Nightmares
"Mike! Snap out of it!" 2LT Joseph shook his head quickly and blinked a couple times. "Sir?"
"Sergeant." The lieutenant replied to his PSG, SFC Harrison. Explosions were occurring all around them while they lied in the drainage ditch next to the road.
"Accurate mortar fire, sir. We need to find and neutralize their spotters."
"Right, sergeant. We should have first squad push hard up the road, second squad push left, and third squad push right. Search and destroy. Fourth in reserve, pulled back to the rear, out of this mortar fire."
"Right, sir. You want me to relay that order?"
"Yes, sergeant. I will be with first squad, you stay with fourth with the rest of the headquarters element. Take the RTO's radio." He handed the SFC the radio. "Handle traffic with the company. I want radio communication on progress from each squad per SOP. Let's get this shit done."
They both got up at the same time, quickly jogging on the road in opposite directions.
"First squad on me! Second, push left! Third, push right! Search and destroy!"
"Fourth squad and headquarters on me! Second, push left! Third, push right! Search and destroy!"
First squad picked up and gathered around the lieutenant, the rest of the platoon following their own missions. SSG Bernard moved up to 2LT Joseph.
"I've lost Carlson and Matthews to that mortar fire. What's the plan, sir?"
"I want your squad up the road, sergeant. There must be spotters directing this mortar fire. Search and destroy. Move!"
First squad quickly moved up the road, line formation, weapons at the low ready, ready to engage the enemy at a moment's notice. They moved down the road like this for a few minutes, when the lieutenant's radio cut in.
"Alpha Tree – Six, this is Alpha Tree – Tree. We've made contact with the enemy spotters along the tree line. They have with them a squad sized element. They have at least one machine gun. Wiped out half my squad in a long burst. Over."
"Alpha Three – Three. First squad will flank the enemy from the rear. How-copy?"
There was no response.
"Alpha Three – Three. How-copy, Over."
"Alpha Three – Three. Answer me, damnit."
"Alpha Three – Three. Answer Me, DAMNIT!"
"Answer me, Damnit!" The lieutenant shouted out with an angry scowl on his face, surprising the current party. The discussion had been very tame, so the lieutenant losing his composure was unexpected to say the least. The one most surprised was Renamon, his partner, who had yet to see him break from his calm and collected demeaner before.
"Sorry, sir. Could you repeat the question?" CPL Ku asked. He was rather confused at the change in tone from the lieutenant and wondered how he had offended him in his previous actions.
"As you were, corporal." 2LT Joseph composed himself. "I didn't mean to shit on you, I was thinking about other things. I am sorry if I scared any of you." He looked to all of those present.
"I wasn't scared!" Veemon facetiously said.
"We can discuss my reservations in private, at a later time, Michael." Renamon stated.
"Can you repeat the question, sir?" The corporal asked once again.
"How did you get to be here, in this world, corporal." They had made it to CPL Ku and Veemon's small makeshift camp. It was composed of a wooden lean-to set up between two close trees. It could fit maybe three of them laying down very close together. There was a sleeping bag and a poncho inside as sleeping arrangements for two. Outside there was a small firepit that the group was sitting around.
"Well, sir, I was attached to Bravo Company, First Battalion, First Special Forces Group as an interpreter. We conducted a search and seizure on a secret electronic warfare research facility in Pyongyang."
Is that possibly the same facility my company was tasked with securing?
"Things went really bad once we breached the facility. There were more enemy troops present than expected. We took heavy casualties. Once in the main room of the facility, they released monsters to attack us. Virus digimon. They were vicious."
Sounds like it is more than coincidence.
"A couple officers and technicians then used digivices to activate this big portal and escape into the digital world. A squad chased them but were cut down by a big black lizard type digimon on the staircase. Sergeant O'Neally and I found some digivices to open the portal ourselves, but he got hit. He told me to go follow before they got too far, so I ran to the portal and opened it and jumped in. I hope he and the rest of those men are okay."
"They aren't." The lieutenant replied.
"How do you know?" The corporal asked. "Sir?" He added.
"Because I was at that facility. My company was tasked with securing it. I found the remains of the platoon you were with. They are all dead."
"That can't be, sir. There were many left when I jumped through."
"I picked this digivice…" 2LT Joseph brandished his digivice. "…off of the dead body of Sergeant O'Neally. This rifle and P-C belong to Staff Sergeant Rickenbacker. They are dead, son. I'm sorry."
The fact seemed to sink in with the corporal, as he became visibly disheartened by the news. He got up and walked over into the lean-to, and sat down, hugging his legs and resting his head on his knees. Veemon went over and attempted to cheer him up. The lieutenant recollected his experience losing his platoon and empathized with him.
"Mike, now that we are alone, I'd like to talk to you about your loss of composure earlier." Renamon said.
"I'm sorry about that. I'll try to keep those to a minimum in the future."
"I am more concerned with what caused your outburst."
"I don't want to…" The lieutenant started to deflect, but the concerned look on Renamon's face made him reconsider. She was his partner, and he had to trust her. She told him about her traumatic experiences, it was time for him to talk about his.
"Actually, I'll tell you. You should know. I was thinking about my platoon, and how I lost them. I keep having recurring flashbacks of the whole battle. Some things just seem to trigger them. I'm worried I won't get much sleep for a while, as then I was sleeping in your bed, I had a nightmare about it. They were just such good men…" The lieutenant looked down, a few tears began to fall from his eyes. "They did everything I asked of them…" His voice shook.
"Michael, it's over now. You can't change what happened to them. You can only help determine what happens to us now." She put her arm around his shoulders. "You told me you were here for me, so I am here for you, too. You don't have to deal with this alone."
Her words did a good job of consoling him this time, and he sat up and smiled at her.
"Thanks." He said.
He looked over to the lean-to and saw Veemon was not doing a very good job of consoling his partner. He began to appreciate the maturity and thoughtfulness that Renamon had.
