Brothers

Chapter 1

April 27th 1943

"Come on, we gotta go!" I look over at my buddy Johnson screaming at me and I scream back, "I physically can't move! I don't know what's happened?!" Johnson rushes over to me and exams my wounds. "Jones, your mom is going to kill me if I don't bring you home alive!" He puts some dressing over one of my wounds and tries to help me up. "It's the shock of war, Jones. You got this, come on buddy!" He stands me up and I slowly follow him.

Flashback
March 19th 1943

"David Jones, report to E company at once." "Yes sir!" I take off running towards E company's bunker. I'm in my third week of basic training and I don't need to piss off my commanding officer like I did my first one. I run through the mud and the rain to the bunker. I open the door to the building and try to straighten out my clothes. I walk over to the man I believe is my commanding officer and salute him. "Private Jones reporting for duty sir!" "Aw, Jones, I've heard a lot about you. You're a smart mouthed little shit from Texas but from my understanding a helluva shot and a decent medic." "Damn, I'm screwed I think to myself." "We'll fix that mouth of yours and tune your medical skills to benefit this operation in no time." "Thank you sir?" "Did I say you could speak?! You will answer only when asked to. Not another word otherwise. Do I make myself clear?!" "Yes sir!" "Good, now go put your things down on your new cot #21 and I think a run up the mountain is in order for you and that mouth of yours." "Damnit! Already on the wrong foot with this guy." I think to myself. I pick up my things and run to my new cot. I put my stuff down and run outside to the next tent. The tent next door is nicknamed the Pit.

The Pit is were soldiers who have got in trouble go to gear up and then go run up and down Killer Mountain. Killer Mountain is a 5 mile run steadily going up the further you run. I know of a few men who dropped out of the service because of that mountain. Soldiers who misbehave arm themselves in full combat gear and run up the mountain then run back down the other side and back to base camp. I put on all my gear and say a quick prayer. "God, give me the strength to get through this. I want to fight for my country." I step out of the tent. I report back to my bunker. "Private Jones ready to go Sir!" I salute my commanding officer or C.O. "Get to it, Jones!" "Sir, yes sir!" I run out of my bunker and start running towards Killer Mountain. I hear cat calls and other soldiers calling me names as I run. There isn't a lot of entertainment in the military, so when a soldier gets the punishment of running Killer Mountain, any one who is on free time stops to watch. I'm running up the steep mountain for about 45 mins and I see another soldier is getting punished same as me, is hunched over vomiting and then tries to catch his breath. "Tough day, huh?" I say to the guy. "Ya, Captain Thomas got a hold of me and he's an asshole." "Which company is he over?" I ask "He's over E" "Damn it! I know my C.Os name now. I'm in E too." I say. "Come on, we had better getting moving." "I know, I have asthma and the army doesn't know about it yet. If they did I couldn't serve." the guy says. "Names Chris Johnson by the way." "I'm David Jones." "Well Jones, I appreciate the help, but I don't want you getting in trouble." I grab my canteen off my pack and luckily there is still some water in it. "Here Johnson, wash your mouth out. We still got a long way to go." He takes my canteen gratefully and takes a swig from it. "Thanks."

We start at a slow jog up the mountain and gradually speed up. We get to the top and we both fall on our knees to the ground. I wipe the sweat from my brow and look at Johnson. Johnson looks like a fish out of water. He is bright red in the face and gasping for air. "We did the hardest part Johnson. It's all down hill from here." Johnson laughs weakly and stands up. He walks over to the edge and looks down. I stand up and walk over to him. I briefly wonder if Johnson is thinking about jumping off the mountain. "Hey buddy, you alright?" I ask concerned. "Never thought I see the sight as I see it before my eyes now." I look over the edge and you can see all of base camp and wilderness beyond the camp. I see buildings and tents scattered across the land. Vehicles are parked next to some of the buildings, groups of people that look like ants from up here running around the camp and then I see the most beautiful site. The American flag proudly waving in the breeze. We both salute Old Glory and decide to begin our run back down the mountain. "Jones, why did you stop and help me?" Johnson asks and the question surprises me. "I mean you could have been back to camp already. Now you might get in trouble for taking too long. "We're a unit Johnson. If one goes down, we all go down and rise up together." I guess my answer satisfied Johnson because he didn't say anything else the rest of the way down. Before we get back to the Pit, Johnson stops and I stop just in time before we collide. "Thanks," he utters before we both go put our gear up. "Don't mention it." I say and then at the same time we run back to our bunker.