I am on a proverbial roll with these past 2 chapters, and maybe even 3 chapters depending on the streak. I am actually typing this up when I just posted chapter 6
And I simply couldn't let this sit idly in my head for another minute.
God bless War movies!
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Horrors of War
Chapter 7
The Collapse of Sanity
LZ X-Ray
1 ½ week later
"Get to the Command center now!" Ron screamed out to the men
Bodies of soldiers rushed past him as explosions raged all around him, Ron saw the advancing enemy, it was literally a wave of NVA in their Black Pajamas.
Ron brought the M16 to his shoulder, aiming down the sight and opened fire
RATATATATATATATTATATATAT!
The sound of a M16 on full auto is a sound unique of itself, Soon that sound was joined in by another similar sound as Corporal Mankey stood there emptying the 5.56mm rounds into the advancing NVA.
"Mankey! Quit being a Fucking hero and get back here!" Ron screamed as he loaded another 20 round clip into the M16.
"Look whose playing hero Jackass!" Josh called back as he slowly backed toward Ron's position.
"Goddammit, You Fucking wise ass!" Ron cried as he grabbed Josh by the backpack and flung him behind him, causing Josh to lose his footing and falling to the ground.
"I'm in command you sniveling piece of shit! You talk back to me again and a .45caliber APC round will be the last thing that goes through you fucking head!" Ron said as he towered over the fallen Josh, his right hand resting on the holster on his hip.
Josh slowly stood up coming nose to nose with Ron, as if they were going to kill each other right then and there.
The past week and a half had not improved their situations. The NVA was more resourceful than anyone had expected. And it Pissed Ron off to no end. Every day, hour, minute he spent stuck on the LZ was less time he spent looking for Kim, and His hope and patience was running thin.
Josh had received the short end of the stick in both counts, as Ron usually took his anger and frustration out on him as well as threatening to kill him on a daily basis. It hurt Josh more because he still wanted to prove to Ron that he could trust him, that he was a friend.
Josh stared with this after the first few days stuck at the LZ, a platoon sent out to do recon never came back, and it wasn't until 2 days later that they found them on a patrol, skinned.
It got to all of them, and when Josh tried to comfort Ron by trying to be a friend Ron shoved it in his face, Ron still thought and believed that Josh was there to take Kim away from him and leave him there to die. His attitude towards Josh in particular changed dramatically for the worse.
Wilson came in between Josh and Ron, he had become liked by the two becoming the neutral party if you will.
"Corporal, you're needed back here!" Wilson said pulling Josh away from Ron, who turned back to continue fighting off the enemy.
"Thanks Wilson" Josh said as he jogged with Wilson back to the command center.
"You know, you should probably stop with pushing his buttons like that, this past week has changed him, and not for the better" Wilson said, pausing to take a shot at a wounded NVA soldier laying on the ground.
Josh looked down at the enemy as Wilson plugged the round into his head, Josh had grown accustomed to these displays, learning that it was necessary in order to keep more men from dying from their booby traps.
Soon they joined the rest of the squad at the command center, it was a bustle of activity as wounded were carried to one side and able bodied men stood in defensive positions all around, firing sporadically at the enemy as the got close.
There stood the man in charge, Sergeant Major Wilcox. This was a man who had a distrust for the M16, deciding to stay with his trusty Colt .45APC. He was barking commands at the men on the radios as Ron finally caught up and joined the group, a faint blue glow coming from his eyes as he approached the Major.
Josh grunted with disapproval as Ron passed, Ron paused and turned to him. In that instant his eyes resorted back to their brown hue, and Ron continued toward the Major.
Josh sighed, while he and Ron constantly got on each others nerves, they still helped each other. Since Josh seen that glow in Ron's eyes that first night there he knew what it was. Back at school there was a rumor of Ron and his Mystical Monkey Powers and his ability to call a sword out of nowhere, a sword that apparently was known as 'The Lotus Blade' which in Ron's hands could become anything he desired for weaponry purposes.
After that first night Ron occasionally when the enemy attacked would charge off with that blue glow in his eyes, Josh was the only one who knew that he went out there to slaughter as many as possible with the hopes that they would all be gone and they could go back to finding Kim. Only that wasn't the case, every night Ron returned, though he never carried the Lotus Blade back, he still had the blue in his eyes and the blood spatter on his olive drab shirt. Josh always made a comment to Ron when he approached to get him out of the state, so not to raise suspicion.
Yet even though he went out every night for a week and a half, it seemed as though they kept coming back, stronger and more determined. And with a lot more men. Soldiers on the front soon complained that there was a rotting smell somewhere in front of them, they soon discovered the many bodies that Ron left in his wake from the previous nights.
Today though was different, NVA was closing in on the LZ from every direction. Every forward position was losing ground and men and had to get away from them.
"Sergeant Stoppable! Report!" Wilcox demanded as he shot an approaching NVA attacker in the skull, Josh turned away as the bullet tore through the skull. A .45 round to the head is a very gruesome sight to see, even at range it isn't pretty.
"Sergeant Major, Sir they are advancing on every front, we are losing ground and men, no one knows what to do to stop them" Ron told Wilcox, who cursed under his breath.
"Jacobson!" Wilcox called out
"Sir!" Jacobson responded, lifting his head from the receiver in his hand.
"Get the word out to Command, Broken Arrow! I repeat Broken Arrow!" Wilcox screamed as he started firing on another NVA attacker.
"Yes sir" Jacobson's voice became shaky and unsteady as he repeated the words through the receiver.
"Broken Arrow? What the hell does that mean?" Josh asked Wilson, who was next to him
"It means that we are being overrun, and calls for all available aircraft in the area to bomb our lines, to flush them back" Wilson said, his face becoming grim as he looked toward the blue sky.
Ron came over to the men, sliding a new clip into the M16
"Get ready guys, this will hopefully be our last day in this fucking LZ" Ron said
Josh noticed something in Ron's voice when he said this, it actually sounded like he was happy.
Josh and the others didn't have time to stand around, they needed cover and they needed it fast, all their lines would have hell itself rained down upon it.
"Let's go, move, move, move!" Ron screamed as he looked to the sky, 2 A1 Skyraiders were coming in on their position, Ron could hear their engines screaming as he saw the bombs detach off their wings. They flew right over the group, their piston engines wailing as they banked over the jungle, the bombs hitting the tree line with explosive force.
The squad was moving toward the center of the LZ, trying to be as far away from the lines as possible.
The Skyraiders were soon joined by A6 Intruders, normally night bombers they were out and about as the pummeled the lines with their cluster bombs. The Jungle around them soon began to be replaced by burning trees and craters, as the planes rained hell upon the LZ.
The pummeling went on for a good 20 minutes before some more heavy hitters joined the party,
"There, look!" Johnson cried pointing to the some shimmering objects in the distance, Ron craned his neck to look cupping his hand over his eyes. He saw a beautiful sight, they were F4 Phantoms, and under their wings were large drop tank like objects containing a special and fitting end for the advancing NVA.
They were carrying Napalm.
The first jet broke away and made its approach, Ron watched as the left side of the aircraft passed his position as the tanks dropped from the wings, tumbling to the jungle floor unleashing an ungodly fireball.
The following Phantoms soon followed, dropping Napalm on every single line the NVA pushed through. Ron and his men cheered in triumph as they watched the Jungle and their enemy for the past week and a half burn.
Josh joined in the cheer, but something else caught his attention. He looked to his left, and his joy quickly turned to absolute fear
"RON!" Josh screamed frantically tugging on Ron's shirt
"Corporal, What the Fuck is i-" Ron didn't finish as he turned to face Josh and saw what got him so worked up.
A F4 Phantom had finished his banked turn, and was heading straight for them, with 2 tanks of Napalm under its wings.
"SHIT!" Ron screamed as he pushed his men to move
"SHIT! GET MOVING, NOW GODDAMMIT NOW!" Ron screamed as he and Josh started running, the Phantom would be on them in no time.
Their commotion drew some attention from Sergeant Major Wilcox, who wondered what the hell all the yelling was about when he saw the squad of men running in sheer panic. Wilcox looked up and saw the Phantom bearing in on their position, Not only would that napalm get the squad, but it would also get the command center.
"JACOBSON! CALL THAT PHANTOM OFF NOW!" Wilcox screamed
Jacobson nervously started screaming through the receiver for the pilot to break off praying that he got to him in time.
They seen the Phantom bank a hard right, pulling off the path, it screamed over head. But the call came just a little late, the pilot released one of the tanks.
Ron turned to look after the Phantom broke off seeing one of the tanks falling from its wing, they were barely out of danger when it hit the ground.
The Napalm had missed Ron's squad and the command center but just barely. It hit in a spot where the wounded were kept, the squad could only imagine the horrible site that has become the medical station.
Soon the planes were called off, leaving an eerily silent battlefield. The only sounds were the sounds of the hillside burning and the screams coming off of the medical position.
LZ X-Ray
0520 PM
Ron guided his men over to the command center; they just finished a sweep of what used to be the LZ's medical station. Now all that remained were the charred remains of the wounded and the dead.
Ron was pale, the horrible effects seeing Americans burned that bad had got to him, as it got to Josh.
They were ordered to carry one of the burned soldiers to a dust-off chopper, only when Ron grabbed the mans ankles all his skin and muscles peeled off, showing the mans shin bones.
Josh had the thousand yard stare in his eyes, with helping the wounded and their scout into the medical station got to them, they didn't know if they could ever be their normal selves again after this was all done.
My God, Why are we fighting this War? Josh thought as he watched the dust-off choppers take off, more were filled with body bags then actual wounded.
Josh shuddered.
Wilson, Johnson, and Jacobson were also visibly shaken up by the past weeks events. Jacobson in particular was taking it bad as he held himself responsible for what happened to the Medical Station, even though he did all he could.
Ron walked away from the rest of the squad, he needed to talk to Wade, he hadn't talked to him since they arrived that day, and he didn't have a opportunity before hand to talk to him,
Now he wondered if the 12 year old would even recognize him.
Ron pulled out the Communicator and hit the call button, the screen soon filled with the familiar African American boy seated behind the many computer screens.
"Ron! What happened to you? I haven't heard from you in almost 2 weeks, what's going on?" Wade yelled, not noticing the blood that was covering Ron.
"Wade, sorry but I haven't had the time to contact you, it's been a hectic time. Any updates on Kim's location or the whereabouts of Drakken and Shego?" Ron asked, wiping some of the blood off his face.
"No news on Drakken or Shego yet Ron, but I am searching for the signal from the time device. I have news on Kim's position, but Ron, it isn't good" Concern was in Wade's voice as he finally looked at Ron, seeing the mess the War had made him.
"Spill Wade"
"Kim has moved about 3 days after you arrived but since then she hasn't moved, and I lost the signal from the Kimmunicator." Wades face got very grim as he finished.
"I've researched some history on the location where Kim is located. Ron, it's a Prisoner Of War Camp"
Ron felt like his soul was just crushed, he felt himself soon becoming very sick.
"God no" Ron whispered as the tears came to his eyes.
"It gets worse; the camp she is located at was one of the worst for treating prisoners. I don't need to or want to tell you what they are doing to her" Wade said, covering his eyes hoping to contain the tears.
Ron knew exactly what he meant, and soon the mental pictures flooded his mind.
He saw images of Kim, tied to a makeshift cage and being stripped of her clothing, being subjected to whippings, starvation, possibly even being raped by the guards at the camp.
Ron couldn't take it anymore; he felt that familiar sense build up in him. He clenched his fists as his arms began to shake, not out of fear, but out of anger. His Mystical Monkey Power was taking control of him, he could feel it coarse through his blood, his eyes changed to bright blue flames and his hands started to get a blue glow around them as the power slowly took control, Ron was losing contact with the world as he started entering that horrible place, where anger and rage have total control over him.
Ron
He outstretched his hand, and in a blue flash the Lotus Blade appeared
Ron!
"RON!"
Josh seen Ron walk off and cautiously followed, making sure that the rest of the squad didn't follow.
Josh overheard the conversation with Wade till Ron dropped the communicator, that's when Josh saw Ron start to change.
He had seen him call the lotus blade before, but he never saw him change like he did, his brown eyes were now Ice blue orbs of fire, Josh realized he had to snap Ron out of it. If he let this change continue there might not be anyway for the old Ron to come back.
Josh started slowly towards Ron, making sure the safety on his rifle was in the on position; he didn't want to accidentally shoot Ron, no matter how far into the change he got.
"Ron?" Josh called, slowly closing the distance. Ron held his hand out and the lotus blade appeared in his hands.
"RON!" Josh screamed, he was 5 feet away from Ron.
Suddenly the blue glow vanished, Ron's eyes turned back to Brown, and the lotus blade disappeared.
"Ron?" Josh said, using caution around Ron not knowing if he was his old self again.
Ron slowly looked at Josh, then down to his hands which were now shaking.
Ron collapsed to his knees as he buried his face in his hands, crying.
"What is happening to me!" Ron cried, barely audible over his sobbing.
Josh didn't know what to do, he was shocked that the high and mighty Ron, who treated him like dirt for the past 2 weeks just break down and start crying.
This war is tearing him to shreds Josh thought.
We need to find Kim and get out of here before he is lost forever.
Josh kneeled down and picked up the communicator, which was still on. Wade told Josh everything he told to Ron and gave them her position.
Her position was about a 2 day hike through the Jungle, but they had to get a lift on a Navy PBR 'River Rat' In order to get into position. Josh thanked Wade and turned the communicator off.
Ron was still crying, Josh sat next to him. After all the information he received he wanted to join him in crying, he knew of the atrocities that go on in those camps.
Josh hesitantly put his arm on Ron's shoulder, not knowing what else to do.
Ron turned and placed his head on Josh's shoulder grabbing his shirt to keep himself propped up.
This shocked Josh, ever since he told Ron he was going with him Ron had made it his mission to treat him like shit. Yet now here he was crying into Josh's shoulder.
All he needs is someone to comfort him, till he regains himself.
Once he gets this out of his system he'll continue to make your life a living hell
Josh nodded along with his thoughts, Ron just needed a shoulder to cry on, to get his frustration out, and to be human.
Josh stayed with Ron for another 10 minutes till Ron finally pulled himself away, rubbing his eyes.
Josh got up and started to head towards the command center, inform the men of the situation.
"Josh" Ron called.
Josh stopped and turned back, Ron was still sitting down, but he wasn't crying now, he was his usual self.
"Thanks for that" Ron said quietly
"Don't mention it, that's what friends are for" Josh said, not realizing what he said till it came out, he hoped Ron didn't catch that.
"You still consider me a friend?" Ron said, tears were present in his eyes but he didn't cry, not yet.
Josh nodded
"Why? After all the shit I put you through, why?" Ron asked his voice trembling as he spoke.
"Because man, I knew the situation was a shitty one when I told you back in Middleton I was going with you. I knew that you needed someone to watch over you because Kim wasn't around. Also it doesn't hurt to have someone keep your Monkey Power in check."
Ron started to cry again because of this, his actions over the past weeks coming into his mind. All the hell he gave Josh, the threats, the screaming, the humiliation, and he came here because he knew he needed someone to take his anger out on. He was a friend, and not some punk ass who was trying to steal Kim away from him.
"Josh" Ron said, hoping he didn't walk away yet.
"Yeah Ron?"
"I'm sorry, for everything that happened the past 2 weeks" Ron said getting up
Josh seemed surprised, he didn't expect Ron to apologize till they were done with this mission. And he wanted to make sure of that, for he knew Ron would get angry again and need to lash out at someone.
"Don't apologize to me now Ron, apologize when we get back. I know you're going to need a proverbial punching bag till this mission is over, so don't worry about it"
Ron chuckled at the last remark as he walked over to Josh
"Fine, I won't apologize." Ron said as he gave Josh the old' chuck on the shoulder.
"OK, Corporal Punching bag" Ron said smiling, first time he smiled in 2 weeks. "Gather the men up we move out in 10 minutes"
"Yes Sir Sergeant Jackass" Josh said laughing
"Watch it Corporal"
2 miles north of LZ X-Ray
0845 PM
US Naval outpost
The squad reached the small naval outpost that they were told about, Ron and Josh knew they were supposed to get a ride from a Navy River Rat here according to Wade's instructions.
Night fell on the way there, giving a eerie feeling among the men.
"Alright, we'll camp out here for the night, 40 minutes of sleep at the least. Let's get started on the foxholes, Johnson you start laying some claymores out in the jungle. I don't want Charlie to catch us with our pants down."
"Yes Sir" Johnson said sprinting into the jungle.
The rest of the squad dug their foxholes just outside the naval outpost, their ride was scheduled to get them tomorrow morning, for now every one needed some much needed rest.
That near 2 week period stuck on the LZ cut their rest almost completely out of their schedule, with the constant attacks and all.
Ron and Josh had finished up with their foxhole, Ron told Josh to try and sleep while he got some cover for their hole. Jacobson and Wilson finished theirs up and were doing the same, Ron cut some vegetation down and drug it back placing it over the foxhole.
After settling in he closed his eyes, for now he was closer than he has been to completing his mission.
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Just a reminder, this ends the dream sequence, in chapter 1 Ron talked to Josh for a little bit before going to sleep. Next chapter will pick up where really chapter 1 left off.
I thank you for your patience in the development of this story, I will only be able to type these up from Thursday to Sunday because I have classes Mon, Tue, and Wed. and I don't have time to type or can I type that great of a chapter at school.
Next chapter, more action, suspense, Drama etc. lol
Read and Review, and stay tuned as we draw nearer to the end.