Darkest Night

by James Cherry

  Ayako grabbed Carter by the arm and said, "Translate please?"

  Carter turned to Ayako and said, "Comanche’s are helicopter gun-ships. They are the most advanced choppers in the United States arsenal." He looked back out and watched in interest as the gun-ships maneuvered as if they were tracking something. He added, “I thought the Comanche program was cancelled back in 2004?”

  Bo shrugged and replied, “I guess not.”

  The sudden flair of a missile launch lit up the night sky and a moment later a deafening boom rattled the group. Soon after the loud buzz of a chain gun from one of the gun-ships vibrated the very air about them.

  Everything went silent.

  Bo turned to the lieutenant and asked, "Sir, what's the status of the mission?"

  The lieutenant was unresponsive. He curled up into the fetal position and sobbed harder.

  “Sir, SITREP!” Bo yelled.

  The lieutenant didn’t move.

  Bo spat on the ground in disgust and bent down and grabbed the man. As he picked him up, he glanced at the unit insignia on the man's shoulder and sighed in understanding. Turning to the team he said, "National Guard. He is a fucking weekend warrior, no wonder he isn't worth a damn."

  Carter chuckled and wagged his finger from side to side. "Not fair, Bo. In my experience, National Guard soldiers are very reliable and good soldiers. They may not have the training that we had, but they are good nonetheless. This one just has weak character.” He grabbed the lieutenant’s chin and lifted it up to look into the man’s eyes. He continued, “This one isn't a soldier at all, he is probably some bank teller that joined the Guard for an extra paycheck or something. Not everyone is cut out to be a soldier and his behavior shouldn't reflect the Guard as a whole."

  Bo looked at Carter in surprise and said, "Carter, I never thought I would hear that coming from your mouth. What happened to you while you were in the rubber room, anyway? Did they brainwash you?"

  Carter laughed and replied, "Nah, I can see what those boys are doing out there, and they are professionals. This guy is useless though. I say let’s just feed him to the dragons."

  The lieutenant suddenly looked up into the sky in wide-eyed fear. He jumped to his feet and struggled violently from Bo's grasp, knocking Bo to the ground. He tried to scramble out of the hole but his head hit the razor wire and entangled his Kevlar helmet. The lieutenant flailed around for a moment as he tried to pull himself free then suddenly coming to his senses he pulled back the razor wire, climbed out of the hole, and ran for his life.

  Carter frowned and said, "Damn, I was just kidding. What the hell was all that about? He looked as if he saw a dragon or something."

  "He did. Incoming," Bo yelled as he pointed up into the twinkling sky.

  Carter followed Bo's gesture and soon realized what the lieutenant had seen. The lieutenant had seen the stars blink in and out as the creature circled over their heads and homed in on their voices.

  Carter placed the night vision goggles to his head and looked upwards just in time to catch the large heat signature of a dragon as it swooped over their position. It overshot and flew off in the direction of the fleeing lieutenant.

  A blood-curdling scream tore through the night and gunshots cracked and popped from all directions in response.

  Carter watched in awe as the creature grabbed the running lieutenant and attempted to bite into his head, but the Kevlar helmet stopped the dragon from delivering the fatal bite. The dragon paused and stared at the lieutenant for a moment as it seemed to ponder the situation and make a decision. With a jerk, the dragon pulled the kicking and screaming young man into the air. It climbed high into the sky before suddenly letting go, and the lieutenant fell, screaming all the way until he hit the ground with a resounding smack.

  Carter sat down hard and dropped the goggles. His face turned ashen as he relived the night of the mission in Afghanistan. He turned to Bo and said, "It's happening again. The dragons are going to kill us all.” A serene calm washed over Carter and he said, “Well, shit, I'm going to go down fighting."

  He turned to look at the sergeant who was squatting in the corner, curled around his gun in an attempt to make himself as small as possible. Carter scowled and said, "Sarge, give me that spud gun and your night vision gear. I will need your Kevlar and your Tac Com, the whole works. I'm gonna roast this chicken."

  The sergeant looked up at Carter and said, "No way, you are not going to get my gear. This helmet stays on my head and I will be . . ."

  Lightning fast, Carter struck with a fist of steel and knocked the sergeant unconscious. He nonchalantly removed the helmet and attached night vision goggles from the soldier’s head and placed it upon his own head. Next he removed the Tac-Com and then picked up the unconscious man's M16A4 assault rifle equipped with the attached M203 grenade launcher.

  Bo pounded Carter on the helmet and said, "Good luck man and be careful. I will cover you the best I can." Bo bent down and retrieved the sergeant's sidearm and chambered a round. Next he picked up the night vision goggles with his free hand and placed them to his face.

  He turned to Carter and nodded.

  Carter nodded in return and took a deep breath. Steeling his nerves, he jumped from the foxhole.

  ***

  Doctor Burch watched in concern as Carter raced across the darkened field. He turned to Bo and said, "What the hell is he doing? He's going to get killed."

  Bo replied, "Carter's going to be fine. Now that he knows what we are dealing with, the creature is going to have a hard time sneaking up on him this time. If it gets anywhere close to him, he will fill its gullet full of 40mm shrapnel."

  Doctor Burch shook his head in worry. He mumbled just under his breath, "I sure hope you two know what you are doing."

  Bo turned his head to look at the doctor as if he had heard the remark. He calmly said, "Relax, Doc. Carter and I are two of the best in the military. The dragons caught us with our pants down back in Afghanistan. We just didn't know what hit us. Now that we do know, it's going to turn out quite differently this time."

  The thunderous roar of the Comanche’s deafened the doctor as they approached their position, and he couldn't make out Bo’s last words. He squinted to protect his eyes from the dirt, which swirled within the hole, as the choppers flew directly overhead. He watched as Bo peered over the edge of the hole and smiled in pride. Even though he didn't quite understand those two, he felt lucky to have brave friends like Bo and Carter.

  ***

  Carter stood in the open and scanned the sky. He gestured rudely to the choppers as they flew overhead and yelled something foul, but his words were lost amongst the roar of the gunships.

  The helicopters made a slow turn and headed off to the East as they searched the area for contacts. As the sound of the Comanche’s faded away in the distance Carter fired the M16 into the air in sporadic bursts.

  He challenged the creature.

  The dragon swooped in without a sound. Carter sensed it long before he ever saw it. When the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end, he rolled to the ground and narrowly avoided the outstretched talons by a hairs breadth. He quickly stood up and fired at the retreating dragon. His shots had some effect as the dragon momentarily buckled and swerved in the air before it finally righted itself and flew off to the west.

  The large creature circled back around and the rapid reports of gunshots from the other soldiers suddenly erupted from all directions. Tracers streaked through the air and tracked the large creature as it twisted and turned in avoidance of the deadly projectiles.

  Carter calmly watched as the dragon folded its wings to its sides and fell from the sky towards him. In surreal calmness, he raised his weapon as he watched the dragon open its mouth in anticipation of the kill. He saw the front talons unfurling towards him, reaching out and ready to grab. Carefully taking aim, he fired a single 40mm grenade from the tube and the projectile disappeared into the cavernous maw and down into the creatures throat. He dove
to the side at the last second, just before the dragon impacted the ground, and a loud concussion rocked the night. A cloud of dust, debris, meat, and blood erupted from the creature, flying high into the air.

  Carter quickly sat up and pointed his weapon at the downed creature, preparing to fire. A fine mist-like rain began to fall from the sky and he looked upwards, attempting to discern the cause of the precipitation. He smiled in satisfaction as he suddenly realized that the rain was blood, slowly falling back down to earth.

  He stood and casually walked to the corpse. The grenade had blown the creature into two large pieces, the head and four-foot section of the neck lay twitching to one side, while the rest of the body lay some ten feet away.

  He pressed the button on his Tac Com and said calmly, "Dragon neutralized. Status on other dragon?"

  A voice squawked in his ear. "The birds got one of the dragons. Both down. I repeat both dragons are down. Mission accomplished."

  Carter replied, "Roger, send those damn birds home, the ground pounders can handle it from here."

  Another familiar voice crackled in on the radio. "Carter, is that you? Get your ass to the command tent, on the double."

  "Ron? Yeah, I'll be there when I get there," replied Carter.

  "Soldier, I am giving you a direct order. You . . ."

  Carter interrupted, "In case you have forgotten, I was thrown out of the military two years ago and I am a civilian now. I am not under your command. Out."

  He pulled off the Tac Com, dropped it to the ground, and walked back to the foxhole with his gun lying lazily across his shoulders.

  Bo whooped in excitement, grabbed the razor wire, and flung it aside. He scrambled from the hole and rushed to Carter.

  Carter and Bo embraced, and the two men slapped each other on the back in celebration. Carter pulled back and raised his gun over his head in victory and soldiers suddenly erupted from their foxholes. They surrounded him, yelling in excitement and patting him on the back, as their newfound hero walked across the camp.

  The lights in the camp began to come on one by one, slowly bathing the area in a bright glow. Suddenly a stern voice shouted an order and the surrounding soldiers scampered away.

  General Crowell stepped into view, flanked by Colonel Ronald Haymond, and a frazzled looking captain. The general shouted, "Good job, son. Now, as for you disobeying a direct order . . ."

  Carter yawned, rudely turned his back on the general, and replied, "I am not in the military."

  General Crowell smiled wickedly and said, "Yes, you are. Your records were pulled and all the negative remarks, as well as the discharge have been struck from them. As far as anyone is concerned, you never left the military, therefore, you are still a solider under my command."

  Carter's jaw dropped in surprise. He turned to face the general and said, "You can't do that."

  "I can and did do that. Now soldier, report to the command tent for a debriefing, on the double."

  Carter reluctantly obeyed and he shook his head in disbelief as he walked past the officers.

  ***

  The doctor walked slowly around the corpse of the dragon. He bent down and touched the leathery wing that lay broken and twisted upon the ground. The creature was huge, about thirty feet in length with a fifty-foot wingspan and it's body was covered in thin glossy scales, much like a snake, but its back was armored in large scales and bony spines, such as that of a crocodile. The body was smoky black in color with large dark gray spots arranged in regular intervals upon its back. Its four legs were stubby, but ended with large talons, which were quite capable of tearing a man to bits. The body was long and thin with a large bulge in the center section, just behind the wings. The bulge was human sized.

  As he turned to call for help, he bumped headlong into Ayako. She had silently walked up behind him as he admired the creature.

  The doctor grabbed her face, forcing her to look him in the eyes as he said, "That bulge just behind the wings looks to be human sized."

  Ayako's eyes darted to the bulge and widened in alarm. She turned to a nearby soldier and yelled, "Hey you, give me your knife. Now!"

  The soldier hastily complied and handed over his combat knife. She snatched it away and quickly walked to the dragon. Taking a deep breath, she jabbed the knife deep into the flesh and cut and sawed down the length of the body.

  Suddenly a human-like form rolled from the cavity, covered in blood and slime.

  Ayako gasped in shock and turned her head away from the ghastly sight and the soldier that had handed her the knife doubled over and vomited.

  Doctor Burch felt sick as well, and turned away. He covered his mouth as the blood drained from his face and he suddenly felt woozy. Sitting hard upon the ground, he took deep gulping breaths.

  He looked back at the body and noted that it was partially digested from the stomach acid. It appeared to be a male civilian of indeterminate age, as evidenced by the partial clothing still stubbornly clinging to the body. The flesh was partially dissolved, with large bits of shiny white bone showing through. The face was mostly gone with the mouth forever locked into a horrific grin of lipless teeth. And what was left of the eyes stared back through empty, lidless sockets.

  Ayako turned to Doctor Burch and shed a single tear before bolting off in the direction of the command tent.

  The doctor dared not look back again at the gruesome sight. Standing up, he turned and walked towards the command tent with the sight of the partially digested body lingering vividly in his mind.

  Chapter 16

  Marty stared at the phone in indecision. He had picked up the phone in order to call the Red Lake Regional Mental Health Institution at least a half-dozen times within the last hour, but a constant nagging at the back of his conscience had stopped him each and every time.

  He steeled his will and picked up the phone yet again, determined to make the call. He dialed the number and waited. After several rings, a woman finally answered and said, “Red Lake Regional Mental Health Institution, this is Andrea speaking, how may I help you?”

  “Hello Andrea, I have a friend that I would like to have evaluated. He is suffering from delusions and is a danger to himself and others,” replied Marty.

  “Yes sir, what is his name, please?” the woman asked.

  “Doctor David Burch,” Marty replied.

  Andrea paused for a second before saying, “Sir, may I have your name please?”

  “Marty Fellows, why do you ask?”

  The woman giggled and replied coyly, “Marty, this is Andrea Simmons from Anthropology class, remember me?”

  Marty was a bit taken aback, as at first he didn’t remember who she was. But after only a couple of heartbeats he began to picture the girl in his mind and said, “How could I forget the gorgeous redhead that always flirted with me, but refused to date me?”

  Andrea’s musical laughter pleasantly filled his ear. In a firm but polite voice she replied, “Now Marty, I already explained to you once before that I won’t date you because of your reputation.”

  He gasped in feigned surprise and said in a mock hurtful voice, “Reputation? I am a good boy.”

  “I know better than that. What about that incident with Mary Pickens?” Andrea stated in a more serious tone.

  Marty grimaced at the memory. He had worked hard to get in Mary’s pants, and once that was accomplished, he had washed his hands of the young woman, having nothing more to do with her. The poor girl had been utterly heartbroken while Marty had boasted about his conquest to all that would listen. Shortly after, Mary had withdrawn from school in disgrace, and as rumor had it, she checked into a depression clinic.

  In carefully measured words and with as much sincerity as he could muster, Marty said, “That was a big mistake and I have matured a lot since that incident. Let me prove it to you by taking you out to dinner tonight.”

  “You are so cute but so devious. I don’t believe you for a second but . . .”

  Marty interrupted, “Come on beau
tiful, I will take you to that seafood restaurant on East Main that you like so much.”

  Andrea paused for a moment. Hesitantly she said, “I have to work tonight but how about next Saturday?”

  “Great, I will call you Friday to make arrangements.”

  Andrea relayed her home phone number and Marty acted as if he were writing it down. He promptly forgot the numbers as soon as they passed the young woman’s lips, as he had no intention of calling her.

  He quickly changed the subject and asked, “So, why did you seem so nervous when I asked you about Doctor Burch?”

  Andrea whispered, “The military and the FBI were here asking about him.”

  Marty blinked in surprise and asked, “Why?”

  “I don’t know Marty."

  "What can you tell me?"

  "I can't tell you anything more. It is against company policy, you know, HIPAA privacy rights and all."

  "Please? For me?”

  Andrea sighed and paused for a long moment before whispering, "Okay, but you didn't hear this from me. The military was here yesterday morning with a court order and removed all of his files. Then the FBI arrived a couple of hours ago and began asking questions about him as well. I am not sure what is going on, and I wish I could help more, but I don’t know anything other than that.”

  “Thank you,” Marty said as he scratched his head in puzzlement. As if in afterthought, he added, “I will call you Friday.” He hung up the phone and pondered the situation. What did the military and the FBI want with the doctor? He picked up the phone and dialed Doctor Burch’s number.

  He was going to find out just what was going on.

  The phone rang a dozen times with no answer. Agitated, Marty slammed the receiver down and reached into his desk drawer for his address book. Flipping through the pages, he ignored the dozens of girls, whose names were highlighted by stars to indicate how easy they were, and finally found the number that he was looking for. He quickly dialed Bo’s number and waited, but the just phone rang and rang. It was obvious that Bo wasn’t home either.