After deciding who enters one of the tunnels, the men handle security and wait for the tunnel to be cleared. After the man descends into the tunnel, Cross begins to fantasize, “and then, suddenly, without meaning to, he thought of Martha” (118). This shows how distracted Cross is when it comes to Martha. Without even thinking about it, she's in his head and he immediately starts dreaming about her. His obsession is so powerful that it interrupts his concentration on the war before him, “he tried to concentrate on the cave and the war, on all the dangers, but his love was too much for him, he felt paralyzed” (118) . The mere thought of Martha prevents him from focusing on anything other than her. He was completely distracted, “his mind wandered, he had trouble keeping his attention on the war…he yelled at his men to spread out…then he slipped into daydreams, just pretending” (117). This shows that Cross thinks first of Martha instead of the men who put their lives in his hands. When Cross thinks of Martha he doesn't think of her casually, he loses himself completely in her, “Lt. Cross looked at the tunnel. But he wasn't there. He was buried with Martha…” (119). When Cross thinks of Martha there is nothing else, no war, no platoon and simply no duty