1968

Chapter Thirty-Two: February 18th 1969

Lorelei's point of view:

We knew it would rain tonight, so we had to make this mission as quick as we could. If it rained, it would lessen our chances of finding these children. We had to start it a little earlier in the day than we thought. Instead of seven, we packed the military trucks up at five and left and five-thirty. I was put in the front tank with Flynn and my parents, which was new because I was usually placed in the back with the lieutenants for protection. I suppose he had a different visual on me than his father did.

"I want the three of you in the lead. I'll follow. When you think you've found the place, then connect the radios and send me the coordinates. I'll send me and my men, you three go in and do your best to make out what's there. As quiet as you can, please, I don't want to clean up a mess I didn't make," he said. I nodded, my mother and father just listened and turned their heads away. I suppose they weren't as new to the game as I was.

"Let's brazen through this as quick as possible. It's about to rain," my father said, looking up at the sky. Vietnam rained like crazy, even when it wasn't in season. The clouds were definitely coming in swiftly and I had a feeling we would only have an hour or two before it was pouring down on us.

"How long do you think this will take?" I asked. All three of them shrugged but my mother remained quite quiet. She was always like this at the start of a big mission.

"Not more than a couple of hours if we do this right," Flynn answered. I nodded and waited as the trucks rolled in. Hopefully this wouldn't be too long of a night.

At six-thirty, we arrived in the area that Flynn had marked for us. The trucks all stopped slowly, and my parents and I were the first to leave them. I walked in the middle of my parents, sticking close to my father as we moved on the ground. I almost wanted him to hold my hand like he did when I was little, just so I wouldn't get lost. I knew he couldn't do that though, in case there was an ambush and he needed to be ready.

"You're gonna be okay, baby. I promise. Just stick tight to me and your mom," he said to me quietly as we traversed down the jungle floor of the forest. I nodded, but my fear was beginning to become uncontrollable.

"What if I do something wrong?" I said. He shook his head and patted my back lightly.

"Don't worry. If something happens, I'll make sure you're okay. I do that for your mom I can do it for you," he said. I knew he was the sole protector in our family, that he was probably the main reason all of us were still alive and intact with our limbs. However, I knew how tired he was getting. He was getting close to retirement age and he was beginning to become worn down. I trusted him fully, but I also believed he was no longer in his prime.

Eventually, we trekked long enough for us to stumble upon a clearing hidden by trees and boulders. We couldn't see through it unless we went in, but all three of us could clearly make out the sounds of Vietnamese children talking together. We found it, but we couldn't go in until we had back up. It would've been suicide to just walk inside and see if everything goes alright. "Nash, this is Horowitz. We think we found the place, two miles east of your area," my father spoke into his radio.

"Alright, we'll be there soon. Hold tight and make sure you don't get caught," Flynn replied into the radio. My father nodded and tuned out, leading everybody into a little area we could hide in until Flynn came back with his troops. Even as we hid, I could still hear the voices of the children. I didn't know what they were saying, but there was so much to their tone. They sounded so tired, so afraid and submissive. Every time someone shouted, we knew it was one of the adult guerrillas forcing them to do something. Every now and then, we would even hear gunshots and the tiniest amount of silence. I had no idea what it meant, but it scared the shit out of me.