by Dave Hazel
The thick hind leg fell off making the massive creature tumble over with a high pitched scream that caught everyone’s attention. It flapped wildly like a sparrow with a broken wing. It surprised Mykal how much blackish blood gushed from the severed limb. The blood was very dark and seemed much thicker than any blood he had seen before.
The rider tried to control the dragon and it looked like he tried to get the dragon to rise into the air, but Mykal’s constant chopping with the magic sword diced the enormous creature like a culinary chef. He enjoyed the pain and suffering he inflicted on the monster that would have ripped him to shreds without a second thought.
No one saw where the attack came from. In his hidden state of invisibility, Mykal came close to being struck by the flapping wings a couple of times yet he didn’t hold back. Something aggressive inside him took over and he seemed to go berserk. ‘How dare this thing come at me?’ Mykal’s mind ranted. Mykal felt the mismatched scene was similar to a Chihuahua rabidly defending its home against an invading Great Dane. Size wise there was no contest but the little dog confidently stood his ground against any intruder. Mykal, however, knew he had the great equalizer; magic sword and the ability to not be seen.
*******
The rider could no longer hold onto the bucking and flailing dragon and had been thrown off after putting on a display that would shame the best professional bull riders. The rider knew his dragon came under an attack. His beast never responded in such a fashion. The evidence of severed limbs, blood and pain made it clear.
The rider jumped to his feet he stood in a crouched position. He looked in all directions for the unseen attacker. Both his robed arms were held before his hidden face as a defensive posture but also for the concealing affect so that his hooded face wouldn’t be exposed.
The rider threw his arms back and tilted his head skyward and let out a scream that would rival Godzilla. The yell was frightful and forced many to drop to the ground in terror. The sound the creature created seemed impossible, but those nearby not only heard the noise, they also felt the ‘terror’ shriek rumble through their bodies.
*******
Mykal couldn’t believe his eyes when the rider stood straight to let out the howl. It had to be at least nine feet tall, but skinny as a rail. The clothing hung loosely on the skinny frame and Mykal wasn’t sure if it was a skeleton or just skeletal like. It screamed out another terrorizing blast which Mykal thought to be a call warning him to stay away.
“Screw you bitch!” Mykal yelled and charged at the freak seeing that the dragon wasn’t going anywhere. The rider turned to the sound of his voice and Mykal sliced downward with the fiery blade cutting into the tall frame. The blade cut through the rider as if there was no consistency in his or its form. The blade glided straight through the empty form which provoked the rider to let out an even louder Godzilla like screech. The monstrous cry blasted Mykal like the shock wave of an enormous explosion. The sound nearly knocked Mykal off his feet. He believed he would have been bowled over had he been visible.
Mykal chopped a second time and turned himself visible. Just as Mykal became noticeable a loud pop occurred as if a balloon burst. Black smoke and dust flew in all directions. The rider evaporated before his very eyes. The clothing crumbled into a small pile on the ground. Mykal’s muscles tightened and he seethed with hateful rage. He wanted to kill, he wanted to destroy, and he wanted to inflict pain on the creature that sought him out to destroy him. As soon as he made his body tangible he could tell the heated, hateful, wrath filled emotions eased up some.
The wounded dragon tried to flap only one wing since Mykal had nearly severed the other. It thrashed wildly and tried to snap at him and anything near its dangerous snout. “Kill this friggin thing,” he barked when everyone in the nearby area stared at him. Everyone looked stunned by the fact that he wasn’t there a moment ago and suddenly he stood there and the monster had been cut down to size with the greatest of ease. Most eyed him with fear and trepidation.
“Quit standing there, damn it!” Mykal yelled when the dragon snapped at him again. “Kill this friggin thing,” he shouted and thrust his magical sword upward before the dragon could pull its gargantuan head back. The blade penetrated the underside of the jaw, passed through the tongue and pushed through the top of the skull with great ease. A gurgling choking sound escaped and as the dragon thrashed its head to pull away. It did more damage to itself.
Mykal held the sword firmly and instead of being pulled by the creature the magical blade cut as the head moved in an attempt to escape the intense pain. The being flailed its head to escape the pain, but instead twisted on the impaling weapon creating the same effect as if Mykal would have stabbed it and twisted the blade after penetration. Mykal felt and heard the sizzling as the razor sharp steel sliced and burned the inside of the thick hard skull. Black blood splashed out on to Mykal’s hand and arm.
With a swift jerk Mykal ripped the supernatural blade out the side of the creature’s head leaving a wide open gap. He forced one of the blood red eyes to bulge out. The head collapsed to the ground with the long, thick, damaged tongue hanging loosely on the grass. Mykal believed the beast was dead despite the twitching of the one good wing and the clawing motion of the one good talon.
Mathis ran to his side and fired eight rounds into the dragon’s head. Mathis aimed the shots to the eye that seemed to stare at all of them. “How did you do that?” Mathis cried out. He remained crouched down because of the battle that still raged all around them. Mathis couldn’t hide his visible trembling.
“What the hell are you shooting at its eye for?” Mykal asked and had a sense of humor in his tone. He didn’t seem to be worried about the war that threatened to roll over them.
“It seemed like a softer area,” Mathis answered. “It seemed like it was looking at me. How’d you do that Myk?”
“Keep shooting,” Mykal yelled to all the others who focused on the creature’s body. “Sosos are right there, damn it,” he said to avoid any questions. “Go stay by the vehicle and wait for me,” Mykal instructed. “Maybe I’ll tell ya later.”
Mykal ran away from the dragon and it struck him that the creature seemed to be looking at him. He wondered if the other dragons and their riders were searching for him too. He looked up just in time to see one of the two, remaining dragons, free fall to the ground on top of the advancing Soso army. The helicopters were easily defeating the dragons in aerial combat. The fifth and last dragon turned and flew out of harm’s way.
The men who saw what happened shouted and celebrated. But something inside told Mykal that was only a taste of what they were going to face with the dragons. He didn’t know why but something inside him, ‘his gut feeling’, made him feel these were only small dragons, and these weren’t the last of the flying monsters. He became more apprehensive, assured the enemy to be after him specifically.
“Myk,” Captain Landis yelled out while running to him. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but we’re up against some unnatural shit here. Do you know what we’re facing? Do you know if there are more bizarre things we’re gonna get hit with?”
“I’m seeing this for the first time just like you.”
“Myk, I know I saw you disappear. Then something invisible killed that dragon and then you re-appeared. Help me, because I have to know for sure that I’m not losing my mind. I don’t understand all the heebie jeebie shit that just happened. I don’t want to freak out for being in the dark.”
“Just keep the men fighting,” Mykal yelled to Captain Landis as the battle seemed to increase louder. “You’re not going crazy. I think we’re gonna have to maneuver to the rear. Tell Towbar’s soldiers to get ready to cover our backs. How bad was that?” Mykal pointed to the vehicle that had been flipped and destroyed by the dragon. He feared for those inside.
“The machine gunner standing in the turret was killed. The rest of the men inside were injured. Towbar’s soldiers carried them to the rear.”
“Start falling back. I repeat, fall back,” a voice called over the PA speaker. The other vehicles repeated the message. All the people from Mykal’s world started the maneuver back as Towbar’s soldiers and the Dwarven warriors held the line.
Charlie and Fox Companies retrograded to the third position leaving Diaz and Oakenfold and their Alpha and Delta Companies next in line to defend against the invaders. Despite the tremendous losses the Sosos showed no sign of letting up.
Mykal stopped in the middle of Alpha and Delta. He had his back to the advancing assault to watch the maneuvering Companies make their way to the rear. He looked at his hand and hoped it would turn green and tingle, thus revealing Towbar’s return. He didn’t want to leave while Towbar was absent. He realized if he didn’t leave soon for more weapons, ammo and re-enforcements, then all his people would be at risk.
“What the hell is that?” Mathis screeched and pointed.
“You gotta be frickin’ kidding me,” Gunnery Sergeant Ratner said and stood to his feet. “After all the damned shit I’ve seen,” he paused, referring to the oddities they encountered on the other side of Towbar’s world.
Mykal turned and couldn’t believe his eyes. Another monster of unbelievable proportions made its way through the mass of Sosos. The Thing stood over twenty-five feet high and was as broad as a house. It reminded Mykal of the Thing from the Fantastic Four cartoons, only this Thing looked like it had been clumped together with mud colored flesh. The arms and legs on the Thing were bigger than tree trunks. The hands on the creature were almost the size of a VW Bug that would enable the Thing to crush a man in its bare hands.
The Thing stomped through the mass of Sosos, crushing and attacking any Sosos that remained in its path. The Thing yelled and growled and snarled in a foreign language that came out as curses. Around the massive neck of the deformed beast wrapped a large metal band that seemed to be a collar of some kind. Attached to the metal collar were three long, heavy, steel chains.
The face of the beast looked grotesque. Scars and open wounds oozed pus. The Thing continued to snarl and yell, exposing its broken and dirty teeth. It threatened anyone foolish enough to go near it. Attached to the wrists were bands of steel with long chains that dragged along the ground. It seemed clear the creature was normally held captive and not allowed to roam free.
Behind the Thing were two men in shiny clean clothing. Their clothing looked like a mix of metal silver and gold in color. Their heads were covered by tall turbans. They rode on creatures that reminded Mykal of camels though they had giraffe like necks and elephant like legs. They sat on seats set high in the saddle of the strange creature. The beasts stood at least ten feet tall. The two men controlled the Thing by shouting through crude megaphones. They cracked whips behind the Thing, though the whip cracks didn’t seem to strike the beast.
The Thing stopped, raised his huge fists and flexed his gigantic muscles. It shouted while shaking its head, throwing saliva in all directions. The horrifying yell drove fear into all who were near. Sosos panicked and ran in all directions. Their panic triggered the Thing to go berserk.
With a tree like club in one hand, and a length of massive steel chain in the left hand the Thing started swinging at anything near it, crushing Sosos by the tens and twenties with each swing. The controllers on the odd animals shouted commands to the Thing and used the whips to connect to get its attention. The Thing turned and shouted at the two shiny men cracking the whip, but seemed fearful to lash out and strike back at them.
When the Thing turned to face the whip crackers, Mykal saw many scars and several open wounds on the Thing’s back. The open wounds oozed a yellowish liquid. The Thing stomped its humungous feet creating a thunder like thud on the ground. One hapless Soso standing nearby was crushed with one foot stomp. The Soso had been completely crushed by the foot that nearly flattened most of his body.
The Thing showed his anger and torment brought about by the whip cracking. It shouted skyward, shaking his colossal arms and head. After it got the shout off his chest it turned and charged toward the enemy line stomping on luckless Sosos along the way. It seemed to run in slow motion due to its gargantuan size but it actually covered much ground quickly. Both legs looked as thick as an old oak tree.
With each drop of its vast feet, the ground shook. The men on the line stood their ground though panic set in. Marines and Green Berets trained their weapons on the Thing but their weapons didn’t seem to have any impact. Grenadiers fired 40mm rounds at the moving clump of horror. The explosions made it flinch in pain. It stopped and tried to block the attack of explosions. Like an angered gorilla, the Thing roared and wildly shook its head at the enemy. Saliva and mucus flew from its mouth while it bared its discolored fangs. The saliva, dark like tobacco juice, drooled down its chin to its chest. Its eyes were wild with frustrated rage.
The two controllers rode their odd animals as fast as possible behind the charging titan. They continued shouting through their megaphones. When the Thing stopped they cracked their whips to remind it they were in charge. It swung the chain taking out eight Sosos. The end of the chain wrapped around one Soso’s legs, dragging him toward the Thing. The Soso tried to collect himself in order to free himself from the chain wrapped around his legs, but the Thing shouted angrily and stomped it’s massive foot crushing the hapless Soso’s head into the ground. Keeping its monstrous foot on the dead Soso’s head and chest it yanked the chain back and nearly ripped the Soso in half so it could free its chain.
Mykal saw that M-203s were having an effect on Thing. “Keep shooting. Take out those two bastards,” Mykal yelled referring to the controllers. He aimed his rifle at the head on one of the shiny controllers. He realized the shine came from suits of armor, though it wasn’t armor from medieval times. This armor seemed more flexible and flowed with their movement.
Mykal hesitated as he aimed at the shine on one’s head. He didn’t know how strong the turban like helmet could be. He readjusted his aim to the face of his target just as the Thing swung the long chain at the men of Delta Company. With one swipe seven Green Berets and four of Towbar’s soldiers were struck and killed. The chain crushed the heads and collapsed the chests of those who had been struck.
“Noooo!” Mykal yelled. Just as he was about to squeeze the trigger three M-60 machineguns opened fire and the two controllers and their odd animals were cut down and destroyed.
Thing seemed to understand that its masters were dead and turned to look at the remains giving a terrifying shout to the sky again. It turned and charged forward with its massive club and killing chain swinging over its head.
“Aim the .50 cals at its head,” Oakenfold shouted through the radio and repeated his order.
Mykal couldn’t believe his eyes. Captain Diaz dropped his rifle and ran straight for Thing. “Whadda ya doing?” Mykal screeched fearfully and began shooting though it didn’t help.
Diaz stopped in front of the giant creature, pointed his finger up at the face of Thing and shouted with authority, “In the name of my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ I command you to stop!”
For a moment everything ceased. It was as if the entire world stopped to watch this David and Goliath confrontation. The Thing looked down on Diaz with brown drool dripping from its open mouth exposing broken and rotted teeth. The crazed eyes of the creature softened and looked confused. Suddenly all the .50 caliber machine guns opened fire and all struck Thing in the head. After more than a hundred rounds of the .50 caliber slugs ripped into the head of Thing it stumbled backward and fell over never to rise again.
Mykal ran to the vehicle, “You keep your ass ready,” Mykal yelled at Mathis. “When I say we leave I need you to take me to the rear. You got that? You got that?” He yelled when Mathis seemed to be lost in terror.
“Yes Sir. Yes Sir,” Mathis replied and sounded like he was gasping his words.
“You watch me,” Mykal said in a softer voice when he knew Mathis paid attention to him. “Everything will be alright.”
“Mayday, mayday,” a voice crackled out of the radio speaker. “Be advised there are at least eight more of those things and a number of much larger dragons behind the enemy lines,” the pilot of one helicopter bellowed through the radio as the choppers flew back into the Pass. “Be advised there is one hell of a shit storm coming our way.”
“You gotta be kiddin me,” Mykal gasped and turned to look. “Mathis, ask them if those things are coming now. I’ll be right back.” He rushed to Diaz who ran back to retrieve his discarded weapon. “What the hell were you doing?” Mykal asked as if interrogating him. Mykal realized it was because of his fondness of Captain Diaz as an officer and a friend. He was truly concerned for the man and didn’t want anything to happen to him. He already lost too many friends because of this strange world he was trapped in. “Really, what the hell was that all about?”
“I felt commanded by God to confront that creature,” Diaz said with a shy smile while making sure the magazine was still inserted in his weapon. “I had to be obedient. My God is a faithful God. He would never put me in harm’s way without a reason in mind.”
“You coulda been killed,” Mykal gasped in disbelief.
“That’s true,” Diaz said while raising his rifle to aim at the enemy. “But God could have easily raised me from the dead,” he said without missing a beat and shot the enemy lined up in his rifle sights.
Mykal was speechless, but envious. Mykal relied on weapons, his army, Towbar’s army, the Dwarven army and powerful magic. Diaz relied on the faith he had in his Savior Jesus Christ. Diaz demonstrated a true trust and faith that could have cost him his life, but the man didn’t hesitate or flinch. Diaz either had a real relationship with Almighty God or he was just plain crazy.
Gunfire, shouts and screams brought Mykal back to reality. He would have to think about that in depth at a later time. Diaz turned to join the men on the line in preparation to leap frog back. Mykal watched men run by and congratulate Diaz for his bravery. Clearly the David and Goliath confrontation wasn’t just a figment of Mykal’s imagination.