by Dave Hazel
“What about the dangers involved in the forest cuz Ziggy Stardust likes to keep his forest populated with his little creatures to keep good guys away?” Mykal asked and looked to all those who seemed to be filled with information. “The obvious choice without question would be to take the road since the amount of time would be about the same, but would the dangers involved be the same? It sounds too good to be true and I’ve always been told if it sounds too good to be true you better take a closer look. I know on foot we’ll be facing a truck load of danger.”
“There is no getting away from the dangers,” Captain Diaz answered. “That was one of my first questions. If we travel the path or the road we will have a far greater chance of running into the small armies of the one you call Ziggy. Hidtotim said at any given time they could do what we would consider war games, and practice to implement different training tactics and an even larger forces could be sent at one time to do their maneuvers training out in the wide open plains.”
“Which means?” Mykal asked.
“If we pick a wrong time we could encounter an army of ten to twenty thousand soldiers going through the forest on the path,” Diaz declared. “Or we could encounter another group of two to three thousand heading out into the field to move out to their next duty station. Now obviously the chances of that happening during the next three to four days would be very slim. But I would be honest and point out, during our last week, look at how many soldiers, how many small armies, we did run into.”
“Damn, that’s a scary thought,” Mykal sighed.
“That would be one reason to go through the forest and avoid the road slash path,” Diaz replied. “If we didn’t have the Elves and Hidtotim with us there would be the greater chance of us as humans from the other side of the world to get lost and end up somewhere unknown to us, but that is nothing for us to be concerned with. The drawback there of course is being on foot trekking through the forest with all the little forest creatures looking to make a meal of us,” Diaz added as if making an attempt at humor. The point was well taken by all the men.
“Well first, let me ask,” Mykal said and paused when he turned to Staff Sergeant Barry. “What is your thought Sergeant Barry? Cuz I know originally you said you didn’t want to go beyond the tree line of the forest.”
Barry looked around to some of the men under him who were actually his closer friends. “Let me start by saying,” Staff Sergeant Barry paused and clasped his hands together in front of him as if he was praying. “Though we are U. S. Army, we are not grunts. We are not the soldiers who look to get into battles and we don’t live to fight wars as a way of life,” he said with a smirk as he glanced at some of the Marines, Green Berets and others. “We are transportation specialists. We drive the warriors to the war to let them get their aggression out,” he added and chuckled.
“We’re basically bus drivers who carry M-16s,” Sergeant Simmons said and laughed. He was Barry’s closest friend. “While battles rage we’re basically looking for road signs, traffic lights, and blinking turn signals,” he added and received a big laugh. “I’m only joking Myk,” he quickly replied because he wasn’t sure if Mykal would appreciate his lack of seriousness.
“Good, good. I’m glad you guys got a sense of humor,” Mykal laughed with the rest of the men.
“All kidding aside Mykal,” Barry continued. “We learned a lot about your men during the past few days and when I saw all that happened in the last battle my attitude was changed. I know you would have died if we didn’t get you back to safety in time. We were able to rescue some of the wounded in a timely manner which may have helped save their lives also.
“Once we understood the importance of this mission,” Barry continued. “Coming here to this side of the world to rescue Doninka, and the dedication I witnessed from all these volunteers who want to help save Towbar’s people, it touched my heart. Even from New Year’s Eve when I helped you taunt the enemy before they attacked and when you laid out your reasons, I honestly thought you had a screw loose Mykal,” Barry said and most of the men laughed. “But I see the dedication and commitment of all these men, some of which who actually laid down their lives for a people who have nothing to do with our world. It really had a profound impact on me and made me try to understand all the ‘whys’ and ‘what fors’ and I realized I have to do my part. If not just to help Towbar’s people, at least to help our people who are so committed to helping these people of another world. We spoke,” he said and waved his hand around to his men to refer to his group of ‘transportation specialists.’ “And we’re all in agreement that we will do what we can to help all of you men.”
“Aw great,” Mykal said and laughed with happiness. “It woulda been tough if we had to start walking again,” he continued to laugh. “I was getting kinda spoiled with all this driving around, and not walking.”
“Well to be serious Myk,” Barry said and looked down as if deeply saddened. “It hurt most of us when Private First Class Howe was killed. Most of us had known him for a long time and it shocked us. We want to help you men, but we want to kick ass on those bastards. I know, I know, we should never use revenge as a motivating tool, but it--”
“That’s the main reason me and my brother Randy are here,” Roy Jr. said with a serious glare. “Revenge! Don’t take me wrong. We have been with Mykal and his Crew from day one and Mykal is like family to us so we came back here to help Mykal. But our baby brother, Baby Ray, was killed during the first couple days of being here in Towbar’s world and we are running strictly on the fumes of revenge,” he added and laughed.
“Well good then, I don’t feel bad saying we want to get revenge and we have the weapons that will help do that,” Barry said and his men all shouted joyfully. “Not only are we all trained U.S. Army soldiers, but we have six .50 caliber machine guns with 5,000 rounds for each of the fifties. And we also have six Mk19s which we brought ten thirty-two round cans of 40 mike mike grenades for each of the Mark 19s. We are looking forward to make use of them and to use them heavily.”
“Good. That’s what I wanna hear,” Mykal laughed.
“Great, so we’ll plan on driving the path,” Lieutenant Finley said but it seemed like a question. “Do we know how much longer we can count on the Hawkmen?”
“I haven’t spoken to them recently,” Diaz said.
“I spoke to Lanorear briefly the last time we stopped,” Starling replied. “He said their commitment to us is un-ending.”
“Lanorear also said for every step we move closer to the castle,” Leeno continued. “We are that much closer to their demise.”
“They will be killed for assisting us. For not attacking us to prevent our advance into the lands of the Supreme Ruler,” Blair said and followed the pattern of the three. One would always speak to complete the thought or idea of the other Elf.
“They’re still willing to help us even though they’re putting their lives on the line?” Mykal asked.
“Yes,” Starling answered. “They are prisoners.”
“This form they are in, these strange bodies they are trapped in, is not of their choosing,” Leeno added.
“The only way to escape the curse they are under is death,” Blair said.
“Hey Towbar, do you think Nidious might be able to do something to help them?” Mykal asked.
“I do not know my friend.”
“The next time someone talks to them,” Mykal said and looked to see if Towbar would object while he continued with his thought. “Tell them that after we complete our mission here, that we’ll take them back to the other side of the world and we’ll see if an old friend of Towbar’s might be able to help undo the curse they are under. In case I don’t get to talk to them, tell them whether it works or doesn’t work, they can stay there or we will bring them back here cuz we are very appreciative for all their help.”
“I will be sure to share that with them,” Starling said and the two other Elves nodded their agreement.
“I hope to talk to them a little late
r myself Myk,” Diaz said. “We’ll make sure they understand they have options before them. I want them to understand that we will not abandon them after all they have done for us.”
“Alright, we’re good with that,” he replied and pointed to both Towbar and himself. “Look, the sun will be coming up soon,” Mykal said and looked to the lightening sky in the distance. “Do you wanna make sure everyone is up and have them eat before we move on?”
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Diaz replied. “Hey Gunny and Sergeant Lemon,” he turned to the two senior enlisted men. “Would you two take care of that?”
“We’re on it Sir,” Gunnery Sergeant Ratner replied and the two of them turned away.
2.
The ‘path’ they traveled was wide enough in some places to have soldiers twenty abreast to march along. It wasn’t a paved road, but the road had been beaten down into a comfortable thoroughfare from the many years and countless numbers of soldiers who have traveled this avenue through the forest. It was bumpy in places with large rocks to roll over, but for the vehicles it was an easy drive. The men were placed on constant alert so as not to be caught off guard. In each of the vehicles they kept two men up in the turret to look in two directions and with a total of twelve men watching at all times they ensured they kept a constant surveillance covering 360 degrees.
The Hawkmen flew ahead to warn of any potential threats or movements of large numbers of soldiers. Despite all the helps the men had there was an eerie silence that covered the group. Most were concern that they were surrounded by the dreaded Black Forest that was aptly nick named the Forest of Death. Those who were surviving members of the Lost Patrol knew all too well what types of horrors could be lurking beyond the picturesque scenes of trees that varied in size, shape and colors.
Where the Lost Patrol had previously ventured into the Black Forest it had always looked dark and ominous. Here in this part of the Black Forest there were varied colors and beauty. Per the explanation of the Elves, the reason for the beauty versus the gloom farther away was due to the closeness of the castle of Zizmon-Tarl. Hidtotim and his men had no answer since they had never ventured into the Forest of Death outside of this road they traveled. Even as soldiers under the rule of Zizmon-Tarl they had always been warned not to venture into the Black Forest.
The biggest concern most of the men had dealt with was coming under attack and being overwhelmed. If they became trapped and had to leave the vehicles they would be running blind into the horrors of the Black Forest. The number one rule all the men had to abide by was not to get separated and if smaller groups were forced to travel on their own away from the main group and away from the vehicles their main objective was to return to the Tree of Strange Happenings where the World War One artifacts had been discovered just five days prior when they exited the mountain they traveled under.
Mykal was filled with a strange mix of emotions. He knew that each step forward was supposedly that much closer to rescuing Doninka or recovering her body. He also knew that each step forward was also that much closer to coming in contact with the real, ‘World’s Greatest Bad Guy’, Zizmon-Tarl. He believed that it was also that much closer to coming in contact with Captain William Roberts who murdered his close friend Boris, Robert ‘Boris’ Traginsky and then attempted to kill Mykal. Mykal hated the fact that he allowed William to live and had the Goblins capture him in hopes to torture and kill William. Mykal’s fear was that William would have convinced the Goblins to take him to Zizmon-Tarl thus spare his life in order for William to help Zizmon-Tarl in whatever way Zizmon-Tarl would find useful.
Mykal was hopeful Towbar would be successful in using his Mind Talk magic to make contact with Doninka in order to find her whereabouts. If they could locate her prison he believed they would be able to sneak in and rescue her without having to fight the entire army of Zizmon-Tarl. He feared if they tried to take her by force, with a little more than one hundred on their side, it would be difficult at best and costly as far as human lives.
‘One step at a time, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,’ Mykal thought and tried to comfort his anxiousness. ‘Towbar’s gotta make contact with her. That would make things a hellova lot easier,’ he thought and looked to his giant friend who was napping. ‘But damn, what if she’s already dead and this is all for nothing? All the lives that have been lost trying to reach her – No! I’m not gonna do that to myself. They need her alive if they wanna get their hands on their true treasure, the king, King Loankore III,’ he thought and eased his panic that started.
“Anything wrong Myk?” Roy Jr. asked.
“Nah, I’m just thinking through a lot of stuff,” Mykal replied and shook his head while looking at his feet. He knew better than to beat himself up and he had been warned, by Major Chick, Captain Diaz and Towbar not to blame himself and not to feel bad about the things he had no control over, but at times he knew his mind was his worst enemy. “I’m worried about Doninka and I don’t want anything bad to happen to her or to any of the guys who have come along.”
“I know you’re the big shot here, the top dog,” Roy Jr. said with a crooked smile. “But do I gots to slap the shit outcha,” he threatened playfully. “You know you gots to stop doing that stuff to yerself.”
“I know, I know. You’re right and I thank you buddy,” Mykal said with a nod. “I’m glad I brought you and your brother along cuz I don’t know who else would try to keep me in line.”
“Don’t beat yerself up until everything has hit the fan and shit is all over the place. Then you can blame yerself and feel bad about everything,” he added with a laugh and pushed his cowboy hat back on his head.
“You’re right,” Mykal replied with a laugh. “I just need to stop sitting by myself, cuz when I sit and think, all this crap comes against me,” he snickered and felt the vehicle slowing to a stop. “What’s going on?” He asked Roy Jr. but realistically he knew Roy Jr. knew as much as he did.
“We have something in front of us Myk,” Sergeant Barry declared as if he heard Mykal’s question. “The point vehicle spotted something that we should inspect. It looks clear so it should be okay,” he added.
“Do we know what it is?” Mykal asked. Mykal knew their vehicle was third in the convoy. Each of the vehicles rotated periodically to be the lead vehicle.
“Staff Sergeant Feldman of Delta vehicle says it looks like an execution,” Barry replied.
“Execution?” Mykal asked with surprised but it caused Hidtotim and his three men to sit forward in their seats.
“Oh my,” Staff Sergeant Barry gasped when he caught sight of the scene from his front windshield.
Mykal and all the men, with weapons ready exited the vehicle. Mykal clearly saw what surprised Barry. To their right, hanging about fifteen to twenty feet off the ground were nineteen men. They were hanging by their necks and all nineteen had their hands bound behind their backs. On the ground before them were three others. The three had their hands bound behind their backs, bent over fallen tree trunks, and all three had been beheaded. Their heads lay where they fell.
“What the frickin hell?” Gunnery Sergeant Ratner barked at the disturbing sight. “This is a horrid scene of brutal punishment.”
Mykal quickly looked to Hidtotim to see if he could shed some light on the gruesome display of barbaric treatment. “Are they enemies of Ziggy Stardust?” He queried.
Hidtotim and his three men moved closer and looked even more stunned as they approached the twenty-two dead men.
“Oh no,” Nomorek gasped upon closer inspection. “These men were fellow soldiers of the One. I do not know what would have brought about their untimely demise.”
“Are you sure these men are fellow soldiers?” Lieutenant Finley asked.
“Yes they are,” Clontab replied. Clontab was the third of their group. “You can see they are soldiers by the boots they wear and by the trousers they are clad in,” he added and pointed. “All the men had their shirts removed. You can clearly see wher
e they have been whipped prior to being hanged.”
“Could they have been captured by enemies of Ziggy Stardust and murdered as an act of terrorism?” Mykal asked.
“No Mykal, these soldiers have been punished,” Hidtotim said angrily, though he wouldn’t know what they would have been punished for. “To be correct, these men are no longer soldiers. They have been stripped of their position in the army, thus the removal of their tops and the whipping of their backs. They were considered a disgrace and the three who have had their heads severed from their bodies must have committed a worse crime. Do you notice that the three whose heads have been lobbed off, their boots had been removed and forced between their arms at their side. It is symbolic that they will walk barefoot in the afterlife. I do not know what the three did, but they were punished much more severely. If we were to take the time to count the wounds, I would assure you the three took far many more whippings on their bare backs than the others.”
“Oh no. No, no,” Soonme, the fourth of Hidtotim’s group, moaned and expressed a heavy sadness when he neared the nineteen hanging from the trees. “I know this man,” he said and pointed to one of the dead. “He is from my home village. We grew up together. His parents will be deeply saddened. However, his parents will more than likely not be informed of his death.”
“Why is that?” Mykal asked.
“When men are punished as criminals, the next of kin are rarely ever notified,” Hidtotim declared as if Mykal should have known that. “They are not deemed worthy of the respect to inform loved ones, friends or family of their passing unless there is reason to believe family members may be involved with the same crime then the investigation would lead to the family, relatives or friends.”
“I do not know what he may have done,” Soonme moaned. “Yet the truth is, in most situations the charges are false or punishments do not meet the depth of the crime.”
“What do you mean?” Randy asked while he eyed the men slowly swaying under the branches they hung from. Some of the branches gave an eerie creaking sound. All nineteen looked to have swelled faces with eyes bulging and most had tongues protruding from their closed lips. All nineteen appeared to struggle and died a miserable death.