A BROTHERHOOD UNBROKEN: THE PRICE OF LOYALTY AND SACRIFICE

We were tired. I was so exhausted it hurt. But the mission nearly finished us. The jungle hit us hard — heat, humidity, thick vines, and vegetation cutting at you when you pushed through. We hacked a path, but it didn’t matter. Every step felt like a thousand pounds.

E took a hit. The kind that made you feel the ground shift beneath you. We had to carry him. The pickup was a couple of miles out, maybe more. The Dust Off wouldn’t land where we were. Too tight, too dangerous. We needed an open space.

I don’t know where we found the strength. I didn’t think I had it, but there it was. When you needed it most, it came. We passed E between us, carrying him like a sack, fireman’s style, through the muck and the damp earth. The bugs never stopped biting. E screamed, and his blood soaked into my hands on my shirt.

We were still deep in enemy territory. I could feel the eyes on us, waiting for them to spot us. That thought only increased the anxiety.

“Put me down,” E grunted. “Come back when you’ve got backup. I’ll hold the M60. I can take care of myself.”

The man was delirious. H snapped, “Shut the hell up, will you?”

I added, “Yeah. Either we all get out, or none of us do. Don’t forget that.”