Free FROSTBITE by David Warren

gulped. “That was rough, huh?”
     
    “Yes it was,” I responded truthfully. “And it was there that I learned that some normal people do some very abnormal things when the circumstances are extreme.” They both stared at me, wanting to hear more. I stared back, not wanting to really tell.
     
    “Go on,” Brad urged.
     
    After a long pause I finally said, “It was February of 1968. Not long before I came home, come to think of it.” Then suddenly I was there, almost as if I had never left. It wasn’t freezing cold anymore, no sir, it was actually quite warm. I could picture the foliage, smell the odors, and hear Sargent Hellerman barking orders.
     
    “Our troop had stumbled upon a small hamlet and the order went out to gather any and all civilians in the area,” I said in an almost dream-like voice. “My buddy, Woody Harris and I went off and started searching. He and I went through boot camp together and became pretty good friends. He was a tall, lanky fellow with a wife and a one year old daughter back home and I was engaged to my Sarah.”
     
    “She was your wife?” Kevin asked innocently.
     
    “Yes,” I answered and continued on. “Anyway, after a while we happened upon a small hut and inside huddled in a corner was a mother and daughter. The mother’s face was sunken and you could tell that she had not eaten in a while. The little girl had to have been no older than seven and she wasn’t fairing much better.”
     
    I paused for a moment and then went on. “I still remember the doll the child clung to; dirty and matted with one eye missing, but to her I’m sure it was beautiful. Anyway, we tried to get them to come with us but the woman started crying and in very broken English told us to leave them alone. I really wanted to help them. I guessed her husband was a solider and I also assumed he wasn’t coming back.”
     
    The boys just stared at me but I hardly noticed. I haven’t thought about this day in many years and it was quite eerie how well I remembered it. “Woody’s radio crackled and Hellerman’s voice echoed out an order to bring everyone to the center of the village. I turned and spoke softly to the woman, reassuring her we were there to help. She tried to strike me, but didn’t have the strength to do so. I reached down and picked up her daughter-she was so light it was scary.”
     
    I was no longer in the diner-I was back to that day in 1968. It was almost as if I was in a movie theater, watching the scene unfold. “After I started walking off with her daughter, the mother stopped fighting and came along willingly. We reached the center of town and there were maybe a dozen others, all of them women and young children. All of them were abandoned by the head of their households to go and fight the war.”
     
    My heartbeat started to race. “Good job men,” Hellerman said to us upon our arrival. He turned and yelled, “Line ‘em up!” Several of my fellow combatants pushed them all into a line, including the two we just brought back.
     
    Sargent Hellerman turned to us and barked, “Line up with your unit!”
     
    We lined up facing the civilians. The mother I was trying to console a few minutes before was staring at me. “Aim your weapons!” All of my comrades raised and aimed their M-16 rifles, including Woody.
     
    “Whoa!” I shouted, stepping forward. “What are you doing?”
     
    The Sarge turned and looked at me. “Following orders and you will do the same.”
     
    “But they’re just children…”
     
    “You will either follow your orders or the next gun fight we encounter you will be shot in the back and no one will be the wiser do I make myself clear?” He screamed, an inch from my face. The thought of never seeing Sarah again scared me more than the ominous death threat.
     
    “This is wrong,” I persisted, barely above a whisper.
     
    “This is war,” he snapped. “Now fall in line.”
     
    I did. He gave the order to fire and we all