by Dave Hazel
Monk breathed heavily. Clearly he feared for his life. “Hey man, I only gots half a mag and Bryant here was a 60 gunner. He don’t got any ammo at all. We saw you gatherin’ up ammo earlier and I saw you give some out. I didn’t think you’d mind if we took a couple,” Monk explained, while anxiously wringing his hands.
“How the hell are we supposed to believe that you thieving bastards were only gonna take a couple?” Boris asked. He pointed his .44 magnum at them.
“Yeah, you friggin thieves mighta taken all our ammo, and left us empty,” Larry suggested to fire-up the rest of them.
“No man,” Monk shook his head vigorously. Bryant agreed.
“Then why didn’t you just ask?” Mykal raised his voice. Mentally he tried to find a reason to rationalize shooting the two would be thieves. The idea that they would sneak over here and try to steal from him infuriated him to no end. He truly wanted to kill them. He wanted to kill! In a split second of reflection, he saw himself and the evil that enveloped him. ‘What have I become?’
“What if’n we did ax you for ammo?” Bryant finally spoke.
“We woulda told you to go screw yourself,” Rich spat back and laughed unkindly.
Suddenly, and strangely, Mykal had a mental image in his mind of Ski on his knees praying for him specifically. Ski told him many times that he would be praying for him in obedience to God’s call on him to support Mykal. Mykal knew he couldn’t kill these two men in cold blood. ‘If Ski is to support me cuz of his God, then what would God think if I shoot them dead?’
So many conflicting thoughts bombarded Mykal’s brain. He put himself in their shoes. He knew he would have done the same thing. Maybe worse! He might have killed to get ammo. His thoughts divided even more. Monk and Bryant only wanted to survive so they could go home. These two frightened men put their lives on the line when they fought the Sosos. Their actions helped preserve Mykal’s chances of going home. They weren’t like Edwards and Mansfield.
‘If I kill them I’m worse than a friggin Soso,’ he rebuked himself. ‘This has to stop now!’ As angry as he became he knew the punishment he had in mind didn’t fit the crime.
Despite the fact that others gathered around, Mykal kept his pistol pointed at the two robbers.
“See what I mean man,” Monk sighed. “I knew these white dudes wouldn’t do anything to help us. It’s cuz we’re black.”
Rich looked to provoke a fight. “Wha’ was dat you stupid--”
“Stop it!” Mykal yelled. Being from the south Mykal feared Rich would say something racial. The last thing Mykal wanted was a racial division to take place. “Monk, you listen to me and you listen hard. I don’t give a shit if you guys are black, brown, purple, green or white. I only care that you guys came here to steal from me. I’m not gonna let you guys get away with this.”
“Whatta ya gonna do, man?” Monk gasped and his eyes widened.
“Kill ‘em,” Larry snarled between clenched teeth.
“Yeah, kill ‘em,” Boris and Rich echoed Larry’s words.
A small rumble brewed among those watching.
“Fo’ wha’ man? We din even do anythang,” Bryant protested.
“For stealing or trying to steal,” Sam said. “We can’t have everyone who is low on ammo coming by thinking they can take whatever they want from us.”
“Shoot ‘em Myk,” Rich pressed loudly.
“Why man?” Monk looked shocked.
“Everyone stop!” Mykal raised his voice to silence both sides. “I’m not gonna kill anyone,” he announced. “But I’m gonna lay down the law right here and now. Make sure you spread this word to all those others who might get the idea that they can come over and steal from us. If it happens again, I will shoot you dead. I promise you, the next person who tries to steal from me, I will kill him where he stands. Do you think I’m playing games with you?”
“No, no. I believe you man,” Monk nodded enthusiastically. “I swear I won’t do anything man.”
“Shoot the friggin thieves,” Larry said. He grew angry at Mykal for letting them get off easy.
“No, there’s already been too much killing yesterday.”
“But they tried to steal from us,” Boris argued.
“What would we have done guys?” Mykal replied. “Seriously, if it was the other way around, what would we have done? We’d try to steal too. It’s over,” he said and lowered his pistol. “Boris and Kurt, get one magazine each and give it to them.”
“What the hell Sarge?” Kurt dissented. “Why do I gotta give them friggin thieves anything?”
“If you’re gonna be a baby about it I’ll give you one of mine. But you’re about to seriously piss me off Kurt.” Mykal then turned to Monk and Bryant. “These two guys put their asses on the line just like us, which in turn helped us. Bryant had been on the 60. He probably did more damage to the Sosos than all of us put together and now he’s got no ammo.”
“So, you’re rewarding their stealing Myk,” Larry argued.
“No I’m not. I wouldn’t wanna be here without any ammo,” Mykal explained while Boris and Kurt walked off. “But if they try to steal again--”
“Oh I promise you man,” Monk cut him off trying to express his gratitude for Mykal’s generosity. “I won’t do nothin’ like that ever again.”
“I can’t believe this,” Kurt said as he and Boris handed over a thirty round magazine each.
“Here I’m giving you guys these cuz I know you guys fought your hearts out and risked dying on the line like we did. I’m thankful to you guys and I wouldn’t wanna be without ammo.”
“Thank you man,” Monk said and Bryant repeated his thanks.
“I’m telling you, don’t take this as a sign of weakness and think I’m some kinda pansy.”
“No man, you’re cool in my book,” Monk said and turned away to avoid Mykal’s friends.
“You’re cool wit’ me too,” Bryant said and followed Monk.
“Just be careful how you use those rounds, cuz I’m not giving up anymore.”
“What the hell Myk?” Larry kicked the ground in anger. “What if they come back and try to take our stuff by force?”
“They won’t. I know there are some people you guys don’t like, but we gotta be careful not to make everyone hate us.”
“Hey guys,” Roy Sr. spoke up after having witnessed most of what happened. “I have to agree with Mykal. We don’t know how much longer we’re going to be stuck here. Having other people as ally’s verses people who are angry could be beneficial.”
“I guess you’re right,” Boris agreed because he liked the older Vietnam vet.
Roy smiled. “There are only two people around here that I would love to have a reason to put a slug in their butt. Edwards and Mansfield. Since Mansfield took a death arrow, he’s kaput. Did they ever find him after he disappeared?”
“No, not from what I heard,” Boris replied., He played dumb.
“Edwards reminds me of this nit wit officer we had back in the Nam. In some ways our LT was worse, but in other ways this Edwards takes the cake.”
“Did he ever pull his head outta his ass?” Boris asked.
“No, not at all. This buddy of mine said he was gonna frag him the next time we’re out in the bush. It never happened. One night our LT picked a fight with a local whore over price and she stabbed him in the heart. He died and that was the end of that problem.”
“It’d be nice for something like that to happen to our problem,” Boris chuckled, “though I’d rather fix the problem myself.” He stroked the handle of his .44 magnum.
Within fifteen minutes after the confrontation had been defused, six of Towbar’s soldiers arrived. “Mykal, I am Frotin. Lord Towbar has sent us here,” Frotin announced. “From this time onward, you, your friends and your possessions will be under constant protection. Lord Towbar apologizes for not being here when the incident occurred. Lord Towbar will not allow another situation like this to arise again.”
They all th
anked Frotin and tried to go back to sleep.
2.
Early in the morning just as the sun snuck warming rays into the Pass, turning the black of night into an orangey blue, Towbar woke Mykal and the others. Mykal’s eyes were heavy and he didn’t want to open them. He longed for his own bed.
“I have a party gathered to investigate the mountain area where we were yesterday,” Towbar said. “If you wish, I will leave you here to rest, my friend.”
“No, no,” Mykal replied and jumped to his feet. “I wanna go. Just gimme a few minutes to wake up and get moving,” he said with a yawn and a stretch.
“When you are ready, join me over there,” he pointed to a group of his soldiers gathered with horses. They looked as if they were preparing to go on a long journey.
“Sure, just a couple of minutes,” he agreed and looked at the soldiers Towbar would be taking with him. They were large, strong, warrior types. He ran his hand through his hair and realized his hair was getting a little long for US Air Force standards, but he no longer cared. He only cared about getting back home to his wife and two sons.
“What’s going on?” Kurt stirred from his sleep.
“We’re gonna go check out what’s hiding in the mountain from yesterday. Wanna come with us?”
“No, not really,” he rolled over to resume sleeping. “I’m gonna go check on those kids of Doris Holen and see how they’re doing. See if they need someone to look after them.”
“Just be careful you don’t get yourself too attached,” he said and stopped himself. He couldn’t imagine his kids being here as orphans. He would want someone to look after them. “No, I take that back Kurt. Do what you gotta do. Just be careful.”
“I will. I hate the idea of them being here as a hindrance to everyone. They need to know that someone cares about them. But hey, you keep your ass careful too. If you find some freak of life monster up there, don’t get yourself ate up.”
“Well gee thanks Kurt, I didn’t know you cared,” he said playfully. “I ain’t about to let no monster have me for lunch.”
“It’s not that I really care about you Sarge,” Kurt replied impishly. “You got more ammo than anyone else. I’d hate to see it all end up in the belly of some ugly-ass monster.”
Mykal looked around the camp wondering if he should ask any of his friends to join them. Bodies were laid out like yesterday’s battle, minus the blood. It humored Mykal to see how peaceful and calm everything appeared. He knew the place could erupt into a heated bloody battle at any moment.
Boris rolled over. “Whadda ya doing Myk?”
Mykal looked lost in thought. “I was just thinking, what are they gonna think when we get back home and try to explain all this? They’re gonna think we’re all nuts. They’re gonna lock us up and throw away the key. Padded rooms for all of us.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Boris said and yawned.
“Anyway, I’m going with Towbar to go back to that mountain where he found the strange smell. Do you wanna come with us?”
“Uh, yeah, sure. What the hell. It’ll be a change of pace. But hey, wait, I almost forgot, I wanna show you something,” Boris quickly moved to pull something from his A-bag. “Yesterday when you said to go through everyone’s stuff, look what I found. I thought you might wanna see this,” Boris said and handed a spiral bound notebook to Mykal. “Read this,” he pointed to a hand written entry on the paper. “It looks like Franklin was keeping a diary.”
Mykal suddenly feared it would be something to harm him. “This is dated three days ago,” he said and read out loud.
“Hey mom and dad and sis, I just need to tell you guys that I love you and I miss you. I don’t want to scare you guys, but it is really hectic and scary here. We still don’t know what happened and how we got here. We’re not sure how we’re going to get home, but I keep writing this journal just to help keep my head on straight. Hopefully Michael--”
Mykal paused and looked at Boris. “He spelled my name wrong again.” He gave a sad smile. “Goofy kid, he never spelled my name right, even after I told him a hundred times how to spell it. Anyway, let me continue. Blah, blah, blah...
“Hopefully Michael and Towbar (he’s the giant from this land) will meet up with the King or someone special and figure out a way to get us home. Michael is only a sergeant but he’s really the leader here because the L.T. is terrible at trying to lead everyone. Michael and the guys have done a good job keeping us all safe and I know Michael’s looking out for me and if anyone will be able to make sure I come home safe and sound it will be Michael. I hope to be home soon. Kiss everyone for me---Love Franklin.”
Mykal’s stomach dropped and he wanted to break down and cry. He couldn’t pretend his eyes didn’t well up to blurriness. Franklin died because of him! It was he who took Franklin’s ammo away. It was his rifle that jammed when Franklin desperately needed his help. He watched Franklin die, and couldn’t help him. Reading Franklin’s kind words about him made him ache deeply. Mykal couldn’t look at Boris for fear of tears dropping from his eyes. Mykal wanted to vanish and be empty of thought.
The stunned silence told Boris what Boris couldn’t see on Mykal’s hidden face. “Myk, though he could be a little pain in the ass at times, he knew you were the man. You’re the one to get us outta here.”
“But I didn’t. I killed that poor kid,” Mykal confessed, his words were as misty as his eyes. He stared at Franklin’s writing. “Damn it!” He fought the sobbing sorrow that threatened to crumble him.
“Don’t let that get to you, Myk. You didn’t kill him so don’t blame yourself and don’t feel guilty about it. I didn’t point that out to you to make you feel bad or feel guilty. I just wanted you to see what he thought of you.”
“Thanks Boris. I gotta be honest, this crushed me. I don’t know if I can do this anymore.” He choked hard. “Franklin was relying on me and I let the goofy kid down. I couldn’t help him. That’s gonna friggin haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“Myk, I never cried in front of anyone until yesterday when Denny died,” Boris paused to regain his strength. “But Towbar told me something, maybe it’ll help. He said, ‘rest your tears, Boris, my friend. Rest your tears.’ He meant with all that’s going on deal with emotions when everything calms down. I dunno, it helped me face Denny being gone for right now, so I hope it will help you.”
“Thanks buddy.” Mykal sniffed. “Here, don’t lose this,” he said as he closed the notebook and handed it back to Boris. “I wanna try to make sure his parents get this when we get back. We’re going to the mountain.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
Mykal walked off and felt terrible. Away from others he cried quietly over Franklin’s death, Denny’s death and all those he started to get close to. Most of all, he blamed himself for Franklin’s death. If he wouldn’t have taken Franklin’s ammo away as punishment for sleeping on duty, he may have reloaded and stopped the Soso who killed him. Mykal wanted to curl up and hide away from everyone so he could flood the hurt away. He didn’t know how to deal with such agonizing ache caused by guilt. How could he ever face or speak to Franklin’s parents?
Mykal wished he never saw Franklin’s words on paper. Now that he knew Franklin trusted in him to provide a way back home truly broke him. ‘Rest your tears, my friend, rest your tears.’
Mykal walked around briefly, hoping the red puffiness of his eyes softened. He didn’t want to be seen by Towbar’s battle hardened warriors as a sensitive, weak, puny, little man. He had to be strong and pretend the deaths of Franklin and Denny could be compartmentalized and forgotten temporarily.
Mykal joined the giant. “Hey Towbar, I wanted to thank you for putting those guards around our camp last night.”
“It is my pleasure, my friend,” Towbar replied. “I should have done so sooner.”
“Before anyone gets here I need to get something off my chest,” he said and glanced around. “Mentally, I’m becoming a basket-case. I really scared
myself cuz when I caught those two guys going through our stuff, I really wanted to kill them. I mean, kill them. Dead! They were only looking to steal and I honestly looked for a reason to murder them. I’m afraid I’m starting to become like the Sosos.”
“No!” Towbar said sharply. “You could never be like those savages. You do not have it in you to be as evil as they are.”
“But you don’t understand the rage that burned in me.”
“Did you kill them, my friend?”
“No, but I really wanted to.”
“You answered the question,” he stopped Mykal. “You are not like the Sosos. You will never be like the Sosos. You are just confused because of all that you have endured in such a small time. Your thoughts and your emotions are running like a herd of startled beasts. You have had to kill to stay alive. You nearly died a horrible death. You have witnessed the death of some who are close to you. It is much to take in so suddenly. I am proud of you, my friend. By your own words you said you desired to kill those two men, and yet, you did not.” Towbar gave a smile and a reassuring nod. He then placed his large hand on Mykal’s shoulder. “You are a good man, my friend. I am glad we met when we did.”
His mind flashed back to Ski, the Jesus Freak. Ski had said many times, “there is no one who is good, only God is good.” ‘How could I explain to Towbar what Ski says about his religious Bible thumping stuff when I don’t fully know what Ski is talking about?’ He decided to remain silent. ‘Religion is way over my head. But I know for sure I’m not a good man, yet Ski keeps praying for me. Maybe I should talk to Ski about this.’
“I am proud to call you friend,” Towbar continued. “When I risked my life in order to save you from the Shay-lonk poison, I have no regrets, only joy. Though our friendship has been brief, you may count on my loyal friendship for life. You have proved yourself a brother to me.”
“Thank you Towbar. I really appreciate that,” Mykal replied and no longer cared how his mighty soldiers might view him.