Into The Trees

Oh Shoot, A Tunnel Rat

Author's Note: This is probably the longest chapter in the book. Enjoy.

The team arrived at the tunnel complex ten minutes after leaving the village. They had the time to rest as the USMC was delayed by an ambush but they were back on their feet. Ernie had informed HQ of their plan to free the prisoners, which was despised by the higher-ups. The team was ordered to proceed to the RV but they went anyway.

"This is it." Said Scooter as they surrounded a trap door in the ground. "Everyone ready?" Said Bert. He was answered with nods. Bert signalled for Samusé to hold open the trapdoor. Bert slowly lowered himself. As he entered, he took the flashlight off his webbing and flicked it on. He grabbed his M1911 from his holster on his webbing. He slid back the slide a little bit to check if a bullet was chambered. After that, he pulled back the hammer and flicked off the safety. "Are you OK?" Asked Ernie who had recovered from his injury. "Yep." Said Bert who awaited the arrival of his squad. "Uh, Bert? I think Ernie and I should wait up here." Said Scooter from above. "Good idea." Said Bert. Samusé began climbing down into the tunnels. He grabbed his flashlight and sidearm which was a revolver and not a semi-automatic pistol. Samusé tapped Bert on the shoulder as if signalling that he was ready. Bert slowly proceeded through the narrow tunnels with his gun raised. As he got deeper he slipped on a wet piece of ground. He saw that the ground below was a small tunnel full of water. "That could be dangerous." Said Samusé. "It might be a dead-end and you could drown!" 

Bert began to look around to see if there were any alternative options until he saw a crack on the wall. "Samusé, aim at that wall." Said Bert as he turned to the wall. Bert kicked the panel of the wall with his boot and a trapdoor broke open in the wall. On the other side was a man in a blue jumpsuit and a helmet with an SMG in his hands. Samusé and Bert had their weapons raised and pointed at the man so when he tried to raise his submachine gun he was met with several bullets from two different people. Bert stuck his head around the corner to see if it was clear and it was. He went through first and picked up the man's gun as he had left his M16 outside because of the narrow tunnels. He racked the bolt and saw a bullet pop out of the chamber. He was going to load it into the magazine but it was covered in mud and would be a liability. Bert turned and helped Samusé through the trap door. The two continued to work their way through the tunnels until they reached a tunnel leading straight through into what looked like another room. Samusé insisted on going through first and Bert let him. As Samusé reached the end of the tunnel, a soldier stood in the adjacent room with a full-sized rifle. Samusé fired a shot from his revolver into the man's head painting the wall behind him. Samusé popped out of the tunnel and was surprised when a man charged him with a knife causing him to drop his gun. Samusé ducked the man's initial swing with the knife and responded with a kick to the side. Samusé's combatant tried an overhead swing but was parried with a swift blow in the side of the head with Samusé's hand. He followed up by knocking the knife out of the man's hand. His enemy tackled Samusé into a wall and began strangling him with two muddy hands. Bert fired a shot from behind the man hitting the wall next to him. The man turned and Samusé leapt for the revolver on the floor next to him. Samusé aimed at the man and squeezed the trigger striking him in the chest. He pulled back the hammer and fired again hitting in the upper thorax. Bert finished him off with a shot to the back of the head. 

"Are you OK?" Asked Bert as he cleared the room of any other threats. "I'm OK," said Samusé who was busy reloading his gun. As Bert rounded the corner he saw yet another tunnel. Once Samusé had recovered he began crawling through. He reached the end of the tunnel and popped out into a place that had no interior lighting. He placed his pistol hand with his flashlight hand locking them together. He rounded a corner and saw what looked like a cage. As he approached he saw three separate cages. "Hello?" Asked Bert as he inspected the room. "Bert?" Asked someone from one of the cages. "Is that you Joe?" Asked Bert. " You came!" Said Joe. "Who are the other prisoners?" Asked Bert. "Well, you have Sanders and Mic." Said Joe "Mic?" "He's a vehicle engineer." Samusé came in behind Bert. "We need to get you out." Said Bert. Samusé started kicking one of the bars on the wooden cage until it broke. Joe crawled out of his cage. Bert walked over to the cage where the engineer sat. "Hey, can you hear me?" Asked Bert. "We're here to rescue you." Mic looked up and saw Bert. "82nd Airborne. I'm Bert." Bert used his boot and broke one of the sticks. He grabbed Mic's arm and pulled him out. "I'm Mic Anich. A pleasure to meet you." He said, shaking Bert's hand. "Can you use a gun?" Asked Bert. Mic nodded as Bert passed him his M1911. "Let's go." Said Sanders as the team armed themselves. 

Joe had a shovel which he grabbed somewhere in the room. Sanders had hidden an MK23 'Hush Puppy' silenced pistol in his boot. Sanders took point as he was now the commanding officer. As the team progressed Back out of the tunnels they passed over the bodies they had left behind. It was smooth sailing until Sanders kicked a tripwire. Bert dived towards the grenade and threw it into the tunnel behind them. The explosion was deafening and was amplified as the tunnels were as narrow as they were. Everyone had braced themselves from the pressure of the explosion passing through the tunnels. "Everyone OK?" Asked Sanders as he brushed the dirt off his face. "I think we're good." Said Mic as he surveyed the area. Joe heard the yelling of the Vietcong and the footsteps and crawling around them. "Go!" Yelled Bert as he saw people emerging from hidden doors. Bert raised his SMG and started firing bursts at the tunnels and doors around the group.

A man tried to sneak up on Bert but he spun and fired a burst into his head. As the group got through the tunnel, Bert followed making sure to keep his rear covered at all times. Bert emerged from the tunnel and saw his team take a tunnel to the left. "That's the wrong tunnel!" Yelled Bert. People began emerging from the tunnel and Bert signalled for them to follow him. Sanders emerged from the tunnel last but when he stood still Samusé asked: "What the hell are you doing?" "I'm covering you." A grenade was thrown into the room from a tunnel and Samusé tried to get it out of the room but it bounced off a dirt wall. The grenade blast knocked Sanders gun out of his hand which a Vietcong Soldier used as inspiration to emerge from the tunnel the grenade was thrown from. Samusé reached for Sanders' pistol and fired two bullets into the man's stomach and shoulder. "Go now!" Yelled Sanders. Samusé nodded and began proceeding up the tunnel to the surface. Sanders tried to follow them until he felt an excruciating pain in his leg. He was about to give up until Bert grabbed his hand and hoisted him up to the surface.