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Spider reappeared, telling Bishop they were going to join the Marine convoy and were to take the third spot when they pulled out.
    They fell into place behind a Humvee and had gone about half a kilometer when Bishop noticed that the streets were suddenly empty of people . “Hey Spider, where did all the people go?” Spider looked around and started to say, “Oh shit,” when the Humvee in front of them rose straight into the air. Bishop could remember seeing the rear tires rise off of the ground and then the windshield of their SUV turned snow white with cracks from the blast wave. The next thing he remembered was the seat belt of the SUV strangling him as he was hanging by it.
    Their SUV was lying on the driver’s side, and Bishop was suspended above a groaning Spider. He managed to put a boot on the console and tried to undo his seat belt, but it was jammed. He pulled his fighting knife from his chest rig and sliced into the seat belt once, then again and finally cut through. He managed to use his rifle barrel to punch out the glass from the passenger window and pulled himself out. Once he was on top of the passenger door, he looked back inside to check on his buddy. Spider was trying to clear his head and was bleeding out of his nose, but he gave Bishop the thumbs up and proceeded to unhook his seat belt. As soon as he was sure Spider was going to be okay, he looked up at the wrecked Humvee. It was lying on the driver’s door as well, and the front half was missing. Bishop could see one of the Marines had been thrown free of the vehicle but could not see the other man. A small “puff” came from the underside of the Humvee, and he knew instantly that it was starting to burn.
    He hopped off the wreckage and ran toward the now burning Humvee . He found a foothold and climbed up so he could look inside and saw a Marine still strapped into the passenger seat. The fire was making the frame very hot under Bishop’s arm. He had to get the man out of there. He pulled his knife again and sliced through the seat belt. Bishop reached in, grabbed the man’s plate carrier and pulled with everything he had. He pulled so hard that the momentum carried him and the Marine off of the side of the Humvee and they landed in a heap beside the vehicle. He knew something was not right even before he hit the ground. He should not have been able to pull a fully loaded man out like that. He sat up to check it out and grasped that he had pulled out only half of a man. The lower half was still in the Humvee. A stunned Bishop just sat there staring at the man’s intestines unraveling on the ground.
    Bishop didn’t realize it at the moment, but his ears no longer functioned . During all of the turmoil, it had never dawned on him that there was a complete absence of noise. He noticed movement and looked up to see the gunny motioning him to get down and mouthing something. W hat was he saying? …..in….in…in coming….INCOMING! Bishop started to lay flat when a mortar exploded 20 feet away causing the ground to shake so hard that he actually bounced. Hot air blew off his hat, and the dead Marine’s body was flung on top of him. He shook his head to clear the bright white lines that were crossing his vision. He started to get up, but his legs would not answer the commands being sent by his brain. It was the first time in Bishop’s life that he was so frightened he could not move. No , he thought, Oh God please not now, not in front of the Marines. Move, God Damnit! Move your ass, old man; and he willed his legs to start pumping in any direction. He managed to get up and had made two half-crawling steps when the gunny waved violently for him to get down again.
    The second mortar hit right as Bishop’s cheek made it to the hot sand . His legs were picked up and flung sideways by the force of the blast. He ended up completely disoriented with grit in his mouth and eyes. His next memory was of being dragged away, face down, from the burning