From where we left off.
"That's because, we haven't encountered a problem where the things I have experienced could aid as a solution." Peter said through his teeth, glaring at 2. He looked back at the group and took a deep breath. "That's fine 1, if you don't want to share with us right away. I think before we were working with 2, 3 was going to tell us about the day her boyfriend found out she was pregnant."
A petite blonde haired girl sat shocked in her chair.
"You can't just jump on another person like that and demand to hear their story." I said. "The only way your gonna earn my trust and become simpatico again with 2 over there, is if you tell us something about yourself." The room fell silent and stayed like that, with everyone looking around but no one looking at each other for a few minutes. I didn't really have any right to go off on Peter like that, having just joined the group but he didn't have the right to just demand to hear my story either.
"It was my first day in 'Nam." He started. "After the morning briefing, I ran into a couple of guys who were going out with us the next morning to investigate some villages tucked back in the jungle. The two guys I was with, had been out once before and weren't too happy about going back out. They told me some gruesome stories while we smoked hashish behind the barracks that terrified me. I had heard about guys being killed over there but never like what Johnny told me. He said the last time he was out, his platoon came under attack out in the middle of nowhere. They just came out of the trees and started shooting and killing. There were so many of them he didn't know what to do, so he said he shot anything that moved. When it was all over, he had killed eight of them, shooting one of them in the head. Eleven from his platoon died.
We were headed for the mess hall in the middle of camp, after smoking a bit more, when a rocket came screaming out of the jungle. Johnny grabbed me and we all dropped to the ground. I pulled my helmet down tight and watched as the rocket ripped through camp, into the chest of a young medic. he exploded on impact with a deafening blast and was blown into a red mist that rained down around the crater in the middle of camp. It was crazy...I couldn't take it. You had to be on your toes all the time because it could be over in a second. They were everywhere.
"That's horrible." The petite blonde said as Peter just nodded.
"But it doesn’t explain why your here." I wanted answers, not a scary story. I had enough of my own.
"Well, it explains part of it." Peter said. "I was only twenty years old. It messes with your head to watch someone explode like that, right in front of you."
"I'm sure it does but that medic being blown in to millions of pieces isn't why you're here today. You said everyone here's killed someone, who did you kill?"
Peter sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I've killed lots of people 1, I've killed more than anyone should have to."
"Who was the first?" I asked.
"I can't remember."
"What do you mean you can't."
"I said I can't remember." Peter said, clenching his jaw.
"I would think you wouldn't be able to forget the first person you killed. That's a big event for a man who has gone on to kill more than anyone should have to, don't you agree 2?"
2 just sat there with a stunned look on his face.
"What about you 1?" Peter asked. "Who was your first?"
"I only killed one man." I said, stone faced. "And your medic story isn't enough for me to give up who he was.
Peter looked at me with a scowl on his face.
" I killed for the first time, the day after the medic died, my first day in the jungle. It was a steamy afternoon. Our clothes stuck to us as we hacked our way down the overgrown path to the village. The jungle was thick and we moved slowly. A few scouts were up ahead, cutting, trying to make the way a little easier. I was towards the back of the troop with the radio and Johnny, the guy I had met earlier, was covering for me. We had just made our way through a waist deep swamp when the scouts ahead of us stopped. One of them threw up his hand and we all froze. You could hear a chorus of metallic clicks, as guys readied their guns. I gripped my rifle tight and stared off in to a wall of green. Anxious, I bit down on the inside of my cheek as hard as I could. Finally someone up ahead signaled to move on.
I slowly took a few steps forward and was knocked back on my ass by a blast off to the left of me. Johnny yelled it was a trap. An explosive tied to a wire stretched between trees, so when someone trips the wire, it explodes. Four or five guys were blown apart, their arms and legs were sent flying sky high. The jungle erupted in gunfire. I heard men screaming all around. Johnny was crouched next to me, laying down heavy fire while I frantically tried to get someone on the line to let them know we were under attack. I couldn't get a hold of anyone as bullets whizzed by us. Explosions went off left and right, blasting pieces of bloody jungle everywhere. Johnny kept on shooting and round after round all I could get was static.
"You better get someone on that man, we're getting slaughtered out here!"
"I'm trying." I yelled back. "It's all static!"
"Make it work." Johnny said changing his clip.
I went back to screaming in to the receiver as Johnny stood up and threw two grenades deep in to the jungle. Just then, he screamed and fell back on to the ground in front of me. Several holes in his chest squirted blood as he took a few deep breaths, then nothing."
Peter had a distant look in his eyes as he continued. "I threw the radio on my back and crawled over to him and grabbed his pistol and tags. Shots cut through the jungle hitting a tree next to me, splintering it. I turned long enough to see him coming through the tall grass, then I dropped down. He looked like a ghost running through the chest high grass in grey soiled rags. His helmet covered in netting and branches bounced up and down, revealing glimpses of his screaming face, covered in blood and mud. I popped back up on one knee. His machine gun was pointed at me, the bayonet shined as the sun lit in through the trees. I squeezed three off in to the brush and watched him fall, face first a few feet in front of me. I dropped back down as more shots flew past, grabbed a new clip for Johnny's pistol and took off for the guy I shot. I only got about five feet before my right leg gave out and I fell to the ground. There was a searing pain in my right thigh and I looked down to see blood running out of a four inch gash in my leg. Crouched in the grass a few feet in front of me was the man I shot, bleeding from his shoulder. He jumped on top of me with his bayonet, I rolled and pushed him off to the right. I grabbed my knife out of my boot and lunged forward, slamming it in to his gut. He screamed as I slammed the butt of my rifle against his head, splitting his brow and cheek wide open. Blood ran over his nose and down his chin. I slammed it down again and felt the bones in his face cracking, breaking vibrating up the gun. I smashed it into him three more times, splattering his blood all over my thighs. I grabbed my knife out of his stomach and looked down at his bloody, busted up face. His knife raised up off the ground a bit, shining in the light, I grabbed Johnny's pistol from my side and unloaded the whole clip in to his chest. He laid motionless. Smoke curled out of the barrel of the pistol like off the end of a cigarette. A bullet grazed my arm, barely breaking the skin. I looked up and saw another one running out of the jungle like the first. I shouldered my rifle and let the bead fall on his neck. I pulled the trigger. A cloud of red mist haloed his head as he fell forward, dead before he hit the ground.
A petite blonde haired girl sat shocked in her chair.
"You can't just jump on another person like that and demand to hear their story." I said. "The only way your gonna earn my trust and become simpatico again with 2 over there, is if you tell us something about yourself." The room fell silent and stayed like that, with everyone looking around but no one looking at each other for a few minutes. I didn't really have any right to go off on Peter like that, having just joined the group but he didn't have the right to just demand to hear my story either.
"It was my first day in 'Nam." He started. "After the morning briefing, I ran into a couple of guys who were going out with us the next morning to investigate some villages tucked back in the jungle. The two guys I was with, had been out once before and weren't too happy about going back out. They told me some gruesome stories while we smoked hashish behind the barracks that terrified me. I had heard about guys being killed over there but never like what Johnny told me. He said the last time he was out, his platoon came under attack out in the middle of nowhere. They just came out of the trees and started shooting and killing. There were so many of them he didn't know what to do, so he said he shot anything that moved. When it was all over, he had killed eight of them, shooting one of them in the head. Eleven from his platoon died.
We were headed for the mess hall in the middle of camp, after smoking a bit more, when a rocket came screaming out of the jungle. Johnny grabbed me and we all dropped to the ground. I pulled my helmet down tight and watched as the rocket ripped through camp, into the chest of a young medic. he exploded on impact with a deafening blast and was blown into a red mist that rained down around the crater in the middle of camp. It was crazy...I couldn't take it. You had to be on your toes all the time because it could be over in a second. They were everywhere.
"That's horrible." The petite blonde said as Peter just nodded.
"But it doesn’t explain why your here." I wanted answers, not a scary story. I had enough of my own.
"Well, it explains part of it." Peter said. "I was only twenty years old. It messes with your head to watch someone explode like that, right in front of you."
"I'm sure it does but that medic being blown in to millions of pieces isn't why you're here today. You said everyone here's killed someone, who did you kill?"
Peter sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I've killed lots of people 1, I've killed more than anyone should have to."
"Who was the first?" I asked.
"I can't remember."
"What do you mean you can't."
"I said I can't remember." Peter said, clenching his jaw.
"I would think you wouldn't be able to forget the first person you killed. That's a big event for a man who has gone on to kill more than anyone should have to, don't you agree 2?"
2 just sat there with a stunned look on his face.
"What about you 1?" Peter asked. "Who was your first?"
"I only killed one man." I said, stone faced. "And your medic story isn't enough for me to give up who he was.
Peter looked at me with a scowl on his face.
" I killed for the first time, the day after the medic died, my first day in the jungle. It was a steamy afternoon. Our clothes stuck to us as we hacked our way down the overgrown path to the village. The jungle was thick and we moved slowly. A few scouts were up ahead, cutting, trying to make the way a little easier. I was towards the back of the troop with the radio and Johnny, the guy I had met earlier, was covering for me. We had just made our way through a waist deep swamp when the scouts ahead of us stopped. One of them threw up his hand and we all froze. You could hear a chorus of metallic clicks, as guys readied their guns. I gripped my rifle tight and stared off in to a wall of green. Anxious, I bit down on the inside of my cheek as hard as I could. Finally someone up ahead signaled to move on.
I slowly took a few steps forward and was knocked back on my ass by a blast off to the left of me. Johnny yelled it was a trap. An explosive tied to a wire stretched between trees, so when someone trips the wire, it explodes. Four or five guys were blown apart, their arms and legs were sent flying sky high. The jungle erupted in gunfire. I heard men screaming all around. Johnny was crouched next to me, laying down heavy fire while I frantically tried to get someone on the line to let them know we were under attack. I couldn't get a hold of anyone as bullets whizzed by us. Explosions went off left and right, blasting pieces of bloody jungle everywhere. Johnny kept on shooting and round after round all I could get was static.
"You better get someone on that man, we're getting slaughtered out here!"
"I'm trying." I yelled back. "It's all static!"
"Make it work." Johnny said changing his clip.
I went back to screaming in to the receiver as Johnny stood up and threw two grenades deep in to the jungle. Just then, he screamed and fell back on to the ground in front of me. Several holes in his chest squirted blood as he took a few deep breaths, then nothing."
Peter had a distant look in his eyes as he continued. "I threw the radio on my back and crawled over to him and grabbed his pistol and tags. Shots cut through the jungle hitting a tree next to me, splintering it. I turned long enough to see him coming through the tall grass, then I dropped down. He looked like a ghost running through the chest high grass in grey soiled rags. His helmet covered in netting and branches bounced up and down, revealing glimpses of his screaming face, covered in blood and mud. I popped back up on one knee. His machine gun was pointed at me, the bayonet shined as the sun lit in through the trees. I squeezed three off in to the brush and watched him fall, face first a few feet in front of me. I dropped back down as more shots flew past, grabbed a new clip for Johnny's pistol and took off for the guy I shot. I only got about five feet before my right leg gave out and I fell to the ground. There was a searing pain in my right thigh and I looked down to see blood running out of a four inch gash in my leg. Crouched in the grass a few feet in front of me was the man I shot, bleeding from his shoulder. He jumped on top of me with his bayonet, I rolled and pushed him off to the right. I grabbed my knife out of my boot and lunged forward, slamming it in to his gut. He screamed as I slammed the butt of my rifle against his head, splitting his brow and cheek wide open. Blood ran over his nose and down his chin. I slammed it down again and felt the bones in his face cracking, breaking vibrating up the gun. I smashed it into him three more times, splattering his blood all over my thighs. I grabbed my knife out of his stomach and looked down at his bloody, busted up face. His knife raised up off the ground a bit, shining in the light, I grabbed Johnny's pistol from my side and unloaded the whole clip in to his chest. He laid motionless. Smoke curled out of the barrel of the pistol like off the end of a cigarette. A bullet grazed my arm, barely breaking the skin. I looked up and saw another one running out of the jungle like the first. I shouldered my rifle and let the bead fall on his neck. I pulled the trigger. A cloud of red mist haloed his head as he fell forward, dead before he hit the ground.