And Major God said, “Here, give the guys these green hornets.” Amphetamines to keep them going. The arc lights so beautiful, one guy said, “Wow. Would you look at that one?” Then there were the heavy clouds of smoke. “It’s us. Goddamn. And they are firing on us! Where’d they come from?”

“And I thought I saw Them coming up from the ground. I don’t believe it.”

Then there was the new boy on the block. Michael the new kid lost his glove and had tender hands and so that hand was sore. They had to wade through water. No one had counted on that. This made their fine boots crack, their feet, too, and they hurt all the time and you’d never really get used to it, but they did. “Shit, man, this hurts like a son of a bitch.”

“Yeah, that’s to remind you you’re still alive.” Another joke they had, America’s least wanted. “And we’re the airborne, too.”

Then there was the downpour of the monsoon and flooded trails they slipped from. There was the heaviness of clothing that was wet and the smell of sweat and fungus and infections of men injured and growing more infected. And someone, some fucker, stole morphine from the medical supplies and Thomas pointed his gun and said who did it but no one confessed and what could he do? Maybe the thief needed it more. He made one man search the others. Hey, we don’t have to take orders from you. You’re just a grunt like everyone. But they did because he looked, really looked, like he would shoot them, but it was nowhere. There were only rations, toilet paper, crackers and tins. They hadn’t been to camp in so long they thought they were deserted. No music. No cards. No cooked food or cold beer. No mail planes any longer.

Then it was nearly over, they were at the end of it all, of what was supposed to be a short-stand recon mission. They were sent there suddenly and never told why. The map. He took it with him. They were in the copters. Dropping down. It looked like they were leaving their bounds, he thought. He yelled something about it to the pilot. “We’re lost or something. Look.” Showing the map. The pilot said, “Shut up. Go back and sit down, soldier.”

They went now against their will, in silence, the men believing they were in the wrong place. No, feeling it. But Murph was crazy and he said, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t discriminate. I’m going to take out every living thing wherever we are. This is search-and-destroy. They told me.”

Helicopter had been a good man, but now Thomas was aware of everything all at once and he felt awake like he saw it, really saw it. Only the new boy Mike was still sane, but he was green and new, and he looked afraid and eager both at the same time. Jesus, why’d they send him with them? What were his chances?