The Rain

I want to remain anonymous…

I was a marine sniper in Viet Nam. One night while on an assignment, it was raining very hard and I was looking for shelter from the rain. I came across a cave and slowly slipped inside. I immediately became aware I was not alone. I slowly reached for my lighter and flicked up a flame and felt a rush of relief to see 7 other marines in the cave.
We sat and talked for hours and finally went to sleep. I suddenly awoke to find I was alone in the cave and people were outside the cave speaking in Vietnamese. I slipped as quietly as I could to the back of the cave. They sat in the cave the rest of the night, I did not sleep.
As daylight came I could see they were NVA soldiers and I knew I would soon be discovered. I suddenly opened fire as I ran out of the cave and into the jungle. It was still raining real hard but I was surprised I was not being followed.
Hours later, I returned to the cave and there were no bodies or people any place to be found. I do not know if I had missed everyone or if they cleaned up the dead and wounded and moved out. It finally stopped raining and I move on.

Anonymous
Almond, WI