by Dave Hazel
Boris and Roy Jr. followed close but Boris turned his head to splatter his insides all over the ground. “Oh man,” (gasp) “Myk, I can’t take this,” Boris blurted and wiped his eyes. “They’re sick bastards.” All three made the mistake of looking at Boris’s frothy mess that contained bits of dried meat. Boris gagged and fought to keep from spewing again.
Mykal and Roy Jr. rushed away from Boris. After everything he observed Mykal couldn’t watch someone else puke without it affecting him. He joined Towbar on the far side of the car. He let out a deep breath.
“Have you seen enough my friend?” The giant asked in a soft gentle tone.
Mykal nodded.
“We must make haste,” Towbar said, his voice became stern. “We must waste no more time my friend, or more of my people will suffer this same fate.”
“I understand,” Mykal replied, barely a whisper. So many thoughts flooded his mind. How could they have ended up stuck in the middle of someone else’s war? Why were they in a battle for survival with no end in sight? This didn’t make any sense. He just wanted to go home. For the time being he had to get away from this village.
“The next village, called Wussic, is a short distance from here,” Towbar frowned. “I fear we may be too late. A slightly smaller village, they will not survive if the Sosos attacked. From the speed of your craft I would say we should reach the town at the foot of the mountains before night fall,” he said as if he had given up on Wussic. “What troubles you, my friend?”
“I just feel like garbage,” he said and shook his head.
They were all shocked, confused and terrified by what they found. Kurt had been hit the hardest because of his love for children. Tears were dripping off his chin. He didn’t hide the fact that the savagery brought him to tears. “I feel like my heart was just ripped from my chest,” Kurt sobbed. “I’ve never cried like this before.”
Boris rinsed his mouth with canteen water. “I can’t get this damn taste outta my mouth. I can’t believe what I just saw. Animals don’t even do that to each other,” he said and gargled with another swig of water.
“What’s wrong with you Towbar?” Kurt raised his voice to the giant. “Those are your friggin people lying there. Don’t you care what happened to them?”
“Kurt, I care more than you know. That is why my wish was to depart to the next village. To spare others the same fate.”
“D’ya see what they did to all those children?” Kurt asked. “You look as if you don’t even care.”
“Kurt, knock it off,” Mykal barked to stop Kurt from saying something foolish. “Just because he doesn’t show his emotions doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. Towbar cares more about those people than we ever could.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
Kurt got into the car and slammed the door behind him. When they were all in the car Kurt sped away in anger. “Did you guys see what those rotten savages did to those poor kids?” Kurt whimpered and sobbed quietly.
“The Sosos have always been evil. They butcher their own people in similar fashions,” Towbar explained. “It is a wonder they still exist as a people. Kurt, I appreciate your tender heart toward my people. I want you to be assured; I care deeply for my people.”
“These Sosos make the Manson family look like the Cleavers on ‘Leave It To Beaver’,” Boris said eyeing the surroundings.
“It’s like we’re in the friggin Twilight Zone,” Mykal said and nodded in agreement but saw Towbar didn’t understand. “Boris, get Denny on the radio and tell him what we found.”
Roy Jr. spoke up but kept his head bowed between his legs. “But how the hell did we get here?”
“I don’t have a damned clue, and I’ve asked myself that question a million times already,” Mykal exaggerated and stared at the adjoining hills. He looked closer at the occasional trees they passed to ensure there weren’t Sosos hiding. “I just wanna go home,” he sighed deeply and pulled his wallet out.
Mykal took out pictures of his wife and sons and fingered their faces. He wondered what Pam was doing. Looking at the photos made him realize how much he missed them. He wished he would have stuffed his wallet with more photos.
“What have you got there, my friend?” Towbar asked.
“These are pictures of my family.”
“Are these paintings?” He asked with a curious expression. “The detail is so clear. It is amazing.”
“They’re not paintings,” Mykal said and couldn’t help but smile at the giant’s childlike expression. “These are real people captured on film, or rather paper.”
“I do not understand. If these are real people captured, they are small and this one is you, yet you sit here beside me,” he said while studying a picture of Mykal, his wife and two sons. “I am confused.”
Despite the horrors they were just exposed to, despite the desperate lonely feelings gnawing at him, Mykal found humor in Towbar’s childlike naivety. “I didn’t mean these were real people. We have these things called cameras and with a camera I could look at you, press a button and it would take a picture of you just like this,” he pointed to his photos. “An image of you would be on a piece of paper just like this. But you can take a picture of anything. A tree, the hills, an animal, water or anything, and it captures the image. You can keep the photo and look back on it later for the memory. Do you know what I mean?”
“It is like having a painting, however, smaller. Am I correct?”
“Something like that, but these are better. I’ll tell ya what, if the chance comes that we get to go home, I’d like you to come along with us. I could show you so many things in our world that would just blow your mind away.”
“Blow my mind…away?” He asked slowly. “This is good?”
They all responded humorously to his expression.
“It’s a figure of speech,” Boris said. “A saying we have.”
“It means it would really amaze you.” Mykal said. He was glad he had something to take his mind from the horrors.
“Towbar, you’re a funny dude,” Roy Jr. said and looked back to wink at him. “You’re a good ol’ boy.”
Without warning Mykal’s right hand started to tingle and tremble uncontrollably. He looked to see the flesh of his right hand had turned green. “Oh no, it’s happening again,” Mykal yelled taking the others by surprise. “Look, look,” he yelled as Kurt stopped the car.
“What the hell?” Roy Jr. gasped.
“What do I do?” He looked to Towbar. He held his hand as far from his body as he could. The jerking motions held all their attention. It looked like an alien creature held out before Mykal’s terrified gaze. “This happened a few days ago.”
Towbar looked as surprised as the others. Towbar reached his large hands out and clasped them over Mykal’s green hand which stopped the violent shaking. “Is it painful, my friend?”
“No, but it’s scaring the snot outta me. You stopped the jerking but I can still feel the tingling,” Mykal said. “It feels like my hand’s asleep, but stronger.”
“That may be a good sign. I will let go. Try to use your hand,” Towbar said and pulled his hands from the green flesh. Mykal wiggled his fingers and then pivoted his wrist in all directions. “There’s no pain or stiffness. I can use it but it tickles like crazy like it’s asleep. What the hell is it?”
“Well, I’m gonna get going,” Kurt turned and sped away.
Within a few minutes the shade of green in Mykal’s flesh turned lighter. As the color of his skin faded so did the tingling sensations. “I don’t understand it,” he continued to stare at his hand. “I wonder if it’s supposed to be a sign or maybe some kinda warning.”
“Maybe it means that green fog is here again,” Boris said. “Remember when the green fog disappeared how all the green gel on the truck disappeared and your hand went back to normal?”
“Maybe you’re right,” Mykal said and his eyes lit up. “So maybe when my hand turns green it means the green fog is near. But what good is that?
What if it causes cancer or something?”
“We are not far from the next village, Wussic,” Towbar said to Kurt as the car approached a fork in the path. “We must go to the left. To the right will take us out of the hills to the west which will lead toward the Pass and it will be in that direction Denny will follow to go completely around the hills and find your Light and convoy.”
4.
Approaching Wussic they discovered remains of an all-out assault. Wussic, slightly smaller than Jamison, appeared to be another smoldering death pit, suffering the same annihilating outcome. Littering the ground lay many lifeless bodies of men, women and children. Most bodies cast wet dark shadows. Many of the victims had Soso death arrows protruding from their twisted, unnatural poses.
“I can’t friggin believe this,” Kurt moaned. He slapped the steering wheel. “I wish some of the murdering bastards were still here. Why do they have to kill the women and children? Why can’t they let them go?”
“This is who Sosos are,” Towbar replied without emotion.
“Keep driving.” Mykal patted Kurt’s shoulder. “We know what we’re gonna find. Let’s not waste any time.”
“If we hurry, maybe we can save others,” Boris said. “I don’t wanna see any more carnage. My stomach can’t handle it.”
“Look at that. Aw shit, will you look at that?” Kurt raised his voice and slowly maneuvered the vehicle through the maze of corpses. “Those sick bastards.”
Mykal’s eyes caught where Kurt pointed. Dangling from the roof of one of the small huts hung the body of a naked boy about three years old. His little hands were tied together at the end of the rope. Judging by the positioning of the many arrows sticking into the side of the hut, Mykal guessed the Sosos swung the boy back and forth and used his little form for target practice. The little limp body had four arrows sticking from it.
Mykal slumped back in his seat. The sight hurt like a club to the chest. “Dammit, my kids are that age,” he bemoaned. “I just wanna get outta this crazy place. I wanna go home.” He looked away, but tortured himself by envisioning his children hanging from the rope. Fear and sadness overwhelmed him.
“Damn, that’s some sick shit, man,” Roy Jr. said.
“Look over here,” Boris said and pointed out Roy Jr.’s window. “It looks like two dead Sosos.”
Towbar confirmed Boris’s observation.
“But lookit what them sick bastards did,” Roy Jr. said.
Mykal looked and hope mightily to see the two Sosos had suffered greatly for their crimes. The two Sosos had been propped up into a sitting position against one of the few standing homes. They both had more than a dozen severed heads on their lap or placed around their legs. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It appears the Sosos were killed by villagers,” Towbar answered. “The Sosos took revenge and placed the heads near the two dead in order to take them into eternity. It is to appease their evil god and to grant their entry into paradise should they not have had many kills before their death.”
“Do you believe that nonsense Towbar?” Kurt asked.
Towbar caught Kurt’s glare in the rear view mirror. “I do not understand the gods. However, I do not believe the gods to be evil deities. The Sosos believe such devices will work in their favor. They are a dangerous foe because of such beliefs.”
“They’re friggin crazy-ass fanatics,” Boris said.
Towbar looked stumped. “I believe the gods are good loving gods who reward each for hard work and living a good life.”
“Good thing Ski isn’t here,” Boris said and rolled his eyes when he looked back at Mykal.
“Oh yeah, Ski would go ape shit over all the talk of gods,” Kurt replied. “He believes there is only one God and His Son died on the cross to--”
“Let me interrupt.” Roy Jr. turned to face Towbar. “Do you think them Sosos are heading toward the next place we’re going?”
“Yes, I am sure they are.”
“Do you think we’ll run into them then?” Boris asked.
“At the speed your craft travels we can easily go around them and still move ahead of them.”
“Hell with that,” Mykal snarled. “We’re gonna go through them sick sonsabitches, and if we happen to take a few of them out along the way, oh well. It’s one of the misfortunes of war.”
“Yeah! Alright,” Kurt yelled enthusiastically and slapped his hand on the dashboard. “We’ll show them low-life’s what’s what,” he added and stepped hard on the gas pedal.
Boris and Roy Jr. added their shouts of excitement.
“Mykal, my friend, we will be going against the wishes of Denny. You stated he is your leader. You must not disobey your leader. It will be easy to avoid a confrontation as your Denny requested. We can battle the Sosos another time.”
“Towbar, Denny’s not here right now and he hasn’t seen what we seen. Not that it would change his mind,” Mykal said with a smirk. “But right now I’m in charge and I’ll be taking the heat if something goes wrong. I’m not gonna let anything go wrong. You’ll see. We’ll kill them from a distance and they won’t even get close to us. Here, I’ll settle it right now. Who wants to waste a few Sosos along the way?” He asked the other three members of his team.
Kurt, Boris and Roy Jr. shouted their eagerness with made up war cries. Boris and Roy Jr. slapped the dashboard like a pair of bongo players. “It woulda been nice to catch them in the act,” Boris said. “We coulda stopped them.”
“My friend, I would like to kill all Sosos in my land as well. However, I have no desire to go against Denny’s wishes. He has agreed to help me in my time of need and I do not--”
“Forget Denny,” Mykal cut him off sharply which caused everyone to look at him. “He’s not here right now and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Trust me, I can handle Denny. He’s only worried about having to explain another death and that ain’t gonna happen. I’m paying these bastards back cuz they made me feel stuff I never felt before. My insides are twisting.” He curled his fist to demonstrate his gut wrenching emotions.
Kurt snickered. “Trust him Towbar. He can handle Denny.”
“He’s been doing it for years,” Boris agreed.
Ten minutes later the last of the hills were behind them. They rode into wide open plains. In the distance the Finger Mountains towered straight up like rock skyscrapers.
“Wow, there’s plenty of ground to cover before we get to the mountains,” Kurt said. “I thought they would be closer. Now that we’re outta the hills which way do we go?”
“Continue south,” Towbar said. “When we reach the mountains I will direct you where to travel from there.”
“We’re in an ocean of green grass,” Boris commented. They all searched for Sosos. The rises and slopes in the flat land prevented them seeing great distances.
“These plains reminds us of the land where we came from,” Mykal said to Towbar. “Where we’re from its all farmland.”
Roy Jr. jolted upright and pointed. “Whoa! Look at that.”
“Stop the car Kurt,” Boris shouted simultaneously. “Tire tracks!” He blurted with excitement. “Several sets of tire tracks. Look at that,” he laughed as they all got out of the Ford LTD. “It’s gotta be a rescue team.”
“These tracks travel west, my friend.” Towbar looked to their right along the hills but couldn’t see the vehicles that tattooed the ground.
Mykal tried to determine the number of vehicles by the tire marks. “It’s gotta be a rescue team,” he said, his happiness beamed brighter than the sun. “Okay, they’re heading in the right direction, but if they keep going straight and don’t turn to follow along the hills, they’ll miss the convoy,” Mykal said. “At least we know others are out here.”
“Could these be the convoy’s tracks?” Roy Jr. asked.
Mykal’s reply came quick. “No, no. These can’t be the convoy’s tracks. Remember the truck with the missile? It was on its side, so they couldn’t move. Lt Light said his peo
ple were spread only a couple of miles from each other. We’re more than a few miles away from Light and his people. All these vehicles came from the east.” He turned to see where they originated but it looked flat as far as he could see.
“Cool, it’s gotta be our rescue team,” Kurt agreed. “With any luck they’ll hook up with Light and his people. Light will tell them we’re still out here somewhere and hopefully these people will wait for us.”
“I’d say there are at least eight or nine vehicles,” Boris counted. “Would that be big enough for a rescue team?”
“Whadda ya thinking?” Mykal asked.
“I don’t know.” Boris frowned. “I would expect Uncle Sam to send out an entire army for a nuke that’s missing. I wonder how long it’s been since they passed by here?”
“I can tell you,” Towbar answered. He got down on his hands and knees and placed his face close to the damaged grass. He sniffed the grass silently. He appeared to be having a difficult time and closed his eyes and sniffed harder. “They passed here mid-morning yesterday,” he said as he rose.
“Are you sure of that?” Mykal smiled and showed his delight at the possibility of being rescued from this strange, brutal world. “Even though you make a good point, Boris, until we know different, I’m gonna believe they’re here to rescue us. Nothin’ is gonna rob me of my happiness right now.”
“Really Towbar? Gimme a break,” Kurt sighed with his hands on his hips.
“I am sure of this,” Towbar said with confidence and turned a glare toward Kurt, but Kurt turned to avoid the giant’s stare. “Why does he doubt everything I say?” Towbar asked Mykal.
“Ah, don’t worry about him, he’s just a rock head,” Mykal chuckled. “We never saw anyone do that before. I believe you Towbar, and right now, that’s all that matters,” he said as they climbed back into the vehicle.
Inside the car Towbar fixed his gaze on Kurt’s head.
“What’s the matter Towbar? Are you mad at me?” Kurt asked while looking at the giant through the mirror. “I can feel you burning a hole through the back of my head. I just find it hard to believe that you could tell how long ago it was they passed by, by smelling the ground. If I angered you, I apologize.”