Short Story
⚠️Explicit/Trigger Warning ⚠️
My breath quickened with air looking for my next move in this damn forest. Getting chased by the enemy.. I heard his panting as he was approaching my position. I went behind a tree and was ready to smack him in the face with the butt of my gun. I kept running but I didn't hear the forest getting tampered with. I didn't feel eyes on me. Am I hearing screaming? Fuck... What the hell do I do? I wanna keep going but something about that scream... I didn't speak Vietnamese and he didn't speak English. But that scream I heard about a year ago one of our guys calling for his mom was tangled in Bobwire.
This guy fell into one of his own traps, probably his high adrenaline and he forgot. But I went back to check on him cause I'm a Christian and a human is a human. He fell into a hole with bamboo spikes. His leg was flamingoed and he was choking on his blood impaled all over by the spikes. Blood was running down his face from his eyes. Just 2 single streams his hand was saying stop as he was crying out to me with that panic look. I took a step back. This was the hardest thing I've ever seen. As his soul wrenching screams were penetrating every part of me inside. He took his hand and put it to his head like a gun and pulled the trigger. I closed my eyes and started crying... I was scared too but I couldn't leave him an enemy or not. I think my country would be proud of me that day. My eyes were still closed and I cocked my gun and felt the bullet go into place. My arms were dead weight. He was staring at me like what are you waiting for! " He kept chanting "Xin hãy kết thúc nỗi đau của tôi." Which I found out later translates to "please end my suffering."
I hurried out of respect because I knew he was in pain. I pointed it at his head, counted to three and boom! Perfect shot to end his suffering. I looked around and no one was in sight. I got lost days ago and tried to find my way back to camp but no luck. There were these big trees with big leaves. I had an idea. I went into the hole where he was and picked him up and got all those bamboo shards out of his body. I laid him on a leaf. Took another leaf, strip it and made rope if you will. I rolled his body in the leaf and tied where the head is, the body and the legs. We were by a lake and instead of just leaving him or making a new hole with no shovel. I thought a water burial would be nice. That night I got some rocks and stuffed his little leaf coffin. I slowly pushed him into the water. He was floating for a while as the moonlight hit him. Then in the distance I saw the weight get a hold and he began to sink. I took the cross out from around my neck and kissed the cross. May he have safe travels to whomever he belongs too. He's safe now and going home. I stood there completely alone hearing nothing but the rich sounds of the Vietnam forest.
I grabbed my flask and took a big sip of water as the cantine came past eye level. I was now in a bar. I gasped.. what the hell, Not again.. I looked up and the bartender was wiping down glasses and chuckling your cut off. I looked down and my hands were wrinkly. We can't have you scaring people with your nonsense. What do you mean? You don't remember? You started rambling broken English about being in the Vietnam war. But you scared off a few of my regulars and you're getting a little too rambunctious.
Civilian life..oh yeah I forgot.
