"I died for my country, will you?" - Unknown
Route 9 - Near the Dong Ha Defensive Line
April 5, 1972
05:22 AM
Serika walked through a dark expanse. She didn't know where she is. But she was alone. There was no sound, no light, just her.
Time passed for so long, as she simply stood there, unmoving. Putting up a brave face, she turns her head and utters a word.
"Hello?"
She looked around again.
"Anybody there? Hello?"
Nothing responded, but as she turned back to her front, there stood a corpse.
Its eyes are gone, and it's staring at her.
It was the man she met first on that fateful day, there on that first brutal day in this world. The same man that stood before her.
Brandon.
"Why did you leave me?" The man asked.
"I-I needed...b-because...you were dying, I can't do anything!"
"You left me to die! Look at me, look at what you did to me!"
"Why did you have to live while I died?"
Serika bowed down in tears.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Why her, why is she still alive? Why did she leave him, why did they leave him? Why did they leave so many dead?
Around her, more and more dead marines of the squads she fought for, surrounded her, all of them blaming her.
She simply dropped down in tears, as she closed her eyes, trying to block out the accusations thrown at her.
"I died for Uncle Sam," she hears that man again. "Will you?"
"Please make it stop! Please! Please! Please!"
BGM: For What it's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
As the darkness fades, out of nowhere, she begins hearing a calm tune.
"Serika?" She suddenly hears Jordan's voice. "Are you alright?"
"Man she definitely doesn't look alright, she's hyperventilating and shit." Jimmy's voice butts in, as she slowly opens her eyes from her slumbering state.
Looking around, she is now inside of a moving truck, evident by the moving motion she feels, and the occasional rumble of the truck when it hits something.
"I'm still here." Her face darkened as tears threatened to spill. She is still here, in this...hell. Again.
She just remembered what happened yesterday, and while she fell asleep, it almost felt like she didn't really sleep.
She then feels a hand on her shoulders.
"Hey, it's alright now...you know you look like you have seen a ghost. Are you good out there?" Jordan asked the poor teen.
She simply nodded weakly. Jordan, on the other hand, wasn't convinced but decided to just ignore it, looking around, he sees his men are now fully awake, doing whatever business they do.
On the other hand, the other three teens are still enjoying their time in their dream world. The trucks continued their drive as the convoy sped through Route 9, determined to reach the defensive line before the artillery reaches them.
"How far away are we?" Mike asks while yawning before he turned and checked Hifumi, who is still sleeping peacefully at his shoulder.
"Cute," Mike mindlessly mutters before yawning again.
"Yo man, how far are we?" He repeated.
"Should get there within ten minutes," Jimmy responded, before handing him some crackers, which Mike off course, graciously accepted.
"Thanks man."
"No problem."
Alex on the other hand simply blew some smoke.
"Goddamned commies."
"Alex, I think you should ditch the cigarette out," David suggested in front of him, all while eyeing a sleeping Koharu on his lap.
Both then stared at each other, with David simply giving him an 'Are you fucking stupid' look.
"What?"
"Dude, there's like a kid, on your lap."
Alex looked down at the pink-haired mess.
"Damn."
"See, you moron."
Alex immediately tossed his burning cigarette outside of the truck, internally punching himself for his brain-dead blunder.
"Well anyways, there's that, what now?" Alex started, hoping to change the subject from his recent blunder.
Jordan simply pinched his nose.
"We still have to deal with the girls."
"Well, they did save us, tell you what I happily volunteer to help find their way back home after that stunt they pulled out back there." Alex jovially suggested.
"Yeah, I agree with Alex here." Mike joins in.
"Well, that's nice...now moving on to the next thing, we're entering the defensive line soon, so get yourselves suited, because we may be staying here for weeks."
"Weeks? Ha! I'll give it a few days before it has to be abandoned." Alex commented pessimistically.
"Oh c'mon you're such a downer man," Mike said in annoyance.
"Just saying the truth, that's all."
"Yeah sure. I swear, with that attitude I wonder how you even fight." Mike responded.
"It's all for Uncle Sam, off course I'll fight."
"Oh yeah, you burned down that village for uncle sam?"
"You were there too asshole."
"Alright knock it off you two, you're both getting too rowdy." Jordan hissed in anger at the two.
There is literally a teen listening with them.
Serika meanwhile just stared at David, who gave her a blank expression.
"Don't even ask about it." Is all David told her.
Serika narrowed her eyes at the group, who didn't pay heed to her.
"Am I with murderers?"
"Will we finally get some rest sarge?" Alex moaned annoyingly, like a child demanding something from his parent.
"Yes."
"Finally, I think my neck is gonna break from this."
"I think my neck is in a worse state," Mike said, while gently touching his neck to check it.
"I have a question guys, it's been bugging me for days," David said seriously.
"Sure, spill."
"It's very very important...if Jesus can walk on water, can he swim on land?"
"..."
"..."
"No no he got a point," Alex turned to Mike. "But the first question is, do god and Jesus exists?"
"Course they do, I mean hell we got angels amongst us." Mike reasoned.
"Who's to say these girls ain't a CIA psyop though?" Alex asked jokingly.
"How can we be a CIA psyop? And what the hell does psyop means anyways?" Serika interjected after they were mentioned.
"Bulletproof girls, magic like shit, I tell you man, it reeks of a CIA black project," Alex added in a conspiratorial manner.
"Why put the cat ears though?" Mike asked.
"Maybe those spooks are pervy folks. Who knows what even happens in those people's minds." David theorized.
"What are you guys even talking about?"
"Silence child, the Adults are talking." Alex grinned at her.
Serika merely pouted in annoyance.
"We're getting out of topic here gentlemen," David complained. "My question was, can he swim on land?"
"Why are you guys even wondering if this whoever guy can swim at, land? That's just ridiculous!" Serika whined. As the silence continued, due to everyone still trying to formulate an answer.
"Shut, you little brat, this discussion is important and children like you won't understand it, so shh."
Serika merely frowned.
Jimmy grunted after thinking about it and failing to come up with an answer.
"This cannot be answered through the scientific method, and thus, must be ignored."
"Jimmy's got a good point." Jordan declared, determined at shutting down the nonsense. "This is a pointless discussion."
"Oh come on, these party poopers." Alex groaned.
"I was already halfway to my smartass answer. Why'd you have to ruin it?" David whined.
"My brain got worked up with that crap." Mike exhaled.
"So they were discussing nonsense?" Serika asked, she was now absolutely confused by these marines.
"I suggest you just ignore it, sometimes, commanding these marines just feels like handling schoolchildren." Jordan chuckled.
"But Sarge, schoolchildren don't get guns," Alex mentioned.
"Sure they do, at least some of them, and it ends disastrously...also we're with schoolchildren with guns, you dumbass."
Alex looked around and saw the girls holding guns, even the ones asleep. Serika smiled at him.
"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that one, hehehe." He chuckled awkwardly.
"Is schoolchildren with guns, really that weird?" Serika asked.
"Oh yes my fair lady it is!" Alex sarcastically responded. "If I had a gun back in my school days I would have probably shot 2 or 3 kids, those kids were just assholes really."
"Damn man, that's some weak ass shit, you gonna shoot children?" Mike asked in disgust. "Hope you're joking man."
"Course not, I'm just joking, like always, but people snap, sometimes, and then things happen."
Mike pondered a bit.
"Hmm...good point."
"Alright, we're here boys!" Jimmy shouted as the convoy began to stop.
"Wake them up, trip's over guys," David told them as he began shaking a sleeping Shiroko beside him.
"Hey sleepy head, wake up, we're here!" Shiroko slightly opened her eyes, then closed them.
"Fwive more minutes." She mumbled at him as she dozed off again.
"Uhh, how do you do this?" David asked, before coming up with an idea.
He began whistling at her. Like she's a dog.
"Come on wake up come on." He continued his whistling before he received a slap to the back of his head.
"What was that for?"
"She's not a dog you dense-headed buffoon." Mike mocked him, before kneeling to her seated position.
"Girl, wake up, we're here."
"I said five more minutes." She mumbled sleepily.
Mike simply sighed. "School's boutta start."
Her eyes immediately snapped open. And she immediately went into panic mode.
"School?! Oh no, what time is it? I still have to-"
"Calm down girl, there ain't no school down here at Nam, shit's at war." Mike then placed his hand on her shoulders to prevent her from panicking.
"Calm down alright, we're already at the defensive line by the way."
Serika looked around a bit, before understanding it. Mike simply left her, followed by David who simply placed his green-covered helmet as he stepped down the truck.
Serika watched the entire thing and is now questioning their chances of even getting home. She also arrived at one conclusion.
"I'm with a bunch of idiots." She thought as she followed the rest of the students, and soldiers towards the camps.
Everything about these Marines was strange. Yet, at the same time, they were human...people. Fragile and afraid, yet they're here.
She looked down at the ground, and for a second, Brandon, was there again, bleeding to death, begging for her to save him.
No.
She simply walked on to follow her group. Such memories are better ignored.
Better him, than her.
...
"Gun the crap out of them!"
"Aye sarge!" David responded in glee as he fired off his machine gun in the distance, with yellow tracers lighting up the night sky.
Besides them, the four girls helped wherever they can, taking pot shots here and there, as they held off the NVA night assault.
"Bastards are trying to return fire!" Mike cursed as NVA artillery and mortars began exploding around them.
Just as American 152's also responded with shells towards the NVA positions.
"Take that Charlie!" Alex cheered as he fired his M16 at the dark. In moments, they were already winning, as the figures began running away.
Jordan grinned.
"Orders are to keep firing to their general direction west, ahead of us, so don't stop, we have the goddamned supply for this all week long!" Jordan shouted while holding his binoculars.
"Oorah!"
A slam of a massive explosion in the night ends the scene.
...
"And he said 'We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves' and guess what? Here we are." Alex stated, before taking a drink from his canteen.
The four sat on a bench in the small trench in the defensive line, silently eating and listening.
Hifumi herself stared at a bird flying in the blue morning skies, pondering, what the bird could see up there.
Yesterday has been particularly bloody, as the NVA tried to assault them, thinking they were still disorganized and setting up defenses.
But it seemed that what they have here did well, that the four didn't even have to use their skills.
"So your leaders, they lie to you?" Shiroko asked.
"Oh yes, they lie as naturally as they breathe," Alex replied with no hesitation.
"Then why do you fight for them."
"Lie as they do, communism is still a greater threat."
"What even really is this communism thing? And why do you all fight...this hard just because of it?" Serika curiously asked.
It certainly seemed strange to them, from the bits and pieces she gets from them, it seems that they are at war because they have differing ideas.
What it is, and why they fight for it, she doesn't know.
Mike then walked into their part of their trench, with a confident stride as he just defeated people from other squads in various games, giving him some nice stacks of cash.
"Alright it's all ruined, he's gonna start bragging." Alex's head simply dropped in disappointment, while David groaned in annoyance.
"Oh come on, you guys need someone to explain capitalism and communism, and I'm here with lots of cash, why can't I do it?"
Alex snorted. "Oh c'mon McMillan, no one asked you to start explaining why you want to explain."
"Alright fair point, so crash course ladies." Mike pulled out a generous amount of cash.
"This right here is money." Mike held the green in one of his hands, while his other hand pointed at the cash.
"Listen very carefully here, now this-"
"Buys stuff." Serika deadpanned.
"Do you seriously think we have no idea how money works? For the thousandth time, we're not dumbasses." She continued in irritation.
Mike comically deflated from his blunder, on the other hand, Alex was chuckling at his expense. The four teens on the other hand also joined in the laugh at mike day.
"There you go you smartass." Alex chuckled while clapping at him.
"Alright, alright I get it, I got too cocky, I apologize guys c'mon."
"Still though, I'm interested in what exactly this communism is." Hifumi curiously said, with a bright face.
"Aight, so you know how money works right, the thing is, communists want the money to be redistributed equally to the people. Oh and also everything will be owned by the people, or something like that. Yeah, that's communism, I think." Mike ended.
"So you're saying...it wants equality?" Shiroko asked.
"Yes, exactly, but you see the problem is, this is forced equality, which is bad for freedom, and it always ends disastrously, instead of equally prospering, everyone just equally starves."
Behind them, Aaron and Nguyen passed through the trench, and saw them discussing communism.
Brooke began whistling as he walked towards Mike, who is answering questions from the girls.
"Would you look at that, brainwashing them young now are we?"
Mike snorted.
"Pfft...it's not brainwashing Aaron, it's called education."
"Whatever you say man, but hey I guess at least your doing your job for Uncle Sam. Hearts and Minds and all that, hearts and minds."
Nguyen sat in the wooden chairs, pulled out an apple, and began eating.
"Hearts and minds my ass, look at how much VC we got, I think we definitely did a very bad job at that." Nguyen mused as he relaxed his back at some of the sandbags.
"Ain't our fault the people here don't want freedom." Alex scoffed, before motioning to Nguyen for something.
Nguyen then pulls out a box of cigarettes, and tosses it into Alex's hands.
"Gonna be gone for a while." Alex passed Mike, while lighting up his cigarette.
"Aight, be careful out there mate," Mike replied.
"Roger that mom." Alex nonchalantly responded as he left.
"That fucker..." Mike simply sighed as he heard some giggling from the girl's bench.
"You Marines are really funny..." Hifumi chuckled brightly at their antics.
"Would you look at that, civvies finding us funny, that's quite new." Mike chuckled as he took a seat.
Moments passed in the group, as they did small talks, told stories to each other, and ate their rations.
Mike on the other hand cleaned his gun as time passed. The girls themselves had a very interesting story. The place they come from is Kivotos, a massive city made up of thousands of academies.
And it was ruled by these, "Student Councils" now at that point they were not having that nonsense.
Until they pulled out their smartphones and showed them high-quality videos and pictures of that city, and the people in it.
"My god, it truly is heaven!" Brooke was practically drooling as he scrolled through Serika's phone.
"Look at those ladies! It's ladies everywhere man!" A slap behind his head suddenly arrived.
"Those are fucking teenagers Aaron, TEENAGERS, and you're salivating, do I have to explain further?" Mike aggressively asked in disgust as he pulled the phone from his...degenerate hands.
"But those curves man, and where are the men over there?" Brooke whined and whined, probably because the phone was unceremoniously transferred away from his hands.
"Hmm...I must say, it basically looks like a more modernized version of...new york? I mean those skyscrapers definitely look sleekier and more futuristic...definitely a masterpiece of a city." Mike analyzed as he scrolled the pictures, mostly featuring nice shots of the city.
Serika held a smug look as she nodded.
"Yes yes indeed, Kivotos is definitely miles better than Earth."
Mike gave her a blank look as he handed back her phone.
"As much as it hurts my earthling pride to say this..." and as tears comically appeared in his eyes he continued. "It would appear that we are definitely inferior."
"Hey don't be so down," Hifumi's sweet voice spoke. "I think this place can also be just as good as Kivotos if everyone works together."
She smiled innocently. Mike died internally.
"Work together..."
Well, it would appear that such a dream is unreachable then. Truly, the tragedy of Earth.
"I feel even more depressed now..." Mike jokingly said as Hifumi began nervously laughing in response.
"Y-yeah, wait was I wrong?" Hifumi suddenly asked.
"Technically you're not-" Artillery suddenly sounded in the distance, as the sound of gunfire erupted once again, signifying that the battle has resumed.
Mike simply sighed, while Brooke and Nguyen begrudgingly picked up their rifles and helmets once again.
"Technically you're not wrong Hifumi," Mike continued as he placed his helmet on his head, turning towards the four, he continued, with the explosions from the distance being visible behind him.
Above them jets screeched and dropped their massive ordinances at unsuspecting NVA positions, turning them into rapidly made burned meat.
"Unfortunately, this war, and the wars after this, will make sure we won't be working together." He finally picked up his trusty M16 rifle.
"Well then, let's go back to our posts."
...
"Holy jeez, keep your heads down low lads!" Aaron shouted as he fired his M16 in the distance.
Besides him is Koharu, silently taking accurate shots with her rifle. But her head and body are a bit exposed to the gunfire.
To Aaron, that just looked reckless.
"Kid, didn't you hear me? Keep your goddamned head down!" He shouted again at her.
"Shut up, I'm already keeping my head down!"
"No you're not." Aaron deadpanned as he watched her take another shot, probably killing some poor sod hundreds of meters away.
"Yes I am!" She responded in irritation, just as a tracer round slammed into her neck.
It simply bounced away tho. Still, that made Aaron feel jealous. Why is this kid bulletproof while he is not? Truly, the world is a cruel place.
Her face turned red in embarrassment due to getting shot, and she resigned herself to simply sitting down with Aaron in the foxhole.
"You're one feisty girl huh?" Aaron commented as he pulled out a cracker.
Koharu's embarrassed face immediately morphed into an angry one.
"W-what do you mean by that?" She demanded in outrage.
"Hey c'mon now, chill chill, just that, you're a bit reckless I mean. That kind of things is deadly here at war." Aaron elaborated a bit, before handing her a cracker, in a comical attempt to appease her.
Koharu, oblivious to his schemes, grabbed the cracker.
"Hmm...alright, I'll let you off for now, but just so you know! I don't like pervy men!"
"Wait, where did you even get the idea that I'm a perv?" Aaron asked wide-eyed.
"Dude you were like drooling at their pictures just moments ago," Nguyen replied beside them, as another artillery shell erupts nearby.
"Pervert!" Koharu exclaimed as she moved a little bit away from Brooke on instinct.
"Must be your monkey brain going crazy from not being with the ladies for years, how long have you been on Nam anyways?" Nguyen continued.
"Hmm...about one year now," Brooke replied.
"Already a year in? Damn, and here I am, still halfway through." Nguyen said.
"That means you're going home soon?" Nguyen asked in a happy tone.
"I guess I will..." Brooke replied, smiling a bit.
"Go home?" Koharu asked.
"Oh yes, deployments here in Nam usually take about a year, then they go back home," Aaron clarified. "Unfortunately...not everyone goes back home."
Koharu understood what he meant. She merely bowed her head in sadness.
"I'm sorry...I guess some of your friends didn't get home too right?"
"Lots of our friends won't," Nguyen smiled. "I still remember Pete, he was a good guy, but I was still new back then. I thought this civilian was no VC, until he shot Pete. Suffice to say that man won't be going home."
"He's just one of the many." His smile looked even sadder.
"..."
"It's sad, but it's not your fault, that's all you gotta remember here. Bad things happen outside of our control, so don't apologize about it." Aaron added as Koharu nodded herself.
She herself still remembers all those men she tried to save, but failed.
"They won't be coming home." She sadly thought. "But as Aaron said, it's not my fault."
"So cheer up, life's a beach...alright, I guess sometimes life's a bitch, but that's just how it is, so don't dwell on it, and look at the bright side of life instead." Aaron preached as gunfire sounded all around them, making the scene's irony go to a hundred.
Nguyen chuckled.
"Didn't think you were some kind of a philosopher, at the very least we confirmed you don't just think about girl's lemons, ain't I right Koharu?"
He didn't get a response.
"Right Koharu?"
Looking back at her, she is currently red-faced.
"The hell's wrong with this lass? Is she thinking we're about to do something nasty to her? Is that why she's so scared of LT? Daamn girl. And I thought my paranoia was bad."
"Y-you guys talk too much about pervy things...I'm leaving." She declared, before standing up, and exiting our combat post.
"Civvie moment," Nguyen remarked.
"Yep, civvie moment." Brooke agreed as he picked up his M16 to rejoin the fight.
...
Boom!
Shiroko flinched a bit as another tank near their foxholes fired its main gun towards the other side of the river.
She is currently using a binocular, examining the enemy positions on the other side, and trying to see any anomalies that may help them get home.
Instead, all she sees is both sides of the river occasionally erupting as they exchanged gunfire, mortars, and cannon fire in the dark of the night.
"Serika, can you see that?" Shiroko asks the catgirl behind her, who is simply sipping from her water bottle.
"See what?" Serika asks curiously, as she places her bottle down, before moving near Shiroko.
This gains the attention of Mike, who is currently writing things in his diary. Closing it, he moves towards Shiroko and Serika's position.
"T-that thing!" Shiroko exclaims as she watches a faint blue light thing in the middle of the river. It almost looked like a rip on reality.
Serika's eyes widened as she also sees it.
"The what?" Asked a confused Mike, as he pulled out his binoculars as well, and check out the river.
"There's nothing over there though..."
"Are you adults blind?!" Serika exclaims as the blue ripple of whatever began disappearing.
"Over there!" She pointed in the direction of the whatever, to which Mike responds by turning towards it, only to see nothing.
Shiroko on the other hand simply felt down. Whatever it is, it's gone now. But it also gave her some faint hope, at the very least they may have a chance of getting back home.
Moments passed as Mike looked around the river, desperately trying to see whatever caught their attention, only to find nothing.
Mike places down his binoculars while groaning.
"There's literally nothing over there!" He complained in an irritated manner, he literally spent more than 30 seconds looking around for nothing.
"Yeah because you adults are blind!" What? That has to be bullshit.
"Can you stop shouting at me you child !" Mike immediately resorts to childish insults in response.
"We're literally on a battlefield, how are we supposed to hear each other if we don't shout!" And to punctuate her point, a large explosion occurs in the river's water.
"Dumb Adults!" She finished smugly.
"Alright goddamit, I concede! But still didn't see anything, Shiroko what the hell even is it?"
"I don't know how to describe it, but it looked like a ripple in reality or something..." Shiroko replied as she too placed her binoculars down.
Moments passed in silence as her words sank down in the trio. Well not really in silence, as a staccato of gunfire and explosions still engulfed the night, but whatever.
"That's just bullshit, it's impossible that I didn't see it, my eyes are like perfect."
"No, it's obviously not." Serika retorts prettily.
Mike simply sighed.
"Alright fine, if you guys say it happened, I'll trust you." Mike declared as he watched the NVA positions open fire on another USMC position again.
At the very least, the enemies doesn't seem to be interested in firing at them, so that's nice.
Shiroko on the other hand looked to Mike after he declared that. What he just said, seemed strange.
"You guys just met us though...you trust us that much already?" She asked curiously.
"Well, considering how many times you girls saved our skins, trusting your eyesight is the least we could do," Mike replied honestly, before sitting down.
Pulling out his pen, he continued writing in his diary.
Shiroko herself also sat down, done at looking around the river of blood for hours, while Serika simply pulled out her phone and earphones, and drifted to paradise.
Minutes passed between the three, without anything really happening, outside of the occasional battlefield sounds, it almost felt like they were just camping in the woods.
"So what will you do once all of this is over?" Shiroko suddenly asked out of nowhere, as Mike flipped through the pages of his library.
"Hmm...Me? Well, I want to start my own store." Is all Mike said. And what? A store? Shiroko internally chuckled at that, as she remembered the stores in Kivotos.
It seemed funny to her, a friendly store owner, who is also a former soldier.
"Interesting..." Shiroko comments, while involuntarily smiling.
"I also want to meet my family again, especially my cute little sister," Mike added with a nostalgic face.
Shiroko's face on the other hand turned into one of 'I'm interested, continue!'.
"She's currently at your age by now by the way, and she's probably doing school stuff right now...ugh, I kinda miss her coming to my room to ask about school stuff. Oh, the memories."
"Aww...that's cute." Shiroko imagined herself going to an imaginary big brother to ask him about school stuff. The thought seems...nice.
"Yep, I still remember her bawling her eyes out when I had to go to war. Had to promise to her that I'll return back home." Mike continued.
"And are you going to fulfill that promise?" Shiroko asked.
"Oh yes, absolutely, I'll do my best to fulfill it. I mean if I don't, that brat will go atomic to my parents, a-and everyone...jeez, you know girls are scary I'll tell you that." Mike's face cringed as he imagined such a scenario.
"But yeah, I would try my best." He muttered quietly.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Mike asked, as he realized that Shiroko was staring at him, no not romantically, she was staring at him, with pity.
"You know...you had so much close calls with death ever since we met." Shiroko explained.
"You're not doing a good job of keeping that promise." She chastised him.
Mike sighed, as he scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah I guess, well, it is what it is and all that." Mike looked down at his rifle with an empty expression, before pulling out a small picture, and looking at it.
It is a girl in her 15s, with blonde hair and brown eyes.
"I just wish I can go home you know...maybe see them, one more time." He chuckled awkwardly.
"That's your sister?" Shiroko asked. "She looks nice."
"Yep, she does look nice," Mike replied, before pulling out a small book.
"Make sure to be careful then, it would be a shame if her big brother doesn't come home," Shiroko told him seriously.
"Yeah yeah, whatever, let's stop this depression session, I'm gonna read this shit, and you do you." Mike yammered in response, before climbing on a hammock he prepared in their foxhole, and lying down.
...
Hifumi silently watched the silent frontline from her protected position. There wasn't really much to be done now, besides wait.
Apparently, yesterday Serika and Shoriko found an anomaly in the so-called "Thach Han River", which may help them at finally getting home.
Unfortunately, whatever it is, it already disappeared.
Her face, unlike back then, which almost always had a bright cheerful smile, was replaced by a blank expression, as she mindlessly observed the place she found herself in.
She looked at two birds flying in the distance. She has always wondered what those birds could see down here.
What was it like to see a battlefield filled with dead corpses from above?
Is it just as horrifying and scary from here?
It most likely is.
She hugs her Peroro bag tighter, as she exhaled.
Only to feel a hand touch to touch her shoulder.
"Are you alright? You look depressing over there." He heard Mike's voice beside her.
Turning to her right, she sees him again, wearing his signature helmet, which he always almost didn't strap.
"Good Morning Mike." Her cheerful face returned. "I'm quite alright...how about you?"
"Me?" Mike chuckled. "I had four hours of sleep, even with artillery everywhere, you could say, I'm probably having my best day already!"
Hifumi chuckled awkwardly too.
"Y-yeah, that seems like a...like good news!" She congratulated.
Internally, Mike died.
"Look at how sad this is, I'm being congratulated by a teenage angel for having 4 hours of sleep. Thanks Uncle Sam, you really rock!"
"Well, also, the front seems silent, so I guess it's all fine for now." Mike continued, as he placed his rifle in a safe, clean place he found beside him.
Yeah, this is probably why he has to keep cleaning his gun.
"I wish it'd stay like this," Hifumi muttered as she looked around.
"It won't," Mike informed her. "Sooner or later, both armies will be on the move, this static fight you're seeing, this is all temporary."
"Later on, it will be so bad, we won't even know where the frontline is." He continued.
"How is this war even fought anyways?" Hifumi asked.
"Chaos, it's organized chaos, enemies are everywhere, troops and units will be on the constant move. I bet the Viet Cong is now behind us, and when they strike alongside the NVA."
"It will be a disaster." Hifumi ended.
"Damn this war, really. And I hate how you kids get caught in between of it." Mike cursed, as he remembered all those dead civilians he saw in the war.
Some of them even died from his own gun.
"How long have you been in this place anyways, Mike?" Hifumi asked as she stared off in the distance.
"It has been more than 11 months already. By the 20th, I'd be here for a full year. And perhaps I could go home after that." Mike answered.
"Wait, that's just a few days away, that means, you're going home soon." Hifumi cheerfully said.
"Yeah, it's only a few days left...well good luck to me I guess."
"Good luck to us! That's how it should be, I hope everyone goes home safely." Hifumi beamed. At this point Mike is already wondering how someone can be this...cheerful and positive.
"It's cute though."
"But seriously, I want everyone to go home safely. It's just, death is scary. No one here should die." Hifumi mumbled.
"Last days, I saw these soldiers-"
"Marines."
"Right, Marines, and some of them died...like before we could help them. And they were just, they were scared, and they were screaming about their loved ones." She continued.
"I don't want that to happen to my fellow students...I-I don't want it to happen to any of you!"
Mike stayed silent. She turned to face him.
"You...you're a good person." Mike's brain immediately retorted internally with one word.
Bullshit.
"I don't want you to die...will you promise to me, to stay safe and not die...that we will all get out of here safely?" She asked.
Mike was taken aback by the sudden demand.
" That's delusional." Mike thought, does she not understand it?
Everyone can die. Anytime. They have absolutely no control over fate here on the battlefield.
Anytime, a stray bullet can hit them.
Anytime, an artillery shell can hit them.
Anytime a VC can appear out of nowhere and shoot them all to bits.
Its war.
There's death...there will be deaths. They can't control it. Their all nothing but pawns that are on the edge of death all the time.
How can he even give her such a promise?
How did he even give his sister and family such a promise?
"Can you please promise it?" Hifumi asked as tears leaked in her eyes. She's afraid, Mike noted.
She's afraid of being in this uncertain and dangerous environment.
She wants to cling to something, even if it's just an empty promise.
As long as it kept all those nightmares away, even if it's just an illusion of safety.
Mike pulled out a handkerchief that he kept in his pocket. How he still has one, well who the hell knows, but he has one, and he's using it.
Motioning to her, he gently removes the tears in her eyes, while Hifumi stayed silent.
Once he's done, he opens her palm, and gives her his handkerchief.
"Here...alright I promise." He began.
"I promise that I'll do my best to ensure that you, and everyone will stay safe, and will be fine."
"I promise that I will do my best, to ensure that everyone, including me, will be going home safely."
"I promise that I will do my best, so that there will be a good ending...alright? Is that good?"
Hifumi nodded, before she smiled.
"Thank you so much...I appreciate it, Mike, I really do." She finally brightened up.
"A complete 180, how?" Mike simply smiled at her peculiar behavior.
"Well, I also promise that I'll do my best, for a good ending!" She declared. "No matter how cruel this place is, everyone will go home safely!"
"That's the spirit girl." Mike clapped enthusiastically in response.
The scene ends with both smiling at each other, hopeful for a good ending.
April 9, 1972
Pedro Fire Support Base - South of Dong Ha
06:24 AM
BOOM!
The loud main cannon of an M48 Patton opened fire, as a spotted T-54 exploded hundreds of meters away.
Down south in the massive Fire Support base, the battle rages differently.
Unlike in the flat northern areas in the Route 9, where the NVA and the USMC fought in static lines, here the situation looked more like how the other battles in Vietnam occurred.
Being deep in the forests, both sides are thus forced to fight on flexible, almost non-existent frontlines, with units being all around the battlefield.
Close-quarters combat is also more common, as NVA forces practically hugged their American and South Vietnamese counterparts by exploiting the dense forests, and getting as close as possible.
Squads thus engaged in sporadic firefights, with the occasional tanks here and there supporting them.
In the structures of FSB Pedro, US troops operated heavy artillery and mortars, firing to close by enemy units, while infantry garrisoned themselves inside of the buildings, firing their machine guns and rifles at NVA and VC troops they see.
All around the battlefield, tank formations come and go, as US Pattons dueled NVA T-54's attempting to be a battering ram towards the base.
As the hours passed by, the combat didn't stop, the NVA currently has the absolute initiative, and is thus keeping the tempo and pace of the battle at an optimal level, ensuring that they give high pressure on the USMC and ARVN defenders.
This also has a second use, the NVA originally planned to make the ARVN withdraw than fight, unfortunately, the American intervention caused failed encirclements and assaults.
As such, a change of plans has been devised. The south will be hit hard, and demoralized. Then they take the road connecting Quang Tri and Dong Ha. Once that happens, the USMC and the ARVN will collapse.
Only time will tell if such a plan, will work.
And if it works...the forces in the north of Quang Tri.
Will be doomed.