coonanbernard

@@@@@The shells were falling by the next platoon, the sound painful and jarring to himHe stared out on the moonlit river until his eyes deceived him; he began to think he could see the heads of men in the dark swirls of the currentCroft gazed down at his knees for an instant and then across the river againHe looked a little to the left or right of where he thought the Japanese might be; from long experience he had learned a man could not look directly at an object and see it in the darknessSomething seemed to move in the grove, and a new trickle of sweat formed and rolled down his backHe twisted uncomfortablyCroft was unbearably tense, but the sensation was not wholly unpleasant He wondered if Wilson had noticed the sounds, and then in answer to his question, there was the loud unmistakable clicking of a machine gun boltTo Croft's keyed senses, the sound echoed up and down the river, and he was furious that Wilson should have revealed his positionThe rustling in the brush became louder and Croft was convinced he could hear voices whispering on the other side of the riverHe fumbled for a grenade and placed it at his feet Then he heard a sound which pierced his fleshSomeone called from across the river, "Yank, Yank!" Croft sat numbThe voice was thin and high-pitched, hideous in a whisper"That's a Jap," Croft told himselfHe was incapable of moving for that instant "Yank!" It was calling to himWe you coming-to-get, Yank The night lay like a heavy stifling mat over the riverCroft tried to breathe "We you coming-to-get, Yank Croft felt as if a hand had suddenly clapped against his back, traveled up his spine over his skull to clutch at the hair on his forehead"Coming to get you, Yank," he heard himself whisperHe had the agonizing frustration of a man in a nightmare who wants to scream and cannot utter a sound"We you coming-to-get,