Once again, Deke led the way further into the Japanese fortifications. Given a choice, he would much rather have been forging a path through the green jungle above, even if it meant cutting his way through with his bowie knife.
Deke stared down the narrow, dark tunnel that lay before them. He felt a draft on his face, indicating that there was a fresh-air vent somewhere in the vicinity. However, the air remained stale and heavy with the scent of damp earth.
“Listen up, fellas,” he said, his voice firm despite the unease in his gut. “We need to be extra careful going forward. Watch for trip wires.”
“Got it, Deke,” Philly replied, his own eyes scanning their surroundings with a mix of curiosity and caution, this being the largest enemy fortification that they had explored.
Where had all the Japanese gone? It was possible that they had been sent to defend Ormoc and Palompon, but hadn’t survived. Whoever was left had likely taken to the hills.
“Yoshio,” Steele called out. “Keep an eye on our rear. We don’t want any surprises sneaking up on us.”
“Understood,” Yoshio responded, his voice betraying a double helping of nervousness.
As they moved farther into the tunnels, Deke imagined that the walls were closing in around him, like being inside a boa constrictor. He shook off the sensation, focusing instead on the task at hand. The Japanese seemed to have fled, but there was no way to be certain who — or what — lay hidden in the dark.
The beam of his flashlight reflected off something metallic near the ground.
“Hold it!” Deke shouted, signaling for the others to stop. “Look at that.”
Philly squinted in the dim light, noticing a thin wire stretched across the tunnel just inches from his foot. “Good catch, Deke,” he breathed, relief washing over him. “That could’ve been bad.”
“Looks like the Japanese left a surprise for us, after all,” Deke muttered, carefully stepping over the trip wire. He followed the wire to where it connected to a grenade that had been jammed into the dirt wall of the tunnel. He wasn’t eager to mess with it, but if they left the wire in place, it was only a matter of time before someone set it off by accident. “Everybody back.”
They retreated along the tunnel. Once they came to a bend that offered some protection, the soldiers hugged the walls beyond the bend while Deke set down his flashlight to illuminate the wire from a safe distance, then lined up his rifle sights on the wire.
“No way he can hit that,” one of the new guys said.
“Ten bucks says your wrong,” Philly replied.
“Keep your head down,” Deke said, and squeezed the trigger.
The bullet cut the wire and the tunnel ahead was filled with a flash and echoing bang. Clouds of dust and dirt rolled through the tunnel, leaving several men coughing and dusty, but it was a lot better than being shredded by shrapnel. Their ears rang. The blast wasn’t enough to collapse any tunnel walls, but the grenade would have played hell with flesh and bone.
“All right, the excitement is over,” the lieutenant said. “Let’s keep going.”
Deke moved forward, twice as cautious as before. He had gotten lucky and spotted the wire. He just hoped that the Japanese hadn’t had time to rig too many other surprises for them.
He halted when they heard a strangled cry behind them.
“Stay calm, Yoshio!” Steele yelled in reply. “Keep shouting. We’ll come get you. Just stay put!”
“Please, hurry!” Yoshio pleaded.
“You two, go get him and be quick about it,” Steele said.
Deke and Philly retraced their steps, finally locating Yoshio in a small alcove down a fork in the tunnel. In the flashlight beam, his face looked pale and sweat drenched. “Thank God,” he muttered. “I swear, once we get out of this place, I’ll never set foot underground again, even if it means a court-martial.”
Philly appeared amused. “What’s the matter? You afraid of the dark?”
“It’s not the dark, it’s the ghosts,” he said. “This place is filled with them.”
Philly’s eyes widened. The look of amusement had vanished. Like Yoshio, he had also gone pale. “Ghosts?”
“Spirits of the dead,” Yoshio said. “Japanese spirits.
Deke didn’t spook easily, but he still felt the hairs prickle on the back of his neck. “Dammit, you two, that’s enough hogwash for one day,” he said. “Let’s get the hell out of here and get back to the others.”
Quickly, they made their way to the main tunnel, where they found the others waiting tensely.
“Dammit, Yoshio. You gave us a scare. Everybody stick together,” Steele said. “Don’t lose sight of the man in front of you. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
