The hot and humid Garzes Jungle swirled up a nauseous feeling in Frank as he choked on the foul-smelling air. His jungle army fatigues clung to his body like magnets and sweat poured down his face faster than rivers. He didn't want to be here, on another stupid and pointless patrol to find snipers. Les and Benton both got shot and killed yesterday, it was only a matter of time before Frank was next.
Suddenly the lead lieutenant signaled to Frank and the squad of 14 soldiers stopped in its tracks. Frank turned silently and approached his leader, a nervous but competent fellow named Ennis Bradley.
"Sergeant Castle, I'm ordering you to split up north and take your fork back to the jungle." Frank acknowledged the order and after Lieutenant Bradley split up the group, Frank led the new group of eight soldiers.
The new group cut through plants as Frank led the way through another path through the dangerous terrain. Frank knew the risks, Frank knew the dangers. His first day in the jungle, the soldier in front of Frank stepped on a landmine, turning him into chunks of raw meat. Shards of shrapnel cut Frank's skin. Another inch of thickness on the shrapnel and Frank would have been lamenting the loss of his left big toe, let alone other things. Luckily for him, all he got was a deep cut.
"Keep your eyes open," warned Frank, "there's no telling what's going to be underneath your feet." The other soldiers nodded slowly and fearfully to acknowledge Frank's warning.
Suddenly, a flash of a human running through the woods caught Frank's attention.
"Did you see that?" Frank asked another soldier.
"See what?" Frank shook his head and then motioned to a corporal.
"Keep these men in line. I'm going after something."
Charging through the jungle, Frank slowly yet aggressively sought out his potential target, the sniper that Lieutenant Bradley sent him to catch. It didn't take him long.
After a minute of dangerously sprinting through the jungle, Frank caught wind of a man struggling to catch his breath. Taking his time, Frank prepared to catch the victim off guard.
"One…" he said to himself, "two…" Frank then lunged out and pointed his rifle at a boy. The boy couldn't have been any older than 14 as he appeared to be around the height of a person in middle school. The boy screamed in terror and then came a flash out of the muzzle…