On a Leash

In this chapter, the narrator tells his story. He is not famous or important, but he has to tell it, so it will not be forgotten. He says that he is neither famous nor unimportant, but that his story will change his life. He tells the story of how he came to be in the middle of a war 30 years ago, and he says that the sound of the machine gun reminds him of that time. He calls for cover fire, and says that if they stay in the jungle, they will get "filled with lead" if they move. He asks if the woman who survived the explosion is being stubborn again, and asks if she has a "death wish." He tells her that she will open her wounds if she continues to move around like that. He warns her that if she keeps moving around like this, she will bleed out, and if she does not stop, he will have to treat her at headquarters. The only way he can calm her down, he says, is to tie her a leash around her neck. She says that she came back to the jungle torn up, and that she is not afraid of her superiors orders, but then again, she is afraid of the shrapnel in her abdomen. She tells him that she thought she would have to perform "major surgery" to dig all the shrapnel out of her abdomen, but she says that it is a miracle that she survived that explosion. She hopes that her little puppy does not have other thoughts, and she promises to stay with him until he gets better.