the next morning. However, Croft persuades him to send out a single man to see if the Japanese are still in the field where they were ambushed. They agree that if the recon man sees anything, they’ll turn back. They pick Martinez as the recon man, but before he leaves, Croft tells Martinez to report to Hearn that he saw nothing when he gets back. At first, Martinez sees nothing. However, he soon realizes he has wandered into the middle of a Japanese camp, full of sleeping soldiers. He quietly kills the guard and escapes. He makes his way further through the valley and finds another Japanese camp. At this point, Martinez returns to the platoon and reports his findings to Croft. Croft warns him not to say anything about what he has seen to Hearn. Croft tells Hearn that Martinez saw nothing on his recon mission, and Hearn feels obligated to try to go through the valley. Hearn is leading the men back through the valley when he is unceremoniously shot and killed. Croft feels a sense of relief. “No longer was there that confusion, that momentary internal pause before he gave an order.” The men are generally apathetic about Hearn’s death, seeing him as just another officer. Croft takes control of the platoon and decides to take the platoon up and over the mountain. Brown, Stanley, Ridges, and Goldstein are still carrying Wilson back to the beach, which is difficult given the terrain, heat, and fatigue. The group moves about a hundred yards at a time. Wilson is drifting in and out of consciousness and swearing at the men carrying him. Brown and Stanley fight. Wilson wants water, but Brown says he can’t have any because he has a stomach wound. Wilson begins to hallucinate. Wilson demands that they leave him, and each man individually considers it. Stanley collapses, and Brown stays with him, while Ridges and Goldstein continue to carry Wilson back to the beach. Croft cracks down on discipline to reassert himself as the leader of the platoon. Martinez tells the other men that he saw Japanese soldiers on his recon mission the night before, but when he reported it to Hearn, he didn’t believe it. Martinez believes that this is the truth. Martinez and Gallagher, as the Catholics of the group, discuss their fear of death, particularly with no priest around to confess their sins