by Dave Hazel
Their hands and feet were twice as large proportionally as their tight muscular bodies. Their hairless dark green forms looked black from a distance. Their faces resembled that of bulldogs, most with an extreme under-bite. Like bulldogs they all had excessive lip tissue drooping from their jowls. Most couldn’t hide their fangs protruding from the lower square jaw.
Men armed with M-203 grenade launchers lobbed 40mm bombs into the pockets of movement. After explosions ripped into groups of the Goblins, the surviving Goblins yelled and screamed in fright and ran in all directions. Obviously they had never faced such weapons. In a short time frame they beat back the prowling horde. The Goblins could have pressed the attack but they would have taken heavier casualties. They turned and ran away making squealing noises reminiscent of rats fleeing a building on fire.
Mykal and the men quickly took control of the front line. They policed the area while Towbar’s soldiers inspected the dead and killed any wounded Goblins. Towbar’s soldiers were mystified. They had never seen nor heard of such creatures like the Goblins. The talk spread among them as to what other ills and evils would be thrown against them.
“Dalisid,” Mykal called to Towbar’s second in command. “Tell your men not to worry. They bleed red, well, black blood,” he corrected himself when he looked at some of the broken and damaged bodies of Goblins near his feet. “The point is, they bleed and die just like Sosos, so there is nothing to fear. You saw how easily we killed them. The only reason they did any damage to us is because we were lax on our duty,” Mykal yelled so those near could hear his anger. “This isn’t gonna happen again. Captain Oakenfold. Where’s Oakenfold?”
“I’ll get him. He’s tending to some of the injured,” a Green Beret sergeant called out.
“Thanks,” Mykal replied and walked in the direction where the Green Beret ran to. Mykal saw they killed many of the ugly little creatures. It struck him odd how strange their bodies looked. “Man, these things look like they don’t eat,” Mykal said to the men who stood near him.
“They’re muscular and skinny,” said a Marine inspecting one of the dead bodies. “But damn, look how big their hands and feet are compared to their bodies. Their skin is real tough. It feels leathery. They’re ugly little bastards,” He quipped.
Larry and the Dosch brothers ran to Mykal’s side. They were concerned he may have been injured. Mathis followed behind them at a slower pace since he carried the large radio pack. “What the hell happened?” Larry gasped and stared at the dead Goblins.
“Well, now we know these little freaks aren’t as superstitious as the Sosos are,” Mykal answered while nudging one of the greenish bodies with his foot. It didn’t appear to have any injuries or open wounds.
In a flash the little dark green creature jumped to his feet brandishing a short sword. The attack happened so fast and the movement so fluid it appeared as if the Goblin had been standing the entire time. Mykal had been caught off guard and shocked. He jumped back but didn’t counter attack as he anticipated dodging the sword.
“Hell no,” Roy Jr. roared. He leveled his Ithica 37, 12 gauge shot gun, and shot from the hip. Roy Jr. pulled the trigger to stop the attacking Goblin. At such close range the explosion ripped apart the creature’s right shoulder and part of its chest. The creature jumped back as if it had been punched, but it remained standing on his feet. The humanoid twitched and jerked. It tried to attack but his feet wouldn’t move. The sword arm dangled lifelessly from the shredded shoulder. He slumped forward then fell face first onto the ground.
“Check every one of them things,” Randy shouted. “This one wasn’t dead. Check them all,” he shouted though Towbar’s men were already in the process of inspecting the fallen enemy.
“Man, he was one tough little creep,” Roy Jr. said and pointed his shotgun at the fallen Goblin. “It took a blast from my 12 gauge and it didn’t even get knocked down.”
Captain Oakenfold and his Green Berets were stationed on one side of the Pass while Captain Diaz and his Marines were on the other. Oakenfold and his Delta Company were the group that had been attacked.
Mykal came upon a Green Beret who had his head bashed in. The killing axe was beside him and so was a dead Goblin. Anger and sadness smacked him like the stench of the dead Goblin. “Damn it,” Mykal moaned. He knew if the men had been alert and paying attention they wouldn’t have had to suffer so many losses. “How the hell did this happen?” He yelled out to no one in particular though a wounded Green Beret approached him.
“I don’t know, Sir,” the Green Beret groaned while holding his side. He pulled his blood covered hand from his side to look at the deep gash of his stab wound. “The little bastard got me with a sword. Oh shit,” he moaned weakly. All the color drained from his face and he started to wobble. “I think…I’m…gonna…fall.” The sight of his own injury made him feel faint.
“Get him,” Mykal yelled but Larry and Randy had already grabbed hold of him so he wouldn’t fall. “Get him to the rear,” Mykal said and left to find Captain Oakenfold.
“Medic,” Larry yelled while gently easing the Green Beret to the ground. “We need a medic,” he yelled as others shouted for medical assistance as well.
Mykal caught up to Oakenfold who was surrounded by a handful of his soldiers while he made the rounds to check on his men. “We’re going to get you help son,” Oakenfold spoke tenderly to a Green Beret who appeared to be going into shock. The Green Beret sergeant had his left arm chopped off just below his elbow. A couple of other Green Berets had applied a tourniquet to slow the flow of blood.
“What happened?” Mykal’s tone was filled with empathy as he looked at the tourniquet that was applied above the stump.
“Please help me. I don’t wanna die out here,” the young soldier whispered. He squirmed while he tried to fight the pain. His groans and moans increased into a cry of unbearable pain.
“We’re getting you help son. You’re not going to die. That’s an order,” Oakenfold reiterated forcefully. “Take him,” he nodded to the men who put a field stretcher together.
“Take him to the rear,” a senior Green Beret instructed one of the vehicle drivers. “It’s a good thing we have all this man power to help so we don’t have to take our men off the line,” he said referring to Towbar’s soldiers transporting the other wounded.
“How did he lose his arm?” Mykal asked and was shocked. He felt bad for the soldier but he also fumed with anger.
“From what I’m told these Goblins were able to sneak right up to the men. Some were sleeping. Olson here,” he pointed to the Green Beret amputee being loaded into the vehicle. “Had to fight hand to hand because he couldn’t use his M-60 machine gun. They were right on top of him. He blocked his head from an attack and the little monster, er creature, or whatever, cut right through his arm and nicked his forehead.”
“That’s when I got up and I shot the monster in the head,” Olson’s partner declared.
“Here, wait,” another Green Beret yelled at those loading the injured man into the vehicle. He rushed to them with a severed arm in his hand. Mykal clearly saw a watch around the wrist and a gold band on the ring finger. “They might be able to reattach it,” he yelled at two men who gave questioning glares at him for retrieving the limb.
The scene seemed surreal. “What the hell was anyone doing sleeping?” Mykal yelled at the Green Beret who saved Olson’s life. Once the words left his mouth Mykal knew his anger was misdirected. All the men needed sleep and as long as they slept in shifts it would have been satisfactory and adhering to the rules that had been set forth. Mykal’s frustrated anger came from the fact the Goblins conducted a successful surprise attack that resulted in the loss of several men.
“I gave the okay for the men to sleep in shifts,” Oakenfold said. “The responsibility lies with me.”
“I’m sorry,” Mykal changed his tone. “I know the men need sleep. I’m just tore up by the fact we have dead and wounded. I thought trip flares and land mines wer
e going to be set so we would be alerted in case there was a night attack.”
“That’s my fault Myk,” Captain Oakenfold said to take full responsibility. “I put it off due to the weather. My understanding was they wouldn’t attack during the foul weather,” he added and looked down slightly.
Mykal paused. He didn’t want to jump on Oakenfold, but was at a loss.
“How bad is it for your people, Sir?” Roy Jr. asked and slung his shotgun over his shoulder.
“It’s a damn mess,” Oakenfold said and turned to look over the battlefield. “Last update, I have twenty-three dead, thirty-six wounded and seven of those are serious to critical like Olson. We have three missing and unaccounted for. Of Towbar’s men we have--”
“Missing?” Mykal cut him off. He couldn’t believe his ears. “What do you mean, missing? Could they be in the rear?”
“We checked the rear and they weren’t there. We checked the dead, we checked in the pit and we’re having Towbar’s men check the other side of the pit including the first pit. They’re nowhere to be found. We’re having people double check the rear again as we speak.”
“Do you think they took prisoners?” Roy Jr. asked.
“I can’t find them out here,” Lieutenant Finley announced when he and four others joined the group. “Hey Myk,” he greeted him with a nod. “One of the three missing is Sergeant Campbell who was lost with us on the other side of the world.”
“If that guy did get captured then that poor guy has been through the shit. Whew,” Roy Jr. commented and tipped his cowboy hat back.
“So how many of Towbar’s men got killed?” Mykal asked.
“From the last update I was told sixty-eight dead, seventy-nine wounded, but only fifteen are serious to critical. At first they thought there were five missing, but three of them were found near the other pit dead. There are still two missing.”
“Why were they near the other pit?” Mykal asked in a softer tone and looked toward the pit.
“It appeared they were dragged,” Finley answered. “I do think they’re trying to take prisoners.”
“But we don’t know that for a fact,” Oakenfold said sharply to give his opinion. “I don’t want the men getting spooked by that.”
“Well I do. I want them being spooked by that,” Mykal argued gently. “They just have to be alert and on guard at all times. Make it clear to all the men that security has to be top priority, and I’m not sure how you want to relay this to all the men, but if something like this happens again,” he paused. “They do not, and I repeat, they do not want to be taken prisoner. I hate to even think of what could be happening to those guys if they were taken as prisoners. We know what friggin monsters the Sosos are to their captives. I can’t even imagine what those ugly little bulldog looking bastards would be like.”
“After daylight hits, which shouldn’t be long, we’re going to do a thorough search,” Oakenfold said.
“How the hell did we suffer so much loss so quickly? Damn it,” Mykal barked and slapped his thigh. He wanted to punch someone, preferably a Goblin or a Soso, to release his anger. “It seemed like they were only here for a couple of minutes.” Mykal was hurt and angered by the surprise attack that resulted in such heavy losses. “That’s gotta be the biggest hurt they’ve put on us since we’ve been here.”
“It wasn’t that long of a battle,” Finley replied. “They struck hard, fast and silently. When we were alerted we kicked their ass.”
“That should never have happened. It will never happen again,” Oakenfold said and massaged his neck while looking skyward. “I will assume responsibility because I allowed the men to become lax. I could be relieved from my post,” he said to Mykal. “I’m not concerned with that, but I will have to live with this for the rest of my life. Lieutenant Finley, get the other Platoon leaders together because I’m sure Major Chick will want to have a full briefing. After our briefing I will conduct a briefing with Platoon leaders and squad leaders to rectify this situation.”
“Who would take your place Sir?” Lieutenant Johnson asked and seemed to appear out of nowhere. He’d been listening the entire time.
“Excuse me Lieutenant Johnson?” Oakenfold asked and looked shocked by the question he thought he heard.
“Captain Oakenfold, if you get relieved from your post, who would take over command of Delta Company in your absence? Would one of your Platoon Leaders be promoted from within or would Major Chick bring in someone from the outside?”
“This is not the proper time for such a discussion,” Oakenfold said. He looked at Johnson as if he could strangle him.
“I will speak to Major Chick and I’ll make sure you don’t lose your command position,” Mykal spoke up and glared at Johnson. Johnson reminded Mykal of someone who was dividing property before a terminally ill loved one passed away.
“What we need to concern ourselves with now is if the Sosos will be emboldened to try a night raid with the Goblins,” Lieutenant Finley offered. “Fighting those numbers in the dark would make our situation much more difficult.”
“Sir,” Sergeant Mathis cut in after speaking on his hand held receiver to his radio backpack. “Major Chick would like to see all the Company Commanders and Platoon leaders ASAP provided the line is secured,” Mathis said and paused to gauge their response. “Sir, he doesn’t sound too happy. He had been woken by this situation.”
“I don’t blame him. I’d be pissed at my incompetence too,” Oakenfold said and let a deep sigh escape as he looked heavenward again.
“Captain Oakenfold, this is not your fault,” Mykal corrected him. “If anyone is to blame here, it’s me. I’m the one that assured everyone that we would have nothing to worry about during the night time or bad weather. So those men are dead because of me,” Mykal said to be dramatic though he always stressed the importance of having an ‘it’s better to be safe than sorry’ mentality and for everyone to remain vigilant at all times. “I really do blame myself and I don’t want you to lose your command. I mean it I do not want you to lose your command just to have some little dip shit take over,” he said forcefully and glanced directly at Lieutenant Johnson.
Lieutenant Johnson’s expression was as if he had been punched in the stomach. He wondered who Mykal directed those comments to, though Mykal looked right at him. Johnson looked like he wanted to comment but remained silent and then gave a threatening glare to Mykal.
“I’m telling you, and I’m not asking you Sir, if Major Chick says anything about relieving you of your command you tell him what I just said. I don’t wanna have to go back there and go off the line to do it myself. I’m not trying to be pushy Sir, but I am ordering you to tell him what I said if that comes up. If he has a problem with that, let me know. I mean it cuz I’ll go back there myself.”
Oakenfold started to protest but stopped. “Thank you Myk,” he said and looked down at his feet. He held his hand out and when Mykal accepted his hand he pulled Mykal close. “You just saved my career,” he whispered, “and I truly appreciate it.”
2.
Mykal sat in the vehicle while the sun started to lighten the Pass and he fought desperately to stay awake. He knew from his years of guarding nuclear missiles that the hardest time to stay alert was that sweet spot between night and dawn. Running on little sleep for the past few nights made it more difficult to fight. There was just something about the dawn of a new day that added extra weight to one’s eyelids.
He suddenly jolted awake and took a gasping breath. It had to be the start of another nightmare. ‘Damn, why the hell am I having all these nightmares?’ He wondered while fingering the gold band around his middle finger. ‘No, it can’t be the ring. It has to be Zizmon-Tarl.’ He stopped to re-think his thoughts. ‘If I’m being honest, how could it be Zizmon-Tarl?’
Mykal looked around the front line and saw men stretching and walking around to keep themselves awake. After last night’s attack the men knew there would be serious repercussions if anyone fell asleep on duty. S
ome men were wrapped in their military issue blankets and some wore jackets. Mykal knew they were cold. After the rain of the previous day the temperature had dropped. He knew the colder temperature wouldn’t stop the Sosos or their allies.
“Oh damn,” Larry roared and bolted upright. He woke the others and startled Mykal. “Oh man. I forgot where the hell I was,” he explained and wiped a small amount of drool from his mouth. “I thought we were being attacked again.”
“Damn, you boys are hard to sleep with,” Roy Jr. said and tried to readjust his position. “It’s like every ten minutes you’re waking up and waking everyone with you.”
“Look at you,” Randy called his brother out. “You ain’t no better. If you ain’t snoring you’re waking everyone up too.”
“Well, let’s make sure we have our shit together guys,” Mykal said while stretching in the small area of the vehicle seat. “I really think the Sosos are gonna try to take the Pass today.”
“What makes you say that Myk?” Randy asked.
“I just have this gut feeling. So I think you guys should go be with your father and be close so if I have to go back and get supplies, resources and men, you’ll be there. You too Larry. Better yet, why don’t you do me a favor and stay with Jake and make sure Sam is with you too, cuz I really wanna make sure you guys go back this time.”
“You can bet your ass I’ll be there,” Larry replied with a nod and a wink. “I remember when we first realized we were stuck here all those months ago. Man it seems like years. And some of us were foolish enough to say that we would love to stay here for the rest of our lives,” Larry laughed at himself because he knew the others took every opportunity to rub it in his face when he had made such a foolish declaration months before. “It was great being treated like kings, but man there is so much stuff that I miss. We were talking like idiots.”