I rub the scar where the knife had gone through just five days ago. My wound has healed greatly due to the extreme medical treatment I recieved. I sit up in my cot, removing my covers. I put on my gear and walk out the tent door.
A helicopter takes off in the distance and several troops board vehicles.
"What's going on?" I ask Eddy.
"War," laughs Eddy, "They're moving out to secure another U.S. Military base, a few miles north."
I nod, and walk off to the mess hall. All I can hold down is a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice. My stomach has been sick ever since I saw Eddy kill that soldier.
Eddy has changed too. I can tell he isn't the same as before his first kill. I finish my food and walk back outside, loading up into a Jeep with Eddy and Kyle. A bandage adorns Kyle's hand, along with a bandage on his left ankle. I want to ask him about it, but my throat closes up everytime I try to.
The Jeep pulls to a stop as an explosion sends a tank shattering into pieces.
"Everyone out, move!" Calls the driver.
We dive out, all except the driver. An RPG hits the Jeep, sending bits of metal everywhere. A chunk of the engine hits a soldier, crushing him against a tree. Two medics rush over and attempt to pull his dead body from between the tree and engine but it's no use.
I grab my rifle and sprint past countless other unloading Jeeps and tanks. VC emerge from the smoke. I dive into the trees and take cover behind a rock. I tighten my grip as I kill multiple Viet Cong soldiers.
About an hour later, the firing ceases and the smoke clears, we have won. We set up camp and rest for the night.
No matter how much I close my eyes, I can't seem to fall asleep. I've tried counting the stars or taking deep breaths. Finally, hours into the night, my eyes shut and I drift into a deep slumber.
The sound of a gunshot sends me surging from the ground. Kyle stands up, he and I seem to be the only ones who heard it. We grab our rifles after waking up the guy who was supposed to be on guard, telling him we had to take a leak.
"Why do you need your rifles then, rivers about thirty feet from here," he says.
"You never know," I sigh, walking out of the camp.
Once out of sight of the camp, we raise our rifles and begin a search. We walk almost all the way around the camp until we come to a clearing, about fifty feet away from camp, opposite the river. In the clearing is not a VC, not an animal, but Eddy.
His lifeless body lay on the ground, one hand wrapped around a piece of paper, the other around a pistol. His head is bleeding traumatically, and blood is gushing from his mouth. I walk closer, dropping my rifle, running toward Eddy.
I drop to my knees, grabbing his shoulders. Tears stream from my eyes, falling on his chest. Kyle, walks up behind me, steps over Eddy, and kneels on the other side of him.
"No... no, no, no. No, Eddy, no," I say, crying.
I can hardly see through the tears in my eyes. Eddy is gone.
I lift his arm up, removing the piece of paper from his hand. Across the paper, in quick scrawled letters are Eddy's last thoughts.
Dear David,
I'm sorry to leave you like this. This is a cruel world, and I now you shouldn't have to suffer for it, but I can't take myself after what I did. I'm sorry.
Sincerely, Eddy
YOU ARE READING
Orders: A Vietnam Story
Short StoryFollow David White through his battles in Vietnam, both emotionally and physically, he pushes himself to his limits, proving that not all men, are born soldiers. They are built as soldiers.
