Who would have thought Fire Base Scorpio would be overrun? Nobody. But it happened. I felt it coming…too quiet, like a forest preserve on a work day at noon. But intuition was a joke in “The Nam.” That’s what my superior said. My squad had not been there long enough to tell anybody anything. But he got his head blown off the first day of the attack. The smell of the stacked dead bodies overwhelmed most, but not enough to affect anybody’s aim. Monsoon season had started; the enemy used it to their advantage. They stopped coming instead, mortars, mortars…incoming, incoming shouts turned to exploding screams. I had shrapnel wounds I felt, but the morphine hid the others. My buddy was slumped over the top of a foxhole. A guy next to him screamed for more ammo. When I reached to throw him more an enemy soldier ran up on me when I turned. I barely got off enough rounds to drop him. Now I was out. I grabbed his dead body and rolled it over. All he had, a machete. That’s all! Most of the enemy had an AK and one clip.
Suicide!
But they had “Laos Linda” and her shit talking friend, “Cambodia Carol.” They came on the air before every swarm. Those speakers were loud as hell, the bugles sounding like they were right on top of you. Droves of soldiers stormed the base of the hill fast as they could screaming and hollering while being cut down by mini-gun fire. Stacks of bodies provided cover, but when the rain started again that was the only thing that stopped the onslaught long enough to hear.
“Hello Americans, this is Laos Linda, as you call me, Cambodia Carol is off today. By now you know you have been partially overrun. This is your chance to surrender. You fought valiantly, but you will die soon. Don’t die Americans…don’t die for the king, sorry, I meant the President and the billionaire class, as you refuse to accept the term Fascist/Autocracy. Your attempts to keep Vietnam from being absorbed by the Laos/Cambodia coalition are stupid to say the least. You fought against Vietnam before and got kicked out. Now you are back as an ally, for a second ass kicking. Don’t die, Americans, go home. The rains are returning and you know what that means.” The bugles blared louder than before.
“Kemp, Kemp, you got that RPG?”
“Yes, sir!” I screamed.
“Blow a hole in that stack of bodies and run! Goddammit and turn on your suit, run! Do it now!!”
Bullets winged my ear and blood trickled down the side of my face as I aimed the RPG and pulled the trigger. The projectile tore through the bodies. We rushed through them getting snagged on protruding broken limbs. The roar of A-10 jets overhead. Don’t hit us please, God. The lieutenant screamed, “We re-group at the bottom of the hill!”
I crawled through the bush avoiding huge puddles of bloody water; keeping my mouth shut so tight my jaws ached. I spun around looking for anybody behind me. I was alone. Bullets continued to fly past my face tearing through the foliage. I heard a blood curdling scream as the lieutenant ran and bullets tore through his back. Mortar shells exploded everywhere. I froze and covered my ears the best I could, but the sound was deafening. I was a dead man any second now, but the sky opened and the gun fire stopped. Rain, rain, thank God for the rain. Crawl as fast as you can into the thicker bush ahead. I ached from head to toe, and I had shrapnel wounds. The will to survive overrode the pain. Keep moving! It got quiet again, the rain stopped.
“Americans…Americans!” That scared the shit out of me. “This is Cambodia Carol, I’m back. I decided to come and join the fun of announcing your firebase has been completely overrun and you are attempting to re-group at the bottom of the hill. American special forces have suffered a humiliating defeat. Seal teams, Rangers, Green Berets and all the others you call yourselves. We ain’t taking no prisoners. Bye, Americans!”
Jesus, Jesus, keep her out of your head. Keep chopping, Kemp. I saw a clearing as the bush got thinner. Thank God. Exhausted I took one last swing. I took a step forward and tumbled forward into a hole or something. Down I went rolling over and over. My head hit something, then darkness.
* * *
The ground shook violently, explosions were close…right next to me it seemed. What happened? Blood trickled down my nose, my eyes itched, scratching them made it worse. I was in a pit-like depression. Jets shrieked by, small arms fire got closer and closer. Where’s my weapon? Still strapped to my side; my machete still in hand. Who was spraying the bush with bullets, friend or foe? “American surrender or die you fuckin’ gringo,” he shouted with a heavy Spanish accent.
Shit! They told us the Triad’s were fighting alongside the Laotian/Cambodian forces.
But the cartels too! It was a rumor that might be true.
The dope business might be disguised as a political war against the takeover of a sovereign nation: Vietnam. Whoever chopped through the bush got closer and closer, then it stopped. I couldn’t see him. That meant he couldn’t see me either. Good. The bush ruffled due to a heavy breeze. I laid there, be absolutely still; I had a firm grip on my machete. Something slipped under my shirt. It wiggled faster and faster to my chest. A snake popped its head out right under my chin. I almost screamed, wiggling my head hoping it would move. Did he hear me? The baby snake crawled up the side of my face. His forked tongue tickled my nostrils. Don’t sneeze! I wiggled my nose frantically and turned my head so it could get off. It did. The chopping started again, but it went in the opposite direction. My heart rate slowed. I felt safe for a second. The overhead sun baked my face. Where’s the enemy? Keep moving. I’m not being taken prisoner to be played with until they decide to chop my head off. I’m taking at least one of them with me. Fuck it! I had two clips, a machete and a wounded leg and nothing to lose. Get up…on your knees first, slowly rise and see what you can see. I looked in the crosshairs. There, there. There was a figure swinging a machete going in the other direction. Aim for the head. Something bit into my leg and curled tight. Down I went…I twisted fast and saw a huge python had hit me. I instinctively grabbed at it, digging my hands and nails into it to get free. It was thick as hell. The enemy must’ve heard, bullets cut through the foliage. The snake coiled tighter and tighter. My leg got numb. My machete lay flat on my left leg. I couldn’t reach my rifle to turn it and fire. I wanted to scream, but I hit it over and over. Bone crushing pressure hit both legs. I grabbed the blade handle before the serpent covered it completely. Now turn it and saw. The notches on it should do the trick. The gripping stopped, blood squirted all over my face and chest. “American, American, I know where you at. Here I come to kill you, you fuckin’ gringo.” Bullets cut through the bush again. His footsteps were closer. Squirming pieces of the viper uncoiled and fell off me. The blade was free and I chopped madly; parts of the snake flew everywhere. I rolled on my stomach trying to get up. If the enemy got close enough his head was mine. I saw him; his camouflage was good as mine, state of the art alternating colors perfectly matching the background. I crouched enough not to be seen and knocked off the remaining pieces of the snake. My legs ached as the blood flow started to return to my limbs. I couldn’t scream or breathe too hard. I eased up the side of the incline of the nest. He lifted his weapon and turned slow. But then he dropped out of sight. He screamed firing his weapon. I leaped up to attack. The snake had hit him at light speed. There he was with it coiling around his upper torso. His arms were trapped and eyes had popped out of his face. At first, screams were blood curdling. The head and neck of my pursuer disappeared in the massive coil around him. The crushing sound of his bones and screams were muffled by the size of the python.
Hurry…climb out of this nest completely!
The sound of choppers brought relief…if they were ours.
Heat exhaustion got the best of me, all I remember, a voice speaking English. “You all right, soldier?”
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