by Dave Hazel
“Oh wow. Yeah, I see your point,” Simmons replied. “I would never have thought of that.”
“Right now some of the men are calling in on the radio,” Sergeant Barry said and pointed to the speaker of the radio. “They’re not right here, they are spread out from us, but they are moving to join us. You’re right Myk.”
“I just didn’t wanna take any chances that could have cost us. I would rather spend the extra time covering old ground than taking the chance of having some of our vehicles get stuck and unable to use them.”
“Just so you know Myk,” Barry interrupted their conversation, “Captain Diaz is calling for everyone to gather around his location.
“Good. Let’s get outta the vehicle and wait till everyone is here. They didn’t say anything about my extra vehicle we brought along, did they?”
“No. I haven’t heard anything,” Barry answered. “I put two of my good men in that vehicle to make sure they got it here. Sergeant Levine and Private First Class Fields of my Bravo Fire Team were responsible for driving it. Why did we need that vehicle here?”
Mykal started to laugh because it was the same 1984 Jeep Wagoneer vehicle he drove back to the real world when he took the special attaché case from Mister X to return it to Percy and the President. “Well, I have a couple of different things in mind. After me and Towbar try to Mind Talk with Princess Doninka, either we’re all gonna go to her location to bust her outta her cage,” he exaggerated since she wasn’t actually being held in a cage. “Or I’m gonna go there by myself to sneak her out. I’m either gonna take the vehicle with me or if I go on foot and have to use the green fog for me and her to get away then I’ll bring her here wherever we stash the vehicle and then I’ll catch up to you guys later, once we make our escape. If I can take the vehicle to her location, all the better cuz then we can drive away and use the green fog after we put some distance between us and the bad guys. I have a lot of different options running through my head right now so we’ll have to see what’s gonna happen in the next hour or so,” he added and was confident he would be the white knight riding in to rescue Doninka by himself.
“Okay, Captain Diaz is calling for everyone to gather around him,” Barry announced after the message came through the radio speaker. “Wilde,” Barry called to his fire team member. “I want you to get up in the turret and be eyes for us while we’re joining Captain Diaz.”
“Will do Sergeant,” Private E2 Wilde said and immediately moved to get up into the turret position.
“Hidtotim,” Mykal spoke to the ex-soldier of Zizmon-Tarl. “Do you guys know your way around the palace pretty good?”
Hidtotim looked to Nomorek and Soonme to see what knowledge they may have. “I have only been to the city on a couple of occasions Mykal,” Hidtotim answered. “How say you my brothers?”
“I know nothing of the palace location,” Soonme replied. “I know where many of the soldiers live and where their barracks are located. However in the overall scheme of things I would not be of help to you Mykal.”
“I would have to agree,” Nomorek admitted and sadly shook his head. “I would know my way around peoples and situations, yet I could not tell where the palace or the palace guard would be housed.”
“Is there a reason why you ask us that Mykal?” Hidtotim asked.
“If I go to her by myself I was thinking about taking one or all of you with me,” Mykal replied and sighed slightly. “But don’t worry about it. If you don’t know it like you’ve been there many times I don’t wanna take you guys there and put you at risk. Cuz I know you guys will face death for helping me. It was just an idea.”
“We are willing to help you Mykal,” Hidtotim said.
“You guys have helped a lot. I’m gonna make sure you guys make it back to the Pass, so just sit tight and if you can give any advice we’ll take it. Hey Mathis, go and tell Diaz that me and Towbar will join you guys in a little bit.”
“Sure Myk,” Mathis said and started to turn away. “If he asks why, is there anything you want me to tell him?”
“Tell him we’re gonna go try to make contact with Doninka again. We will join you guys shortly.”
“My friend we need to escape the noise and distractions. We should go into the trees, however since this is the Black forest I do not want to stray very far from the group.”
“Believe me Towbar, I hear ya on that shit,” Mykal laughed. “I don’t wanna stray too far period after all the stuff we’ve encountered on this side of the world.”
After about ten minutes Towbar found an area he felt comfortable to attempt making contact with Doninka. The last time wasn’t just a fluke. Mykal connected to the girl right away. Her excitement could hardly be contained but she kept her voice to a whisper. She had many guards surrounding her and standing near her physically.
“Doninka, you can think your thoughts and don’t have to say anything out loud, but we must hurry cuz I don’t know how long Towbar can hold this.”
“Yes Mykal,” she thought but he heard the words as if she spoke directly to him face to face.
“Are there many guards there right now?”
“Yes. They have surrounded my area with more guards than there have ever been here before. There are literally thousands and thousands of guards surrounding my building. They are camped out all around this area. I now have four guards that are supposed to be in immediate contact with me at all times. They are not supposed to leave my side at all. I do not know what has caused the sudden change. If there is a positive view to this sudden situation it would be the fact that they are not going to move me to a new location. One of the senior guards spoke to others and there was the possibility they were going to move me to a new location. However they decided they are going to leave me where I am. That is why they moved armies of soldiers into this area. Thus far, they are not going to move me at the present time,” she repeated so Mykal would understand that it was a serious consideration to relocate her. “I do not know what they expect to happen. They will not speak in my presence. I am still with the family I started with, however they did add more guards to watch my every movement.”
“Do you think they will keep you in your room or quarters you are staying in?”
“I do not know.”
“Do you have a window?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Go look out the window and let me see what the general area looks like,” he said but she had rushed to the window before he finished his thought. Mykal was surprised by the height she had to be at least fifty feet off the ground. It also gave him a better view of the surrounding area. The open yard was as she had showed him previously, however, now there were thousands of soldiers milling about and setting up tents as she explained. From this vantage point it seemed the open flatland from her building to the stone wall could be a couple of hundred yards. The stone wall surrounding the grounds seemed fairly high, but now he could clearly see armies moving around on the grounds inside the wall and outside the wall. Either they were on maneuvers and practicing or they were moved toward her to protect her due to a current threat.
In the distance beyond the wall, beyond the flat land were scattered trees but also a small pond. The small body of water would give him something to focus on. He knew he could use the green fog to get close enough without having to put her in danger of being transported away and if it came down to it he could approach her location while being invisible. He took in all the sights as much as he could and focused on the small pond.
“Are there other windows in your room?”
“Yes. I will go to the other window,” she thought and she rushed to the window on the far side of the enormous room. Being a prisoner she didn’t lack space to occupy her time. She rushed to the window and he got basically the same view. There were wide open fields, a large stone wall and many soldiers in the area. There was no pond, but in the distance he saw what looked like it could be the start of a city or a town. She was clearly on the outside out the city and not i
n the center of the evil metropolis which made the situation easier to contend with.
“Doninka, when you traveled to this side of the world did Ziggy Stardust use a green fog?”
“Who?”
“Don’t say his name, but we call him Ziggy Stardust. Supposedly, he can pick up when people use his name,” Mykal warned. “Did you go through a green fog?”
“I do not know Mykal. They covered my sight so I could not see.”
“Did you get very dizzy like we’ve talked about around you before?”
“Yes. Yes that did happen.”
“Did you feel a wet slimy junk cover you at all?”
“Yes. It was only on my hands. The rest of my body and head were covered.”
“Okay. Don’t panic but when I come there you should feel your hands tremble and shake and you might even see your flesh turn green. That means it’s me coming to you so don’t let on to others what’s going on. Then be watching for me.”
“I will Mykal. Please hurry.”
“My friend, I must end,” Towbar said and expressed a sense of being strained. The giant sounded like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“I’ll come to you Doninka. Towbar has to stop.”
“Please hurry to me Mykal. I will--”
Suddenly the pretty soft voice was gone.
“Are you okay Towbar?”
“Yes my friend,” the giant nearly gasped while he rested on his hands and knees. “I just need to recover for a few moments. Go, and I will join you in a few minutes.”
“Alright,” Mykal replied because Towbar would never allow him to help him to his feet. Towbar had to regain his strength on his own.
Mykal rushed back to the main group, while Towbar waited a few minutes to recover. His body was physically depleted and drained of his strength. Others saw only Mykal rushed back and became alarmed. They assumed something happened to the giant.
“Where’s Towbar?” Lieutenant Finley asked.
“He’ll be with us in a few minutes. He has to recover,” Mykal said and looked back to see Towbar still hadn’t left the trees yet. “He’s gotta kinda, like, recharge his batteries so to speak. Mind Talk really takes everything outta him.”
“What is the plan Mykal?” Captain Diaz asked while men continued to watch the trees where Towbar was to exit from.
“From what I know now, I think the best thing is for us to leave the extra vehicle here and hide it in the trees and then you guys take off down the path. I will go to Doninka by myself and grab her and then return here where the vehicle is and then I’ll try to join you.”
“By yourself?” Roy Jr. asked. “I don’t like the sounds of that bro.”
“I appreciate that Roy, but when Towbar did the Mind Talk, he actually pushed my thoughts into her mind and I was able to see whatever she could see. I had her look out her window and the place was surrounded by thousands of soldiers. I don’t know if they were just doing a military training exercise, or moving to a new location or if somehow they were alerted to our force coming, but the place is surrounded by a crap load of soldiers,” he said and saw the confused looks of the foreigners and began to laugh. “There are literally thousands upon thousands of soldiers,” he corrected his estimation. “If we all go in there we’re gonna have one hell of a fight on our hands and then we may not be able to get to her if they move her.”
“But how would you be able to get through that by yourself?” Randy asked.
“I think I would be able to do it. Plus I would be willing to give it a try and not put all of yous at risk,” he replied because he couldn’t admit to them that he could turn invisible.
“What if you get captured Myk? Or heaven forbid, what if they kill you?” Roy Jr. asked. “I know you’re a big boy an’ all, but I don’t’ like you going by yourself, especially since you say there’s thousands of soldiers there now.”
“I’m not really worried about it,” Mykal laughed because he knew he could turn invisible but he couldn’t tell them that. He had to keep it a secret which didn’t look good for him. “I think I can get to her and get her outta there.”
Mathis looked like he wanted to say something, but he knew due to his rank he had no say in the matter.
“What’s the matter Radio Boy?” Mykal asked to allow his favorite Marine to speak his mind. He hoped Mathis would say something to support and not hurt his plans.
“I personally don’t like it Myk,” Mathis said. “As a friend I don’t want to see you put yourself at that kind of risk, especially if there are that many soldiers there. What if you get killed? What if you get captured?” He gasped his questions that were a repeat of Roy Jr.’s questions. “If you’re by yourself you won’t have anyone to watch your back,” he added as a whine to show his concern for his friend. “Then if we have to come to your rescue, it may be just too late,” he added slowly to get his point across.
“Hey Mathis, you’re talking to me here,” he laughed and tapped his own chest to show it wasn’t a big deal. “I know I can get in and get out quietly and not be detected. I’ve been through a lot and I really believe I can do this. Besides, Captain Diaz will be praying for me, right?” He asked and looked to Diaz. It was clear to them that Mykal thought more highly of himself than he should. They just didn’t understand that he had a secret weapon in the magic ring that would enable him to be invisible to the enemy. He wanted to laugh due to his frustration, but he couldn’t reveal what he knew.
“That is correct. I will be praying diligently for your success, but do you really think it is wise to go there on your own Mykal?” Captain Diaz asked. “Even though I and others will be praying for you, it doesn’t mean we should be foolish and reckless. There are many of us here for a reason.”
“Even if Captain Diaz and the others pray for you,” Mathis said and paused to ensure he didn’t step out of line by speaking. “That doesn’t minimize or negate the extreme risk. If Captain Diaz and the others would pray for you it would still be very foolish for you to play Russian roulette with three of the six chambers filled with live rounds.”
“Thanks Radio Boy,” Mykal scoffed with faux anger. “You didn’t help my case at all,” he chuckled. “I think I would be better by myself than with all of us because of the army that’s there. I think I would be better by myself than if I took a handful of men cuz if things got ugly my sole purpose would be to get the girl outta there and I would have to abandon whoever comes with me. If I took Towbar he would stick out like a sore thumb. If I took the Elves who would be perfect for sneaking around, but they would stick out like a sore thumb and they would be killed on the spot. If I took Hidtotim, Nomorek and Soonme, they really don’t know the area there that well and they would be treated as traitors so I wouldn’t wanna do that to them. I would like to have the help of the Hawkmen if they’re willing to fly there and meet me there or to go through the green fog with me. So that may be something to ask them.”
“What is the objective of those you leave behind Mykal?” Sergeant First Class Lemon asked.
“My first thought was to have you guys drive straight to the palace and this is if I needed the help. You guys could be the cavalry riding to the rescue, if we needed it,” he repeated to help sway them to his thinking. “And then, if it turns out that they release that big ass army on us, we can still out run them with our vehicles and make our get away.”
“Are you sure we can’t be of assistance when you go to the princess?” Lieutenant Finley asked. “I want to help as much as possible. To say I want revenge for what happened to my men is an understatement, but I’ll never be foolish with the lives of those under my command.”
“Let’s wait till Towbar gets over here and we’ll see what he thinks. I could take all of yous guys with me and leave you a little farther away from the castle and I’ll sneak to her location to see if I can rescue her. The only problem I have is putting all yous guys at risk. I just don’t wanna put yous at risk,” Mykal said and moaned to show his
disappointment.
“Now look at what you just said and put those words in our mouth brother,” Roy Jr. said and started to laugh as if he caught Mykal in a slight case of emotional hypocrisy. “We don’t want you to go there by yourself, especially if there is a big ol’ army resting right outside her bedroom window. We volunteered to help and we wanna help to get her outta there and to help keep you from acting foolish and getting yourself killed. Listen Rambo,” he said sarcastically. “You have a family at home that is expecting you to come back to them.”
Mykal couldn’t help but laugh and then most of the men laughed with him. “You’re right. You got me. Let me talk this over with Towbar and we’ll see what we come up with. Speaking of which, where the hell is he?” Mykal asked and suddenly looked concerned. The giant never took this long to recover from performing an act of magic that drained him of his physical strength. “Damn,” he whispered and looked toward the trees where he left him.
“Is he alright?” Roy Jr. asked.
“Well, when he does the Mind Talk it drains him and he takes a few minutes to recover,” Mykal answered and had a look of unease wash over him as he looked at his watch to get an idea of how long Towbar was absent from their presence. “But he said he would only be a few minutes. Let’s go check it out,” Mykal said and started walking to the area where he and Towbar disappeared into the trees. Roy Jr., Randy and then most of the men followed Mykal. Some followed out of curiosity but most followed to continue the conversation in order to lay out the plan to rescue Princess Doninka.