Victor\u2019s breath formed little fog clouds in the cool, humid air of the tent. The clouds kept getting smaller and smaller. Then they stopped altogether.<\/p>\n
It was 3:08 a.m. and the medical attendant saluted. I did the same. He was a private, first class, like Vic and I were, when we first met. He even had the same innocent face, the kind that belongs to somebody who wants to be a hero and will walk into a meat grinder to prove it.<\/p>\n
He pulled the sheet over Vic\u2019s head and started to roll the gurney out of the tent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHold on soldier, I need a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes sir,\u201d he saluted and stepped back outside, leaving me with Vic, and the smell of burnt flesh.<\/p>\n
Next to Vic\u2019s gurney was another one, and another, right down to the end of the tent. Each one holding a body underneath a sheet. Some had the same small fog clouds that Vic had. Some didn\u2019t, the last breath having come and gone, with no one close to witness it.<\/p>\n
I pulled the sheet back from his head. \u201cWell Vic, it looks like you owe me five bucks. I know you thought I\u2019d go first. I thought I would too. You remember when we first made that bet? It was just before we shipped out about two years ago. We hardly knew each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Hey Lonnie, I\u2019ll betcha five bucks you go before I do.”<\/p>\n
I remember shakin\u2019 your hand and thinkin\u2019, This dude is my kinda crazy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never told you I actually wanted to go first.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a big red stain on the sheet where it lay over Vic\u2019s chest. His face was jacked up but he looked peaceful.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know I should be on that gurney not you. I\u2019m just a lonely old dumbass. My old man drank himself to death, my mom\u2019s right behind him. I got no girl, no kids, nobody. I\u2019m like them poor bastards we\u2019re tryin\u2019 to kill every day, and all the refugees runnin\u2019 for their lives, and the ones stuck in camps, waitin\u2019 to die. Nobody gives a shit about them either. But you, you got a wife, kids, cousins, your mom and dad. Your funeral\u2019s gonna be standin\u2019 room only!\u201d<\/p>\n
I grabbed a towel from the end of the gurney and wiped my face. A muddy mess of dirt, tears and jungle scum turned the towel an ugly shade of brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI killed a lot of people Vic. We both have. Some you kill from a distance. Those are easy when they\u2019re far away and you can\u2019t see \u2018em. But the ones up close, you see them go down with your own eyes. Funny thing for me, I don\u2019t remember what they looked like. I don\u2019t remember seein\u2019 a face. All I saw was two eyes and the life drainin\u2019 out of \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n
My shoulders shook. I couldn\u2019t talk. Then the words came back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did what I had to do Vic, what I was trained to do. I never thought about whether it was the right thing to do. I just figured it was. The dude that dropped you probably saw it the same way. I mean shit, we\u2019re the ones invadin\u2019 his country. He\u2019s gotta think he\u2019s doin the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The medic poked his head in. I waived him in and wondered if he knew what doin\u2019 the right thing meant.<\/p>\n
He put the sheet over Vic\u2019s head and rolled him out of the tent. For a second it felt like an ending but I knew it wasn\u2019t. We could drop a million bombs, scorch the whole damn country with napalm and they\u2019d keep fightin and dyin,\u2019 just like us. And we\u2019ll never know their names. And they\u2019ll never know ours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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