“What is it Kennedy said? “Ten percent never get the word.” We approach G company just as the light is fading; we come into their positions straight up the track as I had arranged with their American G6. The Viet Cong are still on our tail and gaining, and all I want is to get my boys inside that friendly perimeter before nightfall.
The boys are tired and hungry. I go up and down the line, exhorting, threatening, cajoling—whatever it takes. The Kid’s dry-eyed now; he’s learnt to cry inside like the rest of us. It hurts more but it doesn’t make any noise.
I’m just coming back up to the front of the line when I see the flash. It’s a light machine gun. I see the flashes from that one long burst as I hit the ground and roll to the right yelling, “Foxes! Foxes! Shut off that fire!”
Behind me I see six of my men have fallen, some of them face-up, which means they’re dead.
I rush up to the gunner’s bunker, drag him out and knock him down. When he gets up I knock him down again, and I keep on doing that until he doesn’t get up anymore. No one in that American unit makes a move to stop me: they know he was asleep at the wheel and could’ve got them all killed during the night.
I go back to my boys. Three are dead. Billy’s lying so still I think he’s gone too; but he isn’t. Quite.
I kneel down beside him and hold him in my arms. He’ll never make it.
“Did I—do—all right—sir?” he gasps.
“You did fine, Kid; just fine.” I ruffle his hair.
I get to my feet, holding the empty Coca-Cola bottle, and tell Baby we’re leaving, that we’ll see him again tomorrow or the next day. Then Az and I drive back to what’s billed on the highway as THE BIGGEST LITTLE TOWN IN AUSTRALIA.
I drive the car over the railway line and park in the main street. As I get out of the car I see Bear in the distance. He’s waving the hand hewn staff. He’s got feathers in his hair.
I hurry into the safety of the bottle shop and buy six bottles of Carrington champagne (it’s on special). I nip next door when Bear’s past and grab four week’s worth of groceries off the shelves in record time. Then we head out to the farmhouse.
As we go over the third creek crossing Azure puts her hand on my knee and begins to stroke me. I figure we’d better talk now.
“What say we lock ourselves up in the house and don’t come out for a month?” I ask her.
Silence. The wind whips Azure’s hair in strands across her face. Long hair bleached blonde by the sun. We go through another creek crossing.
“A month?” She looks at me wonderingly with those clear grey eyes.
“Yep.” I throw the car around the last bend. The house looms up in front of us on the next hill. Good hill, that. From the top you can get a clear view of the terrain for three hundred and sixty degrees.
“I’d get —”
“Pregnant. I know.”
Azure’s laughing and hugging me. I take one hand off the wheel and ruffle her hair. I’m going to start digging a fall-out shelter next week. I’m going to buy bulk rations and ammunition and get more water tanks. There’s always some crazy bastard out there with his finger on a button.
“Are you quite sure?” Az is asking. “I mean, really?”
“I’m sure.”
I drive the car over the cattle grid and slowly up the hill in first gear. I think I’m on the right track this time. But I guess that remains to be seen.
END
About the author
Until the publication of her novel MagnifiCat at the end of 2013, Danielle de Valera was best known for her short stories, which won a number of awards in Australia and appeared in such diverse publications as Penthouse, Aurealis, and the Australian Women’s Weekly. Many of her short stories are set on the far north coast of New South Wales, Australia, where she has lived since 1977.
More O’Neill and Lawson (aka God) stories
[Undercover narcotics agents Michael O’Neill and Baby Johnson are sent to the northern rivers of New South Wales to bust a heroin dealer so big everyone up there calls him God.]
The next story in the series, “Stella by Starlight” can be previewed at:
https://danielledevalera.wordpress.com/short-story-previews/
[Released from jail, Lawson (aka God) fails in his attempt at suicide, but he manages to save Star from her abusive relationship with Wayne.]
In all, nine more stories featuring the characters introduced in “Busting God” will be released in 2014. If you’re a short story aficionado and you’d like to be notified in advance of their release, email me at [email protected] so I can add you to the mailing list.
Other works by this author
MagnifiCat: an Animal Fantasy, 70,000 words, 288 pages.
Meet the Katt family. Despite the love in their little cottage, they’re finding it hard to make ends meet. A feel-good, animal fantasy for adults with the fairy tale ending we’d all like to have.
“Frankie and Juno”. Very short story, 1,000 words, 3 pages—a quick read. [Frankie, a lovesick tom, falls for the beautiful Juno, an elegant white cat, but the relationship is not a success.] FREE on Derek Haines’s e magazine Whizzbuzz Shortz.
https://www.derekhaines.ch/shortz/2013/12/frankie-and-juno-a-fable-by-danielle-de-valera
Tell me about any formatting issues you find with this story
This is only the second story I’ve ever formatted; I’ve tested it on a number of previewers, but it’s impossible to test it on all devices. If you should find any formatting errors, please let me know by sending me an email at [email protected] and I will try to correct them.
Connect with me online
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@de_valera
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.devalera
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+DanielledeValera/about
My blog: https://danielledevalera.wordpress.com
Questions or comments?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me at: [email protected]
Need help?
I’ve been a freelance manuscript assessor since 1992, and an editor (copy, structural and creative) for even longer. If you think I might be the right person to help you iron the glitches out of your novel, drop me a line at: [email protected]
I love helping emerging writers, and my rates are very reasonable. See:
https://patrickdevalera.wordpress.com/manuscript-development-services/
One last thing ...
If you enjoyed this story, would you mind taking a few seconds to let your friends know about it, perhaps on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter?
Thank you,
Danielle de Valera
Remains to be Seen Page 2