One Soldier

I walked along the path, pausing a moment to wipe away the sweat that was starting to drip into my eyes and blur my vision. I could hear the heavy breathing from the other seven men on the Tiger-team.

The crunching of the other men's feet on the ground were a little too close for my own comfort, so I tried to speed up a little. The footsteps behind me sped up as well, until one of the new ones was right behind me.

"Look, either fucking let me walk ahead or get back," I told him in an irritated tone. "They're more likely to shoot as us if we're clustered than if we're far apart."

The man-- more like a boy, really-- who was behind me dropped back a few paces, though he didn't say anything. Some of the others did, though.

"Hey, you're gonna take orders from him? Not as if he's the fucking lieutenant or some other shit, just another lowly one of us. He doesn't rule this place."

"You fuck, if you want to get killed, that's your business," I snapped at him. "But just don't take me with you."

"We're all going to die in this fucking war anyway. Just a matter of when."

He was sneering, but I knew that if I looked back I'd see hopelessness in his eyes. A bit of it was in his voice.

"Shut up." I didn't look back. "If you want to survive this long, then spread out. I've been here a year, I know that I'm talkin' about."

The rest of the way where we were going, it was pretty quiet. I guess all of us were pretty nervous about the ambush. Even after all this time, it didn't get any easier.

It was dark when we got there. "Alright, guys, we're splitting up. Four groups, keep together and watch each other's backs."

One of the new guys stared. "But it's fucking nighttime! We have to go with one other person?"

Nobody said anything as we split up. Walking through the enemy camp, at night, I was scared shitless, and unless someone was insane the rest were too. I grasped my rifle so tightly that my fingers began to lose circulation as I crept along in front of my partner.

I heard the sound of a gun going off before I saw anything. I spun around as I tried to figure out where it was coming from. My eyes fell on my partner, Yen. He was clutching his side, where I could see blood coming out. I rushed over to try and help him, when I heard firing again, close. I stood up, trying to find out where it was coming from, and jogged out a few yards

I heard a gasping from behind me. "Please," I heard Yen gasp in a broken voice. "Please, don't leave, just say here, please!"

I went over and knelt beside him. "I'll come back, I promise." With that I got up again and tried to find where the shooting was coming from. I didn't see anybody--

Suddenly I saw a head dart out of the ground with a gun. Staring, I realized that they must have some sort of trenches dug... In the middle of a village? I wondered. Hesitating a moment, I went over to the hole. Seeing the commanding officer, I ran over to him.

"They have some sort of underground tunnel system," I told him breathlessly.

"Yes, I noticed," the lieutenant said tiredly. "Listen carefully; we need to flush the bastards out. Get in there and make 'em come out. Or kill them."

I held my breath, nodding. I'd have to crawl, so my rifle would do no good. I made sure that my shotgun was accessible, and went over to the hole. By now there were the sounds of guns going off left and right. There were probably men-- the enemy-- right inside this hole. One? Two? Ten? I didn't know, though I would in a moment. Could I survive?

I watched as one of the Vietcong fell to the ground, injured. None of the people even on his own side seemed to care at all. They'd abandon their own in a second, so I knew that they'd spare no pity or mercy with me.

With the knowledge that I might not survive, I descended into the tunnels.