Mykal's Return to Towbar's World

by Dave Hazel

  “That doesn’t matter. I’m in the military and you’re my superior. I don’t have a problem with that. If I thought you were at fault or if I thought you were doing anything wrong I’d let you know.”

  “What do you think is gonna happen to the other guys who have been bitten?” Boris asked to change the subject.

  “Honestly,” Jake looked to make sure no one else could hear him. “Just between us, I think they’re all going to die. Those were some big ass spiders, man. I’m surprised they’re not dead yet. But I could be wrong,” he added when he saw the deflated expression that fell from Mykal’s face.

  3.

  “Alright men, let’s make some time,” Diaz said and nodded for the point men to start. “I want to put as much distance between us and the spiders before dark. I’m not sure if those freaks of nature are nocturnal hunters or not. They are anything but normal.”

  They started off despite the quiet rumbling of protests of the four who were suffering the ill effects of the venom. Lieutenant Kim suffered but being a newly commissioned officer he knew he had to lead by example and follow Captain Diaz’s orders without complaint.

  They had traveled only a short distance when the sound of silence was broken by one of the ill men spewing his light lunch all over the forest floor. It didn’t take long before the others lost their lunch as well.

  Corporal Cotton, a Marine sick from the spider venom fell unconscious. When his head hit the base of a tree it shook him awake, but he didn’t have the strength to get back to his feet to keep going. His hands trembled and his body felt cold. Cotton was a black man with very dark skin; his face seemed ashen, tinged with chalky white hues to areas of his face. He felt so weak he began to cry.

  His tears were brought on by the fear he felt. “I’m gonna die, I know I’m gonna die,” he sobbed. His body trembled and he couldn’t control the muscles he took years to build. He wanted to ask for help, but the retching started again.

  Sergeant Kalhoun and Sergeant Freeman rushed to his side to pull him up so he wouldn’t choke on his puke. As black men they felt they had to watch out for each other because they were sure the white man wasn’t going to help them.

  “What the hell kinda shit is this?” Freeman called out angrily when Gunnery Sergeant Ratner and Sergeant Gormann walked past. “The damn whites don’t give a shit about us.”

  “Shhhh, don’t say that,” Kalhoun whispered.

  “It’s true man. I don’t care who hears me.”

  “What’s true?” Sergeant Gormann asked. Gormann, another black man in his thirties, but a Marine through and through looked angry.

  “The damn whites don’ give a shit ‘bout what’s happenin’ to us,” Freeman snarled and pulled his arm from Kalhoun’s grip.

  “Hold it right there Freeman. I’m as black as you are, bro,” Gormann said and moved to get face to face with the angry Green Beret. “I am a Marine and I know my fellow Marines feel the same way I do. It don’t have nuttin’ to do wit’ skin color. But you damn army dogs don’ teach nuttin’ about respect. You get dat hair uppin’ yo ass if’n you think someone iz lookin’ at you funny. Hell yeah, its gots to be ‘bout my skin color,” Gormann mocked. “We’re all goin’ through the same shit you is, so knock off the cry baby racist nonsense. Do you hear me?” Gormann raised his voice.

  “I told you to shut up,” Kalhoun sighed while holding Cotton’s head up.

  “I asked you a question, son,” Gormann said as if he was an old grizzled veteran. He and Freeman were the same rank though Gormann had two more years in rank on him. Gormann placed his hands on his hips as if he dared Freeman to ‘act the fool’.

  “What’s going on here?” Diaz and Finley rushed to the standoff. They were concerned there would be a fight between the Green Beret and Marine. Diaz being a Marine and Finley a Green Beret knew they couldn’t allow there to be a division in their ranks. “Is there a problem?”

  “Sir, we have an Army crybaby who seems to think we’re racists rather than of the same uniform.”

  “Whoa, what’s going on?” Finley stepped in and took control. It surprised him since both men were black. “Freeman, is this true?”

  “Sir,” he paused after he snapped to attention. “I didn’t mean it like that. It just seemed like the whites don’t care that Cotton is real sick. I’m afraid he might die and he’s my homey. We’ve gotten real tight, Sir.”

  “Stop,” Finley raised his voice. “I understand your concern for him. Captain Diaz and I are more concerned than you know. We are all in the same situation and I will not tolerate any division among my men for whatever reason. Do I make myself clear? Be it skin color, branch of service, age or whatever it is. We are one and we need to stay as one. We can’t allow our situation to cause us to break down as a unit,” Finley said. “We have too many enemies out there,” he pointed beyond the trees, “that would love nothing more than to take advantage of any fractures and divisions in our group. Do I make myself clear?” He asked again.

  “Yes Sir. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m just worried. That’s all. It will not happen again Sir.”

  “Carry on,” Finley finished and walked away with Diaz.

  “Is there a problem?” Mykal joined them.

  “No, the men are under a lot of pressure,” Diaz replied. “Since Freeman is a Green Beret I allowed Lieutenant Finley to dress down his man. We need to be careful, because the men are going to start having trouble mentally with all we’ve been forced to endure thus far.”

  “Do you think they’re up to keep moving?” Mykal asked.

  “Myk, I care about these men, and the best thing we can do right now is keep pushing them,” Diaz’s soft spoken tone belied the words he put forth.

  “I agree,” Finley nodded. “We can’t allow them to forget that they are in uniform and more importantly, that we are in control.”

  “I’m sure glad you guys are here.” Mykal smiled. “I woulda blown it already.”

  4.

  After another three and a half hours of travel they stopped to rest and have a small bite to eat. As a group they were happily surprised to find that all the men who were sick were able to keep their food down. They seemed to be gaining strength and their appetite apparently returned.

  The farther they traveled the more the forest seemed to change. The trees thinned, but now there was more vegetation on the floor. The grass grew longer and thicker and there were new types of bushes and shrubs. Long vines draped everywhere and colorful flowers were nowhere to be seen. Though there appeared to be less trees the atmosphere felt dark and ominous.

  They were on high alert expecting something terrible. The dim and gloomy environment wrapped each of them in the dreary expectation that danger lay at every step. They had an idea what soldiers in Vietnam must have experienced patrolling trails, knowing that booby traps or enemy could strike at any moment. Even the air they breathed seemed depressing and foreboding.

  Within a couple of hours the dismal, ominous presence of the landscape transformed. The change seemed to happen almost immediately as if they walked from a room in a house that was haunted to a room that had been freed of unclean spirits. It felt like a breath of fresh air. The colors changed to vibrant and wild colors. The plants and flowers seemed to be from another world altogether, and everything seemed alive and festive. The cool breeze actually had a calming effect. The air seemed filled with many different indescribable scents from the countless arrays of flowers that covered the ground and the trees.

  “I don’t know what that was back there,” Mykal whispered to Boris while they slowly followed behind the trail the men made. “But I’m sure glad we didn’t run into whatever lived there, ya know what I mean? It seemed like pure evil.”

  “Yeah, I sensed it too. It was kinda freaky,” Boris said with raised eyebrows.

  “Whatever it was, it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” Jake whispered. “But this right here,” he fanned his arm, “a botanist would be in heaven. Thi
s is friggin beautiful.”

  “Look at all these damn birds,” Boris pointed all around them. “And did you notice back there, there wasn’t any sign of life? Wow, look at these,” he smiled as many hummingbird type birds hovered near them to investigate their presence.

  Within minutes there were thousands of the tiny birds flying near them and the continuous flutter of their tiny wings created a whirring sound that became deafening. The size kept growing and the noise of the wings grew louder.

  “Just keep moving and ignore the birds,” Captain Diaz ordered. “Pass it on. Don’t provoke them.”

  “They’re only little birds Sir,” Private Wickey replied. At 19 years old, Wickey was the youngest member of their party. “See how small they are? Whadda they gonna do to us?” He chuckled while readjusting his M-60 machine gun across his body.

  “Wickey, has anything been normal since we’ve been lost?”

  “No Sir,” he reflexively snapped to attention for Diaz.

  “I don’t want to provoke them only to find out they are some kind of strange killer birds. Do I make myself clear?” Diaz joked.

  “Yes Sir.”

  “I don’t want the folks back home to get a message that I was killed by a tiny little bird,” Diaz added playfully and softened his tone. “Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes Sir. Point taken Sir.”

  “He makes a great point Myk,” Boris commented while looking in all directions. The sky filled with the tiny little birds. “Nothing has been normal around here. These damn things probably eat meat and spit poison darts or something just as crazy.”

  “Ah damn it,” a voice complained loudly. “One of these little bastards just shit on me,” he yelled causing many to laugh.

  “Me too,” another hollered.

  “It won’t hurt you,” Finley yelled out to prevent any of the men from retaliating. “With this many birds flying around us, we’ll probably all get tagged. Just deal with it. Awh, right on my arm,” Finley laughed with the rest of the men.

  “It would probably be wise to keep your mouth closed,” Jake advised with his hand over his mouth.

  “Stay focused,” Diaz ordered. “I don’t want this to be a distraction for something else out here.”

  They snaked their way through the bird habitat. Almost all the men were struck by the miniature bird droppings. Mykal was struck on his right boot. Boris was one of the few not hit at all. William had been peppered nine times, more than anyone. Mykal wouldn’t allow Boris to share his theory why William got targeted with more droppings. Mykal didn’t want another fight between them though Boris tried to be humorous.

  An hour or so later with the hummingbirds behind them, the patrol stopped suddenly and the point man dropped to one knee. Quickly and silently the men divided and turned to face the outside of the path so as not to be caught off guard on their flanks. All dropped to a kneeling or prone position waiting for the leadership to determine if a threat existed.

  Mykal moved to the front of the line with Diaz, Finley and Kim. Boris and Jake followed behind him. All the men were anxious, wondering what strange creatures they were going to encounter this time.

  Mykal knelt down behind the point man and Diaz. Mykal was momentarily distracted from the physical reality of what had been discovered. Sergeant McTaggert explained to the officers his discovery but Mykal saw a strange yellow glow that the others didn’t see. It was the same type of golden glow he had seen around Towbar’s sword when not in combat. During combat Towbar’s sword gave off a glow of blue. The golden glow disappeared, but he knew he observed it.

  “That’s strange,” he mumbled and wondered if he just imagined the glow due to his lack of sleep. He scanned the rest of the small area of open land among the trees.

  “What’s strange?” Jake asked and then looked back to the dead bodies McTaggert came upon. “Those skeletal remains must have been here for years.”

  “You didn’t see it?” He asked Jake now that they all stood to their feet. He knew he didn’t imagine it.

  “See what Myk?” Diaz asked. “Another threat?”

  “That yellow glow. You guys didn’t see that glow around a couple of the bodies?”

  “Myk, I didn’t see any glow,” McTaggert replied. “I’ve had my eyes on them longer than anyone.”

  “I didn’t see it either Myk,” Finley said and looked to the others who all shook their heads that they did not see any glowing. “Maybe it was just a reflection of the sun off the metal.”

  Mykal didn’t want to argue, and dropped it, though he clearly saw it. “Let’s post guards, I wanna check it out. This will give the men a much needed rest.”

  “I’m on it,” Finley said and suddenly waved his arms directing different men into different postings. He selected a few men to travel out beyond their location to scout the area.

  Mykal slowly moved closer to their find. ‘I know I saw it even if others didn’t,’ he thought and moved closer to the seven skeletons. All the bones were bare except for the clothing and armor they died in. The exposed bones had been bleached by the sun. He noticed a couple of the skeletons were still wrapped in rotting, worn, blankets making him believe they died in their sleep.

  Four appeared to have been sleeping closer together. There were no arrows, no cuts in the cloth that would indicate they died by stabbing, slashing or chopping. None of the skulls were smashed so he could rule out blunt force trauma. He couldn’t determine how they died other than it appeared they died in their sleep. Mykal looked down at a couple of skulls and he imagined them calling for help from their above ground cemetery. Some of the empty eye sockets had grass and weeds growing through the openings.

  “How do you think they died?” Mykal asked Jake and Boris.

  “These ones died in their sleep and without a struggle,” Jake answered.

  “Maybe they froze to death,” Boris offered.

  “Froze to death?” Mykal chuckled as he moved closer. “If anything, I would think they were poisoned. But they weren’t robbed of their valuables,” he pointed to the possessions within arm’s reach of the bones.

  “Do you think they ate something that was bad?” Jake wondered out loud. “Maybe that’s why they died in their sleep.”

  Boris carefully removed the blankets from the four. Three of them were fighter types. They had on their heavy protective chain mail armor. “Why the hell would you wear this heavy stuff to sleep?” Boris asked. “Wait a minute, with the stuff we been through the past few days, I retract the question.”

  “Yeah, that would be a dumb question,” Jake teased. They looked for clues to their demise. “If I had it, I’d wrap myself in ten feet of barb wire to go to sleep around here.”

  The three fighters had their weapons under the blankets with them. They were armed with heavy battle axes, swords, daggers and bow and arrows. Most of the weapons lost their shine and rust ate away at them. The clothing looked dull and worn, but appeared they were bright and vibrant at one time.

  The fourth under the blankets had no armor but carried two weapons. A short sword still wrapped in the clutches of boney fingers. The dagger lay inside a leather belt. The body long since decayed, so the dagger fell from the belt and rest where the stomach would have been.

  Mykal caught sight of three rings on the other hand. The gold rings lay loose around the bones of the fingers. A large cloth sack sat at the foot of the skeleton. The material of the sack suffered erosion, exposing some of the contents.

  Before Mykal examined the remains he stepped aside to see the other three bodies. To the right of the four were the remains of another fighter type. The frame of the skeleton seemed to be slimmer and smaller than the four. The chain mail armor gleamed brightly and gave Mykal the impression it weighed much less than the armor worn by the others.

  A long bow lay beside the slimmer frame. The string broke years before due to exposure and aging. The quiver held many arrows. Wrapped tightly in the bones of the hand was a sword. The sword seemed differe
nt from the others in that it still held its shine like the armor. It wasn’t marred with rust like the weapons belonging to the others. The idea occurred to Mykal that this would be what Towbar called an Elf. Since the flesh decayed long ago he couldn’t confirm it.

  To the left of the four were the bones of one who had been short and stocky. The frame of the body reminded Mykal of the Dwarven people he met inside the mountain at the Pass. Beside the body lay a large battle axe and a few feet from that a heavy duty shield with strange inscriptions and odd symbols. A large cloth sack rest near the feet. ‘Probably contains all his worldly possessions.’

  A few feet from the Dwarven character were the bones of what looked to be a child. The child was probably a boy and the boy was wrapped in a rotting blanket. The only possession the boy had was a dagger at his side and another folded blanket.

  Several feet farther away from the child looked to be the skeleton of a large animal. The animal looked like it could have been a guard dog. A studded leather collar lay around the area of the neck. Attached to the collar a big heavy chain had been driven into the ground. The bones gave Mykal the impression of a Great Dane, but the skull seemed larger and the teeth were longer. The paws belonged to a very large animal.

  It puzzled Mykal that there didn’t appear to be a struggle. The animal would have alerted them to danger so Mykal leaned toward believing they died at the same time, probably during their sleep, thus it must have been something they ate or drank.

  Mykal looked closer to the boy and the animal. It appeared their necks could have been broken, or could they have dislodged over time? It seemed clear they had been dead for many years. The mystery would remain a secret forever.

  He turned back to look at the four and suddenly he saw the golden yellow glow. The glow was primarily around the one who didn’t appear to be a fighter. The brightest glow rose from the hand with three rings. The glow also emanated from the sword of the one he thought could be an Elf.

  “Are you gonna tell me you don’t see that glow now?”