His senses rebelled, but he drank it down, feeling the liquid burning as it flowed into his belly. The heat seemed to spread through him, chasing away the fever chills.
Deke gave the Filipino a nod of thanks. Once again, he was reminded of how generous these people could be. They were doing the right thing, fighting to liberate their country.
Danilo produced fresh-cooked rice, along with some kind of dried meat, not unlike deer jerky. Deke was certain it wasn’t venison, but he didn’t ask any questions. Smoky and salty, the jerky tasted a hell of a lot better than another cold tin of rations. Deke ate slowly at first, then more greedily. Danilo gave a grunt of satisfaction and brought him another mug of tea to wash it all down.
The stars had disappeared, and soon came flashes of lightning and the boom of thunder — nature’s artillery. Rain came down in a torrent, although there didn’t seem to be a breath of wind. Deke and the others relocated to a large porch that kept off the wet, though the drumbeat of falling rain on the corrugated metal of the roof was deafening. It was almost loud enough to drown out the permanent ringing that had begun to develop in Deke’s ears.
Deke finished cleaning his rifle, then set it within easy reach. As the rain let up, a crescendo of tropical insects filled the void. A lonely dog barked somewhere, the mournful tone indicating that he was probably wondering where his owner had gone to.
I know how you feel, fella.
Looking around, Deke could see that the clerk was sound asleep, looking baby faced and innocent in his slumbers. Nearby, Danilo still sat on his haunches, his own rifle between his knees, staring out into the darkness. He caught Deke’s eye and gave him a nod.
With Danilo keeping guard, Deke slept.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Just after first light, Philly and Rodeo reappeared, Yoshio with them. Deke was already awake, wondering what the day would bring. He watched the trio scramble to safety before the Japanese had gotten warmed up for the day. He had to admit that they were a sight for sore eyes.
“Well now, ain’t this a surprise,” he said. “I thought you three would stay back at the beach if you could, tanning your hides.”
“What, and miss all the fun?” Philly asked. “Not a chance. Besides, somebody needs to show you how to fight the Japanese. I’d say you’ve done a bum job of it so far.”
“Bum job? Philly, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“What I mean is, the Japanese are still here, aren’t they?”
Deke nodded toward the streetscape with its myriad hiding places. “I hate to say it, but you’d find more Japanese here than you’d find cats at a fish fry.”
“That’s just what I thought, but without the fish and the cats. Where the hell do you come up with this stuff?”
Yoshio had come straight from Captain Merrick, with the message that the rest of the company would be coming up behind them. The captain had made it clear that he planned to make one more push today in hopes of having the Japanese cleared out of Ormoc.
It wasn’t going to be easy, and it promised to be bloody. Deke just hoped that he could hold up his end of the bargain.
“How is Alphabet doing?” Deke asked.
“Doc says he’ll make it. He got lucky. Chances are that he’ll be on his way back to the States before long.” Philly shook his head. “It was touch and go there for a while.”
Deke nodded. “Alphabet always was a tough customer.”
“You look like hell, by the way,” Philly said. “You’ve got bags under your eyes as deep as foxholes. Anyhow, take these. Doc Harmon’s orders. I saw him when we brought Alphabet in.”
He dropped a couple of large pills into Deke’s palm.
“What the hell are these?”
“Got me. But Doc said that it will cure what ails you.”
The pills were so big that they looked like something you would give a horse. He shrugged and choked them down with the help of a few gulps from his canteen.
Even without the pills, Deke was feeling better. Thanks to Danilo having kept watch through the night, Deke had finally gotten some much-needed sleep. That deep and dreamless sleep was like a healing tonic for his tired body. The aftermath of the fever had left him feeling hollowed out, but functional.
He had slept so deeply that he’d woken up in a confused panic, looking for his scoped Springfield.
“Where’s my rifle? Where’s my rifle?”
“Hey, take it easy,” said the clerk, who had been trying to snatch a few winks before the sun rose fully. He stared at Deke’s hand, which was clenched around the hilt of his large bowie knife. A little madness danced in the sniper’s eyes. “Nobody took your rifle.”
Deke realized that the rifle was right where he’d left it, within reach. He took it in both hands, reassured by the familiar heft of wood and steel. The rifle felt alive in his hands, ready for action.
And so was Deke. To his relief, his fever had broken. Danilo’s tea must have worked its magic. Maybe it had been the doc’s pills. Did they act that fast? Either way, he felt better. He realized that he had spent the previous day feeling as if he were looking through a veil of gauze. Thankfully that veil had lifted.
He raised his head, sniffing the air like a wolf before the hunt.
The morning air carried the smell of burned wood, sweaty soldiers, mud, gunpowder, and a whiff of rotting flesh and jungle decay from the distant hills. The rising sun felt warm on his face as it chased away the night’s shadows.
“Let’s move out,” he said.
What was left of Patrol Easy got to their feet — worn, tired, battered. Nobody griped or argued. The second day of the battle for Ormoc had begun.
They moved out through the streets, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. Every step was fraught with the possibility of carrying them into Japanese fields of fire that had been set up to ambush the Americans.
“Where the hell are these bastards?” Philly wanted to know.
“They’re here, all right,” Deke said. “I can smell ’em.”
Seconds later, a rifle cracked, sending them all scrambling for cover. Philly dove behind the remains of a cart, while Yoshio tumbled behind a pile of rocks that had once been someone’s garden wall. Danilo simply crouched in the street, his eyes scanning the city landscape.
At the sound of the shot, Deke had frantically searched the street ahead, looking for any sign of movement. They were looking at a street filled with small houses. The Japanese sniper might be hiding in any of them.
There was only one thing to do, and that was to go house to house, clearing out any Japanese.
“Pair up and let’s sweep this street clean,” Deke said. Nobody had put him in charge, and he didn’t actually outrank anybody, but he had stepped into the role naturally. Anyhow, this wasn’t their first rodeo, and they all knew what needed to be done. “Kid, you’re with me. Who’s still got some grenades?”
They all looked at one another, but nobody had any grenades left. There just weren’t enough to go around in the first place, but a grenade was extremely useful for clearing a house.
“Everybody’s out,” Philly said. “I knew it. Dammit, why don’t they get us some grenades?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Deke said. “Everybody knows what to do.”
The men fanned out, Danilo with Yoshio, Philly with Rodeo. There were a few of the rear-echelon men with them, the poor bastards trying their best to look like they knew what they were doing. To their credit, they carried out Deke’s orders without complaint. Everybody just wanted to stay alive.
A rifle cracked again. This time the sniper had found his mark. One of the other soldiers crumpled and went down. His grease-blackened hands, still clutching his rifle as he fell, indicated that he’d been a mechanic before being sent to the front lines. He had done his duty to the fullest, dying a hero, but dead all the same.