Animosity

The sky was an impossible shade of blue. Birds called cheerfully in the distance, wind rustled through the rows of orange trees growing outside, and the giddy laughter of children echoed throughout the neighborhood.

Feet tapping against the pavement, rocks skittering underneath the soles of my shoes, I rounded the driveway and opened up the mailbox. The metal was smooth and cool underneath my palm, and I became momentarily distracted as my ears caught the sound of music playing faintly through our open window.

There was only one letter inside, addressed to me. I hooked my thumb underneath the thin flap that held it shut and ripped it open, pulling the sheet of paper out with a cheerful flourish.

"𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬."

My heart dropped.

It was a draft.

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The year is 1967, and overseas, the Vietnam War is raging with a deafening fury, ripping American men out of their homes and hurling them into the harsh, unforgiving Vietnamese jungle.

Tom Descartes, a 22 year old south Pennsylvanian baker, is thrust into life in the army, sent unsure and untrained into a task force of six other men saddled with a crucial task.

Their mission? Dodge enemy fire, sneak through the country, and deliver essential military plans set to arrive in the war-ravaged city of Huē, plans that just might win the battle.

Throughout all the chaos, Tom has to trek through the jungle, hide a budding romance with his fellow soldier, and live to once again rejoin a life without fear.

Every day may be his last.

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WARNING! This book contains strong profanity, graphic violence, alcoholism, and surprise surprise, themes of war.