Gotta’ get to the rally point – thought Danforth to himself.
That’s easy enough for you to say, considering you’re not the one on the wrong side of the rice field but I am.
I’m the poor bastard who’s gonna’ have to go all the way around.
Then, out of nowhere, less than six feet away, a Vietcong had made his way right there in front of him.
Danforth dropped to the ground firing his Uzi as he did. He watched the Vietnamese head split in half, and blood shoot into the air above him.
“FUCK!” cried Danforth.
A group of VCs who were standing in the middle of the field turned towards him and saw he was trying to get back up. That’s when all the VCs began shooting at him while he disappeared into the jungle.
I’m going the wrong way – he thought.
A lot of branches were too thick and intertwined so it wasn’t long before he got caught passing through some and ended up stuck there.
“No! No! No!” he shouted.
AK bullets continued to fly past him and he knew that sooner or later he’d get hit in the back.
Danforth therefore decided to change positions. Without delay he dropped to the ground and laid down on the vines covering it. Turning over he pulled the Uzi in front of him, so he’d only need one hand to shoot.
BRAAAAK – sounded the Uzi.
“HEL...”
After Danforth had fired a second time he tried to get up and free himself but couldn't.
“HELP!” he yelled.
It was fucking jammed and he was stuck there.
Trapped there the way a fly would be in a spider web while bullets continued to fly right past him.
-
About a hundred yards away, Coletta watched everything unfold as he quickly cleaned his rifle's viewer. He had taken care of the bandages on his shoulder to some extent, and it would have to do. With the state of their situation, he had decided to stay instead of heading directly to the rally point. Now that he was under fire as well, he had to come up with something, and come up with it fast, or Danforth was a dead man.
Thus ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Coletta kneeled, turned the shoulder strap around his left hand, and put the rifle on his leg, hoping it wouldn’t explode in his face when he fired.
Let's see if this thing can still shoot – he thought to himself.
Hoping his rifle was truly as reliable as everyone claimed or he was about to get very, very hurt. All things considered however, he didn't have any other choice.
Coletta wet his lips and clenched his teeth.
The image was distorted at best, on account of the dirty lenses, and there were some green shadows that would have to be enough to give him an idea of what was going on.
There were about ten VCs chaotically heading towards Danforth.
Ten against one.
Coletta clenched his teeth again.
They did everything except run directly for him. They jumped here and there in his viewer, threw themselves to the ground, stood back up and started running again. They knew they were in range and good training had taught them to make things difficult.
Coletta wiped the lens once more with his finger.
The Vietcong were in line with Danforth, who was still stuck as well, so Coletta risked hitting him by mistake. The more he worried about hitting his friend, the less he was able to help him.
He therefore turned his head away for a second, and closed his eyes in a dire attempt to focus.
That shot’s damn risky – he thought.
It's fucking dangerous at best.
You could hit Danforth, or the rifle could explode in your face...
Don't do it.
Let it go.
No – he told himself forcefully.
Focusing, he pulled the trigger.
BOOM! - went his M16 splashing mud all over his face.
Missed.
He may have missed the most dangerous VC but, at least, the rifle hadn’t exploded in his face.
The Baker Team sniper aimed for a second time.
Those VCs proceeding in the water, continued to advance further towards Danforth. They were so close that there was only a bank separating them and nothing more. Once they’d climbed the bank, Danforth was at almost point blank range.
A step away. Not more than a step, a fraction of a second and not more.
Initially Coletta could feel that time was slowing down as he concentrated further, before it finally coming to a stop.
The effect was so powerful it was almost distracting, but he made sure it didn’t.
Coletta had been through that before, many a time actually, and he welcomed it entirely. This time especially and without hesitation.
He shifted his aim once more, framed the green, human-like shape and then pulled the trigger.
BOOM
The bullet hit the VC right in the middle of his head just as he was trying to climb over the edge and when it did, the impact pushed him slightly forward before he quickly disappeared slipping into the water.
Danforth.
The thought of his team mate dying suddenly brought Coletta back to reality.
Slowly the sounds of battle surrounding him were audible again – the shots, the screams and the orders being given in Vietnamese.
One other Vietcong who was obviously hit by some other Baker Team member, fell down face flat in the mud, and he did dangerously close to Joseph the moment he’d finally managed to free himself from the tangled of vegetation he was stuck in.
Time to get the fuck out of here - thought Coletta.
Get the hell away from here.
Get the fuck away from here now, you fucking idiot!.
Fucking out now!
And when Danforth finally stood up and made a run for it, not even a split-second later, Coletta disappeared somewhere in the vegetation behind him.