by Sally Six
“We’re not going to hurt you. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
For a few seconds she acted like she hadn’t and then she shook her head yes.
“We’re here for General Smith. Do you know where he is?”
Never even once taking her eyes from Brigham. She nodded and raised her right arm and pointed to the other side of the tent towards another door in the tent.
“Thank you young lady.” Bill told her. “Stay right there. We don’t want you getting hurt.”
As the three wild looking men headed for the General’s bedroom, they heard her say something. All three wild men turned to look back at her.
Bill asked. “What did you say?”
“The General is under the bed.” She said quietly.
“Thank you young lady.” He returned.
“Larry, you take the left and I will take the right side of the door. Brigham I want you to go on in for the scare factor in case he is no longer under the bed. We will be right behind you.”
Bill went to one side of the door and Larry to the other with guns still drawn. Brigham opened the door and slipped in. Then Bill and Larry joined him.
General Smith was curled up underneath by the head of the bed by this time. He was watching the doorway from under the bed. He heard voices out in the other room and was afraid he would be found. So he closed his eyes tight. Just as he opened his eyes again after he didn’t hear any more talking, there in the doorway was a set of moccasin feet. Then two other sets stepped in beside the first. All of them had bloodstains on them. He closed his eyes again pretending he was small and no one could see him. The General didn’t even realize that he was whining away there under the bed and anyone could have found him with all the noise he was making.
The three men would have known where General Smith was even if the girl hadn’t told them. Bill looked over at Brigham and smiled his crap-eating grin. He leaned over close to Brigham and told him. “Brigham I’m going to let you have the pleasure of hauling that coward out from under that bed. How’s that?”
“Just fine with me sir. Do you mind if I put the fear of God into him a bit more?”
“I don’t know if you could put anymore fear into him Brigham, but you go ahead. Have fun.”
Larry tightened his lips and tried to hide his snicker.
Brigham took two long steps and bent down onto his knees, pulled up the bed covers and leaned over to look under the bed. There at the very end of the bed was the great General Smith curled up the best he could under this bed on his side. It looked like he was wearing a white night gown of all things. Brigham gave a deep-throated growl and had a sneer on his painted bloody face.
The General’s eyes popped open at the sound of growling. He thought an animal had gotten into his room. But it was no animal. It was the scariest face that he had even seen. It was worse than movies he had seen in the past. He had read of black-faced Indians and how it meant death to all they came upon, but he never dreamed he would come across something like this in this day and age.
Brigham saw the General’s eyes open and growled again. He grinned at the same time. If the General hadn’t already lost the contents of his bladder, he would have again, but as it was his bowels released. Brigham was still growling at the General as he got lower and started to reach for the General. That’s when the General started to scream and was still screaming as Brigham dragged him out from underneath the bed. He tried to set the General on his feet. The man was so frightened that he couldn’t stand. So Brigham began to drag him out of the room and though the rest of the tent. Bill and Larry filed in behind them and waved for the teenager to follow.
Man alive thought Brigham. “This man stinks to high heaven.”
Outside, their own General Williamson was headed their way shooting a man down that was aiming at him. When Williamson spotted Smith being hauled behind Brigham, he put his left fist in the air and pumped it down. He knew this was the end of this tyrant. This man’s people should soon give up when they saw their leader was captured. They would be like a headless snake, but some he knew would try to head for the woods. He hoped they would be able to stop most of that.
Over at mess tent three, Lee’s first thought was “YES” before he looked out the door and saw just who had invaded them. A group of the wild men and women were running rampant screaming and yelling through the camp in the wildest getups that he had seen since seeing movies. Then he noticed something. They were trying not to kill. They were only killing those that were shooting at them or otherwise trying to kill them. Lt. Lee also noted an Army, Navy and Marine uniforms here and there. He popped his head back inside the tent.
“All right everyone, we have just been invaded and if you want to live just sit down where you are. Don’t fight and don’t look menacing.”
Private Castle who was new to his crew couldn’t believe what he was hearing out of Raging Bull Lee.
“How can you say just say sit down? I didn’t take you for a coward Lt. Lee. We have to fight back. We’re the United States Army. We have to fight this invasion.”
Lt. Lee looked down at the 5 foot 7 inch soldier. “Look son, we stopped being the United States Military the minute we started to pillage, murder and take civilians as slaves. We swore to protect them not to kill them and take what we wanted, orders or not. Now go ahead out there young man and take action against those in the right and you will be dead in seconds.”
Lee then turned. He went and sat down by Corporal Eriksson in his unit leaving the private to do as he wished. His other thought was that he hoped those kids in his tent laid low until this was over.
Private Castle stepped in front of the tent flap and opened it a few inches to see just what was going on with all the hollering and shooting. His eyes grew wide. Walking right in front of the mess tent headed in staring him in the eyes was a sight he had never seen, not even on TV. The man was painted blue and red and in swirled patterns all over his body and only wearing a loincloth. His hair was sticking up in stiff spikes. The painted man held a pistol in one hand and a very long knife in the other almost a sword with blood dripping from it. Private Castle backed up as the man came into the tent in front of him. The private was now at a loss for words and he stumbled over a folding chair and fell to the ground not bothering to try and get back up. He just sat there staring up at the door. He didn’t know what was going on.
Lt. Guy Fields looked around at the men and women seated on the ground in the mess tent. He was wondering just what in the world was going on. Not one of them was putting up a fight. One of them cleared his throat, a large man. He looked like a bodybuilder. Could this be the gentle giant they had heard about?
“Can I speak?” The large man asked.
“Go ahead.”
“I am Lt. Lee and this is my crew. We’re not really part General Smith’s killers. We have done our best to help those we could and stay alive at the same time in the middle of these vipers. Can you tell me who you are with and why in the world you are dressed as an ancient Pict?”
With this they both smiled because a loincloth wasn’t exactly dressed and they both knew it. Some of Lee’s men that didn’t really know him looked at him like he was crazy to give into a man dressed or rather not dressed and all painted and bloody, but more so young private Castle. He sat there wondering what in the world a Pict was.
Captain Fields smiled down at Lt. Lee.
“Lt. Lee, I have heard of you and I believe I can trust you. I’m Captain Fields. Why don’t you get up and we will talk. Are all of your people here going to behave or do we have to get a guard to keep track of them?”
“I can vouch for my people, well maybe that one I can’t.” He looked down at Private Castle. “Son can you be trusted to not do anything stupid and just sit with the rest of the mess crew?”
Private Castle just nodded his head yes. He had the feeling if he didn’t he was very likely a dead man. All you had to do is look into the wild man’s eyes.
�
��Private I need a verbal affirmative from you and your word. Do I have it?”
“Yes sir Lt. Lee. You have my word. I won’t do anything stupid. I’ll just sit here sir.”
“Good son, I didn’t think you were dumb. Now Captain Fields who in the world are you and your people? Are they all dressed like you are? How could you have possibly heard of me?”
Meanwhile they could hear the fight continuing outside.
“Lt. Lee I only have a few minutes before I need to get back out there. My men need me. But first we are here to liberate you and anyone that wants out of this mess. Plus all those that have been taken as slaves. How we know who you are Lt. Lee is we have had an eye on this camp ever since you set foot in this valley. You are one noticeable man. Now I’ll be going and will pass the word that you and your crew are secured and with us. But I suggest you and your people stay in here as you might be mistaken for the enemy.”
Lt. Lee looked at Captain Fields funny.
“Are you all in this state of undress? Aren’t you afraid to fight without any protection?”
Captain Fields just smiled and told Lt. Lee. “I guess we’ll just have to talk about this later.” Then he turned and went back out the tent door.
Another short battle later, Captain Fields ran into General Williamson, Bill Zeller and his second, Larry Underwood. General Smith was in a white nightgown was being towed along by Brigham Lightfoot. General Smith was now halfway walking at least. He was also crying and whining as they went along. Fields stepped downwind of Brigham and General Smith wrinkled his nose and then quickly turned and went to the other side of them.
“Oh man, he stinks to high heaven, peeuuu. What’s with the General stars on his nightgown anyway?”
General Williamson chuckled. “Well we figured he wanted people to know who he was no matter how he was dressed.”
The gunfire was dying down throughout the camp. A few hand-to-hand battles were still going on and one battle was between a Viking and a former National Guardsman. They were both a bloody mess from cuts they had both inflicted on each other. The Viking just happened to be Second Lt. Bertram Fraser. He was in the fight of his life. He had his pistol knocked out of his hand and had managed to get his knife from its sheath as he was slashed across the chest. He made a jab back with his knife and just managed to get the other solider across his right arm so that the other guy pulled back or Fraser would have been a goner. They were both entangled almost face to face rolling across the ground. Fraser managed to get the upper hand. He cut his opponent across the back of his hand and wrist. The man’s knife slipped as he tried to ram it into Fraser’s shoulder. The knife barely penetrated and Fraser in turn rammed his knife into his opponent’s belly. Fraser pushed the body off and to the side and slowly got to his knees. He spotted the other officers as he got to his feet. He tried to smile and proceeded to pass out.
General Williamson yelled. “Medic.” He went over to see how Fraser was with the other officers following. Williamson looked over Fraser as another man, a medic Corporal Tyler, reached them and also began his inspection of Fraser’s wounds.
“He’ll be fine sir. A few stitches here and there are all he needs. I’ll get to work while he is out. I think he is mainly just exhausted.”
“Thanks son, take good care of him.” The General got up off his knees and turned to look at their prisoner again.
General Williamson then picked up a sheep’s horn that he had tied at his waist and began to blow three long bellows on it. With that more of the fighting died down. He asked his aide who wasn’t far from his side to go get his bullhorn from their stash area in the trees. A few minutes later, Brandy was back and handed the bullhorn to General Williamson.
The General gave another three long blasts on the sheep’s horn that was the scheduled signal to halt the fight.
Everyone from the base did the best they could to stop. It was hard when you were being fired upon. Then in the middle of all this, the General hollered into his bullhorn.
“Alright everyone this is Five Star General James Williamson out of the Pentagon. I want everyone to cease firing upon one another right now. We have General Smith under arrest and in custody. I command all of you to halt firing. I want all you to report to me as best you can by the ex-General Smith’s command tent.”
Slowly the firing sputtered to a halt. General Williamson and his party returned to the ex-General Smith’s tent. They remained cautious in case someone decided to fire on them again. Some of the camp officers that weren’t already under arrest or dead started to come in and report and behind those, everyone else. Those that knew they would be put under court martial or worse a firing squad tried sneaking out into the woods. Soon that was put to an end also. Their bodies lying for now where they met their end.
One of the officers standing in front of General Williamson was First Lt. S.S. Lee. Standing there with a large smile on his face and behind him standing in his shadow were two teenagers peeking out from behind him. The boy looked like he had been beaten to a pulp.
“So this had to be the man we were told about. Yes he indeed was a very large man.”
Lee was say around 35 years old with brown hair and green eyes. He was around a normal height of 6 foot 2 inches tall. But his girth is what made him seem so much larger. Not fat, but it didn’t look like he lacked eating wise either. He was one big load of muscle. He really stood out in a crowd.
General Williamson motioned for Lt. Lee to come over to him. Lee looked at the General with a look of question on his face. He turned to look around him to see if the General meant someone close to Lee. Lee then looked back at the General and pointed at himself. The General nodded his head yes. Lt. Lee still couldn’t figure out how he had been singled out and how he had been watched. He then looked back at the kids and pointed at them.
“Bring them along son. They seem to be attached to you.” Was the answer from the General.
Lee took the kids with him to talk to the General who was dressed as Mountain Man. They stayed behind him the whole time.
“Son, as I said I am General James Williamson recently of the Pentagon. I want to commend you for having the courage to take care of these two children in the middle of what must have been a nightmare. I take it no one knew you very well.”
“Sir I am First Lt. Septimus Lee. It’s very good to meet you. I don’t know how I was picked out, but I did have my crew who really knew me. That we and a few others were hiding our true selves in the middle of this nest of vipers.”
“It’s good to meet a humble man. One that isn’t afraid to take care of others in a bad situation. I would like you and your crew to go into the crowd. Find and call over anyone you know or suspected wasn’t part of the people who killed and took slaves and went along with this fool Smith.”
At this time Elizabeth Zeller joined her husband and stood beside him not far from the General. If you didn’t know it was her, you would have no way of recognizing her. Elizabeth not only being of Scotch blood, but also proud of her Cherokee heritage was decked out in leather and beadwork. Not her fancy outfit, but her fighting outfit. It was different hues of browns so she could blend into the shadows of the forest. Even her beadwork ran from light to dark browns. Her hair was darkened with walnut and plaited into several braids. Her face was painted in striking greens and browns with yellow at the edges. Heck Bill hardly recognized his wife. Now she had splashes of blood here and there that had run down her shirt and leggings. She had gone with a man’s outfit to make things easier to go through the trees and rough ground, not to mention for fighting.
Lt. Lee had looked back at the teens not knowing how they would take him leaving them alone with these strangely dressed people. Elizabeth had noticed his concerned look as he started to talk to the kids. She saw their worried faces after they heard the new General ask him to go into the crowd to look for others who thought as he did.
Elizabeth stepped up. She was never one to be shy. Bill looked over at his wife, straight an
d to the point that was his wife. You could tell he was proud of her.
“I am Captain Elizabeth Graham Zellers Lt. Lee. You go on ahead. They can stay with me. What are their names?”
“This is Lucy and Barry MacDonald. Would you two mind staying with this lady?” He turned to look back at Elizabeth. “Umm Captain while I do as General Williamson asked. I shouldn’t be gone long.”
The two teenagers looked at Elizabeth. She didn’t look like any lady they had ever seen let alone a Captain. They then looked up at their rescuer and tried to be brave. They knew he wouldn’t let any harm come to them if it could be helped.
Elizabeth saw the looks on their faces and gave a laugh. They looked back surprised. She had looked so stern it seemed odd to see a smile on that painted face and hear her laugh.
“Come on kids, I won’t bite. I promise.” She laughed again.
That seemed to put the teens at ease and they smiled back. Lucy looked up at Lt. Lee and told him they would be fine. They would stay with Captain Zellers.
“Oh please kids call me Elizabeth. Come over here and I will introduce you to my husband.”
They went over to Elizabeth and started to follow her over to where the odd looking General and other men stood. They noticed a wild looking Indian woman step up beside an even scarier looking Indian who stood holding onto the nutcase General Smith in his now not so white night gown. They then noticed how the Indian women kind of slid away a few feet a few minutes later with her nose all wrinkled up. The ferocious Indian then looked over at her and said. “Oh thanks a lot Gail.”
“Sorry Brig, but that man stinks to high heaven.”
“Gads don’t you think I know that. I have to hold onto the creature.”
Both of the teenagers smiled even wider after over hearing that conversation. They realized these were just normal people after all even in these strange clothes and paint.
Lucy looked over at Lt. Lee as he left and gave him a wave. He saw the smile on her face and he felt much better about leaving them.