Fortunate Sons

Chapter 11: On the Offensive

Chaos erupted in the town.....complete and utter chaos.

People cried out in terror as bullets shattered windows, chinked off of walls and landed in whatever was closest be it a body or the wall of a building. Machine gun, mortar fire and grenade blasts shattered the peaceful, celebratory air as people began running for their lives, taking cover wherever it was available.

Sue bolted the windows of the nurses' house shut as fast as she could, rallying the girls together and telling them to hide. A blast from a rocket fired grenade shook the whole house and everyone in it, nearly bringing them to their knees.

"We've got to get out of here," Leah said frantically. "They're going to bring down the whole house."

"We can't leave," Sue told her. "The whole town is crawling with Northern soldiers!"

Another blast came crashing down on the streets outside. Soldiers from both sides fired on one another, pelting the streets with bullets. Sue couldn't believe all of this was going on right outside their windows on the streets below. It was downright horrifying. What should have been a night of celebrating had now turned into her worst nightmare.

"Lock yourselves in the bathroom and don't come out until I give the word."

Leah followed Sue's orders and immediately gathered the other nurses in the upstairs bathroom. Sue hurried downstairs as fast as she could, locking every single door on the bottom floor. One by one each of the deadbolts clicked, giving her the assurance that she had bought the other nurses a bit of time.

Taylor you'd better be out there somewhere.....she thought as she hurried back up the creaky stairs.

Sue locked herself in the upstairs coat closet, the keyhole barely big enough for her to look out of with one eye. Every piece of her felt stiff as she tried to keep quiet, knowing that the very same people who were attacking the city could barge into the house.

As she concealed herself in the pitch black closet, Sue not only began to worry about Taylor and the others, but Uncle and Auntie Lin. Both of them worked late into the night; Uncle at his store and Auntie Lin with other SVA nurses. Were they still alive? Had they been executed by the communists and thrown into a ditch somewhere? She asked herself these things over and over but had no answer.

Downstairs she could hear people shouting in Vietnamese and furious banging on the doors, angry and demanding shouts that made Sue jump. "Search everywhere! Search this place!" the voices demanded.

Sue was utterly terrified when she heard the front door give way and fell off its hinges. She backed against part of the wall, hiding behind the paper thin coats and jackets that belonged to her fellow nurses. She could barely hear the rumble and dull thump of mortar fire, fearing that at any given second it would hit the house and bring down everyone inside.

Ong Noi.....if you can hear me.....somebody....anybody in heaven....please save us!!

Sue froze when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Her heart began a fierce, maddening race as she silently pleaded with God and her ancestors not to be found. They're in the house.....they're in the house.....goddamnit they're in the house!

Crouching low on her knees, Sue peered out of the tiny keyhole through the dim light of the upstairs hallway. All she saw was a swath of black and a pair of bare feet protected by a pair of brown sandals. Her jaw hung open like a guppy as this figure paced up and down the hallway. Don't you come in here!! Don't you come in here you damn dirty jungle rat!!!

Sue crept back against the wall, the balls of her feet rolling onto her heels as she hid herself without a sound. Her fingers curled around the long wooden stick of a broom, twisting the stick until it separated from the broom-head. Her teeth clenched together as one heavy breath after another entered and released from her lungs. Sue was ready to fight and ready to take out the intruders. She had come into this world kicking, screaming and covered in someone else's blood.....and she was prepared to go the same way.

All of a sudden the ground shook beneath her feet and an ear shattering explosion erupted from downstairs. Yells and screams shook her to her very core and yet there wasn't much that she could do. Coming out of her hiding place was sure to get her killed. All Sue could do was wait. Wait to be caught, wait to be killed......wait for rescue that might never come.