Chapter Four- The beginning of the end
I waited for the cook to deposit the slop they called dinner onto the grubby plate. I know it was called a mess hall and all but the state of hygiene was appalling. My ma would have a fit if she saw how i was living now. I guess it could be a whole lot worse, at least its going to be when i get drafted to Vietnam. That itself had always been my worst nightmare, at first it was just stories. All those other men being drafted to Vietnam to help the south Vietnamese fight against the north's and the Vietcong. It was only when i was forced to join the army did i realize what was really going on. To sum it up in words, we had been landed into a whole heap of someone else's shit. The cook dropped a tonne of slime onto my plate and gestured for me to move along so that the other soldiers could be served. I walked away begrudgingly, eying the slop suspiciously. I'd done a whole year of medical training, i was pretty sure this food wasn't going to give us the strength we needed for combat. I sat down at the nearest table, an empty seat either side of me; for i had no friends here.
I chewed on the slop thoughtfully, trying to coerce the lumps down my esophagus. When she walked in, i choked, the lumps once again threatening to break free. I'd heard about her from the other men but this was the first i had seen of her. She was spoken of like a legend, the only woman to pass grunt school- in fact the only one allowed to even try for grunt school; and she did in it a mere week as well. Every test, that took men at least a year to prepare for, she passed within mere days. She'd come out of nowhere a few weeks back Physically she must be super-fit, i'd had also heard she was pretty too, but until now that had remained something for me to judge with my own eyes. Looking at her now, i could confirm what i had heard. Her hair was short and chocolate brown, dead straight til her chin, and then flicking outwards. It suited her heart-shaped face and her wide brown eyes. As she came closer with her own plate of slop, i noticed her pupils had a fleck of red in them; like a lone flame of fire. Her uniform stretched tight across her chest, and then hung slightly of her waist; only clinching inwards at the rounded hips. I couldn't see her behind, but i could bet that was shapely too. She smiled as she passed by me, an upward curl of her lips; some unknown thoughts clouding her eyes. I had a gut feeling that wasn't the last i'd seen of her yet.
January 26th 1968. The helicopter flew low over the jungle, obscene music playing over the radio, attempting to drown out the sounds of automated gunfire and the yells of the gunner placed on the outside of the helicopter. He sounded like he was having fun if the 'Come get some! come get some!' yells were anything to go by. I looked up and took in the surroundings i sat in. The back of a marine helicopter. The two side doors were open and two long rows of seating was here in the back. Each fitted three, and were filled with the exception of one seat. That made five of us in the squad i had been assigned to.
"Now then fellas let me introduce you to our new squad medic's, Listania and Kahler" That was our squad leader, Frank wier; more commonly known as ragman. This was the first time we were together as a squad, being drafted over to Vietnam to fight the war. It would also be the first time i saw Vietnam, i think it was the one called Harold kahler's first time too. He sat opposite me, his legs trembling from fear.
"You mean we've gotta hump it out in the woods with nothing but cherries?!" that was Bruce lesh, nicknamed junior for reasons unknown.
"Aw well, ain't that just fucking great" That was the final member of our squad, Will shafer. Nicknamed hoss; again i didn't understand the reason behind the naming, but i guess they'd been touring a lot longer than i have.
'Well of course, except kahler that is' Melanie remarked from the safety of my mind. That way the rest of them couldn't hear her. The way it used to be when i lived with the earthlings, just lots and lots of telepathic communication; if you could call both spirits being in ones head a telepathic conversation that is. Being in the cover of the army meant i couldn't show my true self, and they certainly couldn't know about Melanie either.
"I bet the woman don't even know how to use a gun"
"You wanna test that theory out?" i replied silkily, glaring at hoss.
"Now listen, Lessa's a qualified medic and kahler here ain't just some cherry straight out fresh, before joining the screaming eagles he completed a full year of med school"
"That don't mean shit sarge"
"Yeah right, that cherry's got more stone than you"
"Go fuck yourself pecker-wood" it seemed after just those few seconds, kahler had been branded with the name cherry. At least it wasn't me, although something about kahler just screamed out cherry, it suited him strangely enough.
'You gonna call him cherry too huh?'
'I guess so Mel, i gotta admit; i like the name'
"Look you two, we ain't in Alabama no more. This is here and i'm running your lives right now, do you understand me!" The two mumbled 'yes sir' and faced down at the floor. Again i watched cherry, who was trying to press his legs together so the shaking was less evident. I cant say it was working but no-one else seemed to notice it. I felt a burst of pity for him.
"Are you okay?" i asked him. He looked up from his trembling knees startled to be talken to. I could sense him questioning if i was talking to him.
"Yes cherry, i meant you"
"O-oh sorry, i-im fine miss" miss? ugh it made me feel like an earthling teacher. Of course this was earth, just a different time in a different dimension. Damn portal, the only bad thing going on here was the Vietnam war. Marissa was no-where to be sensed but i guessed fighting in the war could be fun. At least, according to Melanie, fate had brought us here for a reason. Might as well have some fun whilst we figure out what to do next.
"Please, call me lessa"
"O-oh right of course. I'm fine thank you lessa"
"Good" i smiled at him and he returned it halfheartedly. His eyes then widened as though he remembered something..or me. I wondered if i could get a glimpse of what he's thinking. Back on earth it usually happened randomly, but if i was to train it..
Aha! found it!
'I remember her now, she's that girl everyone talked about, the one i saw in the mess hall. I didn't think for one moment i would end up in the same squad as her'
'Cant say that sounds too promising lessa'
'Promising for what?' i inwardly raised my eyebrows, not entirely sure what she was getting at.
'So what? he remembers seeing me around the base, who cares'
'Never mind' i felt rather than saw her childish smile.
"All right everyone, we're approaching the base now for weapons evaluation. I want every swinging dick on station" oh? it was immature but it amused me, after all its not everyday that they had to account for a woman in their squad so i guess its easy to forget. Hoss and junior sat up straight like a rod, every pore stood to attention. The helicopter passed one more forest and then began to make its descent downwards.
"Here we are soldiers, welcome to ghost town" we stood as the helicopter touched ground and in turn jumped down to the dusty ground.
"Good luck boys, i'll see you around" the pilot saluted us and with a whir of blades, the helicopter left again. Time for some action. Ragman nodded as though he had heard my thoughts, and motioned for us to follow him through the gates of our new base.
"Alright, hoss, junior, you know what to do. They nodded and departed of in separate directions around the base. "you two"
"Mm?" we stood to attention and awaited his order.
"Your both to report to the PX office to receive your kit, they'll tell you where to go after that. I'll be going my separate way now,see you around" he saluted and left, pulling a M3A1 Grease gun SMG from his backpack and sat on the nearest box. One of many that seemingly littered the entirety of the base; from what i could see so far. I only knew my guns because of the many war games i had played back on modern earth, another reason why i liked killing people so much. It was much more fun in real life.
"Private Kahler and Listania, report to the PX office" a tanoy stated, echoing around the base. So that's how it worked in combat bases, you definitely couldn't miss it, that's for sure. This was one hell of a combat base, that's for sure. My senses were bombarded with the sounds and taste of explosions, dulled somewhat by the distasteful music playing in some of the bunkers. I guess it was all these soldiers had to hold on to the real world.
From what i could see so far, the base was comprised of many sections. There was worn out signposts, telling of where to go. A motor pool and helipad were situated somewhere in the north east of the base. The inner compound lay before us, with four small bunkers at each corner. Dotted around this were the PX office and aid station, according to the signpost nearest us; they were on the other side of the compound. I guessed somewhere the paths carved by mud and sandbags led to the bunkers and mess hall. It wasn't too different from my previous base, just more messy and dirty that's all. Oh, and actual war was going on here.
"I repeat, private Kahler and Listania, report to the PX office for your kit" the person on the other end of the speaker sounded like he was getting antsy. Time to go.
"We'd better go" cherry said nervously, shifting from foot to foot; seemingly waiting for me to move too.
"Yeah" i nodded at him reassuringly. Poor thing, he was shaking in his boots. His tall-ish statue and baby-ish face made me place him around the age of eighteen. I wasn't sure, it was just a guess.
"Your first time huh?" i asked conversationally, as we started walking around the edge of the inner compound, hearing snippets of other soldiers conversation as we went.
"Yes.. yours too?"
"Yep" he was silent again, left brooding to his thoughts.
"Hey" i placed a hand on his shoulder to still him, both of us now standing stock still; his terrified eyes questioning me. "we'll get through this. we're in this together okay?" he stopped shaking and his eyes lit up in determination and surprise.
"Your right, of course we will"
"Of course im right" i smiled impishly. we continued walking again, the PX office only a few meters away now.
"Lessa"
"Yes?" i turned my face towards him, seeing that he was staring at me.
"Thank you" huh?
"oh, it was nothing" i blushed. His own cheeks reddened a little. i still didn't understand why he was thanking me, and Mel was surprisingly silent. Her lack of opinion was astonishing.
We stepped down the wooden steps that led to the PX office, suddenly bathed in the warm glow of orange torch's; that were there to light up the damp, black wood. The wood shook as a helicopter flew over the bunker. Inside were more torch's and a spacious room with a window slide, separating the weapons from the soldiers. One guy was sat on a radio inside the room with the slider, an another stood tiredly at the window. Only one other soldier was in here with us. He stood desperately on our side of the window, engaging the server in hurried conversation.
"Well i need me some of those M60 LMG's, M16's and grenades. It's for a squad of ten"
"Well the M16's and grenades are fine but we're pretty low on M60's. We still haven't been restocked yet"
"Damn it, we gotta have those PIG's, my sarge is chewing my ass over this and we're going into some serious shit later on"
"Alright i'll check what we have in the back in a minute, but first i gotta serve these two" he told him, having spied us standing patiently in the corner of the room. We stepped forward to the window as the other soldier shrugged and stepped backwards.
"Private Kahler and Listania, reporting for duty sir" Cherry said, i was pleased to see his confidence had arisen. There was also the way he said my last name, it just seemed to roll of his lips.
"Okay, let me just go get your kit" the soldier stepped into a hidden back room and we were left to stand awkwardly with the other soldier.
"You know, you'll be lucky to get a tooth pick around here, let alone a gun" i ignored him and surveyed the room more closely. It was different to how war games portrayed it. Posters with inspirational sayings and models of women were tacked mindlessly around the room, still unable to fill the bareness of the walls. The sound of clomping boots indicated the soldier was back and looking up, his arms were filled with our kit. He dropped it down onto his desk and then handed a CAR-15 assault rifle, M1911 pistol, and frag grenades to cherry. He slung the rifle over his backpack, and carefully slotted the pistol and grenades into his back. When i was handed my kit, i did the same. The only difference was that i was an M16A1 assault rifle instead of the carbine 15 model.
"Don't you lose this kit or else you'll be standing tall before the man"
"Yes sir!" we replied in unison.
"Also, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure" i said.
"Alright, take this bottle of whiskey to the major up by the firing range, thanks" he handed me the whiskey and i slotted that in my bag too. Didn't want to be tempted to drink it after all.
"Alright then let's see what i can do about those PIG's" he informed the testy soldier and disappeared into the backroom again. We left them to it and went outside again in silence.
"Private Kahler and Listania, please report to the aid station" i looked up in annoyance.
"They sure are on the ball huh" i muttered.
"Well i guess they have to be, what with a war going on" cherry said resigned to the situation.
We set of again in the direction of the aid station, which lay on the other side of the inner compound.
"So..your a medic huh?" cherry asked. I chuckled at my own private joke.
'He's making small talk already' Melanie snickered.
'Whats that supposed to mean?' i thought angrily but Mel was silent again. Jeez she really did get on my nerves sometimes, even as bad as the earthling kids.
'Hey that was offensive'
'Good, it was supposed to be' cherry tilted his head, prompting me for an answer.
"Yes- probably the only reason i got into here" i chuckled again, knowing full well that he didn't know the meaning behind the words i just said. Only me, Mel and two others would understand that.
"Oh, right" he looked down at the floor again and continued to do so until we came up to the aid station. This time the inside was filled with grey daylight and the sounds of groaning soldiers could be heard. The first room we came into was filled with desks and beds, one medic attending to a wounded soldier on a gurney, attempting to administrate some sort of pain relief. On the other side of the room only one more soldier was visible, he was sat at a desk speaking frantically into a radio; an intense look on his face. The medic turned around, noticing us, and as his attention was diverted from his patients gaping leg wound, a bucket full of blood spurted out, drenching the floor and the air with it's coppery smell. The medic gasped and turned back, squeezing the wound with his hands, attempting to stem the blood.
"Don't just stand there! grab that dressing of the table!" i darted forward and swiped the dressing of the closest cabinet, lowering myself to the soldiers leg; and getting splattered in the face with blood, i quickly wrapped the bandage around the wound, compressing it as tight as possible with cutting the circulation of in a life-threatening way. The medic then took over, and strapped his leg up high in the air; the bleeding had now stopped. Phew. Assured his patient was safe now, he turned his attention back to us. Cherry tried not to look at the blood that covered half of the floor.
"Good work soldier, now. What are you here for?"
"We need some field dressings for our squad since we're bravo platoons new medic's" i told him.
"I see, you'll find what you need in the back room there" he said dismissively, pointing towards a stretched headboard; marking the doorway into a dingy room. We nodded our thanks and bowed down our heads in order to not hit our heads on the headboard as we made our way into the back room. Inside here were floor beds, and many soldiers were sleeping in order to ignore the pain of their wounds. Only one desk was in here and on it were a plentiful amount of field dressings. We helped ourselves to 20 between us, i hoped that we would not need more. I was still folding them into my backpack when i sensed cherry watching me. I straightened up and stared back at him.
"Whats wrong?" i asked.
"You've um, got some blood on your face" he stuttered, i think he's embarrassed for being caught staring at me.
"Oh-" i lifted my arm up to wipe it.
"Here let me" he pulled out a cloth from his pocket and gently wiped the blood of my face. Problem was it smeared. We both blushed and his face turned as red as a tomato as he had to lick his finger and trail it along the blood, making it susceptible to coming of. When he wiped it again, it came of. Whilst he did this, i took the time to really study his face. It was round, but slightly squared at the jaw. His hair wasn't very long but was thick and black as night. I wanted to touch it to see what it felt like, but i knew that would most likely scare him. His eyes however, were beautiful. They were brown like mine, but a different shade. A wondrous shade of hazel brown, his pupils wide and quivering. Overall he was quite cute. His hand was strong too but it felt soft as it brushed my face gently. I let out the breath i had been holding and forced myself to look away as he stopped.
"Thanks" i said quietly as he took his hand away.
"It was nothing" From in my head i could hear Melanie laughing quietly. I wondered what the punchline was.
"We should go" he said softly.
"Yeah, lets find the others" I was stunned as we walked outside again, the sounds of bombing and shooting were not bringing me back to reality this time. This war.. im supposed to be having fun, not getting confused by all these strange feelings i'd never felt before. Damn it Melanie, your just laughing at my expense.
It wasn't long before the others were in sight. They were all sat together, each on a separate box polishing their guns. Ragman was the only one who was into it though as junior and hoss were just going through the motions. It appeared that hoss was talking and junior was listening. As we drew closer, i started to catch what hoss was saying.
"Oh, if my old ma could see me now. My ma always used to say i was a real live wire. Used'ta sit there on the porch with her bott'le of whiskey, chuckling to herself about those words. She'd repeat em over an over, you see in those day's she was what you call a witch" it was the word witch that startled me. How could he talk so freely about such things..i thought earthlings hated them..
"People used to come to her and ask about their future, normally she just told em where to go. I wonder what she saw i'm my future.." hoss chuckled softly, gazing wistfully at the grey sky. Junior seemed unaffected by his speech and proceeded to babble on what he thought was important.
"Man i'm too short for this shit, 28 days and i'm getting the fuck out of here. Back to the good old days where i just sit with a beer in some bar, and get laid an hour after" junior also watched the sky wistfully and i followed cherry now that it seemed safe to approach. Only ragman looked up from his cleaning when we reached the boxes.
"Hey, you ready for weapons evaluation?" he asked without pausing from polishing his grease gun.
"Yes sir" we confirmed in unison. He smiled briefly.
"Alright, we'll come with you to the firing range, and please. Call me sarge"
"Yes sarge!" that certainly pulled hoss and junior from their daydream.
"Aw man, why we gotta go with them"
"Because i have ordered you to soldier, and you will do so; you understand me?!"
"..yes sarge" the three of them slid their guns away and stood up by us.
"Alright lets go"
About half an hour later the weapons evaluation was over. I had only missed one target despite the major's reassurance that i would not be able to shoot shit. Cherry did well too, i think he only missed one or two targets. At least, that's what hoss blurted out afterwards when he boasted about how he hadn't missed a single one. Junior just snorted and said the only reason for that was he sprayed so many bullets when he fired, it was impossible for one to be missed. Hoss glared and told him that if he didn't shut up, he was gonna ram his M60 so far up his ass he'd be spitting out bullets for a week. I had a feeling that maybe this would be fun after all. Watching them bicker made me have another new sense, a sense of belonging.
"VC AT THE WIRE!" the two of them stopped arguing and within seconds we were of again, this time as a whole squad, heading for the nearest bunker.
"BRAVO PLATOON TO BASE 5, I REPEAT; BRAVO PLATOON TO BASE 5" alright we got the picture seriously. We were there within mere moments and it was the first i'd seen of one of this bunkers. It was a hut with three long windows, looking out over the mesh of wire that was supposed to keep out the vc. An automated machine gun was emplaced in the middle of the front window and hoss didn't hesitate to take his place on it. Besides us, there were three other soldiers in here, each at a window. I took up position on the left, cherry the right, and junior and ragman were either side of hoss. Everyone was as close to the outside of the window as they could get, probably because they feared that due to the overcrowding of this bunker, friendly fire was most likely to occur.
It was a shootout for a period of five minutes, me and melanie getting in some good kills, mostly headshots ,as Melanie had a tendency to scream out within the depths of my mind. The crowds of vc dissipated as they retreated and i took the chance to wipe my brow with the cloth from my pocket. I realized it was the cloth from cherry when he wiped my face earlier. I'd forgotten that i'd even pocketed it. Peering at it closely, within the dark green material were two initials stitched into the fabric. These were H.K. Harold Kahler.. After a moment of thought i decided to tie it under my bangs around my head as some sort of bandana headband. Just like cherry's, and despite Melanie's protests that i fancied him, it wasn't that. I just.. felt closer to him than anyone else in the squad. Probably to do with the similar aging- not that i knew what his age was.
"Alright well done soldiers, its time to report to the gate for combat patrol" ragman ordered and off we set again, ready for our first mission.
