He wheeled in the water toward his own side of the conflict and saw the USS Johnston dying.
Hardly recognizable as a warship now, the destroyer was a burning husk racked by internal explosions. Japanese destroyers paced in a semicircle around it, enfilading it with their five-inch guns. The heroic DD rolled until it capsized and began to sink. An enemy tin can moved in to deliver the coup de grace.
After a heroic stand, the American destroyers had been wiped out, and despite the Sandtiger’s Hail Mary attack against the Japanese flagship, there was nothing to stop the Japanese juggernaut now.
He spun again, treading water, as the enemy destroyer loomed overhead, its gray steel V stirring up a pronounced bow wake. From the forecastle, Japanese sailors wearing dark blue winter uniforms gazed at him.
One by one, they raised bolt-action rifles and aimed.
It’s okay, he told himself.
He didn’t sink his boat. He didn’t kill most of his sixty-man crew. A jammed rudder on a faulty torpedo did.
Go ahead. Do it.
It didn’t change the fact he was the one who’d pulled the trigger.
Spike, Braddock, and rest of the Sandtiger’s able crew were now either dead or trapped in a metal coffin bound for the bottom of the Philippine Sea. Rusty, Morrison, and the rest of the men who’d escaped were missing, out of sight.
Take your best shot.
Charlie wasn’t sure what came after this, but it offered a sure release from hell.
They didn’t shoot. The destroyer lowered a whaleboat from the side.
He ignored it, entranced by the sky. A drifting pall of black smoke dimmed the rising sun to a hazy disc.
Then hands grabbed him and hauled him from the sea. Dumped him like a wet rag on the boat’s deck.
Japanese sailors stared down at him with contempt.
He was now a prisoner of the Empire.
* * * * * * *
Now available for pre-order and scheduled for release summer 2018!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Craig DiLouie is an author of popular thriller, apocalyptic/horror, and sci-fi/fantasy fiction.
In hundreds of reviews, Craig’s novels have been praised for their strong characters, action, and gritty realism. Each book promises an exciting experience with people you’ll care about in a world that feels real.
These works have been nominated for major literary awards such as the Bram Stoker Award and Audie Award, translated into multiple languages, and optioned for film. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, International Thriller Writers, and Imaginative Fiction Writers Association.
Learn more about Craig’s writing at www.CraigDiLouie.com. Sign up for Craig’s mailing list to be the first to learn about his new releases here.
Other books by Craig:
One of Us
Suffer the Children
The Retreat #1: Pandemic
The Retreat #2: Slaughterhouse
The Retreat #3: Die Laughing
The Retreat #4: Alamo
The Alchemists
The Infection
The Killing Floor
Children of God
Tooth and Nail
The Great Planet Robbery
Paranoia
Hara-Kiri: a novel of the Pacific War (Crash Dive Book 5) Page 15
