Preta's Realm Read Online Free PDF Page B

spreading their legs for any cock that comes along. In those days, loyalty meant something. When she told me she’d be true, I never questioned it.”
    Drew squinted from the burning glare of the dream sun reflecting off of the wide greenery of the Asian jungle. He heard the military cadence of the march and the fatigue of the terrain made his muscles ache.
    “We marched for hours. Not like the dusty trails in basic training. No, not at all. We marched through fucking jungle. The machetes of the men in the front dulled after three or four minutes, which meant others rotated up while the first group sharpened the blades. We was lucky if that’s all we had to deal with. You see, they had these serpents that lived in the trees on the island. The snakes would drop down and sink fangs into your neck and you’d be paralyzed before you hit the ground. The venom would shut ya down, one organ at a time so you could smell your own decay. I never had to worry ‘bout that. I threw my machete in the ocean ‘fore we got on ground. I’d rather die than chop weeds. I came to kill gooks, not plants.
    “I saw the ridge as we got closer. Caves jutted from the hillside and openings stared black like missing teeth. We knew the snipers were in there. Nobody had to say it. By this time, ya got so tired, thirsty, and hot, you was ready to kill some gooks. That aggression had to go somewhere. Somebody had to pay.
    “Jessup stopped and checked his rifle. He made sure the thing was loaded. I did the same, grabbing the base of the bayonet and making sure it wasn’t loose. I lost a bayonet in the gut of a gook one time. Had to fish it out with my bare hands. Those Jap fuckers smell worse on the inside than they do on the outside. The sergeant motioned for the men to fan out, go shoulder to shoulder up the ridge rather than single file. I kept Jessup close in case I saw a grenade coming out of them caves. Figure I could dive behind that big motherfucker and save my own ass.
    “The sun abused us. It glared down, boring through my eyes like forged flame. The moisture of the jungle would rot yer toes like rancid meat. It was hard to believe the gooks thought these islands would be worth their lives, but they did. They fought every last one of us, down to the slashing of their throats, if that’s what it took.
    “I put my sight on the nearest cave opening and started towards the ridge. Our company didn’t get but three clicks in ‘fore the first mortar rounds went off. I saw the explosions before I heard ’em. Ducked low, like they train us to do. Company behind us got hit with it. Seen body parts rainin’ down like fireworks on the fourth of July. Heard men crying for their mamas, their wives, and their god. I had to laugh at that. Their god was gonna help them as much as their woman could, by which I mean not at all.
    “The explosions broke our company and we scattered like dung beetles under the boot. I think I shot two or three Jap fucks before the jungle got so dense that we went hand to hand. I knew I had to keep moving up, take the ridge, and I was willing to step on as many corpses as I needed to get there. Always sayin’ that war makes brothers out of men, but I ain’t had no brothers on that day. It was my life and I was going to save it no matter what. Guess that’s why I ain’t never earned no medal like some of dem other boys. Of course, once they got home those medals didn’t mean shit. They didn’t mean shit in the war neither. Other than the moment the brass pinned it to your chest, they was basically useless.
    “The blood vessels in a man’s face burst before his heart gives out. You can watch it happen when you’re strangling the life out of some poor sonofabitch. The gooks always murmured something, praying to their heathen god or maybe asking for their mama in their own Jap tongue. Never got in the way of finishing the job. The first two men that came out of the jungle met their maker at my hand. Blood would dull