The Howling Valley

They stopped to rest not long after, Scotty checking his small compass. They were still headed more or less south, that was good.

“I’ll need to find another tree to climb soon,” Scotty said quietly, sitting down on a root next to Thanh, Vinh leaning against an opposing tree in an attempt to catch his breath. "If there's a chance we're coming to the end of this place, we need to know."

"I agree," Thanh said, shedding her flak jacket in order to cool down, "if you'll leave me your rifle when you do, I would appreciate it."

"Sure. Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" She asked, looking at him quizzically.

"Yeah. I'm trying to check on you, you know?"

"I could be better," she said, "though that is putting it mildly."

He unclasped his canteen, still around half full, and took a swig, handing it to her afterwards. "That makes two of us. I feel like I should be used to being hunted by now, but..."

"It makes sense. We have no idea what is out here, where it is, or what it wants," she said, throwing the canteen to Vinh after taking a drink herself. He looked mildly surprised at the offer, and warily took a sip, as if he'd expected it to be poisoned. He finished, and took a few steps toward Scotty. Scotty tensed up, and perhaps Vinh saw this, because he stopped dead and leaned forward, offering the canteen gingerly to the Marine. Scotty hesitated for half a beat, then took it back. Vinh stepped back, the shadow of both fear and relief upon his face.

"Let's get moving again," Scotty said, standing up again, "I want to get somewhere with better lighting."

They trudged further south, heading further into the unknown than any of them were comfortable with being.

*****

"Are you all right, Scotty? I saw you nearly fall up there; I would have asked then, but I didn't want to distract you, and-"

"I'm okay," he said breathlessly as he bounded over to Thanh, "you know, I'm starting to get the feeling that you're worried about me!"

Thanh glared at Scotty as they started walking again. "Of course I am. I need your shooting expertise!"

"Yeah, sure, that's all," Scotty said, grinning as he took his rifle back from her, "you sure you don't want to take me out for a nice candlelit dinner when we’re back in Saigon?" He laughed as Thanh punched him on the shoulder.

"I'd heard that American men are all lecherous pigs," she said coolly, "and I hope that you are not about to prove it to me."

"It was just a joke," he said in a mock sheepish tone. She rolled her eyes, which only encouraged him further.

"Hey now, you never said 'no'..." He laughed again as she rained punches on his shoulder and upper arm as Vinh looked back at them in confusion, then shook his head as his gaze returned forward.

"Okay, okay, stop! Stop!" She relented, still glaring.

"Look, I didn't see the end of the valley when I was up in the tree, but it does look like it's canting to the west. The river is about half a mile in the same direction; we should head there and stock up on water."

"How much food do we have?"

"Not much. We'll have to try hunting soon, which I'm concerned about because I only have so much ammo."

"Well, I suppose we'll have to try anyway," she said, looking up through the canopy at the slivers of sky that peeked through its' dense cover. Then, Vinh stopped ahead of them. Seeing this, his companions did the same. Scotty could see that he was looking at something to his right down on the ground. He walked over, reached down and came up with something in his hands, turning it over to rub the dirt off of its' face. Scotty thought it looked like a piece of metal.

"Hey, what is-"

Thanh was way ahead of him. She questioned him, and he turned toward them, showing his find. It was, indeed, a piece of dark, corroded metal. He handed it to Thanh, who turned it over in her hands. Scotty could see that it was warped and had jagged edges.

"Huh."

"What do you suppose it came from?" She asked.

"No idea, but we better keep moving. We're burnin’ daylight."

She set the piece of metal on the ground, and they continued west towards the river. The jungle began to thin out a little as they walked, the lighting becoming brighter as they did so. This greater level of illumination would prove fortuitous, as Scotty would not have seen the surprise to his left without it.

“Holy fuckin’ shit!”

“What?!”

The dark hunk of twisted, mangled and burnt-out metal contrasted sharply with the bright greens and yellows of the jungle around it, and it only took one glance in the general direction that Scotty was looking in for both Thanh and Vinh to see what he was seeing.

It was a downed chopper, and upon closer inspection it was clear to Scotty that it was an American Huey, as he recognized the overall outline and what remained of the rocket pods mounted on the sides. It lay on its’ right side, the front of the vehicle completely mangled and blown out; it had obviously been hit by some form of anti-aircraft fire before coming down.

“Is that...is that an American chopper?” Thanh asked quietly.

“It is. I’m gonna check it out, there might be something useful.”

He approached the wreck, working his way toward the cockpit. He reached it, and peered inside. As expected, it was blackened and overgrown with creeper vines. Upon closer inspection, however, he saw that the skeletal remains of what had likely been a co-pilot were still strapped into the second seat, though the skull had detached from the spinal column and lay elsewhere. There was no sign of any other crew; perhaps they’d gotten out. Scotty briefly wondered how far they’d gotten if so.

A quick search of the cabin revealed nothing at first. There were the rusted, locked-up remains of an M-60 still clinging to its’ door mount, but it was clearly beyond useless to them. He didn’t see any weapons or ammunition, and was about to give up until, on a lark, he decided to peek behind the seats in the back. Something had been tucked away there, something made of cloth. Gingerly, he reached in and grasped the foreign object, pulling it out slowly.

Vinh and Thanh approached him as he looked it over: it was a GI’s rucksack. The two looked on as he opened the rotting canvas bag (tearing it badly in the process), and looking inside.

“Holy shit,” he whispered.

“What? What is it?!”

“Jackpot.”

He pulled out a flat, green object made out of metal. It was broad with a slight outward-facing curvature to its’ face, with the phrase ‘FRONT TOWARD ENEMY’ emblazoned in bold lettering upon the wide metal panel. Vinh’s eyes widened at the sight of it-he and his comrades had clearly encountered them before, Scotty thought.

“Claymores,” Scotty said, looking back into the bag, “two of ‘em. Got a detonator and plenty of wire here, too. Good, that’s real, real good. Good shit, yeah,” he trailed off, muttering as he continued to dig through its' contents.

“Anything else of use?”

No. Some old clothes and other junk. I don’t think we’ll find anything else here, though. My guess is that at least one other person got out of here alive and took any weapons other than the mounted machine gun; probably either couldn’t carry it or didn’t know how to detach the thing. Guess they forgot about this, though.”

“Will they work?”

“Should. Don’t look corroded, and the contact points on the detonator look okay.”

”Excellent. We should head to the river then, I’m thirsty.”

*****

The soft gurgle of the river was a welcome change of pace from the oppressive silence and occasional screeching of birds in the jungle. The brush proved not to be too dense on this stretch, so they were able to walk alongside the water.

“I’m not sure we should be here,” Scotty said, eyes darting around the treeline on the opposite shore.

"Why not?"

"Because I remembered a hunting lesson about how prey animals are most often killed while drinking from bodies of water. That's when they're most vulnerable."

"Well, we're paying attention, so I think that we'll be fine."

"We're exposed, Thanh," Scotty shot back, "and we ought to cut back into the jungle soon. It might be hiding anywhere, and we wouldn't know until it snagged one of us."

Thanh considered this, then spoke Vinh's name. He turned to look at her while they walked, and she questioned him for a moment. A dark look came over his face, and he clearly went into deep thought. After a brief time, he spoke again.

"He says that you are correct, and that we should not assume that the creature would not ambush us while we walk the shores. He suggests that we cross the river as well, in an attempt to disguise our scent."

"That doesn't actually work, I know that for a fact."

"Well then let's keep going until we can't walk along the river any further."

"Fine with me," Scotty said.

As exposed as he felt, Scotty could not help but find the river beautiful. Flanked by mighty trees that had likely been untouched for centuries, lush plants with all manner of leaves and fronds that glistened with moisture and life, and the soft, rumbling voice of the river combined with the calls of insistent wildlife providing background ambience to it all, he couldn't help but feel that he had stepped into the pages of some tropical edition of National Geographic.

"It is beautiful, I have to admit," he said quietly.

"Yes," Thanh replied, looking up to the blue sky and the blazing sun above, "it makes me wish I had not lost my camera at the waterfall."

"You did? Oh. I'm...I'm sorry."

She smiled. "Don't be. Right now I'm more concerned with survival than taking proper photographs. My job is not my current priority...though my editor will likely be furious at me for losing it; that camera belonged to the company. They'll likely make me replace it."

"Fuck 'em. They give you any grief, and they can deal with me."

She laughed, placed her hands over her heart and fluttered her eyelashes exaggeratedly. "My hero!"

He smiled and rolled his eyes. Was it just him, or was there some tension building between them? He'd never been great with women (he was normally too awkward and shy), but something about Thanh made her easy to talk to and even flirt with. He once again found himself stealing quick glances at her body as they walked-she'd been carrying her flak jacket over her shoulder for about a day now, clad in only the white tank top she'd kept underneath. The moisture in the air combined with her sweat caused the thin fabric cling to her torso, accentuating the gentle curvature beneath. Her flat tummy, likely maintained by years of walking and hiking around to get the perfect shot that formed up into the curvature of her breasts, the slightest sign of her nipples poking through the white fabric of her shirt, her hips that just would not quit...it caused a stirring within him, one that he hadn't felt for a while since he'd been in country-at least, before she'd showed up after his unit's redeployment.

Push it down, Scotty, you gotta focus, man, he thought, you can't think about the beauty next to you...I mean holy shit, she really was a beauty, just look at those beautiful brown eyes, and that skin looks so soft and supple...

He shook his head rapidly, his helmet clunking around on his head as he did so. Thanh looked at him in confusion. "Are you all right?"

"Uh...yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

"No, you aren't."

She was a whip-smart and perceptive little lady, that was for sure. He was positive she'd seen him look at her; she wasn't fucking blind, and he didn't think he was that clever. Hopefully it didn't cause any problems, because that was the last thing that he-or, more accurately, they-needed right now.

"Have I upset you, Scotty?"

He snapped back to reality. "Huh?"

"Did I make you uncomfortable earlier? I was only teasing you."

"No, Thanh, you've never made me angry or uncomfortable. You're too likable."

She smiled, looking up at the trees on the opposite bank, then spoke again. "Do you think that I'm attractive, Scotty? Be honest; I'll know if you're lying. Women always do."

Oh, fuck. It was as if she'd read his mind.

"Well? I'm waiting." She wasn't smiling anymore. Her expression was neutral, there was no hint of what she was thinking. He'd been cornered.

"You got me."

"I'll take that as a 'yes', then."

"Okay, fine, yes."

She nodded, her expression still neutral. "I appreciate you being honest with me."

"Uh...all right?"

She did not respond. Scotty, his heart going wild, continued walking along the shore of the river, in a state of uncertainty and total confusion. What had just happened? Had he been tricked, was she fucking with him? He almost said something about it, but ultimately decided against it; he was embarrassed enough as is. Best not push her, he thought to himself.

The morning gave way to early afternoon, and they continued to traverse the shore of the unnamed river. While Scotty still didn't like the exposure, he had to admit that it was faster than trudging through the jungle. On the other hand, it did leave them directly exposed to the brutally hot sun, and soon enough Scotty found himself stripping off his own flak jacket to avoid its' punishing glare. He found himself oddly self-conscious at that moment: while he wasn’t anywhere near a tub of lard, he wasn’t exactly on the level of someone like Walters, either. Scotty had always been on the lean side, and he found himself wishing that he were more of a physical specimen. But did Thanh even find that attractive? What DID she find attractive, anyway? He had no idea; her frank and impassive acknowledgment of how he saw her was driving him crazy now, and he-

Vinh, in the lead as always, stumbled back as soon as he saw the leopard off to his left. It was the first sign that something was wrong, even before Scotty and Thanh saw the animal for themselves. Vinh stumbled back as it loped out into the open, eyes wide and teeth flashing. It had been lounging in the shade until the three interlopers had come along, but now it looked ready to fight for its’ meager slice of territory.

Scotty swung up and shouldered his M-16, and he heard Thanh disengage the safety on the pistol she’d carried for the past two days. Vinh could only take shelter behind his captors. The carnivore edged forward, a deep, rumbling growl emanating from its’ throat, clearly issuing a challenge to the intruders before it.

“Back up. Thanh, tell him!”

A hurried, whispered sentence in Vietnamese from Thanh, and no response from Vinh.

“Keep backing up. I don’t wanna tangle with him,” Scotty hissed.

Too late. The leopard yowled, and then it charged. Scotty managed to squeeze off two rounds, both hitting its’ left flank. It tumbled head over heels, spitting and howling in pain, Scotty managing to duck out of its’ path as he did so. Vinh dove to the side and out of its’ way, and it came up in time to lock onto Thanh. Scotty saw her eyes widen in terror as it snarled at her, teeth flashing like daggers, and there were two more earsplitting ‘boom’s as she fired on the animal. The first round went wide, and the other clipped off most of its’ left ear. The leopard screamed in rage and charged.

Scotty felt as if he’d unleashed Hell’s fire itself as his M-16 roared, empty brass flying in a high arc. The copper-jacketed ordinance ripped into the beast’s torso, legs and neck, puffs of bloody mist immediately marking their entrance. The inertia of the predator’s pounce carried it into Thanh’s torso, knocking her to the ground and pinning her underneath it. Immediately, she jammed the barrel of the 1911 into its’ chest and emptied the magazine-five rounds of .45 caliber ball roared from its’ muzzle and found their new home in the body of the leopard. Scotty had been correct: she caught on quick. She may survive yet, he thought to himself.

Scotty charged forward, the bolt of his rifle having racked back empty. As the yowling animal entered its’ death throes, thrashing and raging on top of Thanh, he planted his Marine-issue size 13 into its’ shoulder with every ounce of strength he could muster. It slumped off off of her, and she scrambled away from it as quickly as she could.

Later, Scotty would freely admit that his rage and adrenaline had overriden his common sense as his rifle dropped from his hands and he pulled his knife with one fluid motion of his right arm. With a roar, he came down and drove the blade into the thing’s neck. Its’ eyes bulged almost comically, and it let out a gurgling scream as its’ legs and tail thrashed. Scotty growled as he twisted the Ka-Bar like a corkscrew, until the animal finally went still. He pulled the weapon from the out and fell back, covered in blood, gasping and panting as he stared at the gruesome scene he’d helped to create.

Then, the crashing and bellowing came from the west. It sounded as if it was less than half a mile from the river.

“Fuck, GO!” Scotty grabbed his rifle from the riverbank and stuffed his bloodsoaked knife back into its’ sheathe. Thanh and Vinh had been glancing around in terror, and it took Scotty grabbing each of them by the upper arm in turn to get them moving.

“Into the jungle, go, go! Don’t stop!”

And so they charged together back into the deep, dark heart of the forest, its’ green arms enveloping them as old friends as they ran blindly away from the scene of their fight with the leopard. They could hear the creature in the near distance, howling and screaming as it cut its’ way through the trees toward where they had been; it would only be a matter of time before it tracked them from there, Scotty thought. They had a head start, sure, but this thing sounded fast-far faster than they were, and they needed to get somewhere where they could lay low for a while-and pray that it did not find them.

In the meantime, they ran. It seemed like a suitable alternative to standing up against whatever was lumbering through the jungle towards where they had come from.

*****

"We had no choice, Scotty. That leopard would have killed any one of us if we hadn't fired on it."

"Still doesn't make me feel any better. We let it know right where we were; I wanted to make it out of here quickly and quietly, but it looks like that might not be possible if we run into any more predators...or if we have to hunt."

A quick, muttered sentence in Vietnamese from a few feet away. "He says we must move now, that it may find us if we stay."

"Jesus, we just ran nearly a mile and I'm still trying to bandage these cuts. I don't want fucking gangrene here."

Scotty and Thanh were trying not to burn through all of the disinfectant and bandages in the Marine's first-aid kit. They both bore numerous cuts and slashes from their encounter with the big cat, and they were trying to patch them as quickly as they could in order to avoid infection. Out here, in this environment, even a small slice could be a death sentence without immediate attention.

"I agree with him."

"What?!"

"Scotty, please!" She took his large hand in her smaller ones, "We should leave now, who knows how far off-course we are and how much time we will lose because of this?"

Again, her logic was unassailable. He relented, and after some quick patching that was cruder than he'd have liked, they checked Scotty's compass and headed due south. As they traveled, the howling rose above all other sounds, raising the hairs on their necks and chilling their very bones. If it had somehow not known that they were here before, then it most certainly did now. The clock was officially ticking.

“All right, fine. Let me tie this off and we’ll be outta here. Again, I don’t need an infection, not now.”

It went without saying, but the river was likely not going to be an option anymore. If this thing was smart, it would know to keep an eye on any water source in the area; they needed to make what they had last and get out of that valley before they ran out...if that were even possible, which, in Scotty’s mind, he doubted.