This chapter is the first mention of their true mission and why they are protecting Chi. I'm sorry for the confusion. 

Something was off as I woke up an hour before the break of dawn. First thing was the absence of Peter's wails and screeches witch had plagued the nights before as well as the days. A constant reminder of the loss of my friend. Second was the new sounds that threatened the silence.

My disheveled brain couldn't place it as I tried to pull myself from the hangover like slumber I'd slipped into. It dug into my ears. A siren and something else more alarming. Both causing fear to rise up within me, although I still wasn't sure what the sounds were. I knew in my gut it wasn't good.

Sleepily I tumbled out of bed, grabbed my coat, and pulled up my boots. All the while I groaned and pushed out the sounds. Every second I quickened my pace of getting ready, because every second I realized just why I was afraid of the sounds I was hearing.

The first was the raid siren. Chi was being attacked. That was reason enough for me to hurry. But it was the second noise that bothered me. I couldn't quite place it, yet I knew I'd heard it before.

As I picked up my gun and helmet from Davy's bunk I ran out of the tent. Only then did I realize with a gut wrenching horror what the sound I'd been so fearful of was: bombs.

I watched in terror as a North Vietnamese fighter jet flew over the city, a good two mile and a half south. It was barely visible in the navy blue sky. The bomb it dropped was even less visible, but I caught a glimmer of it from some great light source I had not located. I watched as it seemed to fall in slow motion to the earth. When it reached the ground it exploded and the screams could be heard all the way back in camp. The plane itself was shot out of the air and tumbled to the forest below.

"Private Dolenz!" Lieutenant Kirschner grabbed me by the shoulders in a panic. "Chi's being fire bombed. Prepare to fall out. Soon as those planes are finished we are leaving!" He yelled at me. I nodded slowly, still in shock. But as he started to run away I grabbed his uniform.

"Wait! No! We have to leave now!"

"Why, Private?" He asked calmer.

"Keanu—uh, the people! They are trapped! We have to help them!" I yelled at the man, suddenly scared for Keanu and Con Trai's safety.

"Private we have no way to help them now. If you haven't noticed, we are not super men. We are a troop designated to keep Chi in the possession of the South! We have men down at the guns trying to take down the aircrafts. You know how much Chi means to this war! If the North destroys it then we have nothing to protect! They won't destroy it! They need it! Whoever you're worried about, if they're smart, will be safe until we get there. So just stay calm private, stay calm!" The Lieutenant yelled at me before patting my arm and running off.

I stood in a daze. The sirens, explosions, and rattling of bullets filled my brain. I had previously hated the Lieutenant, but as I stood there I couldn't help but feel as if his words were meant to encourage me. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I'd thought.

Still, how could I stay? I needed to get to Keanu and save her from the bombardment. Con Trai was most likely safely out of the city by now, good thing too.

I slowly walked to the truck where all of the readied soldiers were gathered, waiting to head out to the village. It seemed to take years for the last plane to come and drop its means of destruction, before being shot down out of range of the city. We waited a moment in anticipation of the distant whir of the next plane. None of us wanting to be disappointed by thinking it was the last and then realizing it wasn't. When the night had remained silent for a good while the Coronel gave us the command to head out. Our driver leached forward, as eager as I was to get to the city. He speed to the village with no regard of the pot holes and bumps in the road.

I watched the dirt rapidly streak under us. Thankful that I'd be reaching the town limit soon. I could hear the roar of the fire, and see the flames in the distance as they stretched out for a couple hundred feet.

The driver didn't slow down ever. He slammed on brakes and the lot of us immediately piled out of the army jeep. My eyes beheld a wall of fire. A flaming, roaring wall. It seemed to scream at us, 'stay away! You know you need to stay away!'

"Okay men!" The Colonel yelled. "From what the gunners reported it seems the North strategically bombed only the perimeter of the city, not the inside. The fire is spreading both ways, but we have to fight it from the outside. If we can get a few men into the city to direct the men inside we can fight it both ways."

The water truck drove past us, closer to the blaze. We couldn't get too close. Even being a good ten yards away I could fell the oppressive heat emitted by the fire.

The driver got out and began unfurled the hose and turned on the water. He sprayed the blaze with the water.

"Now men, I need three volunteers to head into the town and seek help from the inside!" The Colonel asked.

The Lieutenant standing beside me raised my hand and his. "Colonel, Private Dolenz and I will go." Kirschner said with what I thought was a smile.

"Is that alright with you Privet?" The Colonel asked.

I looked to the Lieutenant for guidance. He nodded curtly.

"Uh, yeah, that's good! I mean, Yes sir!" I stumbled over my words.