by John Grit
“Where is Mrs. MacKay?” Ramiro asked.
“She’s with the soldiers,” Nate said. He started for Brian, Kendell, and Renee before he finished speaking his last words.
Everyone deposited their weapons under the roof of one of the pole barns, leaving a large pile. Kendell helped Nate carry the stretcher Brian was on, while Renee kept an eye on the children, keeping them close. Almost no one but the smaller children spoke. The adults were so nervous, a dozen jumped when a branch fell out of a tall pine and crashed into the underbrush. In an orderly fashion, they wended their way through the woods, not knowing whether they would be treated humanely or slaughtered on sight.
Chapter 9
When Nate thought he was within hearing distance, he yelled out, “We’re coming in unarmed. Don’t shoot.”
Lt. Herzing’s warning came from out of a shadow, “Get your hands in the air!”
“I can’t.” Nate kept coming but slowed down. “I’m carrying a stretcher.”
“Raise your hands or I’ll fire.” The Lieutenant could only see the upper half of Nate’s body, because of brush in the way.
Nate stopped. “Put him down slowly,” he told Kendell. “Stay here. I’ll go in and explain to them.”
Kendell spoke to the children, who practically considered him to be their father after all they had been through. “You kids sit down right where you are and don’t make any noise.”
Nate closed the last thirty yards with his hands in the air. “We have come unarmed as we promised.”
“Yeah,” Herzing said, “we’ll see about that. Where are the others?”
“Back there,” Nate answered. “I had to leave my injured son on a stretcher, because you demanded I come in with my hands raised.” He moved toward Herzing, careful to keep his open hands in the air. “Where’s Mrs. MacKay?”
She spoke up from back in the woods, “I’m here. They have not harmed me.”
Moving in closer, Nate stopped ten feet away from Herzing. “Well, are you going to let me go back and get my son? If you do, the rest of the group will be coming with me. There are women and children with us. Let’s not have any bloodshed here today, for God’s sake. That’s what all of this is about – avoiding bloodshed. We’re staking our lives on your honor, Lieutenant.”
He laughed. “Honor?”
“Remember the words ‘duty; honor; country?’ The people I’m with are part of that country.”
Herzing laughed again. “I’m not so sure we have a country anymore.”
“Yes we do,” Nate said. “And these people are part of the few left alive.”
Herzing gave Nate a strange smile. “Just don’t start telling me what my duty is.”
On the left edge of Nate’s peripheral vision, someone took off running, crashing through the brush. Nate caught the sight of Slim’s terrified face as he looked over his shoulder to see if he was being pursued. Sgt. McCain fired a short burst from his M4, cutting Slim down in mid-stride. The woods in front of Nate exploded in automatic gunfire. He hit the ground screaming, “Cease fire! Cease fire!” Bullets kicked dirt up all around him and whistled over his head. The forest was ripped to shreds, as the platoon had their mad moment of constant fire. When the firing diminished somewhat, Nate was still screaming, “Cease fire! Cease fire!” It was then he heard Herzing’s voice.
The Lieutenant yelled, “Cease fire!”
The woods echoed with the sound of soldiers reloading. Nate took the opportunity to yell, “You’re killing children! You bastards are killing children! Stop shooting.”
Forty yards behind Nate, women and children screamed. He heard Ramiro and other men warning everyone to stay down. A mother staggered into the open, holding her headless four-year-old son in her arms, staring straight ahead blankly as she stumbled along.
An ashen-faced soldier stood up from behind a log. He walked over to Herzing and dropped his rifle at his feet. “God damn you. Look what you’ve turned us into. This whole operation was bullshit. Hewitt is a crazy mother, and you know it. Yet you follow his orders blindly like a stupid son of a bitch.” He pointed at the dazed mother. “I’m going to help them.” Before he walked away, he said, “Go ahead and shoot me in the back. You’d be doing me a favor.”
McCain raised his carbine and aimed at the soldier.
Herzing yelled, “Do not shoot, Sergeant. Put your weapon away. Sling it and keep it slung.” He yelled out to the other soldiers in the woods, “Do not fire unless fired upon. Move in cautiously, but I don’t want any more unnecessary shooting.” He looked around. “Where’s the RTO?”
The radiotelephone operator rushed up. “Here sir.”
“Request choppers to evacuate wounded civilians.” Herzing saw Nate racing to check on Brian and the others. He ran to follow.
Nate was relieved to find Brian still on the stretcher unconscious and unharmed. Renee held two terrified children. Kendell was ten yards away, franticly trying to save a little girl’s life. He looked up at Nate, simmering rage and hurt fighting to be the prominent emotion in his heart. “Why did they shoot? You said they wouldn’t shoot.”
“It was my fault,” Herzing said. “He did everything he could to prevent this.”
One look at the little girl told Nate there was no hope. He remembered her name. When he first met Melissa, she was nearly starved and had an infected foot from an ugly gash. They watched her take three more breaths and die.
Nate put his hand on Kendell’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. She’s gone.”
Kendell’s whole body wracked in grief. He looked up at Herzing with his wet face. “You’re not soldiers; you’re murderers. You kill little children.” He rose to his feet and pulled a six-inch sheath knife.
A soldier aimed his carbine at Kendell’s head.
Herzing yelled, “Don’t shoot! No one shoots!”
Nate jumped to his feet. “Whoa! He didn’t fire a single round. I saw that much. He’s not one of them who shot. He also never gave any order to shoot.” He stepped between Kendell and Herzing. “Put that away and check on the other children. They need you, and you won’t be here for them if you keep this up.”
Kendell smeared his face. “How can you take this and not fight back? The whole idea was to keep the kids from being hurt, but the bastards shot at us anyway.”
Nate held his hands out and stepped closer. “It was a tragic accident. Slim tried to run away, and a soldier shot him. The other soldiers thought they were under attack and fired. It’s exactly what I was afraid of, what I tried to avoid.” He grabbed Kendell’s wrist and took the knife. Kendell didn’t resist. Instead, he broke down. Nate put an arm across his shoulders. “I’m sorry this happened, but it did and we have to deal with it.”
“I’m all right now.” Kendell took two steps toward the crying children, then suddenly veered off and charged Herzing, plowing into him with both fists. Herzing didn’t defend himself, taking three blows before pushing him away. Nate rushed in and grabbed him from behind.
By that time, several soldiers were about to get involved. Herzing raised his hands and barked, “Stay back. You men help these people.”
Kendell yelled, “Let me go. I’m through. Let me help the other kids.”
Nate released him. He picked up the knife he had dropped on the leaf-covered forest floor. “If I give this back, you must promise me you won’t use it on anyone. They’ll kill you. And I wouldn’t like that.”
“I promise.” Kendell snatched the knife out of his hand and put it back in its sheath. He went to check on the other children. From then on, he acted as if Herzing wasn’t even there.
A sound caught Nate by the ear. He rushed to Brian, where he still lay on the stretcher. Brian coughed again. He opened his eyes and saw Nate kneeling beside him. The first thing Brian said was, “I’m okay.” He mumbled through swollen lips. Nate could only guess at what Brian said until he said it again.
Kendell rushed over, excited. “Finally, you wake up. Must’ve been all the gunfire.”
Brian winced. “I guess that’s why it hurts.”
Nate tried to hide his worry. “Your left arm is broken, don’t try to use it. Can you see okay?”
“Not good.” Brian looked around. “I don’t know where we are. It looks like we’re in the woods.”
Nate swallowed. “As long as you can see.”
He saw Renee sitting on the ground looking at him, holding children in her arms, her face wet. “I can see. Don’t worry. My head hurts, though.”
Nate leaned over and put his heavy hand on Brian’s head. “I have Aspirin in my pack, but you have to be able to swallow.”
“Aspirin doesn’t do much anyway.”
“You need to drink water.” Nate held the canteen to his mouth. This time Brian was able to swallow a small amount. He took the canteen from Nate and drank more. A spasm of coughs forced him to stop drinking. Nate took the canteen. “That’s enough for now.”
Brian forced his eyes open enough to see his father better. “Did you kill him?”
Nate flinched. “Slim is dead, but I didn’t do it. I didn’t get the chance.”
Brian grimaced, his pain visible just under the surface. “A lot of stuff must’ve happened while I was out.”
“That’s an understatement,” Kendell said.
“I’ll worry about what’s going on and where we are,” Nate said. “You lie still and worry about getting well.”
Brian became agitated when he noticed the soldiers for the first time. Then he saw Melissa lying dead. “What’s going on? Who killed Melissa?”
Nate pushed him down. “I told you to let me worry about that. There’s nothing we can do for her now.”
Brian started to speak again but Ramiro interrupted. “Thank God.” The smile on Ramiro’s face could not be removed with a chisel and hammer. “A miracle amidst a tragedy. How are you feeling?” Rita appeared by his side. Tears of sadness turned to tears of joy, when she saw Brian.
Brian answered, “Like I got my ass whipped and was stomped on by someone wearing size fifteen boots.” He looked at Nate. “But I’ll be okay.”
“I know you will,” Ramiro said. “You’re as tough as your father.”
Brian gingerly touched his face. It was still swollen even after so many days had passed. “I wouldn’t say that, but I think I’ll live.” He moved his head and took another look around. “I wish you would tell me what’s going on. Looks like it’s hit the fan around here.” He noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Deni?”
“She’s okay,” Nate answered. “Now lay back and don’t talk anymore.”
“But where is she?”
Kendell tried to signal for him to shut up about Deni, but it was too late.
“Sergeant Deni Heath?” Herzing stepped closer. “She’s a deserter. If you know anything about where she is, you better speak up now.”
Brian muttered, “Shit. I stepped in it, and I can’t even walk. Don’t ask me. I haven’t seen anyone since I was beat up and knocked out.”
Nate stood and faced Herzing. “Haven’t you had enough? Look at that little girl over there.”
“I can show you more dead and wounded,” Ramiro broke in. “May God forgive you and your soldiers.”
Herzing flinched. “That was an accident. The deserter’s Army business.”
Nate spread his arms. “There’s no Deni Heath with us. That I guarantee you. Go ahead and look for her.”
“But there was.” Herzing glared at Nate. “You know where she went, don’t you?”
“I assume you knew her well enough to be on a first-name basis,” Nate said. “Yet you’re already calling her ‘the deserter.’ I hear a hollow echo in your chest.” He pointed at Melissa’s body. “Do yourself a favor and take a good look at what happens when soldiers forget they’re human beings. I remember a general telling me about a book he read at West Point. The last thoughts of the main character when he was dying in Vietnam were, ‘if you have to choose between being a good soldier and a good human being, choose to be a good human being.’ For a while there, after the shooting stopped, I thought I saw a spark of a human man in you. Now I’m wondering again and hearing that hollow echo in your chest.”
Herzing glared at him. “Go to hell. You still have your son. I’ve lost everyone. You haven’t seen what I’ve seen. The Army is all I have left.”
Nate pointed at Melissa’s body again. “Once you’ve seen children your own men killed, you’ve seen all you need to see.”
Herzing stood there for a few seconds, and Nate wondered if he was thinking of putting his pistol to Nate’s head and pulling the trigger. The Lieutenant called out, “Sergeant.”
Sergeant McCain was back in the woods directing the soldiers. He came on the run, his carbine ready for trouble.
Before McCain came to a halt, Herzing barked, “Get these people back to the farm, and I don’t want any of them abused. Take the bodies, too. We’ll bury them on the farm.”
“Uh, yes sir.” McCain shook his head and went back to supervising the soldiers.
Chapter 10
A quarter mile from Mrs. MacKay’s farm, Lt. Herzing asked his radio telephone operator, “How about those choppers? We need to get the wounded out of here.”
“They’re on the way,” the soldier answered. “Sir, there’s something going on.”
Herzing rolled his eyes. “What? Spit it out.”
“Capt. Donovan has barricaded himself in the com room and has contacted Fort Benning about how Col. Hewitt is insane and must be relieved of duty.” He hesitated.
“What? Out with it.”
“Capt. Donovan has been ordering you to abort this mission, but every time he does, Col. Hewitt comes on the air and orders you to not listen to the Captain.”
“Shit.” Herzing looked up at the sky and laughed. “How long has this been going on?”
“The Captain ordering you to abort the mission? Well, maybe fifteen minutes. The other stuff’s been going on for over an hour.”
Herzing shook his head in disgust. “The Army went to shit with the rest of the world. You should have told me about both events as soon as they happened. A direct order must be heard directly, not through an enlisted man. I’m going to need a new radio man when we get back. You’re busted.”
The young soldier wrung his sweaty hands. “You were busy, and I didn’t know what to do. It’s all so damn crazy.”
“Crazy is the right word,” Herzing admitted. “Since you’re worthless on the radio, help with the stretchers. We’ve got to get these people to the farm.”
“What about the orders?” the soldier asked.
Herzing gave him a strange look. “Last time I checked, a colonel outranks a captain. But, since I never received any of those orders from either officer, thanks to you, I’ll use my own discretion. I’m certainly not going to play dueling officers with those two; I don’t have the rank.”
Nate heard the conversation and shook his head, as he carried one end of Brian’s stretcher.
Brian looked up at his father. “So they have a crazy colonel?”
Nate answered, “We’re down the rabbit hole, alright. Everything is snafu, not just the Colonel.”
Brian changed the subject. “I can probably walk.”
“The LT says he’s going to take you to a doctor,” Nate said. “I’d rather wait until a doc tells me it’s safe for you to be on your feet. It’s not far now, anyway.”
Brian looked at Kendell, who was carrying the other end of the stretcher. “I just noticed you two don’t have your guns.” He checked the others walking close by. “Nobody has their guns, just the soldiers.”
“When you surrender, you have to give up your weapons,” Kendell said.
Brian was stunned. “I didn’t believe anyone could make Dad give up his guns. God, I wish I was still unconscious. My head hurts. The whole damn world is snafu.”
>
~~~
Bullets smashed through the communication room door and wounded the soldier who was inside with Capt. Donovan. The satellite phone in the com room was designed to use a microwave dish on the roof, but Col. Hewitt had ordered the dish antenna disabled just after Donovan contacted Gen. Reardan. All of the radio antenna wires on the roof of the building had been disconnected also, and he could no longer broadcast or receive transmissions, but not before Gen. Reardan had personally promised him the matter of Col. Hewitt’s crimes would be dealt with and that he was sending an envoy from another forward operations base, complete with a one-star general, who happened to be there to inspect the FOB. He was told they should arrive by rotorcraft within two hours.
Donovan yelled through the bullet-hole-ridden door, “I’ve got a wounded man in here. I’m coming out unarmed, don’t shoot.” A chair had been propped up under the doorknob. He removed that and several heavy boxes. Then he slowly opened the door. A soldier waiting outside sprayed him in the face with pepper spray. Two more soldiers pounced on him and had his hands zip-tied behind his back in a matter of seconds. The pepper spray had everyone’s eyes watering in the small room, and Donovan was gagging. They dragged him out into the hallway, and then dragged him down the stairway, his boots clunking on each step, until they reached the first floor.
Hewitt waited impatiently, fuming in the middle of the street. The soldiers dragged Donovan outside, dropping him on the sidewalk. Hewitt scowled and took three quick steps, ending with a viscous kick to Donovan’s face. “I can’t stand a traitorous bastard!”
Donovan spit out a tooth. “So now your superior officers are the enemy? I didn’t radio China; I radioed Gen. Reardan at Fort Benning. By the way, Gen. Reardan has relieved you of duty, but then you know that.” He looked around at the other soldiers. “Did you hear me? Col. Hewitt is no longer your CO. A BG is on his way to take the Colonel’s place at this moment. Any order he gives you now is illegal. Follow his orders at risk of charges being filed against you.” No one said anything. “You’ve been warned. Whatever happens now comes with a heavy price.”
