Anywhere in this place there could be enemy soldiers, ready to shoot someone down. There was no way to prepare for the shock, and once a sniper caught someone, they were not coming back up. Those snipers knew how to aim. However, it was amazingly hard to believe that you could die in this beautiful place.
The jeep bumped along the rough dirt road at a calm pace. The driver was a little fellow, quite young, too. He wore his green army uniform, thickish glasses over his curious little eyes, and his nervous little hands managed to drive the army vehicle to safe ground all the time. Two young women sat in the back of the jeep, one blonde, one brunette, and each as anxious as the other. However, the blonde seemed a little less inclined to show her curiosity and excitement than the other.
The tight lips, clasped hands, straight back and hair tight in a bun gave the blonde an aura of intimidation, and most definitely denoted her as one you just could not mess with. She faced the road ahead with her stern look, as if daring it to go on any longer. In all truth, her patience was running out. In one way it was comical to see this woman seated beside a much younger woman, whose hair was tied loosely behind her, and floated about in the soft breeze. She leant on the side of the jeep, staring out at the views as if she'd never seen grass before. Her bright grey eyes soaked up the atmosphere around her. She didn't even seem to notice that she sat next to such a stern looking creature.
The brunette let out a gasp at the sight of a sign, on which was written;
MASH 4077"We're here!" She announced, her eyes widening.
The young boy in front chuckled at this. It appeared that the cheery disposition of the brunette outweighed the foreboding one that came from the blonde. The blue eyes of the latter slid sideways in a contemptuous glance at the younger woman.
The tiniest little bird flew in front of the wheels as the younger boy pulled the green jeep to a halt. Smiling to herself, the brunette picked up her trunks and stumbled out of the jeep. Behind her, the blonde delicately lifted her luggage over her knees and placed it into the hands of the waiting Corporal, and then stood up, and placed one foot behind the other, carefully lifting herself out of the jeep.
With a signal from the young boy, the two women followed him through a few sets of doors, the corporal following along with the blonde woman's bags. They arrived in a little office, where an older man sat behind a desk piled with papers and other random things, including a little name plate, which entitled him as Lt. Colonel Henry Blake. He looked up at their entrance.
"Sir," the boy began, "Captain Henderson and Major Houlihan ..."
As the older man stood, the blonde stepped forward, her hand automatically flying to her forehead with the salute. The man returned the gesture with a bored expression, and the brunette, looking slightly unsettled for not knowing this, made up for it, though belatedly.
Then the younger boy handed the files to the Colonel.
"All right," Colonel Blake said. "Corporal," he addressed the man with the Major's bags. "Take those and put them in Major Houlihan's tent, please."
The Corporal nodded and ducked out. Only then did the Colonel notice the bags of the Captain sitting on the floor in front of her.
"Oh," he groaned. "Corporal," this time he addressed the young boy. "Will you –"
"No, no, it's fine, sir!" Captain Henderson interrupted.
The three of them stared at her.
"I can take them myself, sir, if it's all right ..." she was beginning to feel a little more panicky now.
Henry nodded, and opened up one of the files.
"Captain Kate Henderson ..." he said aloud, but read the rest quietly, nodding to himself. "Very well," he finished, putting the report down. "Radar?"
The little Corporal looked at him expectantly.
"Would you take Captain Henderson to her tent?" He asked.
'Radar' nodded, and bent down to pick up one of Kate's bags. She smiled at him, and quickly took the other before he could bother himself. He held the door open for her as they exited. She decided that with that kid around, she was going to like it here.
The tent was the tiniest thing Kate had ever seen in her life. The tiniest thing she was supposed to live in for a while, that is. She'd been on trains before, and the carriages were all minute. However, Kate kept her thoughts to herself. What was she going to expect from the army?
Radar set her trunk down beside the small cot beside the wall of the tent and smiled at her.
"If there's anything you need, just ask." He told her.
"Radar, is it?" Kate asked.
He nodded.
"Okay." She smiled. "Where would I find you?"
"Just outside the Colonel's office," he said, pointing in that general direction. "I'm the company clerk, so I'm usually ... just in there."
"All right. Thanks for all your help, Radar." She grinned at him.
There was one thing gnawing at Kate's mind as the young boy left. It was a question she had been longing to ask ever since she'd arrived in Korea. How long am I staying? She couldn't wait to hear the answer, but a dark voice in her mind told her she was never to know when she would be home again.
Sighing, the young woman gently sat herself down on the cot; afraid it might suddenly snap and land her painfully on the ground. When it didn't do so, she relaxed slightly and laid her head down. She hadn't even noticed how tired that trip had made her until now. She guessed it was probably late afternoon, but she didn't really care. Sleeping was more important right now.