by Dave Hazel
*******
When the crates of hand grenades were emptied, the helicopters resumed flight and took turns swooping down and attacking with machine gun fire. Soso archers took aim at the flying beasts but all attempts to take out the metal monsters failed miserably. It was obvious they never shot their arrows at flying objects and had never been taught about leading the target.
“Pass it down the line,” Mykal yelled loudly. “Take out the archers. Captain Landis, make sure your men understand the danger. The Soso death arrows only have to nick you and you will die. Take no chances with the archers!” Mykal couldn’t understand why he had to say anything about it. ‘It should be ingrained into one’s thinking. It should be tattooed into one’s brain,’ he thought. Bravo and Echo Companies didn’t have to be told. It angered Mykal that he had to actually say something about it. It was the same type of anger Mykal had for parents who wouldn’t correct their own children for misbehaving in a store or public place. It shouldn’t be up to him to correct someone else’s child while the parent stood there not doing anything about the troublesome behavior. ‘The same damn principle applies here. I shouldn’t have to say a damn thing to your people about something so basic,’ he fumed in thought.
“Got it Myk. Relaying the info now,” Captain Landis said. “Sorry about that Myk, I was focused on something else,” he added after catching Mykal’s hostile glare.
Sosos started to climb out of the first pit. They were targeted and easily picked off as they climbed over the earth wall made from the dirt dug from the pit. Very few were able to make it to the second pit before they were shot to death.
“Cease fire, cease fire,” Landis commanded and spoke through the radio. “Keep shooting the archers, but I want to allow a bunch of them to get to the second pit. When there are a number of them in the second pit we’re going to toss in a shit load of hand grenades. Sound off if you understand my order.”
In a matter of moments there was a resounding “Aye, aye Sir,” shouted in broken unison due to the distance the message had to travel down the line.
The gunfire stopped except for the single rounds here and there to take out the archers. “Get grenades ready,” Landis barked. “Wait for my command,” he added as the near four hundred men set two or three hand grenades in front of them on the dirt barrier. “Be patient, wait for it,” he paused. “Wait for it. Just a little more.”
*******
There was a sudden roar of evil that lifted into the air as tens, then hundreds and then thousands of Sosos made it into the first pit and climbed out without being struck down dead. The collective thought among the Sosos was the magic must have ceased. Victory would now be theirs. The savage looking mob of hate filled warriors rushed to the second pit. They knew that after they cleared the second pit and would be able to engage the foul little vermin in hand to hand combat the tables would turn.
*******
“Be patient, don’t panic,” Landis yelled when almost all of the Sosos tried, unsuccessfully, to run and jump across the second pit. The sight was frightful. The wild looking savages charging madly across the open pit only to drop below. “Hold tight, wait for my command,” he continued to speak to assure his men he was watching and he wouldn’t allow them to be victimized.
As the mass of Sosos tumbled into the pit, yells, cries and curses began to ring out when Soso landed on top of Soso. Sosos were injured by their fall and injured by their own comrades’ weapons. Scuffles broke out, but leader types were there to abusively control the chaos.
“On my command,” Landis said slowly to drag out his timing. “Launch now,” he yelled and dropped his arm as if he was giving the signal to start a race. “Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!” He said while dropping down behind the dirt barrier.
Hundreds of hand grenades dropped and tossed into the pit. Each exploded about three seconds after the pin had been pulled and the grenade had been released from the hand. Smoke billowed out after rapid fire of explosions followed by body parts, hair, bits of flesh, pieces of clothing and dirt soared skyward to rain down on the men harmlessly. The men were all wearing helmets except for the Dosch brothers who wore cowboy hats.
“Awh, hell no,” Roy Jr. groaned as he pulled a bloodied, bearded, chin from his hat. “This is my fav’rit hat,” he said and held the chin by the long beard to show his brother and Mykal.
“Don’t worry about it,” Mykal said with a laugh and watched Roy Jr. try to wipe the blood smear from his hat onto his shirt. “Get ready, they may try to come out.”
Mykal and all the others watched the smoke rise and waited for the smoke to clear to see how many would climb out of the pit. Mykal finally stood to look over the dirt wall. There were moans and yells rising from the mega ditch. Mykal only saw four bloodied and wounded Sosos attempting to climb out of the entire quarry. He caught sight of hectic action and movement down the line where Fox Company was positioned.
“Captain Landis, what’s going on down there?” Mykal pointed to the far end of the line where a number of foreign soldiers of Fox Company were positioned. “Please check it out. Everyone, on your feet,” he yelled. He saw an ocean of Sosos making their way to the first pit. “See if those in the pit are faking it. Shoot ‘em if they are. We have another angry-ass bunch coming our way,” he shouted and started to shoot at those going into the first pit.
The majority of the men rushed to the edge of the pit and shot at the wounded and those who appeared to be a threat. Some were left to bleed to death. Mykal knew from experience the pit would be filled with bodies before the battle was over.
“Get back behind the wall, get back behind the wall,” Landis ordered. Landis paused and listened to the person speaking to him on the radio. “Myk, we’ve had a mishap with Foxtrot Company. One of the damned foreigners, a Canadian, dropped his grenade. It was an accident of course, Myk, but it caused one or two others to drop their grenades on this side of the pit as well.”
“How bad are they hurt?”
“From what I was just told Myk,” he hesitated to share the bad news. “There are four dead Canadians, five Canadians who are wounded and one Australian who is wounded. Two of the Canadians are injured severely.”
“Damn it,” Mykal huffed while watching Towbar’s men being used to carry away the injured. “It’s one thing for parents to be told their loved one was killed in combat. I just can’t imagine how anyone would take hearing their loved one was killed accidentally by friendly fire.”
“Well I wouldn’t--” Landis stopped from saying any more and looked away as if he had done something wrong.
Mykal assumed Landis was going to suggest not telling the loved ones of these brave soldiers that they were killed by friendly fire. “Whoa look, archers,” Mykal yelled when he caught sight of several Sosos stringing their bows. “Get men on it now,” he shouted and took aim to squeeze off shots.
Mykal saw only two people were struck with death arrows. They were Towbar’s soldiers. One was killed by the arrow, the second was wounded. The wounded warrior knew his fate and angrily slapped the ground. Mykal watched the wounded warrior look at the black shaft protruding from his thigh. The warrior yelled something to his fellow warriors nearby. The warrior’s friends held his limb tightly while one of the others broke the shaft in half so he wouldn’t have to walk around with a long arrow protruding from his leg. The wounded warrior seemed to say something to his friends. He grabbed his sword gave a mighty yell and then ran head long into the pit. The warrior knew he was going to die. He decided to take as many Sosos with him as he could before he passed away.
Mykal wondered if he had it in himself to die in such a way if he knew his life was going to end. Or would he scurry away to pout and have a pity party for himself. ‘I don’t know, but I tip my hat to that guy,’ he thought as he squeezed off more rounds.
The craving inside to use his ring grew stronger, but he knew he couldn’t allow himself to be invisible in the battle. He might endanger himself since his own men wou
ldn’t be able to see him. ‘Why is the urge so friggin strong?’ He wondered while reloading. He felt like a junkie needing a desperate fix.
Mykal grabbed the handle to make sure his .357 magnum was still in the holster, check. He patted the handle of his newly acquired Glock 17 tucked into his waistband, check. He touched the hilt of his magic sword, check. He attached the sheath to the belt of his camouflage trousers. If the Sosos breached the pits and engaged him in hand to hand combat he knew it would be possible to have to use the sword if he didn’t have time to reload his weapons.
With the practice he had using the magic sword he knew he could fight all day with the mighty blade. He tapped the bulge in his large leg pocket for the two metal figurines that would turn into monstrous beasts at his command, check. But the ring, the ring, kept drawing his attention to his finger despite all the shooting and shouting. He held such an intense desire to turn invisible. He felt like an alcoholic standing at the window of a liquor store after not drinking for two days.
“Damn it, no!” He yelled and fired off shots. Those around him had no idea he was arguing with himself.
Mykal looked and realized the entire opening of the Pass filled with Sosos. Outside the Pass the ground looked completely covered as far as the eye could see. A lump formed in Mykal’s throat. The knot in his stomach tightened even more. He didn’t want to say it, but he didn’t think they would be able to hold the Pass if the attack continued at this pace.
“Make preparations to move out,” Captain Landis shouted and passed the order down the line. “Be careful with your lines of fire,” he added when thousands of Towbar’s men rushed to the edge of the pit to battle the Sosos attempting to get out.
“Captain Landis, let’s hold off for as long as possible,” Mykal shouted between rounds. “They will stop when it starts to get dark. They don’t fight at night, so let’s not give up any more ground than we need to.”
“Great point. Hold your positions, and keep firing,” Landis ordered and spoke into the radio. “Look Myk,” Landis pointed behind them. “More of Towbar’s soldiers and the Dwarven warriors are rushing to the pit.”
The battle raged on. Towbar’s soldiers and the Dwarven warriors battled and defeated the Sosos trying to climb out of the pit. Very few Sosos were able to launch their death arrows, but the few arrows that got through struck those fighting at the edge of the pit. Twelve of Towbar’s soldiers and five Dwarves were killed by the death arrows. Mykal’s soldiers kept the archers from launching many arrows.
For the advancing Sosos, the climb from the pit grew easier with the increased death toll. Bodies piled on top of bodies in the massive ditch. “Let’s think about pulling back to the next pit,” Mykal called to Landis while reloading his rifle. “This way they’ll have to work to climb out of the pit. Once we’ve moved beyond the next couple of rows have the next line hold off those climbing out. Who’s in charge on the next line?”
“Alpha Company is Captain Diaz and Delta Company is Captain Oakenfold,” Landis answered while ducking amid the increased gunfire. “I’m moving the men back.”
“Good, good,” Mykal said and turned to rush back to the next line of defense. He was surprised that Diaz appeared well enough to resume command of Alpha Company. “Pass it on that they’re gonna be leap frogging back,” Mykal said to the first person he neared. “Where’s Diaz?”
“Down that way Myk,” the Marine pointed.
Mykal rushed to the lone figure walking behind his men shouting out encouragement. “What in the world are you doing here?” Mykal asked Diaz, but was glad to see him.
Captain Diaz turned to see Mykal and his broad smile showed he was glad to see Mykal as well. “I told you Myk, God healed me. I ache a little bit, but it’s like I never had a problem.”
“Great I’m glad to hear that. The front line is moving back so have your men get ready. Tell them to make sure they keep their focus on the archers. Towbar’s men and the Dwarves will battle them as they try to climb out. I don’t know if you can see it, but that pit is filled with Soso bodies to where the Sosos can almost walk across.”
“It’s clear, they just don’t value life,” Diaz sighed and shook his head sadly. “Here they come,” Diaz announced referring to maneuvering of Charlie and Fox Companies.
As the Marines and foreign soldiers rushed past their location, shouts of thanks and gratitude for a job well done was thrown to them. A great many high fives were slapped as they ran by. “Give ‘em hell,” and “Easy pickings,” and “They’re morons,” were shouted out by the departing companies as well as many foul, Soso degrading, expletives.
Diaz’s Marines and Oakenfold’s Green Berets opened fire to cover the withdrawal of Towbar’s soldiers and the Dwarven warriors. Only a handful had been injured or killed trying to make their escape. A mere fraction compared to the multiple thousands the Sosos lost taking the small piece of ground.
A fresh new army of Towbar’s soldiers and Dwarven warriors rushed in to defend the edge of the pit. Towbar participated in the attacking group. His massive sword glowed blue while he cut through Soso bodies with great ease. With his six foot sword he was able to slice down into the pit and kill Sosos before they neared the top. Mykal snickered when he saw a younger Marine look at the patch on his uniform and then back to Towbar’s glowing sword in wild action. He looked to his patch of Towbar One once again and then called out to one of his friends as if he just figured out why the sword on their patch had a blue glow around it.
Mykal wanted to join Towbar at his side, but he decided to use his magic sword only when he couldn’t use his rifle. Since he was trained with firearms he would stick to the natural weapons and use the magic weapons as a last resort.
The battle raged on. The noise seemed louder than the battle on the 4th of July but the Sosos were no more successful than they were in the previous efforts to take ground. The pit filled with Sosos corpses quickly. Mykal couldn’t understand how they could throw their lives away in such a meaningless attempt to take over the Pass. They’ve seen how fast their companions were cut down, while at the same time not inflicting damage to their opponent.
Suddenly loud horns blasted. The horn blasts rose above the cries of war, the rattle of gunfire and the loud explosions of grenades. The horns were a signal to have the Sosos cease fighting and return. Almost immediately all the Sosos stopped what they were doing and turned to retreat.
“Watch for a surprise attack,” Mykal yelled as gunshots continued to ring out striking Sosos in the back. “Pass it down. They did this to us once before. Watch for a surprise.”
“Finish them off,” Towbar yelled to his men and the Dwarven warriors. “Go into the pit and strike them down.”
“A wounded Soso is just as deadly as a healthy Soso,” Mykal yelled to those near him.
“Go on the other side of the pit and strike them down,” Towbar yelled. “Leave no survivors.”
3.
Hours had passed, it was late in the afternoon and Mykal wondered if the Sosos would attack again. Knowing they don’t fight at night he feared they would attempt one more assault before darkness fell over them. Mykal tried to assess the dead laid out before them and couldn’t even venture a guess. There had to be well more than seventy thousand dead Sosos from the first onslaught which included those killed by land mines and the claymores. That didn’t take into account how many may have been killed by the mortars before the Sosos reached the Pass.
“…Another thing we’re going to have to be concerned with,” Mykal continued his briefing with all the military leaders. Major Chick, Major Innes and Captain Taylor as well as leaders of Towbar’s army joined the men near the front lines for a briefing while hostilities ceased. “As we know, the Sosos won’t hit us at night time, but we don’t know if their allies will or not. We know they have Goblins with them and who knows what other forces. Will they attack us at night?” Mykal’s question lingered and his eyes moved to the natives of this world.
Towbar and his
generals looked at each other, then turned their focus to Norg the Dwarven representative and then to Nordad and the three Elves. “We are at a loss,” Towbar spoke on behalf of his generals.
“I know not what Goblin be,” Norg spoke and his voice was gruff. He massaged his thick coarse beard. “I not see Goblin.”
“He’s never seen Goblins before,” Mykal said for some of the company commanders who appeared to be confused.
“I’ve only seen Goblins in the mountain,” Nordad admitted.
“We know of Goblins,” Starling spoke and his voice was soothing and comforting in a musical way. His conversation was the complete opposite of Norg. “Goblins are evil creatures of the night. It would not surprise me if they would try to infiltrate our defenses when we least expect it after the sun has gone down.”
“Why would you think they have other forces besides the Goblins?” Major Chick asked in response to Mykal’s suggestion.
“For those who don’t know, my hand alerts me to whenever the green fog is active in the area,” Mykal answered and held up his right hand. “At least four different times during the battle my hand warned me that the green fog was somewhere in the area. It was faint, meaning far away,” he said and shook his hand while speaking so those who knew of the effects would understand what he was referring to.
Towbar didn’t mention his upper body had been affected in the same manner. He felt the green fog had appeared as well. Nordad and the others with him all acknowledged they felt the effects Mykal spoke of.
“From what me and Towbar learned from an old magician named Nidious, during our first visit, the green fog was created as a transporting device by Zizmon-Tarl, the evil Overlord, the Mister Big of the bad guys if you will. When he started playing with the device we think there was a mistake and that’s how we got transported back in June. It was a freakish mistake that brought our two worlds together.