by Dave Hazel
“Damn it,” Mykal barked and slapped his hands together. “We gotta go with them. We gotta follow them, cuz we can’t get separated.”
“Where the hell are we going?” One voice yelled out.
“It doesn’t matter,” Diaz replied. “We have to rescue them. It’s clear to me they have no control over their minds. Let’s go, and keep your eyes peeled. Be aware of your surroundings.”
“Are you guys gonna come with us?” Mykal turned to the Elves and Nordad.
“I must. I have two men involved,” Nordad replied while he watched his two warriors follow the crowd. Nordad adjusted his robe and positioned his short sword and three daggers for quick access. “Yes, I must go.”
“We have no desire to travel into the bowels of the mountain,” Starling spoke softly. “I fear there will be terrible danger afoot. However, you saved our lives when you had no reason to put yourself at risk. We will join you Mykal.”
“A simple yes was all it took,” Boris joked when he thought the Elves were going to turn coward and refuse.
“I am glad to have my pointy eared friends join us,” Nordad said and stroked his beard. “Come, let us go.”
“Myk, can you imagine if William wasn’t zoned out?” Boris chortled.
“Oh yeah, you know he’d put up a friggin fuss and we’d have to leave him here,” Mykal replied with a nervous laugh. Mykal was fearful of the unknown they were about to venture into, but it had to be done. Nineteen of his men, including one of his best friends, plus two of Nordad’s men would be lost forever if they abandoned them.
Nordad stood in the opening of the door frame with his magical light illuminating the area. Everyone shared the same relief to see that nothing tried to escape or attack them. The passage way was dark, damp and colder than the tunnel they were leaving. The air filled with the foul odor of a basement and a backed up sewer.
“Has anyone thought of how we’ll exit once we’re inside?” Finley mentioned as the men started to enter the opening.
“Awh damn,” Mykal groaned quietly. “I didn’t even think of that. We don’t even know where we’re going. We’ll have to deal with it later.”
“Myk, this is just like a good movie or a good novel. Things just keep getting worse and worse,” Boris forced a laugh. “Those movies and books always look like our protagonist will never escape, but things always turn out okay.”
“This ain’t no damn movie, Boris,” Mykal replied sharply. “We’re in a real jam this time.”
“Hey, everything will work itself out,” Boris said and followed others into the secret passageway.
“Sir. Captain Diaz, should we leave a couple of men here to guard the door?” A voice called out.
“No! I am not splitting up the men,” Diaz declared firmly. “We have no assurance we’ll make it back to this door anyway.”
Malltarn, one of Nordad’s men, left an extra dagger propped inside the door to keep it from closing completely. The Elves didn’t like the idea of the door being propped open for fear of creatures from the underworld escaping to the world topside. With no time to discuss it, they agreed to leave the door ajar.
The passage way had been like the previous corridor, only it was colder and wetter. The farther they traveled the more the temperature seemed to drop. The musty smell seemed to increase the farther they traveled from the main tunnel. Cracks in the floor and walls were larger and more frequent. They crossed many small pools of standing water.
They walked fast, fingers on triggers, ready for anything or anyone that would dare jump out at them. The three Elves had arrows strung in the bows and Nordad was ready to cast a magic spell. Anxiety increased due to all of the unknowns; where they were going, what they would encounter, what had control over the minds of the men. The only certainty, they became more lost.
“Awh damn it,” Mykal hissed and shook his head in incredulity. The point man stopped in the center of a six way intersection. “Just what we friggin need. Where the hell did they go?” He mumbled as they stood there looking down all the passages. He strained his ears to pick up on their sounds but everyone else offered their own theories which distracted his concentration. “Everyone quiet down,” he yelled.
The three Elves were busy examining the other corridors. “We would agree they may have traveled straight before us,” Leeno suggested. “The floors are too wet to be sure, however we three agree they traveled straight,” he pointed.
“But did they split up or stay together?” Boris wondered out loud which created another possible problem.
“We have to assume, rather we have to hope, they stayed together,” Lieutenant Finley said and shook his head while examining different passages. “They weren’t in control of their actions.”
“Let’s go, let’s go,” Diaz waived his arm. “We’re wasting time. Continue to maintain silence while keeping vigilant.”
They traveled quietly which forced them to move at a slower pace. The path they took twisted and turned. The walls seemed to deteriorate the farther they ventured. Mykal feared they may have taken the wrong passage. He looked at his watch which showed they had followed the men for about twenty-five minutes.
“Do you think we should go back and try another passage?” Boris whispered into Mykal’s ear. “I’m not sure if--oh shit,” he gasped when they were all suddenly engulfed in the same white smoke that had caused the others to lose their minds.
All the men were filled with terror. They believed they would soon become mindless zombies like their friends. Of this group only two began to choke and cough. Both of them were Nordad’s men, Codlon and Malltarn. They choked and coughed as if they smoked cigarettes for the first time. They sounded like they were dying, gasping desperately for air.
“Let’s get out of here,” Diaz ordered and pointed back to the way they just came from.
“What about the men, Sir?” Finley asked as they all turned to get away from the smoke.
“We’ll regroup after we’re out of this dastardly smoke,” Diaz said. It seemed he wanted to curse, but he held his tongue.
“What the hell is going on around here?” Mykal snarled and blamed himself for all that’s happened. “We’re gonna be done in by this friggin smoke and we don’t even know where we are.”
“This may be a good thing Myk,” Boris whispered while Nordad and some of the others tended to the two men trying to catch their breath. “If they turn into those zombies they’ll lead us right to Jake and the others.”
“Good point. Let’s take a few minutes rest to allow these guys to recover,” Mykal said and waived Diaz and Finley to his side. “Boris just brought up a good point. If these guys are being affected by the smoke the same way as the others, then they should blank out and lead us to them too.”
“Great observation Boris,” Diaz said as a word of encouragement. Captain Diaz’s affirmation rang true as sincere despite the bizarre turn of events. Captain Diaz as the commanding officer always looked for opportunities to encourage and build up his men no matter how trying the obstacles they faced. Ryan Diaz the Christian wanted to continually motivate, inspire and embolden people around him so they wouldn’t lose faith and give up no matter how difficult or impossible their situation may appear. “Let’s keep an eye on them,” Diaz said to Finley. “I just hope our men are not in any danger while we sit here and wait.”
“No, it hurts. Nordad, it hurts,” Malltarn groaned. He and Codlon both grabbed their heads reaching for severe pain.
Mykal watched the two men who had been affected by the smoke and they seemed to be affected a little differently than Jake and the others. It took longer for Jake and the others to come under the hypnotic trance and their pain seemed less severe than these two men. They both twisted their faces as they tried to fight off the pain and the emptying of their minds. They grunted and growled to the pain that increased in their skulls.
“Are you guys alright?” Mykal asked. He, Boris, Diaz and Finley moved closer. “Nordad, are they--” Mykal stopped w
hen they both dropped their hands to their side and stared ahead with a blank, lifeless expression.
Nordad held his hand up for silence. Both men turned to the direction where they encountered the smoke. Without a word spoken, without a sound to signal them, they both walked in that same direction. “Codlon can you hear me my friend? Malltarn, do you understand my speech?” He asked the other.
“Let’s follow them,” Diaz said quietly. “Prayerfully, they will lead us to the others. Yes, I said prayerfully because I am trusting in God and not in dumb luck.”
A couple of the non-believing men felt sarcastic and wanted to question Diaz about his God and their entire situation. It would have been disrespectful so they kept their skepticism to themselves and to each other. They would not be disrespectful to Captain Diaz because of their admiration for him as a leader despite their extreme frustration in their dire predicament.
They followed the two men who seemed to know where they were going, though their faces were blank and lifeless. Several of the men used hand and arm signals to tell each other to be watchful and alert.
The two men led them past the point where they encountered the smoke that mentally disabled them. From that point they led the rest of the men through a maze of several intersections and turns. They were not sure where they were going or if they were following these men in circles. They didn’t know if these two would lead them to the twenty-one other zombified men or if they were just taking them deeper into the mountain to be lost forever.
“Where the hell are these guys taking us?” Boris whispered.
“I don’t have a clue but has anyone been keeping track of all the twists and turns so we can find our way back?”
“I’ve been trying Myk,” Finley whispered and sighed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “It’s been hard.”
“What is that smell?” Boris reeled back when they walked into an area where the air was extremely foul.”
“It is the smell of death,” Leeno answered and pinched off his nostrils.
“I’ve smelled death before and this is far worse,” Boris said and covered his mouth and nose with his hand. He fought to keep from gagging.
They pressed on and followed Nordad’s men despite the stench. Some of the men were nauseated by the disgusting odor but they pressed on. They hoped the reek would fade away. The smell was a combination of rotting flesh, spoiled food, stale vomit, feces and urine all blended into one horrific bouquet of funk.
A short distance later they came upon a huge hole in the wall to their right. Large rocks and plenty of dirt littered the floor. The rubble had been scattered as far as they could see. The destruction had occurred some time ago. Cautiously, they neared the opening in the wall and they could tell the reeking stench came from within the opening. The closer they moved to the opening in the wall the more they could feel the heaviness of the putrid odor. The hole was almost twenty feet wide and was the entrance to a massive cavern. The foul air was enough to make them all turn back. With their friends mentally incapacitated and at risk, they couldn’t abandon them no matter how putrid the stench around them was.
Nordad, joined by a couple of others, stood in the opening of the cavern to shine his magical light. The rancid funk that wafted from inside the cave had the same effect as would a blast of subzero artic air. The reek of the smell was so bad that it was like a punch to the face. It took his breath away and nearly knocked Nordad and a couple of men over who fought to keep from gagging and choking. But it was the sight inside the grotto that forced them to take a step back,
In the cave were Jake and all the other men. They were standing in place as if they were waiting in line for something. In front of them stood a strange creature that could only have come from a crazy person’s wildest LSD induced nightmare.
Mykal gawked at the creature that looked like a large tree trunk. It stood over nine feet tall and was thick like a massive redwood tree. Instead of bark the creature was covered in smooth dark leather like skin. There were no tree branches but rather long slimy tentacles that swayed and floated softly through the air as if the bizarre creature did a hypnotic dance.
The mouth was clearly unmistakable. It set in the trunk about seven feet from the floor. It resembled the mouth of a Great white shark with rows of razor sharp teeth pointing in all directions. The teeth were the same type that was placed in the square shaped trap they found before departing the Forest of Death. Each tooth in the creature’s huge mouth was larger than a man’s hand. The mouth was large enough to accommodate a grizzly bear thus a grown man would be an easy feeding.
The leathery hide was dotted with eyes all around the leathery body. It looked like a teenage girl had received a brand new Bedazzler and went wild in the placement of the eyes. There were dozens of eyes of varying shapes and sizes that constantly looked in all different directions enabling the slimy snake like tentacles to find prey in any direction. The eyes all seemed to be independent from each other. The limbs dripped a thick paralyzing toxin. The venom would be injected into victims with tiny needles that would be exposed when the python like vines wrapped tightly onto potential food sources. Of the fourteen tentacles, two appendages had two men in tight death grips.
Mykal thought they were similar to the tree tentacles that attacked them while still in the Forest of Death.
Altoff, one of Nordad’s men and close friend was one of the two in the monster’s grip. They all watched in horror as Altoff was easily lifted off the ground and shoved into the wood chipper like opening. The mouth chomped fast and furiously through the man’s flesh, bone and armor as if it was a child having fun with a hollow, chocolate, bunny on Easter morning. Altoff’s head, shoulders and upper chest disappeared in a brief moment. Blood, fleshy bits and pieces of his clothing dripped to the decaying mass of refuse on the floor around the creature. Altoff would add to the rotting stench that weighed heavy in the air. Pieces of Altoff’s body, his clothing and chunks of his armor were snagged in between the rows of teeth.
Mykal noticed the eyes of the strange creature seemed to swirl and move back and forth in orgasmic like pleasure while the beast devoured the now lifeless form of Altoff. The slurping, smacking, sucking sounds mixed with humming moans would have sounded comical had it not been a human being going through a wood chipper like mouth that looked like the jaws of a great white shark.
“What the friggin hell?” Mykal gasped at the scene of horror. The sight was so horrific that he didn’t even notice the reek of rotting death any longer.
All the men including Jake stood still waiting their turn to become part of this ‘tree-thing’s’ feast. The noise that accompanied the chomping was similar to that of pigs at feeding time. The creature didn’t seem to notice or understand that Mykal and the others weren’t in a trance like state as were those waiting to be eaten.
It shocked Mykal to see the remains of Marine Private First Class Wilson and Army Ranger Staff Sergeant Hayes lying on the pile of decaying flesh, blood and gore of animals and humanoid like creatures. The frightful sound of bones crunching and grinding in the monster’s mouth added with the slurping sound of Altoff’s insides being sucked out pushed Mykal to near panic.
Just as quickly as Altoff’s remains were thrown to the ground with the other refuse, one of the long flowing tentacle whipped around the chest of Malltarn who just arrived. The sound was like that of a bull whip and Malltarn’s large body was yanked effortlessly up to the buzz saw of teeth. The sight was like a child on a summer day tearing through watermelon as fast as he could. It was like a speed eating contest throwing melon, juice and seeds in all directions. Only this wasn’t a watermelon at the mercy of a playful child. This was a grown man losing his life to satisfy the cravings of an odd monster found in a demented person’s darkest nightmares. It wasn’t just melon, seeds and juice flying in all directions. It was chunks of flesh, pieces of clothing, armor and blood splashing and drooling out of the shark like orifice.
“What the--” Bori
s was shocked and sickened.
“Get outta there,” Mykal yelled to his men who stood there as if they could not see or understand the danger they faced. “Jake, Jake, get the hell outta there,” he yelled from behind the cover of the wall.
Others yelled to get the attention of the men who seemed to be blanked out of existence. Tentacles flowed about the stationary men as if looking for the next course in the carnivorous meal. The men next on the creature’s plate could not hear or could not respond to the calls.
“It’s going to kill all the men,” Finley yelled. “Should we attack it?” He looked back and forth to Diaz and Mykal.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Mykal yelled in a panic. “Take a couple shots and see what it does.”
Boris opened fire first then a couple others joined him. They stopped to see if the M-16 rifles had any effect on the creature. To their surprise the beast stopped feasting on Malltarn and began to shake Malltarn’s body viciously as if the dead man had been responsible for inflicting the pain.
The creature’s many eyes scanned the area rapidly while the large open mouth allowed a growl to escape. In the open mouth and between the rows of shark like teeth were pieces of cloth, chunks of flesh and clumps of hair as well as blood splattered everywhere. Dark liquids, mostly blood drooled from the open cavity. The tree creature’s limbs swam wildly through the air as if searching for the source of the pain.
“Private Wickey, open up with a 60,” Diaz yelled to one of the machine gunners. “Shoot right into the mouth and concentrate on one area. Now! Now! Now!” Diaz hollered as one of the floating tentacles hovered in front of one of the zoned out Marines like a cobra ready to strike.
Wickey didn’t drop to the floor to set up his machine gun. Rather he held it at his hip and opened fire. His entire body rocked and jerked with every round. With his training and experience he managed to keep the weapon trained on one area.
Suddenly all the tentacles flailed wildly. The mouth remained open while teeth were chipped and broken off. The monster cried out with a high pitch scream and began beating at the pain in its mouth with many of the flailing limbs. The odd creature tried to move but it traveled at a snail’s pace. The ‘tree thing’ made the sound reminiscent of a child’s over exaggerated crying from a minor injury.