O’Brien recalls the two times he was shot in Vietnam. The first time, medic Rat Kiley gave him medical care in the midst of battle, checking on him four times, finally helping O'Brien to a helicopter for evacuation to a hospital. O'Brien recuperated and returned to his unit nearly a month later and found that Rat had been wounded and replaced by a new medic named Bobby Jorgenson.
O'Brien was shot a second time, and he nearly died of shock before Jorgenson administered medical care. O’Brien felt intense anger toward Jorgenson. The wound developed gangrene, and O'Brien could not walk or sit. He felt humiliation and embarrassment and began planning ways to get even with Jorgenson.
After his release from the hospital, O'Brien was transferred out of combat to a supply restocking area, and he missed the feeling of fraternity that came from fighting alongside his friends. He continued to suffer pain from his wound.
Later his former company comes to his base for a stand-down, or break from combat duties. O’Brien greets Sanders, Azar, Henry Dobbins, Dave Jensen, and Norman Bowker, and spends the evening drinking and talking with them. He begins to realize that he is no longer a member of their intimate group and becomes jealous of the friendships from which he is now excluded.
O’Brien asks the others about Bobby Jorgenson. He obsesses over seeing Jorgenson, who is also on stand-down, but Mitchell Sanders advises him to give up because Bobby Jorgenson has learned how to be an excellent medic and has been accepted by the group of soldiers. O’Brien feels betrayed and becomes angry.
The next morning, Jorgenson waits for O’Brien because he wants to talk to him. Jorgenson apologizes, explaining that he didn’t help O’Brien because he was paralyzed by fear. O’Brien does not fully accept the apology and decides to take revenge. After being rejected by Sanders, he partners with Azar to pull a prank on Jorgenson to scare him. He later considers canceling his “game” but sees Jorgenson with his old friends and decides to follow through.
O’Brien knows Jorgenson had night duty and plans to spook Jorgenson after dark. Azar and O’Brien string ropes attached to homemade noisemakers and tug the ropes to make frightening sounds in the darkness. O’Brien imagines Jorgenson trying to convince himself that there is no reason to be scared. He feels cruel, but he also laughs and feels powerful. As O’Brien and Azar prepare for the last of their tricks, O’Brien remembers getting shot and recalls his out-of-body experience. He wishes he could stop the prank but Azar takes over. Azar continues rattling the noisemakers and manipulating a contraption made of a sandbag to look like a ghost. Jorgenson shoots the sandbag and, realizing the prank, screams out O’Brien’s name. Jorgenson tells O’Brien that he is pathetic; Azar agrees with Jorgenson and kicks O’Brien in the head. Jorgenson treats the gash on O’Brien’s forehead, and they decide that they are now even.
