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I can’t help but look at the rising smoke on the Vietnamese horizon. The sun cast its haunting glow against the dense green thicket of the jungles. Those helicopter blades droned over the sporadic gunfire ahead of us while the jet engines rumbled in the distance. It was a harmony of chaos and in a weird way, there was something beautiful about the scenery.

It’s oddly silent here, though.

Striker didn’t take what happened all too well, but they threw him here, anyway. Something about his expression makes me uneasy, but I don’t know what.

The big black fellow next to him, Frederick Jackson; he hasn’t uttered a word since our briefing. Cold eyes and stern brown eyes, he wasn’t someone anyone would want to lock eyes with. The cross he wore was tarnished, but he’d been out there more than being on base. God knows what he’d seen out there.

Nah, God left here long ago.

Looking next to him is that joker, Samuel McMillan. He’s as you’d expect, weaselly and loud with a punchable face. I wondered why he stayed so quiet when he kept murmuring to himself when Abraham spoke on the mission. He wasn’t good at anything, and he was pretty disrespectful, not a good shot from what I heard, either.

“Hey,” Sam yelled. “Boy, what’re you doing here, anyway?”

Frederick ignored him, closing his eyes as though meditating through the hellfire.

“I know you can’t read,” he smirked, immediately prompting Freddy’s cold glare. “But, I know you can hear!”

“Knock it off,” I interrupted.

“Or what?” he snickered. “You gonna defend this—boy when his people are tearing up the streets back home.”

“That’s enough,” a man sitting in the cockpit spoke.

We all looked at once. The clean-shaven captain looked directly at the rat-faced soldier with disgust all so apparent. Lowering his sunglasses he revealed his blue eyes, surrounded by wrinkles from his wince. Robert was much older than us, perhaps reaching his 50s. He began his service in the outbreak of the Korean War, also serving as one of the first advisors at the start of this war. This was one of his last tours before retirement.

What a way to go.

“McMillan, you got a problem?” he questioned.

“Eh,” he shied away.

“It doesn’t matter where he’s from. We’re all fighting for the same thing right now.”

We flew past a burning village, probably from the jets from earlier. We saw the bodies being dragged out from the burning shacks while dozens of eyes gazed upon us. Those same haunting looks sent shudders down my spine. Here we come saving the world, no… we’re destroying theirs.

“I don’t know why they just don’t give up,” Sam wondered aloud. “We took the north years ago, but they keep fighting.”

“It don’t matter about guns and bombs,” Freddy said, meeting the other’s side glance.

“Oh, yeah? What ’chu know bout war?”

“Enough to know we’re fighting on their turf. We’re the ones on their land… Not the other way around. Imagine if someone came to our country and did the same? Would you—just allow it?”

“You sympathizing with these fuckers?”

“Nah man, I’m spitting truth over here.”

I noticed the captain’s grimace like he wanted to say something. No, he was level-headed enough to know he wasn’t wrong. Imagine spending decades in the same place? You see some things. You understand it better. You’d think after spending much of your life here, you’d grow accustomed to it… Not him. He knew they’d never accept him.

He is the invader.

“We’ll be making landing soon,” he spoke.

“I still don’t understand why the hell we’re going there,” Sam asked. “Couldn’t they get anyone else to do that?”

“Orders are orders. Chances are we search and go. There haven’t been reports of activity in the area since we found it.”

A mysterious tunnel just shows up? Well…

I looked toward Miller who sat without uttering a word. I could tell he just wanted out, fidgeting and sweaty—His breathing shallow, though the helicopter did well to mask it.

“Hey kid, you all right?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine—” he nodded. “Just a little queasy.”

“Queasy?” Sam smirked. “After seeing what happened out there—”

“Not everyone’s fucked up in the head, Sam,” I interrupted him.

Every word this asshole said was nothing but venom. His smirk turned to an annoyed grimace like I ruined his fun. He slumped against his seat, locking eyes with me.

“Yeah?” he cleared his throat. “But, I know you are.”

“You just don’t show it.”

“If you say so—”

“No, I know so! We’re two sides to the same coin.”

The captain looked at us, silencing our spat at once.

“McMillan, will you two shut the fuck up already?” he said. “Nobody cares about your psychoanalysis!”

“I—I was interested,” Striker raised his hand.

Gunfire began pelting our helicopter when we got closer to our destination. While everyone panicked, I looked out the side of the helicopter. The turret that clung to the side was ready to fire on the ground forces that were trying to take us out.

“Miller!” The captain shouted. “On the gunner, NOW!”

I didn’t hesitate. Not for a second. I gripped the cold metal, hearing it swindle toward where I aimed. Recoil rattled my muscles while the thunderous shots roared over the helicopter blades. Trees and dirt flew into the air, red mist plopping into the jungle air. A shot rang next to me, along with everyone’s gasps. I looked toward the helicopter pilot whose head was ripped off by a bullet. The captain tried to maintain control while Freddy tried to pull out the dead body.

Oh, god… Not like this.

My heart raced when I realized my world spun. The buzzards went off signaling the instability as the captain tried to get control. Striker broke down, clinging to his harness while that rat-faced bastard clung to whatever he could. I closed my eyes, but I didn’t pray—No, if I prayed I’d be home with her. The terrible realization of dying in this godforsaken country… Well, it don’t matter anymore.

“Everyone, hold on!” he shouted.

Those were the last words I heard before blacking out from the impact.

Silence.

Darkness.

And the cold that came with it.

I awoke to sounds of twisted metal and fires blazing throughout my surrounding. The sound of jet engines lingered like they always had. A sheet metal laid over me, blocking my view of everything else. My hands tingled but felt like they were intact, opening and closing them to make sure I could still move them. My body ached when I tried to move.

“I—is everyone all right!” I yelled.

Silence.

My hoarse breathing overwhelmed the creaking metal with every fiber of my body pushing off the sheet. I fell onto my back after relieving the weight on my chest. How? I didn’t understand how I survived that. But, I’m here now. In most cases, everyone would be killed. Perhaps since I kept her close to my heart this entire time. I—just wanted to be home. It’s been so long. I slid up, sitting against the nearby downed tree.

My eyes trailed the wreckage, thinking about my unearned survival.

But where is everybody?

I looked around, looking past the fire and smoke, and there it was—

“The entrance?” I muttered.

My teeth clenched instinctively when I stood; The aching may as well have been a deep wound. There was a strange realization that washed over me when I inhaled the smoke. The spreading fire was the only thing I could hear. What happened to the gunfire and the jet engines? Where are the voices of our ground forces? A sudden cough came from the cockpit, sending a jolt in my chest. I ignore the pain in my body, standing up as I pressed forward.

“C—Captain, you all right?” I asked.

The door was jammed shut and he couldn’t respond as he continued coughing. It was hard to see inside since the window was covered in dirt. So, I went through the side, seeing the other pilot’s mangled body along the other side… But no one else. I saw the captain sat at the console. A large tree branch had pierced through the side of the helicopter, piercing him through his upper ribs.

Getting a better look at him, it barely protruded on the other end, his mouth full of blood, but a grimace when he saw me. The glint in his eye hid his panic when he tried to grip the branch. Against my insistence, he kept trying until he stopped.

“I—” he muttered. “I knew I shoulda retired when I had the chance.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“If there’s one thing—” he continued.

“We gotta get a medic,” I responded, prompting his smirk.

“I didn’t take you for a fucking moron! Look at me… I’m done.”

He coughed up blood against the console, pained from the sudden movement from the impalement. There wasn’t a thing I could do as I watched him process what he had to say. I didn’t know much about him up until now, but the warmth cast in his eyes betrayed the creeping death that neared.

“My boy—” he gasped. “He just got into college. He wanted to join the service, but—”

He stayed silent, thinking amidst the sluggish fading of life within.

“Pass me—the flask in my pocket.”

I did just that, helping him take his swig. His eyes watered after taking a deep breath, having savored the taste of his whiskey.

“What do you think about this war, Miller?” he tried to turn his head toward me.

“What do you mean?” I said, wincing as I heard him chuckle.

“Come on. Ain’t any saints around here. We’ve been at it for how long? War—means something different to the hire-ups, but to folks like us, well…”

For some reason, I couldn’t summon a response.

“I just want to get back home to my woman—I got a kid on the way too.”

A smile crept along his face, nodding to my response.

“Heh, maybe I shoulda retired… I lost so much time.”

My lips were sealed; There wasn’t anything I could say as I watched the blood drip onto the floor. His wheezing drowned out the faint flames in the background.

“Maybe that’s why you made it,” he coughed. “You live—To realize the life you lead through the lens of death. How many people have we killed just to make it home? What did we do to find our comfort?”

I turned to find him looking at me, as though waiting for my answer. Little did I realize he drew his last breath with eyes wide open. My body wouldn’t move. No, I stayed in place, listening to the fire around us. Realizing there was nothing I could do, I closed his eyes, taking a moment of silence before I limped off the side of the helicopter.

War is hell.

I’m not sure if it was the fumes getting to my head, or my body just couldn’t handle it, but I leaned against the nearest tree. I could see the cave through the trees. It was larger than I imagined. Something about it pulled me in with its darkness. With what little energy I had left, I pressed forward, wondering if the others were there. I wasn’t sure what I’d find there.

Down we go~
Thanks for reading! I know it's a little rough, but I'll get back to it!
We're halfway through this mess of a story!
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Also, feel free to check out my semi-finalist story, By The Shores of Time!
There are overlapping themes, so if you enjoyed this you'll enjoy the other!