My Escape

First Objective//The Cancer Stick

I woke up drenched in sweat... I touched my eyebrow where I have my scar from that day. I lifted my body up and out of my fox hole to see the sun rising. Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson made his way over to me.
    "PFC Burns, our next assignment just came in, wake up the others and be ready to leave in 40," Sgt Roach commanded me.
    "Of course sir, I will let them know right away," I replied with no hesitation. The war with Vietnam has been going on for many years now. I constantly think of Kristin and how she is. I have all of her letters tucked away in my pack hoping and wishing to see her again. I go to wake up the rest of the squad and tell they we are going to the next objective. Everyone gets ready to go and we get up and head out.
    "PVT Marshall, PVT Allen, and PVT Vaughn, stay in the back and watch out for an ambush as we make our way to the next objective. PFC Burns and PFC Price stay in the middle of the group and keep a look out for any strange activity in the denser woodland areas. PVT Foley, seeing as you are good with the translator use him to our advantage if anyone spots a Vietnamese. As for me, I'll lead the group to the next objective. Everyone make sure they have everything ready to go," Sgt Roach pauses as everyone double checks their belongings. "Alright men, we have a long walk ahead of us. Remember do not stop for any reason at all and if it moves use the signal to warn us all." He puts two fingers up to his mouth and whistles loud enough for us all to hear, and with that we are off.
As we walk we all talk about the things we miss from home and what keeps us sane while we fight for our country here. Everyone complains for a while about how we never wanted to be here in the first place. Sgt Roach never looking at us and only at our surroundings whispers about how he wishes he was home with his family. Pvt Foley holds a cross in his hand as we walk. I always wondered how he kept his faith even through all of this. I have to give it to him, he does have a good persistence. Pvt Marshall and Pvt Allen talked mostly of the rumors of people who injured themselves to get home. They call these people "cowards" but I know as much as them, we all thought about it at one point or another.  Pvt Vaughn walks quietly with the two men while he lights up a cancer stick. Mumbling on about how Foley is crazy and god would have helped us get out of here if he was real.  Pfc Price then asks me, "If you could pick any place to go with your girl, where would you go Burns," I turned to him thinking of an answer. I probably looked like a dipstick thinking hard about what I would do, but I felt like this war was never ending. I thought I could never get out.    Yet I still replied with, "Somewhere far away from here, this is no place for a lady."
    "Now that's something we can agree on my friend." Pvt Price said while patting me on the back.
A whistle is heard causing everyone to mute. We all are on high alert as Sgt Roach turns around and tells us we are nearing the objective, a town called Ben Tre. We slow down as we get closer to our destination. Our fingers on the trigger of our guns waiting for any sudden movements. Suddenly we smell smoke, the smoke of a cancer stick. All of us turn to Pvt Vaughn, who looks at us with wide eyes but is clearly not the culprit.