Bless Me, Father by Stephen B. King ~ A Friday the 13th Horror Short Story

Check out this Friday the 13th Horror Short Story…

I have always respected our sons and daughters who go to war to fight for our way of life. I try not to differentiate between wars and conflicts—I leave that to the politicians. Suffice it to say, if called upon to fight, regardless of our government’s motivations, I respect those who must kill or be killed.

Some time ago, I read a compelling story by a well-known author, featuring protagonists and antagonists who were survivors of the Vietnam conflict known as Tunnel Rats. I was so fascinated by what I read that I did some research on it.

Not far from Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, in the Cu Chi District, the Viet Cong constructed a series of tunnels stretching over 400 kilometers. The tunnels were used to transport troops, supplies, and weapons to launch surprise attacks on the South Vietnamese and allied forces. They also provided a means to evacuate the wounded; in fact, the attacking troops even established underground hospitals. The tunnels were sophisticated in their design, featuring ventilation to minimize the impact of gases and bomb blasts.

Volunteer tunnel rats were recruited from the Australian, New Zealand, and US armies to enter and destroy the tunnels. These rats had to be small in stature because some tunnels had low roofs and narrow walls. They worked in pairs, usually armed only with sound-suppressed pistols and bayonets. They often encountered tethered poisonous snakes, rats, punji spears, and booby traps. If the lead soldier survived such horrors, he would frequently confront the enemy and be forced to fight to the death using only his bayonet. His partner, trailing behind, would set explosive devices to collapse the tunnel if and when they returned to safety above ground.

It is a tragic reality that while many tunnel rats were killed underground, an extraordinarily high number of survivors died, in some cases, years later, due to exposure to Agent Orange and other gases that seeped from the surface.

For a long time, I’ve wanted to write a story about these men and the psychological effects of fighting such terrible battles single-handedly in the dark, confined tunnels riddled with the enemy.

In Bless Me, Father, I was able to feature a man who, after one particularly bloody and gory fight, suffered a mental and physical breakdown and was discharged from the army. He returns home to confront his demons, and with love and family support, he comes back from the brink and becomes a Catholic priest.

Several years later, Father Martin begins to suffer from terrible nightmares involving dead bodies that have been violently killed. Simultaneously, one by one, his parishioners who come to confession are discovered murdered and mutilated. Is Father Martin so psychologically traumatized by his wartime experiences that he is killing his flock, or has a psychopath targeted him?