Scars and Stars

by Dustin Stevens

  “Look, I haven’t heard so much as a sound from behind us all day,” Dunn said. “We have to slow or you’re going to kill us.”

  “We slow down you’re going to kill us,” I uttered under my breath.

  “Jack grunted a quiet agreement by my side and I could see the strain of listening to the men bicker was wearing on him. Pain he could deal with, annoyance he wouldn’t.

  “Just a little further,” Jack said. “We’re about to find out if we were really smart or complete idiots.”

  “Complete idiots?” Greer asked. “What the hell you talking about?”

  “Without a word Jack moved forward. We walked for another fifteen minutes or so and just as Walker began to lob another complaint, Jack said, “We’re here.”

  “I had no idea where we were and couldn’t see a thing, but I stood by Jack’s side and let him know I agreed with whatever he said.

  “Here?” Dunn said. “I don’t see a damn thing here.”

  “He started to walk forward but Jack stuck an arm out and stopped him.

  “You see that?” Jack asked, motioning out into the darkness before us.

  “Everyone squinted into the night and Greer said, “I don’t see a damn thing. Nothing but black out there.”

  “Exactly,” Jack said and squatted to the ground. He ran his fingers over the earth at his feet and held them up so we could see the dark smudges covering his hand.

  “What the—“ Walker began to say, stopping himself before he got it out.

  “Ash,” Jack said. “All you see is black because that’s all there is.”

  “Fire?” Dunn asked.

  “Jack shook his head. “Blast charge. When they left, they piled up everything they couldn’t take and blew them up so the Koreans couldn’t use them.”

  “Dunn dipped down and ran his fingers over the ground. “So what’s this leave us with?”

  “Jack made a slight clucking sound with his voice and said, “Tells us a couple of different things. First, it tells us that there were Americans here, but there aren’t any more. Second, there must have been one hell of a lot of Koreans around because going by the size of this blast we left a ton of munitions behind.”

  “His voice carried a tone that signaled he wasn’t done and Greer prompted, “And third?”

  “Listening to Jack explain the situation, I knew where we was going. “Third means we’re no closer to finding help.”

  “And it means we have to find a new route and get moving,” Jack finished.

  My uncle pushed himself away from the post and returned to his chair as I did the same. The book lay open on the ground at his feet and he motioned towards it and said, “Lean over there and flip to the next page.”

  I hopped from my chair and fell to a knee, pulled up the corner of one page and turned it to the next. It was splashed with smudges of black, highlighted in grey and white. Large, thick swaths of color that leapt back and forth across the page with no real pattern to follow.

  Uncle Cat pointed to the page and said, “Soot, just as black and foreboding as the patch we came across that night.”

  There were many questions I wanted to ask about the soot, but I held back. I knew he’d get to it in due time.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Uncle Cat remained motionless for several long minutes, his face impassive as the late day sun bathed him in golden sunlight. Every crack and crevice of his hardened features showed in the brilliant light, yet his eyes and lips gave no indication of activity whatsoever.

  I sat and stared at the course swirls of black on the page before us and wondered how they had come to be there. Questions passed through my mind as I stared so hard at the abstract designs they started to fit into a design. I relaxed my eyes and let the shapes meld together and just before they reached clarity, my uncle spoke.

  “The site of soot stretching in every direction did two very different things for the men running through the Korean countryside that evening.

  “It gave Jack and I renewed energy. We now knew we were no closer to help than we had been and needed to keep looking for aid.

  “It made the other men even more tired. The thought of being no closer to a final destination seemed to weigh on them and within an hour of leaving the blast site, they demanded a stop.

  “Alright, I know you two can do this forever, but we can’t,” Dunn said, stopping and having a seat on a felled log.

  “Walker joined him and said, “Freddy’s right. We’ve been moving all damn day and ain’t gotten nowhere.”

  “Greer walked over to their side and rested his forearms across the top of his gun barrel. “Yeah, maybe it’s time we took over for a while.”

  “Jack and I were several paces ahead of them and turned to survey the three men before us. All wore expressions mixed of exhaustion and arrogance and had weapons within arm’s reach.

  “I turned my head to look at Jack and said through my breath, “Are they serious with this right now?”

  “Staring back Jack said, “Looks like it.”

  “Together we turned and moved a few steps back towards them.

  “Look, we didn’t mean any harm or disrespect. We’re just trying to find aid and get our soldiers out of Ah-San,” Jack said.

  “Walker held up a hand. “And we understand that. Nobody’s trying to accuse you two of anything. We’re just saying we’re going to lead for a while and our first act as leaders is to stop here and rest for the night.”

  “We’ll head out again at first light,” Dunn said. “Once we’ve all slept and had something to eat.”

  “Jack and I each swung our gaze around the clearing they had chosen and I asked, “Are you sure you want to stop right here? Maybe we could find someplace a little bit further off the trail?”

  “Greer pushed his arms forward to be sure we noticed the Garand they were resting on. “Nope. We like it here.”

  “I shot a look at Jack and raised my eyebrows. He ignored my glance and said, “Alright gentlemen, we’ll rest here and move out again in the morning.”

  “A smug expression crossed Greer’s face as exhausted relief washed over Walker and Dunn.

  “You boys get us some firewood, we’ll start setting up camp,” Greer said, motioning for us to unload the packs we’d been carrying all day for them.

  “I walked a few steps towards Greer’s outstretched hand and dropped the pack at his feet. “You think that’s a good idea? This time of night? Fire can be seen for a mile, smelled even further.”

  “Greer glared hard at me and said, “Of course it’s a good idea. How the hell are we supposed to heat our food? Keep warm?”

  “I matched his glare. “I forgot you’ve gone almost twelve hours without eating, must be rough. Maybe you can get the Koreans to hold back from killing us while you finish your meal.”

  “You two keep talking about these Koreans like they’re behind every damn tree. We’ve been plugging through this forest for days now and haven’t seen the first sign of Koreans.”

  “Before I could reply Jack stepped in and pushed the other pack into Greer’s chest. His face was sullen as he looked at him and said “If these fools want a fire to lie beside we won’t stop them, but we don’t sure won’t join them.”

  “Walker stood and ran a hand through his beard. “Now where are you two running off to? No need for everyone to go getting themselves worked up here, we’re all just tired.”

  “Jack turned his eyes to Walker and said, “We’ll be nearby and we’ll be here ready to move at first light. You boys enjoy your night.”

  “He turned on his heel as he finished speaking and jerked his head towards the forest. I followed him and once we were beyond earshot he said, “These guys are a complete liability, but they do have food and weapons. If they’re still here come morning we’ll get something to eat and a hard day’s march out of them. If we don’t find anything by tomorrow night, we’ll split off on our own.”

  “I nodded my head as he spoke and cast an ey
e towards the clearing. “What are we going to do in the meantime?”

  “Jack lifted his gaze and said, “Same as we did last time. We’re going to get ourselves a little ways off from them, well beyond their firelight, and find a tree to rest in.”

  “We made a wide circle of the camp and found a clump of trees that gave us what we were looking for. Seven or eight tall trees grew intertwined and afforded a few large resting spots beside one another while still allowing us to look down on the camp.

  “By the time we began climbing the trees we could smell smoke in the air. Once we reached our perch, we could see firelight flickering in the distance.

  “We sat and watched for several minutes as the three of them moved about the fire, casting their shadows to and fro as they laughed and ate their food. Each of us sat and shook our heads at the sheer audacity they had. About the time they lay down, we too drifted off to sleep.

  “The next time I awoke was a couple of hours later. I’m not sure how much later but the fire had died to a third its original size and the sky wasn’t quite as dark as when I’d climbed the tree.

  “I awoke with a start to find Jack sleeping. Something didn’t feel right and I crept to the edge of my resting place and peered down into the camp. At first everything seemed to be in order, but I soon saw below what was wrong.

  “Shapes.

  “Several large dark shapes loomed around the clearing, closing in as their shadows grew extended from the dying firelight.

  “I gave a very soft whippoorwill and saw Jack’s eyes pop open. I gave him the same index fingers to eyes gesture he had given me and pointed towards the clearing. He blinked twice and looked down to see the scene unfolding.

  “Hidden away, side-by-side in the treetops we watched as a dozen figures emerged from the darkness and surrounded the three sleeping men. We didn’t hear a single sound as they converged and with quick and ruthless efficiency killed each of them where they lay, using their bayonets instead of bullets to conserve ammo and noise.

  “What do we do now?” I whispered to Jack as the soldiers plundered the camp and melted back into the shadows of the night.

  “Jack watched the camp clear of Koreans and said, “We wait and we pray. We climb down now we’d never have a chance. We stay here until we know they’ve moved on, then we pick a new path and keep going.”

  “I nodded as he spoke and turned my attention back to the three motionless masses lying around the fire. “Damn fools.”

  Silence fell over the front porch and I looked up find my uncle still in the exact position he had been in before telling the story. His mouth was pulled tight and his eyes squinted into the sun, but otherwise his face had not moved a bit.

  “There wasn’t a thing we could have done. We were weaponless and powerless to help them in way; any effort we would have made would have only killed us as well.”

  He started to say something else, but stopped himself and said again, “Damn fools.”

  Chapter Forty

  “Neither one of us slept another wink that night,” Uncle Cat said. “Jack leaned back against the base of his tree and stared off into the distance, moving as little as possible and conserving every bit of energy he could. Now and again I noticed the part in his lips shift and felt like he was mouthing words, but I couldn’t hear a thing.

  “I sat on the edge of my perch and watched just as I had when the Koreans first showed. Little by little the campfire died away and new shadows emerged on the walls of the clearing. Each time one did I stared hard and long and tried to determine if it was real or not, but saw no actual movement.

  “Several hours passed before dawn broke across the Korean countryside. I remember I kept wishing we were home in Ohio because it would already be daylight, and I could be hunting or fishing or anything instead of hiding in a damn tree.

  “We waited a full hour past sunup to make sure nothing was around and climbed down from our perch. Neither of us had seen or heard a thing for several hours and felt certain the area was clear.

  “Walker, Dunn and Greer lay in camp just as they had upon bedding down the night before. The only sign that anybody had passed through were several large blood stains on each of the men’s blankets.

  “Creeping around the edge of the camp we entered at the closest point possible to the men and surveyed the situation. All three bodies were already cold and a quick check found the Koreans had taken most everything worth having with them.

  “All told we found two cans of beans, a knife and a length of rope. I was able to grab a change of socks from Dunn’s pack, but nothing else of use.

  “We moved in and out of the camp in less than five minutes and left the men where they lay. The blankets they wore were inviting, but if the Koreans passed back through it would have alerted them to our presence.

  “Without the burden of having to wait for three slower men, our pace quickened a great deal. I’m not sure if it was the rest or having witnessed what happened to the others that seemed to put a little extra charge in our step, but either way we moved fast through the forest.

  “After an hour of hard pace I ventured the first words of the morning and asked, “Where we headed?”

  “Pusan,” Jack said.

  “Pusan? Isn’t that a hell of a long ways south of here?”

  “Jack shook his head. “Not anymore. It took us so long before to get this far north because we had a large company and were crisscrossing our way up. I figure we hump hard all day, we can be there by tomorrow night.”

  “And what are we hoping to find in Pusan?”

  “Our only hope is that we still have a presence in the area. That our original plan to free up the 8th worked and that they’re still there.”

  “Many questions popped into my head, but I held back from saying anything. The plan was pretty thin, but I knew it was the best we could hope for. Jack wouldn’t lead us into danger on purpose and after finding the seaboard void of any help, we didn’t have much choice.

  “We continued moving hard through the forest for the entire morning and into the afternoon. Mid-day we used the knife to open one of the cans of beans and took turns scooping out handfuls and eating them cold with our fingers. A few minutes later, we were moving again.

  “It was the first bit of real food I’d had in quite a while and the strength they provided was astounding. I spent the afternoon running my tongue over my teeth and remembering their taste as mile after mile clicked by beneath our feet.

  “Nightfall set in and still we pushed on with no sign of Koreans or civilization. On into the night we moved, our pace slowing as we became careful of our every sound. We had to make sure we were never in a place where our silhouettes could be seen against the night sky or where we might leave footprints in a pocket of snow.

  “By morning, we had again been moving for almost a day without break. The can of beans we had eaten long before was a distant memory and my stomach was a tight knot, every so often letting out an involuntary growl.

  “Just before the sun rose I said to Jack, “What are your thoughts on opening that last can of beans?”

  “Jack nodded. “I agree, we either need to eat or rest.”

  “I returned the gesture. “I don’t really think we have time to rest, do you?”

  “Jack shook his head and said, “We might, but I’m guessing those men at Ah-San don’t.”

  “So we eat?” I asked and drew the can of beans from the pocket of my fatigues.

  “Jack removed the knife from his belt and said, “We eat, but not those. I have another idea.”

  “He took the knife and cut a branch from a tree about four feet long and a little over an inch in diameter. Running the knife down each side he stripped away the small twigs lining it and cut a deep notch in one end. He jammed the handle of the knife into the notch and wrapped the rope around it, securing it into place.

  “It looked like an old Indian spear by the time he finished.

  “I hate to break it to you, but we haven
’t seen any deer since we left Ohio there Tecumseh,” I said.

  “Jack smirked and said, “I was thinking of something a little smaller, a little more accessible.”

  “I gave a half shake of my head. “I haven’t seen any squirrel or rabbit either.”

  “Maybe if you’d shut up long enough to listen...”

  “His voice trailed off and I stood silent, listening into the distance. At first I hadn’t noticed it, but after a few moments I heard it as well.

  “Running water.”

  The screen door swung open again and an elderly couple I had never seen before hobbled from the front door. The old man used a walking cane much like my uncle’s and the woman clung to him as they descended the stairs and made their way to the line of cars parked in the driveway.

  My uncle swung his eyes to them as they loaded into their ancient Plymouth and drove away, rooster tails of dust rising behind them.

  Leaning back in his chair my uncle rested his arms on either side of him and said, “It wasn’t large enough to be considered a river, more like your average creek. It was maybe fifteen feet across in some places, in others as narrow as five.

  “Remaining well concealed in the trees we worked our way downstream until we found a small riffle at a bottle neck in the creek. It was at most four feet wide and fed a large round pool that was a bit deeper and fairly calm. Large trees sloped in on either side and fuzzy green moss clung to everything.

  “Stay here,” Jack said. “No point in us both being out in the open.”

  “He turned to leave but I grabbed his arm and said, “I’m a better fisherman than you are, I’ll do it.”

  “Jack stopped and looked me full in the face for several seconds, but said nothing.

  “Seriously. I’ll fish,” I said. “You climb onto one of those branches overhead and look out. I have an extra pair of socks I can put on afterwards, no point in us both having frozen feet again.”