Whispers in the Tall Grass by Nick Brokhausen

Author:Nick Brokhausen [Brokhausen, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Modern, 20th Century, Military, Vietnam War, Asia, General, Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781612007762
Google: TF3JDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1612007759
Publisher: Casemate
Published: 2019-10-18T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Water of Life

I am shaking like a leaf and chilled all the time; that is, when I’m not burning up with fever. My old nemesis, malaria, has come back to haunt me. So far I have been lucky: I was able to rip all references to it out of my medical files before I came over the last time, and have not had a relapse since I’ve been here.

But my luck had run out. We hadn’t even left Quang Tri and the launch site before I was into a full-blown reoccurrence of the bloody disease. I have been put into the tender care of Doc Wang and his dispensary, which is at least better than being admitted to the field evacuation hospital. That would be the kiss of death, since they would send me back to the States.

For those of you who have never been cursed with malaria, it is the world’s fastest weight-loss program. You shed water and body weight, between being chilled or fevered into a cramped and nauseous mess. Once you have it, malaria chooses when it wants to hit you again, usually when your immune system is low from poor diet, stress, etc. That pretty much describes life in Recon. I am wrung completely out, and now I have nothing left to throw up, so my body is slowly consuming itself.

As a bonus, all my ghosts have come back to haunt me. It’s like the mind surrenders to the horrors, and you get snippets of demons that come in, torment you, then flit out of your delirium to wait on the sidelines.

In my delirium I am cautiously picking my way through the tall elephant grass, pushing the stalks aside as I move forward. It is hot and I am soaked through and through. Where is the team? I am lost, and I must find them. I keep hearing movement to my sides and front but I never catch a glimpse of who or what is making it. There is something out there and it is hunting me. Not people but some terrible monster. I hear movement to my rear and spin around, taking the safety off my weapon. Come on, you bastard. Come on up close. I feel overwhelming dread. I am so weak and thirsty. Where is the team?

I check my Stabo rig, find my bush axe, and pull it out. I start slashing the elephant grass, chopping it down and pushing it into the ground. I am working feverishly, trying to chop out a clearing in the vast sea that surrounds me. I stop and throw up from the exertion, my guts empty and my bowels void until I have soiled myself thoroughly. It starts to rain again and the cool waters wash the fatigue and the filth off me. I have a clear area now, at least two meters in a circle around me.

At least when whatever is hunting me comes, it will not be able to reach out of the grass and grab me.

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