King Rat

Happy now that they were friends once more, they started into the jungle. Crossing the road was easy. Now that they had passed the area patrolled by the roving guard, they followed a short path and were within quarter of a mile of the wire. The King led, calm and confident. Only the clouds of fireflies and mosquitoes made their progress unpleasant.

“Jesus. The bugs are bad.”

“Yes. If I had my way I’d fry them all,” Peter Marlowe whispered back.

Then they saw the bayonet pointing at them, and stopped dead in their tracks.

The Japanese was sitting leaning against a tree, and his eyes were fixed on them, a frightening grin stretching his face, and the bayonet was held propped on his knees.

Their thoughts were the same. Christ! Utram Road! I’m dead. Kill!

The King was the first to react. He leaped at the guard and tore the bayoneted rifle away, rolled as he twisted aside, then got to his feet, the rifle butt high to smash it into the man’s face. Peter Marlowe was diving for the guard’s throat. A sixth sense warned him and his clutching hands avoided the throat and he slammed into the tree.

“Get away from him!” Peter Marlowe sprang to his feet and grabbed the King and pulled him out of the way.

The guard had not moved. The same wide-eyed malevolent grin was on his face.

“What the hell?” the King gasped, panicked, the rifle still held high above his head.

“Get away! For Christ’s sake hurry!” Peter Marlowe jerked the rifle out of the King’s hands and threw it beside the dead Japanese. Then the King saw the snake in the man’s lap.

“Jesus,” he croaked as he went forward to take a closer look.

Peter Marlowe caught him frantically. “Get away! Run, for God’s sake!”

He took to his heels, away from the trees, carelessly crashing through the undergrowth. The King raced after him, and only when they had reached the clearing did they stop.

“You gone crazy?” The King winced, his breathing torturing him. “It was only a goddam snake!”

“That was a flying snake,” Peter Marlowe wheezed. “They live in trees. Instant death, old man. They climb the trees, then flatten their bodies and sort of spiral down to earth and fall on their victims. There was one in his lap and one under him. There was sure to be more ’cause they’re always in nests.”

“Jesus!”

“Actually, old man, we ought to be grateful to those bloody things,” Peter Marlowe said, trying to slow his breathing. “That Jap was still warm. He hadn’t been dead more than a couple of minutes. He would’ve caught us if he hadn’t been bitten. And we should thank God for our quarrel. It gave the snakes time. We’ll never be closer to pranging! To death! Never!”

“I don’t ever want to see a goddam Jap with a goddam bayonet pointing at me in the middle of the goddam night again. C’mon. Better get away from here.”

When they were in position near the wire, they settled down to wait. They couldn’t make their dash to the wire yet. Too many people about. Always people walking about, zombies walking the camp, the sleepless and the almost asleep.

It was good to rest, and both felt their knees shaking and were thankful to be alive again.

Jesus, this has been a night, the King thought. If it hadn’t been for Pete I’d be a dead duck. I was going to put my foot in the Jap’s lap as I smashed down the rifle. My foot was six inches away. Snakes! Hate snakes. Sons of bitches!

And as the King calmed, his esteem for Peter Marlowe increased.

“That’s the second time you saved my neck,” he whispered.

“You got to the rifle first. If the Jap hadn’t been dead, you’d’ve killed him. I was slow.”

“Eh, I was just in front.” The King stopped, then grinned. “Hey, Peter. We make a good team. With your looks and my brains, we do all right.”

Peter Marlowe began to laugh. He tried to hold it inside and rolled on the ground. The choked laughter and the tears streaming his face infected the King, and his laughter too began to contort him. At last Peter Marlowe gasped, “For Christ sake, shut up.”

“You started it.”

“I did not.”

“Sure you did, you said, you said…” But the King couldn’t continue. He wiped the tears away. “You see that Jap? That son of a bitch was just sitting like an ape—”

“Look!”

Their laughter vanished.

On the other side of the wire Grey was walking the camp. They saw him stop outside the American hut. They saw him wait in the shadows, then look out across the wire, almost directly at them.

“You think he knows?” Peter Marlowe whispered.

“Don’t know. But sure as hell we can’t risk going in for a while. We’ll wait.”

They waited. The sky began to lighten. Grey stood in the shadows looking at the American hut, then around the camp. The King knew from where Grey stood he could see his bed. He knew that Grey could see he wasn’t in it. But the covers were turned back and he could be with the other sleepless, walking the camp. No law against being out of your bed. But hurry up, get to hell out of there, Grey.

“We’ll have to go soon,” the King said. “Light’s against us.”

“How about another spot?”

“He’s got the whole fence covered, way up to the corner.”