by Dave Hazel
The magical light Nordad gave died out, but the Goblins lit the room with their own torches. Earlier Blair informed them it wasn’t a necessity for Goblins to have a manufactured light source. Since the intruders vanished, escaped without a trace, the Goblins needed to find every possible clue.
Mykal glanced at his watch and was surprised to see he had slept longer than he thought. It alarmed him to see a Goblin sleeping just inches from his body. When he looked over to Boris it disgusted him to see another Goblin using his friend’s body as a pillow. The Goblin lay back with his head on Boris’s belly and the little bulldog looking creature had stretched out with his legs crossed at the ankles. The green humanoid looked like he felt special since he had a special piece of furniture to rest on. In anger Mykal wanted to use his revolver to shoot the little monster, but that would probably ruin his chances of ever escaping.
It broke Mykal’s heart to see Boris’s face. The crusted blood on his face cemented the fact that this wasn’t a dream and William really did kill his friend. ‘Why was he gonna kill me?’ He wondered. ‘Are they gonna take me out after I return the package to the President? I can’t worry about that right now.’ He eyed Boris and could tell rigor mortis had set in. As much as he desperately wanted to leave this place it caused his heart to ache to know he would be leaving his close friend behind forever. Sad emotions began to wash over him that he didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to Boris like he didn’t get to say goodbye to his other friends who had been killed in Towbar’s world.
Mykal slowly moved away from the Goblin sleeping near him and formulated a plan in his mind. He believed Towbar and the others were on the other side of the secret door waiting for an opportunity to come through. He knew they’d have to return even if they suspected he’d been killed. Towbar gave him the magic powder they needed for Towbar to conjure the green fog. With Towbar’s and the Elves’ keen sense of hearing they had to know Goblins now occupied this room.
He moved quietly to the body of Wickey, still sprawled over his M-60 machine gun. He eyed the gunshot wound to the side of the kid’s head. The image made Mykal burn with hatred. The kid’s short blonde hair caked with blood hit Mykal with sadness because Wickey’s short blonde hair reminded Mykal of a younger child of about eight or nine years old. He wished he would have killed William when he had the chance.
‘What a friggin bastard. I hope the Goblins torture his ass and make him suffer big time. Wickey was just a kid. He volunteered for this.’ He ached at the idea of Wickey’s parents waiting for their son to come home from this strange, once in a life time, adventure that Wickey so desperately wanted to be a part of. Now Wickey’s parents would never even have a body to bury. Wickey like Boris, like Verzani, like Bak Kwon and all the others killed on this side of Towbar’s world would only be a memory.
With a swift movement he rolled Wickey’s body off the machine gun and then stood still when all the Goblins jerked with surprise. Goblins raised their weapons and eyed the dead body of Wickey. A Goblin poked Wickey in the legs with a spear. Wickey’s arms were frozen in a strange position due to rigor mortis. The Goblins knew he was dead.
After the Goblins were satisfied that the motionless machine gunner was dead, the group of the bulldog looking creatures all laughed and grunted together. Mykal couldn’t understand what they were saying but he figured they were laughing at each other for being startled by a dead man. Mykal waited patiently for the Goblins to go back to what they were doing, killing time.
Waiting in invisible silence gave Mykal time to think. It became clear if he hadn’t returned, William would have killed the two and made up some lie that they were overrun. Then William would have tried to kill him at a later time when he would have been caught off guard. ‘Jill and the President are gonna have some explaining to do,’ he thought. ‘But I gotta get home first.’
As much as he hated to admit it, it was a good thing the situation turned out the way it did. It opened his eyes to the dangers facing him upon returning to the world. Jill and those in the government behind this mission may be the next enemy he must contend with.
Waiting serenely against the wall he had to fight back tears of sorrow. He wanted to cry out mournfully and express how much he would miss Boris. It hurt him that he never got to say good-bye just like the loss of other close friends; Kurt, Denny and Rich. It struck him odd that his emotions seemed to be on overload. He looked at the gold ring on his finger and wondered if the magic ring was doing something to his mind.
‘Enough of that for now,’ Mykal thought and looked at the secret door he believed his friends were behind. ‘I gotta do something before the others give themselves away and thus give away the secret door.’ He wasn’t going to wait for them to come to him and endanger the group. He planned to create a diversion and go to them.
Originally his plan involved using the M-60 machine gun, but standing there he saw the belt of ammunition was almost completely gone. He would have to open an ammo can and load it which would be impossible with all the Goblins in the room. As he studied the body of Wickey he noticed Wickey had both hand grenades and smoke grenades clipped to a harness attached to his web belt.
‘Good kid,’ he thought with a nod while he knelt beside the body of the young Marine. Mykal quietly yet quickly removed the two smoke grenades. They were cylindrical and not like the pineapple style high explosive weapons. They reminded Mykal of a can of soda though slightly larger and green in color. When he felt sure no Goblins were looking in his direction he slyly slipped them into his trouser pockets and he was glad they disappeared from view.
Mykal felt confident one smoke grenade would fill up the room quickly, but two would easily cover his escape. He wished he could use the machine gun to kill as many Goblins as possible before leaving. The sight of Wickey’s blood on the handgrips and stock area reminded him he’d be taking unnecessary risks. He wouldn’t be able to go unnoticed while he reloaded.
He toyed with the idea of going around the room to silently kill those still sleeping. ‘Too much risk.’ He shook his head. ‘Too much time.’ He had to convince himself not to go on a quiet rampage. His want for revenge focused on William not the Goblins.
He thought of using his magic weapons. With his magic sword he could cut them down but it would be time consuming and he would run the risk of having more Goblins drawn to the room. He could use the metal figurines that would turn into life size creatures, but having never used them he didn’t know if he would be creating more problems for himself.
‘Now for my diversion.’ He smiled. He quietly grabbed the two hand grenades off Wickey’s shoulder harness. With a hand grenade firmly in each hand he used the middle finger of both hands and pulled the other pin. ‘It’s go time.’ He rushed toward the open door of the corridor they caused so much mayhem earlier and threw a hand grenade as far down the hallway as he could.
While he turned to rush to the opposite door he heard the grenade bounce off the wall and hit the floor. Just as he threw the second grenade down the other long corridor he heard and felt the jarring explosion. Seconds later the second explosion went off sending shock waves of noise and blast in all directions.
As chaos ensued in the room and down all three corridors he ran to the far wall beside the secret door. He ran toward the secret door being careful not to run into any of the confused Goblins. Goblins ran toward the noise of both corridors. The scrambling pandemonium reminded him of ants in a nest that had been invaded. Screams of pain and yells and fear filled the air. Vocal alarms sounded in all directions.
Leaning near the secret door Mykal grabbed his M-16 rifle and slung it over his shoulder. He wanted to retrieve the magic wand he gave to Boris but he knew he didn’t have the time to search Boris’s body for it. He remembered watching Boris stick it in his waistband just inside his camouflage shirt. He decided to see if he could retrieve the magic wand so the evil little creatures would not get hold of it.
Mykal rushed to Boris’s body while mass pandemon
ium occurred and chaos swelled inside the room as well as down the corridors. He stopped at Boris’s body and didn’t want to touch him only to take a prized possession from him, but he knew it was now or never. Mykal reached down into Boris’s shirt and felt for the slender rod. Boris’s deceased body felt odd to his touch. He grabbed the magic wand and pulled it out. He looked at his friend and knew this would be the last time he would ever lay eyes on him. ‘Thank you buddy,’ he thought and the sense of loss and loneliness seemed to fill his entire being. ‘I’m gonna miss you.’
Mykal also remembered that Boris’s Towbar One patch, and the flag near his shoulder were added to his uniform shirts at the last minute. They had been attached with Velcro. He had a sudden urge to take another item to help him keep his deceased friend’s memory alive. He reached down and ripped away Boris’s Towbar One patch. The patch was marred, torn and bloody but Mykal didn’t care. He held the piece of cloth in his right hand and knew the small piece of material would hold more value for him than any other memento he could pick up in Towbar’s world.
Mykal turned away and pulled the two smoke grenades. After pulling the pins he tossed them in the center of the room. Red smoke filled the room quickly with billowing clouds which caused Goblins to panic and become more fearful. Most ran from the room. Those that remained didn’t see Mykal open the secret door just enough to squeeze through.
He thought himself visible and turned into the secret tunnel. “Oh damn,” he gasped with fright staring down the barrels of many rifles and Towbar’s massive sword. The weapons were immediately lowered. “Let’s get outta here,” he whispered. “Do it quietly. It’s like a friggin mad house in there.”
“Where’s the others?” Jake whispered and grabbed his arm.
“They’re dead.” He blurted and choked back tears. “Boris is dead.” Though he held back the tears and the sobbing, his face couldn’t mask the sorrow that swallowed him.
“How?” Jake asked and everyone stopped to listen.
Since William had been a plant Mykal realized it was possible other plants existed in the midst of their group. “I’ll tell you later. We gotta get outta here. Move, go on,” Mykal demanded harshly and waved his hand.
“I’ll lead the way, Myk,” Diaz said and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Diaz looked sad for Mykal. “I understand your loss. When others ache, I ache.” He said and turned away. “Rear guards, I want you to keep vigilant because they may discover the secret door. Let’s move.”
“Did they see you use the secret door?” Nordad asked.
“No, I used a couple of smoke grenades after I distracted them. Like those things I gave to the Goblins, only these filled the room with smoke,” he answered in response to Nordad’s confused look. We gotta put distance between us. I’ll lay back,” Mykal said. He grabbed Jake’s arm to stay. Towbar stayed back with them also.
After everyone pulled away, Mykal broke down and sobbed openly. He wasn’t sure if the overwhelming flood of emotions came from the loss of Boris being gone forever or that he had been rescued and freed from his invisible captivity, or maybe his emotions were somehow tied to the magic ring. But he couldn’t stop crying.
“What happened, Myk?” Jake whispered.
“I don’t mean to be so emotional, but he was like family. He was like a brother to me. I shoulda never have let him stay back there. He gave me a friendly smile and we never said good-bye,” Mykal paused at the thought of Boris’s last expression and nearly crumbled emotionally. “This doesn’t leave here, Jake, but William murdered Boris. He shot him in the back. Then he killed Wickey and was gonna kill me,” he sobbed. “I shoulda killed that rotten sonovabitch,” he sobbed between clenched teeth.
“What? But why?” Jake gasped and wiped his eyes. “What the hell was he doing? Did he go nuts?”
“No, but I think someone else back at camp might try to kill me. So I need you to watch my back.”
“Give the word, my friend. I will strike down any of them.”
“Thanks Towbar, but I don’t know who they are yet.”
“Did you kill him?” Jake asked. “Cuz I’ll kill him myself.”
“No, Goblins captured him. He begged me to shoot him, but I hid and let them take him. I hope they torture his ass and make him suffer. At the same time I wish I woulda killed him. I hate that friggin piece of shit.” Mykal took a deep breath and exhaled slowly and wiped his face. “I’ll say they were all killed by Goblins. I’ll explain everything later. We gotta catch up to the others.”
2.
They traveled as fast as the wounded men could go. Mykal, Towbar, Jake, Diaz, Nordad and the three Elves were in the front. Mykal made it clear that he didn’t want to talk about what happened. Mykal wasn’t sure who he could trust anymore. He knew he could trust Towbar and Jake and the new people from Towbar’s world, the Elves, Nordad and his men.
Mykal gave thought to the number of times Boris wanted to kill William and he wouldn’t allow him to. He knew when Boris volunteered to stay inside the room he had a check in his heart that he didn’t want him to stay behind. The sadness hurt deeply. When they first entered the strange side of the mountain Boris clearly said to him, ‘Hey, everything will work itself out.’ Mykal had to agree that Boris giving up his life would make that true. Mykal now knew he had enemies back in the real world.
“Are you still carrying the powder my friend?” Towbar whispered.
Mykal was glad his thoughts were interrupted by the giant. “Yeah, I got it. I wasn’t about to let it outta my grip.”
“Myk, I told Towbar about some of the magic you found,” Jake whispered. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“No, not at all. I was gonna tell him myself.”
“How did you escape detection, my friend?” Towbar asked.
“I used magic. I was invisible the whole time. I even fell asleep at one point and when I woke up a friggin Goblin was sleeping right beside me.”
“How were you invisible?” Nordad asked. He appeared as if out of thin air. He had the look of a drug addict needing a fix.
“Look, we’ll talk about that stuff later,” Mykal said and eyed the look in Nordad. Would Nordad’s lust for magic become a threat? Mykal regretted saying anything. “But I meant I was invisible to the Goblins, cuz I hid behind some chairs in a corner,” he lied and wasn’t sure if Nordad believed him. “I was afraid they were going to find me and then I woulda hadda try to shoot it out with them.”
“I see,” Nordad said and stroked his long beard. Nordad looked confused and didn’t appear to believe what Mykal said.
“It’s my fault Boris is dead,” Mykal said with an audible moan to Towbar and Jake. “I can’t friggin believe it. He volunteered to stay in the room and I thought about objecting,” he moaned and shook his head and looked to the floor. “But I knew Boris wanted to do this to help undo some of the things he had done.”
“Myk, don’t blame yourself,” Jake said. “I thought something was gonna happen between the two of them one day, but I didn’t think it would come down to murder.”
“No, it is my fault. Boris wanted to kill William three or four times and I wouldn’t let him. Even just earlier yesterday, he asked me if I wanted him to kill William cuz of what a pain in the ass William had become and I wouldn’t allow it. I was friggin worried for William that rotten, no good piece of shit. If I woulda known it woulda come to this I woulda killed William myself the first time he pissed me off,” he whispered and sounded near the verge of tears. “I shoulda killed him when I had the chance. Damn it,” he hissed and slapped his thigh in regret. “Somethin’ inside is tellin’ me I shoulda killed him when I had a chance,” Mykal continued to whisper while he slowly shook his head. “I blew it,” he added and knew revenge would have been great though it wouldn’t bring Boris back. But, he knew the feelings inside had nothing to do with revenge. “I shoulda killed him.”
“My friend, are you up to talking?” Towbar asked.
“Yeah, what’s up?”<
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“Let us pull away,” Towbar motioned.
Towbar waited until they were between groups of people so their words wouldn’t be heard. “Tell me of your discoveries my friend,” Towbar said with a strong curiosity but it didn’t come across as a greedy desire as it had with Nordad.
Mykal explained in great detail how they stumbled upon the skeletons in the Forest of Death and he shared how he was able to detect the magical items from the non-magical items. “…And what was really cool, I figured out what the items could do after I touched them. I get this image or vision in my mind what the thing can do and so far it has been right on.”
“This is truly amazing my friend,” Towbar said and showed excitement with his voice, a rarity for the giant. “It appears you have mastered that ability far beyond my capability to do so. I have to believe you have been selected from ages past to be a magic user.”
“I don’t know about that, but since you put your blood inside me when I almost died, I notice there have been some changes in me. When I’m around magic items I can see like a yellow or golden glow that others can’t see. Like right when we were passing by some of the doors in the tunnel I could see a glow around the doors and then the Elves told me that they were secured by magic. When we came across these items I have, I saw a glow around them but Jake and Boris couldn’t see it,” Mykal said and then stopped. Mentioning Boris’s name brought back the sadness.
Mykal went into detail and showed Towbar all the magic items he had. “Let me get in front of you Towbar so those behind us won’t see this. Now watch,” Mykal said with a smile and thought of himself being invisible. “Can you see me?” He whispered as he turned to look at the surprised expression.
“No, my friend. I am at a loss for words.” Towbar’s expression was like that of a child who witnessed his first card trick.
“There, I’m back,” he said and returned.
“Do you understand what a valuable treasure this is my friend. This is a most powerful weapon.”