37 Days In A Strange World

by Dave Hazel

  “I am not angry. I understand and I appreciate your skepticism. I find it difficult that your head is made of rock.”

  Kurt’s jaw dropped and the others burst out with laughter.

  “No, no,” Mykal slapped his own thigh while laughing. “When I said Kurt was a rock head, it was just a figure of speech, a saying we have. I meant he was narrow-minded.”

  “It’s a good thing you didn’t call him a shit head,” Roy Jr. laughed out. When he cackled at his own joke he doubled over and hit his head on the dashboard, causing more laughter. The much needed hilarity detached them from the recent horrors.

  “Aw gee thanks guys.” Kurt pouted, but laughed with them. “Boris, gimme the radio. Hey Denny, Denny this is Myk, do you read me?” He called into the hand held microphone.

  “I can barely hear you,” Denny’s voice returned weak and peppered with static. “How do you read us?”

  “You’re coming in weak as well, but listen, when you get past the village and get outside of the hills you’re going to come across a bunch of tire tracks that look like they could lead back to where the convoy is. It could very well be a rescue team, so be watching for it, and be careful with them Sosos.”

  “Great, we’ll look for them,” Denny replied, excitement in his tone but his words blotched with static. “One of Towbar’s men, Kotan, has been describing to us what the Sosos are like.”

  “It’s unbelievable, they’re worse than friggin animals.”

  “Ask Towbar if he would like to say anything to his people? I have Kotan riding with us,” he said but his voice was faint.

  “I am able to speak to my friend Kotan?” The giant asked and looked as excited as a child handed a new toy.

  “Sure, just talk and I’ll key the mike for you,” Mykal said and stretched the radio cord to put the microphone at Towbar’s face.

  “Kotan my friend, can you hear my words?” He grinned. Towbar’s eyes were wide and he seemed unsure where to look. “Am I speaking into it properly?”

  “Yes Towbar, I can hear you,” replied the faint, excited, voice of Kotan from the speaker. “Where are you, my Lord? We wish to be at your side.”

  “Not to fear Kotan, I am in good company. This craft moves swiftly. We are beyond the hills and into the flats. Sosos have been to Jamison and Wussic. Both have been annihilated.”

  “This is sad, my Lord.”

  Mykal pointed to him, cueing him when he pressed the talk button. “We shall reach the mountains long before the Sosos.”

  “This is good, my Lord.”

  “Hey Denny,” Mykal cut in. “We’re moving pretty quick, and we’ll keep you updated. Make sure you check out the tire tracks in the grass after you get out of the hills.”

  “Will do,” Denny’s voice came back weak and beat up with static. “Keep safe out there.”

  After a few more miles Kurt brought the Ford LTD to a sudden halt which caused them to slide on the grass. They were all surprised when they topped a rise in the land that dipped down to a deep valley. “Damn, look at all them crazy bastards.” Kurt whistled.

  “There’s gotta be a couple a thousand of them,” Boris guessed and looked to Roy Jr.

  “There’s more than a couple a thousand,” Roy Jr. shook his head. “I’ve been on a ranch with a couple thousand head of cattle. That’s way more than a couple thousand out there.”

  It looked like a large disorganized mob, armed with various types of weapons. They travelled in packs of varying sizes, advancing on the Finger Mountains. Their size made it clear how they struck both villages with such devastating force.

  “We’re gonna take out some of these scumbags,” Mykal said hatefully. “Hand me the mike and be quiet while I take care of Denny.” He had to wipe the smile from his face to get into his role. “Denny, Denny,” he cried out into the microphone. “We’re surrounded by them. We gotta fight our way out. We’ll get back to you,” he cried out. He ended his transmission and started to laugh.

  “Myk, what’s going on?” Denny’s voice wailed back through the static. “I want you outta there. Talk to me,” his voice surged with panic making them all laugh except Towbar.

  “Shut it off Kurt, I don’t wanna hear Denny freakin’ out.” Mykal grinned and looked at Towbar. “Now this takes care of us knocking off some of these Sosos. See, nothing to worry about with Denny. He thinks we’re surrounded by them so we gotta fight our way out.” He slapped Boris’s out stretched hand.

  “Good one Myk,” Kurt said. He turned the radio off just as a new, stronger, static started out the speaker.

  “Kurt, take us down so we’re level with them,” Mykal said. “Then we’ll get out and take a few shots.”

  “It’ll be like shootin’ fish in a barrel,” Roy Jr. cackled.

  “We’ll shoot some and then we’ll run right through them,” Mykal said. “They’re spread out enough that it should be easy.”

  “Is this premeditated murder?” Boris asked as Kurt stopped the vehicle. “I’m just asking, cuz I wanna make sure we’re all on the same page,” he said and put a cigarette between his lips.

  “Hell no,” Roy Jr. replied. “This is payback for hurtin’ my little brother, for killin’ Nelson and those two villages.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear.” Boris nodded and smiled.

  “Stick to our story of what I told Denny. We came over this rise and all of a sudden we were surrounded. We had to fight our way out,” Mykal explained as they all stepped out of the car.

  Mykal aimed his rifle. His front sight zeroed in on the back of the head of the closest Soso, nearly fifty yards away. With images of little dead children fresh in his mind he had no fear, no hesitation. A slight squeeze of the trigger, a sudden pop of the M-16, the Soso in his sight flew forward.

  The others quickly fired off several shots dropping Sosos with every round. Most dropped dead, but the few who didn’t die, yelled out, startled by the shocking pain that blindsided them. A commotion stirred and those at the rear of the Soso army turned to face the strange enemy, who inflicted pain and death from afar.

  The closest Sosos moved to within twenty-five to thirty yards away. They formed a line but seemed fearful of advancing.

  “They know that I am here,” Towbar said. “They must believe I am using magic to bring death upon them.”

  “This is great.” Boris displayed his excitement. “It’s like that movie Dawn Of The Dead where the National Guard is in the middle of the field blasting away at zombies that can’t fight back--Oh, d’ya seem him flip?” Boris hooted after his shot.

  “But these ain’t zombies--” Kurt replied and paused to shoot, “--and they can fight back. Oh yeah, I got his ass.”

  “Hold your fire,” Mykal ordered.

  The mob parted when a leader moved to the rear of the army. The leader, head and shoulders taller than the others, pushed his way to the front of the battle line. He looked like a smaller version of Towbar. The mini-Towbar carried a large two headed axe. Despite the distance, Mykal saw the leader’s face bore hideous scars of previous battles.

  Around his neck appeared to be a necklace made of the heads of young children, trophies he displayed proudly. Each of the four heads had been pierced through the cheeks, and threaded with a leather strap. His naked chest bore the stain of dried blood. Tied to his waist, a large collection of hands from men and women he killed. He walked the line shouting strange words. With many dead comrades on the ground he still seemed fearless.

  He continued to yell phrases in a foreign language while raising his heavy axe over his head. The only word intelligible, “Towbar, Towbar,” everything else sounded alien.

  “Whoa, he’s a scary lookin’ dude,” Roy Jr. said.

  “What’s he saying?” Boris looked to the giant.

  “He is challenging me to a battle. He wishes to fight me.”

  “Screw him,” Mykal said. “Kurt, turn on the PA and say ‘fight this’, or something like that,” Mykal said and took aim as the ugly Soso con
tinued to call out a challenge to Towbar.

  Kurt spoke into the microphone, his words projected out the speaker atop the car. “Hey, you big ugly bastard, fight this.”

  Mykal fired off three quick shots from his M-16. All three rounds exploded inside the leader’s head before he started to fall to the ground. “We ain’t got time for his nonsense. Get in the car,” Mykal said as a wave of yells rose. “They’re probably shocked at how fast that big tough guy got killed.”

  “Let’s rock an’ roll baby,” Kurt roared with exhilaration and sped forward. The siren blared and the red lights flashed. He pressed his hand on the horn for more noise. The Sosos who started to mount an assault against them quickly turned and ran in all directions. They dropped their weapons as they fled in a panic.

  “Sosos never display this type of fear,” Towbar said and cracked a smile. “You and your craft are a gift from the gods.”

  The car raced through the widening gap left by fleeing Sosos. Some stood their ground, but they looked to be frozen in fear. Their eyes fixed on the screaming creature that moved with great speed. Gunshots rang from the side doors where Mykal and Roy Jr. were seated. Kurt held his 9mm Beretta in his left hand ready to shoot any that would come near the car.

  *******

  Some of the Sosos composed themselves and threw clubs, axes and spears at the metal creature. All hand hurled missiles fell short. A few Sosos who had not witnessed the killing by ‘magic’ tried to move closer to take a swing at the tan colored demon.

  One brave Soso stood with his sword over his head in hopes that the screaming beast would come near enough to allow one strike. He was sure he could kill or at least injure the odd creature, thus allowing the rest of the army to move in for the kill. He couldn’t see a mouth, teeth, arms, legs, or anything the being used to attack, other than its bullying size. He never encountered such speed from a charging foe, but he stood firm.

  *******

  “Get this guy,” Boris said in a fright to Roy Jr. “I don’t want the sword to come through the windshield.”

  Kurt jerked the steering wheel and raced to the Soso. He moved the front fender of the car to slam into his knees and nearly took the Soso’s leg off. The sword hit the hood of the car just barely scratching the paint. The Soso flipped, rolled and twisted in agony. One leg swung around to the back of his head giving the impression the leg belonged to another person.

  Another unarmed Soso ran toward the car. He dove in front of the car on the passenger side. “He’s trying to tackle us.” Kurt laughed out loud. It appeared the Soso tried to grab the tire of the car. They all hooted when they felt his head get crushed under the car. The car bounced as if it hit a speed bump. “What a friggin idiot,” Kurt said and slowed down so he could shoot his pistol with accuracy.

  “Roy, one is getting close to your front,” Boris shouted and thumped his shoulder to get his attention.

  “I got him,” Roy Jr. said and fired his Thompson. A large chunk from the side of the Soso’s head flew off when the big heavy slug slammed into his skull. “That’s for my brother,” he howled, but they could hardly hear one another. Temporary deafness set in due to the excessive noise in close quarters.

  Kurt slowed the car to almost a stop to shoot a Soso in his bearded face at point blank range. The Soso raised his axe to strike. A red mist hit the back of Kurt’s hand when he fired his 9mm. “Yuck, that’s gross.” He wiped his hand on his leg.

  “Quit screwin’ around,” Mykal scolded Kurt while shooting his rifle from the back seat. “That was too damn close.”

  Towbar kept his large hands covered over his ears to block the earsplitting explosions. “Archers,” Towbar shouted. “They are regrouping to attack.”

  “Kurt, get us outta here,” Mykal ordered as loud as he could. They all understood the danger of the Soso death arrows.

  Kurt sped away before Soso arrows became a threat. They stopped shooting and watched for any Soso that posed any danger. In less than a minute, distance rendered the Sosos harmless.

  “Talk about a hit and run,” Kurt said while trying to relieve the ringing in his ears with his finger. “Myk, do you want me to stop and we’ll give them some more hell?” He asked after they were a safe distance from any Soso.

  “No, just keep going. We need to conserve our ammo. The next time we might need it for more than just playing games. Can you hear me?” He asked knowing all ears were blocked with ringing. He looked at Towbar who still had his hands cupped over his ears. “What’s the matter?”

  “I can no longer hear you my friend. Your thunder sticks have damaged my hearing.”

  “It’ll pass,” Boris said loudly. “It’s just cuz we’re in a closed in space. It’s a good thing I didn’t shoot my baby,” he said and held up his .44 magnum. “This thing is like a cannon.”

  “I do not understand.”

  “I’ll explain it later, when we can hear,” Boris said.

  “Damn, now that the fun is over, it’s hot again,” Kurt said, still trying to unplug his ears.

  “Why do you play games with your lives my friend? The Sosos are dangerous. You should not risk your lives with them.”

  “There wasn’t any risk, except for when dumb ass here almost let the Soso inside the car,” Mykal embellished. “Kurt, when you’re driving, don’t play around. If you get killed or hurt we’d all be screwed. Got it?”

  “No problem Sarge,” Kurt said and looked back at Mykal. “That was pretty funny. Do you think Denny is worried about us?”

  “Yeah, turn on the radio and hand me the mike. We better let them know we’re okay. Hey Denny, can you hear me? This is Mykal,” he paused and waited for a response but he couldn’t hear anything. “Denny, I don’t know if you’re trying to respond but we can’t hear anything. Our ears are ringing from all the shooting we did from inside the car. I just want you to know we’re all okay. No one is hurt, not even a scratch. But just so you know, I’d say we easily killed more than a hundred of them crazy bastards,” he boasted. “Make sure you guys keep your eyes open and be safe. Hopefully we’ll see you guys some time tomorrow,” he added and paused to see if they could hear any kind of response. “Turn it off.”

  Static crackled through the speaker, but they didn’t try to decipher the noise. Mykal handed the microphone back to Boris. “Hey Denny, like Myk said, we can’t hear you, but we’ll try to talk later,” Boris said and then turned the radio off.

  #######

  “Myk, can you hear us?” Denny replied. “I copy everyone is fine. Someone else is trying to call but we cannot hear them, I repeat, we cannot understand them. Can you hear them?”

  “I’ll betcha Kurt turned the radio off,” Franklin said.

  “That dipshit better not have,” Denny huffed.

  “Do you really think they got attacked?” Franklin asked.

  “I don’t think they’d joke about that,” Larry answered. “But thankfully everyone is fine,” he turned to Roy and Randy who stood beside his door. “We can start moving again.”

  “Phew, that takes a load off,” Roy sighed and smiled.

  Kotan spoke to his new traveling companions after receiving the good news. “After we pass through the village of Jamison, we will come upon a fork in the path. Lord Towbar and your friends traveled to the east to Wussic. We will travel to the west. When we reach the flats we will search for your friends. . .”

  5.

  While driving toward the mountains ahead of them, Mykal thought through the events of the past couple of days and tried to make sense of everything they had gone through. It still didn’t make sense; the violence, the horrors and the fact they were caught in the middle of a war in another world that wasn’t known to have existed. ‘How? How? How and why?’ Mykal asked himself countless times over the past couple of days. Those questions were always followed with, ‘How do we get back home?’

  The forward motion of their travel remained quiet and they all seemed to be deep in their own thoughts. It gave Mykal another
opportunity to examine every step of their journey so he could look for clues that might help explain what happened or how to resolve being ‘lost in another world’. He thought back to the day they departed Minot Air Force Base. He hoped to uncover any clues to explain their unbelievable situation...

  ≈≈≈∞≈∞≈∞ FLASHBACK ∞≈∞≈∞≈≈≈

  The morning of June 23rd Mykal woke up with a ‘weird’ feeling that he shouldn’t go to work that day. His intuition, or his ‘gut feelings’, were usually reliable and accurate. He feared there might be a military exercise that he didn’t feel prepared for. He brushed it off as the stress from his upcoming testing for promotion to staff sergeant. He had stayed up most of the night to study and thought he might be overly tired. He needed the extra pay of staff sergeant for Pam and the boys. “Two more weeks and I can take the test and be done with this book cramming. But three hours of sleep a night just doesn’t cut it.”

  After shaving and showering, Mykal dressed himself in his Air Force Battle Dress Uniform. He looked at himself in a full length mirror and smiled. ‘Boy, I’m glad the Air Force finally went to camouflage uniforms,’ he thought to himself. ‘These look a whole lot better than those ugly plain olive drab fatigues.’

  “Aw crap,” he sighed. His mustache and hair were close to being longer than military standards. “Ah, hell with ‘em. I’ll take care of it later,” he said as he pushed his hair back so as to not touch his ears. “Can’t go to inspection and be non-compliant with Air Force regulations.”

  He pulled open his alert bag to make sure he had all the required equipment. He physically touched every piece just in case Lieutenant Edwards, the Flight Security Officer, conducted another of his surprise inspections.

  “That jerk,” he said out loud. He despised the thought of the man who could make or break his Air Force career. “But I can’t afford any trouble with Edwards any time soon, especially with my testing coming up.

  “Let’s see, flack vest, helmet, gas mask, rain pants and jacket. Extra boots, web belt with ammo pouches, flashlight, handcuffs…” he checked all the required equipment. If he didn’t have to provide for a family, his rebellious nature would have kept him from being so mindful.