52 Through the Jungle (1/2)

The jungle brush snatched at Thomas's legs and the tall trees with canopies that covered the skies gently caressed his face with broad leafy branches. He already hated this place, the musty smell that lingered, the soft ground underneath that wanted to swallow his boots, the hot moisture in the air that stuck to his uniform and caused him to sweat. The rest of his squad except for Corporal Freedman grumbled about how terrible the island was.

”Freedman how can you stand this heat? It's like dog's breath!” Smith complained.

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.

”Grew up in Louisiana, get used to it.” Freedman Rumbled.

”Not the friendliest chap around, eh Captain?” Smith said.

”Keep your eyes peeled Smith, cut the chatter.” Thomas replied, sweeping his eyes around, looking for any Japanese forward elements.

For the next hour and a half, the squad slowly made their way through the jungle. They couldn't tell, but the moon was directly overhead. They had less than eight hours to finish this operation. Along the way to their destination Smith fell into several different holes of different heights, disguised as ground that was softer than usual. Freedman fished him out every time of course. Corporal Higgins kept imagining trees to be Japanese sentries, putting himself on edge. Eventually, Thomas had to call a short stop to rest before they could move on. The squad was way too tense and would most likely miss their shots should a firefight break out.

”Alright, we'll rest here.” Thomas ordered, the came into a small clearing of sorts, they had a good eye view of the jungle in any direction. The squad broke out small meal packs from their gear, nothing heavy. It was just a few crackers, some dried fruit, and some jerky. Just enough to keep their systems going. They couldn't make any coffee or have any fire at all, that would be asking for death. They all drank some of the water that was in their canteens instead, it would have to suffice until the operation was over. After another ten minutes, Thomas signaled for the squad to gather their belongings. They quickly buried their trash in a two feet deep hole, and set out into the jungle once more.

After another hour of walking, they finally laid eyes on their target, the communications compound. Thomas signaled the squad to stop with a half-raised open palm hand. He signaled the commando forward.

”Sir!” Higgins said.

”Higgins, I want eyes on that compound.” Thomas pointed to the compound above them. ”I'll give you fifteen minutes, I want to know how many are up there, and their positions.”

”Yes, sir!” Higgins smartly saluted and then scampered off to the compound.