Peter slurped up the noodles he'd ordered from the Vietnamese restaurant.

"Is it good?" I asked.

He shook his head as the pasta kept coming and coming.

"I think the food has won this fight!" I joked as Peter bit off the pasta.

"I think so too." Peter said through a mouthful.

It was so nice just to be talking with him. It had been weeks since I'd even spoken to just Peter. Much less spend alone time together. We did have much to catch up on. Not much happens here that every other soldier doesn't know about. I asked him about some letters he'd received. And he asked me about the letters I'd received.

The shots came from nowhere. Peter and I were laughing about a stupid joke I'd made when the restaurant we were seated in was rattled with bullets.

Peter and I dove under our table and searched for our guns. I nodded to him to see if he was ready. He nodded back and the two of us, with our guns, made our way out of the building. We ran fast to find cover and began firing at the enemy.

Over the sound of guns and civilians screaming, I could hear the distant raid siren going off. This was a relief. Peter and I hadn't been the only troops in town, but there weren't many of us. Only about five or six. Two of which were killed while we waited for reinforcements. After a long time of shooting and being shot at, three dune buggies raced into town and the soldiers inside them jumped out and took cover. I motioned to Micky, who had Davy's arm around his neck. Jones looked like he was about to pass out. He shouldn't be here. He should be in the infirmary.

The two soldiers took cover behind the concrete wall where Peter and I were. The three of us shot together. Peter was unofficially relieved from shooting. He'd had enough violence for today.

As the North Vietnamese moved through the village, our group became exposed. A bullet grazed Peter's ear. He yelled in pain and my reflexes had me push David and Micky out into the open before we could be hit with a better shot. I ran ahead and found another good place for us to take cover.

As we ran Davy was hit in the side by a bullet. He yelled out and fell to the ground. Peter and Micky ran on but I went back to help him. Everything moved in slow motion and that helped me to find the Viet—Cong man who'd shot Davy. It helped me to see that he'd already fired again. I knew from that glance that Davy would die if those bullets reached him. I also knew that I didn't have time to remove him from their course.

As I ran the rest of the expanse and dove to the ground. I covered my young friend who was writhing in pain.

I have no regrets about what I did. I saved my friend. I'd completed what I'd set out to do.

The bullets riddled through me. The pain barely noticeable before I didn't feel anything at all. I heard my name being screamed somewhere off in the distance but I couldn't recognize the voice. My vision darkened and the life within me drained out in a matter of seconds.

Sorry...