Animosity

Chapter 6 - The Man in the Trees

        Photo: An American officer teaches allied South Vietnamese soldiers how to fire a rifle.

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        "Let me explain some things to you all."

        Lt. Hiro's voice was clear and calm as the words echoed through the clearing, and he brought his arms upwards, folding them across his broad chest as he addressed us. The sky was now darkening quickly, streaks of fading light layered in strips on the horizon, and with the night came a heightened sense of paranoia in all of us. We had picked a pretty decent spot, a sprawling strip of farmland as well as jungle that led into deeper parts of the forest. A stream bubbled nearby, and our little patch of dry ground was shielded from moonlight by a canopy of trees.

"I know that none of you, besides Doc, have ever been in an encampment before," He started, and the group turned their attention to him quickly. "So we're gonna make this easy. Three tents, two men to a tent, and we switch out every day randomly. One of the tents will be an outpost, or a housing unit away from the rest of the camp. This exists because if the main clearing comes under fire, the two men stationed at the outpost tent will be able to radio in for help. A duo will be assigned every morning to clean-up, and that means extinguishing the fire, collapsing the tents, and making breakfast."

"Shit, makin' breakfast?" Devy swore frustratedly, earning himself a death glare from everyone else. Faltering, he cleared his throat and returned his gaze to the ground, shuffling his feet slowly in the dirt as Lt. Hiro resumed making his speech.

"We're gonna try to sleep through every night, but these documents have to be at Ngōc by a certain time. The city of Hūe will fall if we don't move as quickly as possible, so I will not tolerate any fucking around. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," we all replied in unison, and he beckoned us over with the palm of one hand, squatting down to pull blades of grass out of the ground. Raising an eyebrow as I looked down at him, I noticed that Hank and Devy were snickering to each other, mirroring the reaction I was too afraid to make. What was Hiro doing, I thought, amused, and it only hit me when he started tying the ends of the blades together.

Enveloping the grass duos in the palm of his hand, the group kneeled to reach his level, watching as he mixed up the green leaves and held them out in his fist. Doc instantly grabbed the end of one and, following his lead, we all did the same. It seemed to me like Lt. Hiro and Doc Blue were the only ones who were experienced enough to be on this mission, though I didn't dare say it out loud.

Fingers cold around the blade, I listened as Hiro counted to three and pulled it out at the same time as everyone else, scowling when I saw who I was stationed with. Across the little semicircle of us that had formed, Devy gave me a wicked grin.

"Just my luck, greenie!" He cried, yanking the little plant out of our hands and ripping it in two. My eyes darkened as I raked them over his figure again, stomach plummeting when I realized the hell I was in for, and I looked around at the rest of the men's mixed reactions.

Hank and Lt. Hiro were in one tent, me and Devy in the other, and Doc and Buddy were being sent to set up outpost as they chatted good-naturedly with each other. I had prayed fervently to be assigned with the young blonde, but apparently I was down on my luck today. Devy, still grinning widely, threw an arm around my shoulder and chuckled when I tried to pry off his steel grip.

"It's just you an' me, Tom," he hissed, and I rolled my eyes helplessly as his accent made the words sound more malicious than I had anticipated. "But we don't gotta be enemies, see, we can have that whole flatdick redemption arc and make up and be friends again, huh?"