Soldiers Play Hangman

158/365

The cool breeze rushing through the forest arrived with an eerie silence. It brushed leafs on the trees sending God Rays from the late dusky sun through the gaps, like framed light. Faded boot prints in the dirt assure no one has come through this area in at least a day’s time. I remain on edge today more so than any other day. My gut tells me something is wrong.

My squad has been fortunate enough to avoid crossing paths with enemy forces. Now we’re deep in hostile territory dodging trip wire explosives as we close in on our target and I’ve not yet fired a single round.

As my squad races up the hill through the forest John and Dave slow down stopping just shy of the hilltop in such an unsettling fashion the hairs on the back of my neck and on my arms stand and an electric shock races down my spine rattling my whole body.

I’m not certain why they’ve halted the way they have and they’re not taking cover either. Still, I raise my rifle in a confused panic making peace with the possibility they’ve spotted enemy hostiles and we might die in the next minutes.

The young innocent face of my daughter becomes vividly superimposed over the forest green and my squad. My beautiful wife holding her. Caring for her. Not dead yet and still I regret the mere chance my daughter might be fatherless.

Catching up to my comrades the reason for their frozen state become clear and my stomach churns. Two black American soldiers were hung from a tree, stripped of their military uniforms and gear. Left with only the standard issue thermal layer beneath the uniform.

I don’t even know how to react. Whether I cry or scream or what. But one thing is for sure! It’s infuriating. I’m now more than ready to unload every single round within my rifle on these savage monsters brought to power by their corrupt leader running the country as if it were a business profiting from terrorism. I can’t pry my fixed eyes away from the hanging corpses.

I’m reminded of the day the president gave the order to remove and execute all non-Caucasians within the country. It’s fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday, although it was ten years ago shortly after his reelection. The military instantaneously broke in two parts, those that agree now labeled heroes, and those that disagree now named traitors.

Still fixed on these two soldiers my exact complexion and I can’t help but chuckle that the president’s hidden base is in this forest and once located I make a single call and the facility will be erased off the face of the earth along with whatever orange freak show is going on inside. This war will end. I’ll die proud I made America truly great again.