[This book may be offensive to some people]
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I leaned over the rails of one of the Titan's lower balconies, watching the waves crash into her hull. "Gray!" I heard someone call out. "You'll end up overboard if you do that for to long!" I turned to face the speaker. It was PFC Mark Carver. He stood 6'7, broad shoulders, tight buzz cut, and thick cords of muscle around his limbs that showed through his fatigues. Me and him fought together in the Philippines before we were both wounded and sent back home to recover. By the time we made it back to the Pacific the operation was being organized.
He joined me in looking out at Hokkaido as the flotilla unloaded all there munitions at it. The constant thundering guns hadn't stopped for a week now. "You nervous." He asked. "I wish I was back in the Philippines." I said with a dry voice. Carver just gave me a hollow laugh. "You think it's going to be that bad?" He said. I looked at him like he was stupid. "No I think it's going to be horrible, can we not talk about this?" No one ever talked about the battle to come it was an unspoken rule. "It's good to let off steam before you go in." He continued. "I'm sure there's a better way to do it."
The alarms started blaring snapping everyone to combat mode. The deck guns on the Titan started tearing into the sky above us. The a speaker on the wall came to life. "Everyone to battle stations! Enemy flyers inbound! "The captain's voice yelled over the intercom. In the distance we saw one of our vessels explode in an orange fire ball. Me and Carver started sprinting through the corridors, and other Marines. A Sargent stopped us. "Get to the hold after your geared!" "Aye sir!" We said in unison, and continued on through the crowd. Until we reached a tight room made from white painted steel. Hung on the walls were hammocks made from thick green fabric.
I grabbed my M1 grand, my pack, and a small satchel of .30 rounds. Carver had his pack on and his Thompson reaching for the satchel of .45 ACP on his hammock. "We better get moving, don't want to make sarge mad!" Carver was having to much fun right now. The Titan shuttered and a deep rumble reverberate from the port side of the ship. We found the latter-well leading down to the hold where all the supplies was stored just below deck. Marines and soldiers were rushing around to there stations. Another rumble, but this one sounded close. "We gata go Carver!" I said over the crowd and deck guns.
Our squad was at the aft wall of the hold, everyone checking and rechecking there gear. "Gray Carver get over here!" The Sargent yelled. Without a response we ran into the rough formation. "Nice of you to join us guys!" Our fire team leader, Cpl David Morgan, 5'10, and a buzz cut with slightly longer hair at the front. "What's going on? This isn't normal for the japs?" I yelled. "Seems like the higher ups had a miss communication!" He answered. "What do you mean?" "The assault has already started at Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot beaches!" He yelled. "What! As in they've landed?!" "No but there on there way, and there's to many out already to pull them back."He answered. That's one hell of a fuck up!" Carver said. "And it's our job to fix it." Morgan finished.
Another rumble. Very close.
The steel wall on the port side of the ship warped inward, and burst. Shrapnel and black billowing Smoke filled the air. Marines and soldiers screamed in pain. "I'm hit! Ah! Help!" PFC Carlos Hemlock, 5'2 and a shaved head. He's in our fire team and was hit by Shrapnel in his upper thigh. The Sargent yelled over the chaos. "Get Hemlock and go to the landing craft!" "But sarge!" I heard Morgan protest. "But nothing! go!"He yelled through the black smoke. I ran through the smoke in the direction i heard Morgan from and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Morgan come on!"
The smoke was being replaced by angry fire.
"I got Hemlock!" Carver yelled. Reluctantly He turned to face me. "You heard the sarg. Lets go!" Me and Morgan ran through the fire and smoke to the nearest door. Carver was waiting for us there and had put tourniquet on the now unconscious Hemlock, that was propped up on the bulkhead. "Morgan wrapped his fingers around the valve like handle and twisted. It didn't move. "Fuck! It's stuck!" He yelled. I put the butt of my M1 on one of the arms of the valve leading to its outer rim. I reared back and smashed into it. The impact jarred me, it had no effect on the door. "Shit your kidding me!" "Alright new plan guys! Carver, you stay here and look after Hemlock, Gray, you and me are going to look for satchel charges! There's got to be some around here somewhere!" Morgan yelled. "A fucking satchel charge! That will just make things worse!" I yelled. "Listen the navy don't fuck around when it comes to there door! And I don't want to burn or chock to death!" He said back.
Me and Carver just looked at each other for a split second, and I ran into the smoke. I put my arm over my mouth to help with the smoke but it still found its way into my lungs somehow, slowly sapping my strength. Another explosion rocked my balance throwing me to the deck. Damn it how am I going to find anything in here. I picked myself up off the floor and kept running, the smoke choking away at me. I ran into a wooden box that came up to my thighs. I felt over it with my hands for a moment, a splinter driving itself into my ring finger. I took my arm from my face and gripped my M1, breaking the top of the box off with a precision blow. MRE'S and extra fatigues filled the box. "Fuck me!" I said aloud.
I pulled out one of the fatigues and tide it around my face. I let out a dry cough. I felt over to the next box smashing it open with my rifle. " Satchel charges!" They filled the box, I grabbed two and ran back towards where I came. "Carver! Morgan! I got the charges!" I yelled over the noise. "Come to me!" I heard Carvers voice come from in front and to my right slightly. I fixed myself and I met him shortly after. "Where's Morgan!?" I asked Carver. He coughed dryly. "I don't know. I didn't have time to look for him. "Carver get Hemlock away, I'm setting the charge!" I yelled, and set it down running. "Fire in the hole!!!" I dove with my hands over my head, my mouth wide open, and my legs crossed.
Boom!
I was defend by the rattling explosion. The shock wave hit me like a baseball bat. "Everyone ok!?" "Ya were all good!" I heard Carver yell. I staggering through the smoke back to the door. It was definitely open along with most of the wall, roof and deck around it. The shredded steel lead to more ship which was quickly filling the halls with smoke. I let out a dry cough. I hopped over the hole in the deck. "Carver get over here!"Carver appeared out in the smoke with Hemlock on his back. "I can't get Hemlock over that gap on my back!" I looked around the smoldering steel room. On the wall was a fire blanket and a fire axe, i yanked the blanket and the axe from the wall. "Take the axe!" After Carver set Hemlock down i tossed the axe, then one end off the blanket to him. With the blanket in one hand and the axe in the other, he swung the axe through the blanket and into the deck securing it. After that he put Hemlock's legs onto the blanket as I held it tight on the other side. Carver hopped across and grabbed Hemlock's legs to pulled him the rest of the way across.
I let go of the blanket once he was across, then draped Hemlock over my back. "Thanks for waiting guys!" Morgan jumped over the gap, and a stream of troops followed. "I had to guide the rest out, cuz I knew you guys wouldn't." He said. "Lets just get to the landing craft." Carver lead us through the halls of the Titan until we made it to the balconies where crew was rushing around to there posts. "Landing craft are that way." Morgan pointed to the aft end of the Titan. "I'll find a corps men for Hemlock, you guys go ahead." Carver put his hand on my shoulder. "Good luck man." He and Morgan then ran off to the landing craft, while I went to the top deck.
Step by step I made my way up the latter-well to the top deck. What waited for me was horrible. The screams of injured crewmen, and the smell of burning flesh. Jet fuel driven fires raged and parts of planes, as well as limbs. Blood and grease mixed to make the smell even worse. Crew were sprinting frantically as plains exploded into orange balls of fire over head. I lay Hemlock down and took a look at his wound. A corps men came by and took him of my hands. "I got this son, just get off this god forsaken ship!" He said. "Aye sir!" I gave Hemlock one last look as I went back down the latter-well. Running on the lower balconies to the landing craft I was pushing through people until I met up with sarg. "Gray! What the hell are you still doing on the ship!" He ordered. "I had to take care of Hemlock Sargent."
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright Gr-" He was cut of by the bulkhead behind us exploding and throwing us both into the sea.
