In Vietnam

Explosions

Narrator's POV

Over the course of a few weeks, things went back to normal, and after Soda left, they split the guys up again. They weren't happy, but they made it work. One week, Darry was doing some work on the base when he had a rotator cuff injury. They sent him home, because he couldn't do anything with one arm. The next week, Two-Bit was on a mission when they got ambushed. Two-Bit was firing shots at the gooks when he felt a sharp pain in his rear end. He went to the medic, and as suspected, he had gotten himself a million dollar wound. He was shot in the ass. They sent him home, too, and when the guys found out, they got a good laugh outta that. Only Two-Bit would manage to get shot in the ass. As for Johnny, he got sent home, because his unit wasn't needed anymore. Johnny was overjoyed.

Dally, Steve, and Ponyboy were the only ones left.

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Pony's POV

After a few weeks, only me, Dally, and Steve were left. Of course, we did run into Tim Shepherd, and boy was he glad to see us. He was working with us when I realized that it was his birthday.

"Hey Dal?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Where's Tim?"

"I think he might be doing some work by the trucks."

"Okay, thanks!"

I start walking over to the trucks, and I see Tim. He's putting sand into bags and throwing them in the truck. When he sees me, he waves me over.

"Hey, kid."

"Hey, Tim."

"You doing okay?"

He had heard about what happened to Soda and I, and he had been real concerned.

"Yeah," I replied. "I was working with Dally when I realized that it's your birthday. So, happy birthday!"

"Thanks, kid. It's too bad that we have to be stuck in gook country."

"Yeah, ain't that the goddamn truth."

Then, Chief Chris comes over to us and says, "Boys, get ready for your mission and meet me in front of base camp. I've already told Steve and Dally."

"Yes, sir."

He nods and walks away without further conversation. Tim and I look at each other, and Tim chuckles.

"I wonder what fun adventure they're going to have us go on today."

He throws his hands up in the air, and I chuckle while saying, "I don't think 'fun' is the word to use. More like 'shitty.'"

"Sounds about right."

We both let out a laugh before heading to the front of base camp.

When we get there, Steve and Dally are already there, along with Randy, Roger, Liam, and Alan. Alan and Roger are holding four leashes with four dogs.

We greet them, and C. Chris gets right down to business.

"Alright soldiers. Today you'll go on a mission to find and deactivate land mines. The dogs are here to sniff em' out, and if you hear a bark, that means there's a land mine. Stay safe and don't die. Good luck."

We all share several glances before getting moving. Steve, Tim, Randy, and I start going ahead while Dally, Roger, Alan, and Liam go slower.

Soon, we've deactivated several mines, and everything is going smoothly.

Until Randy steps on a land mine, which sets off a chain of events. He dies, and I'm shocked. I can't believe he just died; he deserved better. I can't move, but then I feel Tim pulling on my sleeve, and I snap back into reality. We both start sprinting one way with Steve trailing not too far behind us, while Dally runs the other way.

Land mine after land mine blow up. We keep running until they stop, but even then, we keep running. Soon, we're far enough away, and they've stopped going off. I glance around, and it's completely dark out. I can't see base camp any longer, and I think we're lost.

Before we have any time to think, we hear some Vietnamese guys shouting. I look at Steve, and he looks scared. A minute later, we hear grass rustling, and we start sprinting in the opposite direction. The Vietnamese men start shouting and running after us. We easily outrun them. We hide in a cave and listen as the men pass us. When it's safe, we peak out and look into the darkness, but we don't leave.

My eyes slowly start to shut, and I fall asleep.

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Dally's POV

When Randy stepped on the land mine, it set off a chain of events. We started running one way, while the others ran other way. We kept running while the land mines kept blowing up one by one. Once we felt it was safe, we stopped. It was as silent as could be. The only sound I could hear was the crickets and animals throughout the jungle.

I looked back at the guys and asked, "What do we do now?"

Roger replies, "Stay here. Wait it out until morning. Then we'll head back to camp."