FEAR


"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."

He repeated the Psalm, watching the trail, listening to the sounds not part of the jungle, waiting for things not part of the jungle. The other men around him, waiting as well, watching as he did.

Waiting. Always waiting.

Whether in the jungle, whether in the camp, it didn't matter. Recon, R&R, city, country. Didn't matter. In this place, you waited. Always. Because they were always around you.

Waiting.

A jungle ambush, a booby-trap. A grenade through the bar door, shots through the cafe window.

Didn't matter. Wherever you were, whatever you were doing.

You waited.

The colonel looked around at his men, signaled them to move out.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."