Chapter Three
Gabriel wadded out of clear creek once again confused and unsure of what he had to do. The events seemed so surreal though the white light and candle were strong reminders that it did take place. He had been baptized by none other than Satan himself in waters that seen bloodshed since the native Americans.
This brought whole new meaning to the saying baptized by fire. Gabriel sat on the shore and watched the white water rush around the rocks. He laid back and looked up at the clouds in the sky to the sound of rushing water. Everything was so peaceful out there on the bank of clear creek. For the first time in years Gabriel felt some peace in the madness of his life.
What should he do, he could go right now and shoot a man and watch the world he never wanted to be a part of light up in a glorious inferno. Then all of nature would be gone, and then what heaven. Or would he be damned to deal with Apollyon's confusing riddles. But then again if he simply lived whatever life he had and allowed Apollyon to build his legion, then he would still be stuck with him.
There was no alternative that appealed to Gabriel. Now he would give anything to go back a few months ago when he was a distraught, depressed, suicidal redneck who did not hold the fate of the world in his hands. For now Gabriel did not want to make any choices, just gaze at the sky. Gabriel thought that there was only one way to decide his and the worlds fate. That was over a bottle of whiskey at Marlov's. He left his creek side paradise and headed to his old drinking hole.
He walked into Marlov's and headed to an empty stool. It was about mid day and many of the old bar flies had already had a few drinks. Ashley was there like always but oddly enough she took one glance at Gabriel and ignored him for as long as she could. “What do you want to drink?” Ashley said cleaning out a shot glass.
“The strongest whiskey you have, please” Gabriel said. Ashley stared at the rack of booze and searched. She grabbed a old bottle of Irish whiskey that had sat on the shelf at the same level of fluid for years. She poured some in the shot glass and put it in front of Gabriel and turned to walk away. “How you been Ashley?” Gabriel asked. “Fine, not like you care” Ashley said still walking away.
Maybe now that he was a baptized man he no longer appealed to Ashley. But it was doubtful. The most likely reason why she was ignoring him was just another game women played. If Apollyon had been a woman he would have been a far greater trickster than he is now, that is for sure. Gabriel watched Ashley as she kept her back turned to him.
He knew she was upset from their last encounter. But really what did she expect, Gabriel to just join her for a day of parades and flashbacks of rape and abuse? There was so much he wanted to say to her but how could he. He wanted to tell her he was sorry, for all the bad things that happened to her. But it would only scare her away. Then again maybe that was what he wanted, to keep her away from him.
Something still made Gabriel drawn to her but he had to keep the walls up. If she needed him, he had to run. If she was in distress, he had to look away. He knew he might be Apollyon's saint but he was the worst thing for her. It could only lead to more unneeded pain and agony and she had seen enough of that for one lifetime.
Next to Gabriel was an old man in a ragged army jacket drinking a beer and mumbling to himself. Gabriel looked down at the piss colored drink in front of him and new it was a sign from Ashley. If she could name the drink it would be eat shit asshole. Gabriel didn't care though after days without a shot he was ready.
He put the glass to his lips and quickly slammed it down. Followed by something unusual for Gabriel. He started choking and coughing from the drink. Maybe it was just this drink he thought, but then again he was unable to eat anything so maybe the same thing applied for whiskey. The man next to him started laughing at Gabriel.
“Bit off more than you can chew there aye boy!” the man said laughing. He reached up and patted Gabriel's back and Gabriel reach out to block the mans poor attempt at the Heimlich. Gabriel caught the mans arm and just as quick was jolted into the mans past.
Gabriel was now in a rice field laying in a ditch. Next to him where 8 soldiers under heavy fire in a torrential rain storm. Gabriel knew he was now in Vietnam and maybe now all the old timers war stories would make sense. “Where the fuck are they shooting from!” one of the soldiers yelled. “Keep your head down!” another soldier yelled. Crackling and buzzing sounds were all around Gabriel.
Instead of a firefight it seemed like he pissed off some bee's in a rain storm. Bullets splatted into the mud of the bank above him. Then suddenly it was over. “Fuck you!” one of the soldiers yelled. “Stay down and shut up, we will hold here until the night” The man next to Gabriel said, who resembled the man in the bar.
“Mitch they will be back and shred us a knew one if we stay here!” Another soldier yelled. “We don't have a choice, they got us out in the open. If we fall back we will get gunned down. Lets wait for the cover of night.” Mitch said. The men laid in the muddy ditch as the rain continued to barrage down on them.
Gabriel never imagined a war to look like this, they were fighting the elements and politics from a muddy ditch rather than the enemy. The men laid quite, throughout the day there were small bursts of AK47 fire then nothing again. But the rain never let up, how could men fight a war in such a downpour.
Every time the crackling of guns sounded around them one of the men would tremble. The smell of piss, shit, and death was potent. Mitch army crawled up the bank and looked out into the tree's. Gabriel just stood up since he knew he would not be seen by anyone. Gabriel could see Vietcong all around the men hiding in the tree's. They were completely surrounded, in the field were dead US soldiers who were caught in the ambush and tried to find cover.
One mans intestines were spewed out from his midsection soaking in the muddy waters. How do men survive and live after such a waist of young lives. It didn't matter how skilled of a soldier you were, if you took one wrong step or were in the right place at the wrong time, you were dead.
Mitch tried to get a look to see if the coast was clear and the forest came to life with fire. Mitch rolled back down to where he was. The men just laid there waiting for hours. No words, or plans on how to survive, just patient frustration. Gabriel could see some of the Vietcong retreated off into the forest. Most likely going back to their homes in the confines of a US military base so they could make money off the soldiers they would kill in the forest.
“Fuck this I am going to make a break for it” One of the men whispered. “Its not safe yet just wait maybe they will think we have backup on the way and retreat” Mitch said. The man did not listen he darted out of the ditch. When he reached the top of the bank he slipped in the mud then the forest once again came to life with AK47 fire but less than before.
Gabriel could see shots coming from places where he did not even see the enemy at. The mans flesh tore open as multiple bullets ripped into him. “NOO!” Mitch yelled as he got up from the ditch and went to grab the man. The rest of soldiers got up and gave covering fire. They did not know where to shoot but they laid into the forest around them with a barrage of M16 fire.
Mitch pulled the man back down into the ditch. He was choking on his blood and wheezing. “Its gonna be okay Andy we will get you out of this!” Mitch shouted. Andy took one last breath and his body went limp and he was gone from the wet misery. Another man who was providing covering fire took a bullet right to the face and was instantly killed. “Get back down!” Mitch yelled at his men.
They all rolled back down into the now bloody pond that had filled the ditch. The men were scared, they all had to accept that they were about to die there with their two comrades. “I don't want to die here!” One of the men said in panic. “If you don't want to die here then man the fuck up soldier and hold. I will get us out of this shit hole and back to the states but you have to do exactly as I say!” Mitch shouted.
Nightfall fell over the men and though Gabriel could stand he could see nothing but darkness all around
them. Mitch headed back up to the place where he scouted before. He crawled out of the ditch and got a good look of what was around him. He paused for a moment then went back down to his men.
“All right it's clear” Mitch said in a voice sure of himself. How could he really know, Gabriel could not see beyond the field let alone where the enemy were during the day. But if Mitch appeared sure to his men, maybe they would follow their leader out into the night. “Now one at a time we are going to head out to the tree's. Just to the left of that point is a tree that is down. Once you get there provide covering fire for the men coming across. I will head out last, John you first.” Mitch said.
The men asked no questions and one by one the men headed to the fallen tree. Mitch took one last look at his fallen men in the ditch and tried his best to suck in his emotions and head to the rest of his men. No emotion would help him or his men right now, all he could do is show courage to get them out alive.
Once Mitch was reunited with his men they went in single file with Mitch in the lead walking through the thick forest. The men moved almost silently but Gabriel stumble and struggled to keep up in the mud. The way they followed Mitch was like ancient samurai warriors using stealth and