hauled it back, preparing to deliver it with deadly force. My eyes closed, and I waited. I heard the release of breath as the gun descended, and it was cut short by the wet sound of bullet meeting flesh and I felt a sharp pinch as the bayonet grazed my left side and fell to the ground. A second round followed the first and within seconds, both bodies were lying lifeless on the cold earth. “Private, Private! you okay son?” the captain questioned as I felt him appear to the right of me, quickly assessing my wounds to see if they were fatal or not. I couldn’t find the strength or words to answer him. I felt fine, but I knew that was just the adrenaline deceiving me, causing my brain to lie to my body. The captains rosy complexion appeared inches away from my face, swam out of focus, then slowly started to fade.