by Dave Hazel
“Why? You just got back?” Sam protested.
“I know, but Towbar can’t leave and the King trusts me. I can use a vehicle and get there a lot faster than any of his men on horseback. Anyway, forget all that for right now. Obviously I trust you guys and I trust Roy and his sons. Other than that, I don’t want to trust anyone else.”
“Do you want us to come with you?” Jake was quick to offer. “I really hate the idea of traveling but I don’t want you to be on your own.”
“No, that’s alright Jake. I appreciate the offer especially after all you’ve been through. I wanna sneak away and I want you guys to watch and see who really presses to find out where I am. I want you to keep an eye on those who make a big deal about it cuz they could be someone who’s out to get me.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Larry said and slammed his fist into his open palm. “I’d like to get my hands on these people. Boris was a friend of mine.”
Jake pointed behind Mykal so he would turn.
“Hey boy, where the hella you been?” Roy Dosch asked and clamped onto him as if he was one of his own sons. “You had us scared half to death boy.” He gave a gruff laugh.
“Thanks, it’s great to see you guys,” Mykal said and smiled as Roy Jr. and Randy gave him a quick friendly hug.
“Boris is dead,” Jake announced before they had a chance to ask where he was.
“Ah no,” the elder seemed to take it harder than his sons. “I liked that kid.” All three of them appeared to be shocked.
“Listen guys, you know I trust you with my life.”
“Same here boy,” Roy Sr. said and couldn’t force a smile after learning of Boris’s demise.
“I need to ask a big favor of you guys. I have to run. I have to take off to the Great Walled City,” he lied. “Jake and the guys will explain what’s going on, but I think there may be someone here who may try to kill me.”
“What? Who the hell would do that?” Roy Jr. fired back.
“Yeah, point him out cuz we’ll finish him off right now,” Randy added and looked around as if the threat was behind them.
“I’ll let them fill you in. I gotta run. I’ll get back soon but this stays between us. I only trust you guys and Towbar.”
“Well you just make sure you get your behind back here,” Roy Sr. said and pointed to the ground. “While you guys were out gallivanting around, the Sosos have been building their forces and some of Towbar’s soldiers think they will attack with an all-out assault to take the Pass any day now.”
“One of the generals thinks this will be the war to end all the wars,” Roy Jr. added. “It sounds like they are gonna try to take the Pass at all costs.”
“I agree. But listen, the sooner I go, the sooner I get back. Jake, make sure you keep the Elves and Nordad and his men from the reporters.”
“My friend, please come here so that I may speak with you.”
“Be right there Towbar. Look, I’ll get back as soon as possible, but be careful,” Mykal said as he walked away.
“You’re the one who needs to be careful,” Roy Sr. said.
“I would like to make sure our information is the same before you depart,” Towbar spoke quietly as they walked away from the crowd. “I do not want to have differing stories.”
“Okay, we’ll say that I’m going to see the King because you can’t leave here and he trusts me from the last time you took me there. I’m going to do what though? Find out about troops?”
“Yes, that would be a good reason. We have been expecting another army to arrive. You are to find out where they are.”
“Good Towbar, this way if I get back sooner than what would be expected we could say I came across the troops and they’re on their way and then I turned around. Hopefully no one will notice when they don’t arrive, but you have to understand, those friggin reporters might start asking a bunch of questions.”
“We will refuse to answer their questions. Can we not?”
“Not really,” Mykal replied and laughed. “That’s their damn job to always ask questions and stick their noses where they don’t belong. You remember what some of them were like back when we were on the tour around the country in my world, right?”
“Yes I do.”
“Towbar, I wanna split up this magic powder. Do you have another leather pouch or something that would be good for it?”
“Yes, my friend, but why?”
“Just in case I can’t work something out with them snakes and they do kill me,” he answered as casually as if they were talking about the weather.
Towbar looked stunned after Mykal spoke. “My friend, I should go with you. I will protect you.”
“I appreciate that. I really do buddy.” He smiled his gratitude. “But listen, with the people I’m dealing with, if they want me dead, I’m dead. I just have to convince them not to want me dead.” He gave a laugh though humor was not his intent. “If I can’t work it out with them I’m gonna wage a war on them that they’ll definitely regret. Then I’ll try to get back here before they kill me. So,” he sighed and didn’t want to say the next words. “I may end up having to stay here the rest of my life.”
“That is good my friend,” Towbar replied with a large smile. “However, I can see that is not good for you.”
“It’s not that I wouldn’t wanna stay here, but I’d be terrified if my family had to stay here. Your world is a very dangerous place.”
I understand,” Towbar said and nodded slowly.
4.
Mykal drove off away from the Front deeper into the Pass. He wanted to get away before people had a chance to stop him and ask questions. The farther he went the more isolated he felt. He had no help, no army to support him; he was totally on his own.
His mind raced with several scenarios. He tried to play out all the possible endings in his mind. He knew he would have to wait until he stood face to face with Jill. He would have to be on his guard because the government had all the resources at their disposal to ensure he would die if that was their intent.
He drove for more than an hour to find a location to transport himself back to the real world without the possibility of anyone seeing him. He knew he would have to keep his presence a secret because he feared he would have to fight for his life.
“If they start a war, I’ll give them a friggin war,” he said with a snarl and his anger got the best of him. In his anger he realized he had contemplated killing the President of the United States of America. “No, I can’t,” he said softly. He would rather force himself to be in exile for the rest of his life. “Why won’t they leave me alone?” He yelled and slapped the steering wheel.
“Wait a minute,” he continued his monologue to himself. “I haven’t talked with them yet. Maybe it’ll all work out.”
He stopped the Jeep Wagoneer and stepped out. He looked at the 4 door vehicle and wondered if the camouflage design and coloring would draw attention back in the world. With Minot being an active military town he didn’t think it would. He hoped it wouldn’t.
Towbar taught him two ways of conjuring the green fog. One was to make the fog appear on top of him or the other to conjure the green fog out before him so he could step into it or as in this case to drive into it. He had to focus on where he wanted the green fog to appear and wanted to be careful to make it appear where innocent people wouldn’t be transported away.
In his mind he selected an area just south of Minot and about three miles west of Highway 83. He pictured the intersection of County Highway 17 and County Highway 14. It was an intersection of dirt roads used by farmers for their farm land but being December there shouldn’t be anyone there. He could reduce the risk even more by transporting himself to a more remote location but he didn’t want to take the chance of putting his vehicle into a deep snow drift or put himself into a field and get stuck in the snow. It would be too difficult to explain away the problem.
“If someone is there and they get transported, it’s too bad. I can’t worry about t
hat right now,” he said. Mykal shook his head and got back into the vehicle and drove into the green fog slowly. He knew the dizziness that would strike and he wanted to be driving at a crawl. He knew where he appeared there would be snow on both sides of the road.
He held tightly to the steering wheel once the vehicle stopped and he waited for the buzzing in his brain to pass. He thought he would start getting used to the dizzying effect, but that wasn’t the case. It was just as strong as the first time he traveled through the magic transporter. While waiting for the buzz to clear a funny thought occurred to him. Nordad, his men, and the three Elves just had their first experience with the green fog the day before. Thus all their exposed flesh would now be alerted that Mykal conjured the green fog. He found it humorous that they would all turn green and tremble because he hadn’t explained to them what to expect. It brought humor to his mind knowing they would probably be terrified and not know what happened. It was like pulling a prank on them. ‘I wonder if the Elves would be affected by it or immune to it,’ he thought as the dizzying eased up.
After the green fog disappeared he stepped out of the vehicle and looked in all directions. He wanted to see if anyone happened to be in the area or if anyone could possibly be a witness to his arrival. He felt he had to cover his tracks. There was no telling how the days ahead were going to play out.
Though Minot wasn’t his home town he felt like he had come home. It was great to be back. The sun was bright and the reflection off the snow was blinding. It was bitter cold out and he didn’t have a coat with him. He knew it was easily below zero. He had felt this type of biting cold in the past. He was glad to see from his view point that there was no one in his line of sight that would be able to confirm a military vehicle appeared out of the green fog.
He drove straight to his home and was careful to watch in all directions. For the people of Minot and the surrounding area it was a common sight to see U.S. government and military vehicles regularly. Driving the camouflaged Jeep wouldn’t necessarily draw attention to himself, but he didn’t want his face to be seen. Since he and Towbar were thrust into the lime light and he became famous, he had been recognized almost everywhere he went.
When he got to his house he was glad that Pam’s car wasn’t there. She and the boys were probably at her parents’ house. They agreed she would stay with her folks until he returned. The drive way had no snow. He wouldn’t leave tracks when he parked the Jeep in the garage.
Getting in and out of the vehicle he turned himself invisible just in case anyone would happen to look in his direction, but he wasn’t even sure if the magic ring would work in his world. He had a house key and a garage key buried in a secret spot on the side of the house for just such an emergency.
Before opening the garage door he looked in all directions. He felt as if he was breaking into someone else’s home and he was afraid of getting caught. With the Jeep hidden inside the garage beside his Cadillac he kept peeking out all of the windows to see if anyone would have noticed his arrival. He felt more fear and nervousness over the fact that someone might have seen him than all the fear he’d felt during some of his terrifying life threatening experiences. He didn’t want to be seen in case he had to kill Jill. He didn’t want there to be witnesses to the fact that he was in Minot at any time.
In his own home he snuck around, nearly tiptoeing, afraid of being there. He felt like a stranger in someone else’s home. He paced back and forth trying to decide what to do. Should he get in touch with Pam before contacting Jill? Should he just contact Jill and see what problems may come up first so Pam wouldn’t have to lie about his being home. “I’m making myself a mental basket case,” he said as he tried to decide what to do.
He realized his main problem to be lack of sleep after all the stress of staying alive. It wracked his brain. Suddenly it hit him hard that Boris was dead and gone. His body lay under a mountain somewhere on the other side of Towbar’s world. He would never have a grave site to visit other than the fake site where Boris was supposed to be buried after committing suicide. He pulled out Boris’s Towbar One patch and realized that was all he had to remember Boris by. ‘No! I got memories and photos too,’ he thought.
It bothered him that his other friends were gone. He missed Kurt, Denny, Rich, John Carris and others. He even missed Franklin Perry. “That little pain in the ass,” he said with a sad laugh. He felt responsible for Franklin’s death since he took the kid’s ammunition away as a punishment for falling asleep on guard duty. The guilt hurt. He remembered looking into the eyes of Franklin’s parents and told them he died a hero in combat. Their tears flowed because of him and he was crushed by the sight of the parents trying to hold and comfort each other. Franklin’s younger teenage sister sobbed uncontrollably. It had been obvious they were close to each other. Mykal blamed himself for destroying the Perry family.
He wanted to cry over the sadness, but he knew tears would not bring Franklin or any of them back. He wanted to yell out his anger, but that wouldn’t change anything either. He wanted to give up and let whatever was to happen to just happen. He suddenly realized his emotions took a nose dive after he turned himself invisible. He looked at the ring and turned himself visible. ‘I can’t give this up,’ he thought to himself. ‘I’m not gonna allow them to win and take my family away from me’. “No, I’m not giving into them bastards. If they want a war, I’ll screw them up.”
“I gotta get my head together,” he spoke to himself and snuck through his own house. “Step one, a nice hot shower.”
Mykal took a long hot shower but still felt dirty. He needed a nap but feared falling into a deep sleep and not being able to hear the alarm. He filled the tub with hot water and laid in it knowing he would doze off, but once the water lost the heat he would wake up. He had done that many times in the past and knew it to be better than an alarm clock.
5.
Dressed in civilian clothes and armed with a handful of change, he turned himself invisible and left the house. ‘Oh no.’ a thought struck him. ‘What if this ring doesn’t work in my world? What if people can see me?’ He panicked in thought and lowered his head. ‘Damn it, I gotta know.’
Using his Cadillac he drove to the heart of Minot. He pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall on South Broadway which is Highway 83 that cuts through the middle of Minot. Those moving about in the parking lot were rushing to and from their vehicles because of the bitter cold air. No one seemed to notice him but they could be preoccupied with the frigid temperature.
Walking toward Piggly Wiggly Supermarket he came upon a couple in their mid-fifties. “Hey you,” he yelled out and when they turned to the sound of his voice he waved wildly. He was relieved when they seemed to look through him and around to see where the voice came from.
“Who was it dear?” The woman asked her husband.
“Damned if I know. I couldn’t see who it was,” he replied and they continued on.
After he walked into the supermarket Mykal realized he didn’t exist to all these people. If he was a different kind of person the world would be his for the taking. If he was single he could go to the all-girls college just a few minutes up the road. He physically shook his head. ‘I don’t even wanna think about that.’
While walking inside the brightly lit grocery store made him realize how hungry he was, but he knew he didn’t have time for food yet. He was on a mission inside the store. Just to make sure, he walked up to a couple of different people and waved at them but no one saw him.
A couple of years ago Mykal had a part time job in this store working in the deli. He knew from past experience that it was very rare for anyone to be inside the manager’s office. From the manager’s room he could see anyone approach the stairwell to climb to the office.
His goal was to call Jill and let him know he was in North Dakota without calling from his home phone. He planned to call from a phone booth but it was too cold out. It would be a month or so before the accountant found the long distance
phone call to Washington DC. He chuckled to himself thinking of how the “cheap bastard” of a manager would blow his top if he knew someone made a long distance call from his office.
Mykal rushed to the manager’s workplace and just as he expected there was no one in the office. He looked in all directions and he looked over the main floor and it looked to be busy enough that he shouldn’t be interrupted. Fear gripped him as he took Jill’s number from his pocket. He paused when the realization struck that he could be setting an appointment for his own death.
Mykal was surprised the manager had replaced the old rotary phone with a touchtone. The desk and chair were still the same. He didn’t dare sit on the chair because it would squeak too loud and that might draw attention. With a tissue in hand he picked up the phone so as to not leave finger prints. He took a deep breath and dialed the number.
“Yeah,” a familiar voice answered after two rings. This was a special phone number that only a few people had access to.
“Hey Jill, I need to talk to you.”
“Who is this?” He asked with a focused interest. “Jill” was one of many names he used for various operations.
“Mykal. Mykal Graves. I’m the one--”
“I know who the hell you are,” Jill cut him off with a happy laugh. “Where are you?”
“I’m in North Dakota.”
“When did you get back? Did everyone return with you? Did you accomplish your mission?”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down. I just got back. I think I accomplished my mission, and I’m the only one who is here.”
“Why, what’s happened?”
“First of all Mister X and all the others were captured by Sosos, you know, the bad guys. We found some of them,” he lied to give himself some leverage. “I took this package from a dead man so I don’t know if it’s the correct one. I want you to check it out and if it’s not correct I’ll go back and keep searching. If it is correct we can at least put that behind us.”