Dawn broke, and with it terrible news. Radar, feeling a sense of d�j� vu, entered the mess tent. Everyone paused in mid-bite and looked over at the corporal. His eyes were red, his face tear streaked. Potter rushed over to him and steadied the boy so he could blindly sit down at the bench. He thrust an envelope at the Commander.
Confused and dreading what he might find, Potter shook the contents out into his hand. The dogtags, sliver flecked with red, shined dully from the outside light. Pierce, B.F. Captain. �Radar?� Potter whispered.
�I called the station,� Radar hiccuped. �The body arrived 2 hours after they left the station�hardly anything left.� Once his message was delivered, he broke down into silent sobs.
The words, though quiet, echoed through out the mess. Klinger was the first to move, to take action. Slowly, he approached Radar and started to lead him from the mess tent
�Radar--�
The corporal turned at the doorway and faced Colonel Potter. �BJ�s didn�t show up��
�I�ll try to find out where he is,� Klinger spoke the words before Potter could ask.
***
The bomb burst, throwing clumps of dirt and dust into the air, obscuring vision and making breathing painful. A lone figure, neither boy, nor soldier, nor Korean stumbled away from the battlefield. His face was dark where smoke mixed with sweat, his whole body felt like one big bruise, but he was alive�
He had no idea where his best friend had gone or what had happened. With a groan, he collapsed. His head throbbed in time with his rapid pulse. Struggling, the man regained his feet. One foot in front of the other. Walking seemed important, away from the noise and death. He ran�had to get away�
The sounds had long since faded before he tripped and fell to his knees again. Dazed, he watched the trees fade in and out as he slowly blinked�his world dimmed, then went black.
***
The sharp click of a rifle woke him with a start. The barrel of the rifle, complete with bayonet, came into view. He followed the barrel to small hands, then a face, a Korean face�a Korean woman�s face. A sharp command in Korean made him quickly stop staring and get his hands in the air�
The gun-sword was aimed at his eye. Some rapid Korean was thrown at him, but he only shook his head, unable to understand.
�American?�
Her English, though heavily accented, surprised him. �Yes��
�Soldier?�
He started to panic��I�I�m not sure��
The rifle was lowered a fraction. �What?�
He just shook his head and lowered his eyes, seeming to be examining his right boot.
�Stand,� the woman demanded.
�All the same, I would rather sit.�
She took a step closer and looked down at the man. His hands, still in the air, shook slightly. He raised his eyes to meet hers, trying not to show any fear, expecting her to pull the trigger any moment. �Get up,� her voice sharply clipped out the words.
The man slowly lowered his hands and used them to push himself off the ground. His world spun and he fell at her feet and she was barely able to move the gun out of his way. She uttered a Korean curse and poked the stranger with her foot�he was out cold.