by Dave Hazel
“Who would be the ‘less desirables,’ and then who would make that determination?” Mykal suddenly feared they would send all the criminals of the country to Towbar’s world. ‘Sure that would be great to get rid of all the criminals but that wouldn’t be fair to Towbar’s people.’
“I’m just talking,” Colonel Fisher answered and finally looked at him. “I’m using you as a sounding board.”
“I could see where that would make sense,” Mykal agreed and softened his tone only so he wouldn’t be looked at as the new enemy. Mykal could see that Colonel Fisher seemed to be filled with many ideas.
The convoy stopped after they turned onto Highway 23 where Towbar One disappeared just about a month ago. Mykal wanted to use the same departure point he used the last time. Mykal was deeply disturbed by his conversation with Colonel Fisher, but he had to pretend nothing bothered him. He got out of the vehicle and met a film crew and several reporters at the road block.
“…No, don’t ask me any political questions,” Mykal answered the pretty young woman with a microphone in his face. “The reason I didn’t come out the entire time I’ve been home is cuz I don’t wanna answer those kinda questions. That’s not my place. We’re gonna go there to help Towbar’s people and try to find those who are still missing. Then we’re gonna come right back home,” he said and waited for the ‘okay’ that the entire convoy was in place.
A different reporter from another news organization stuck her microphone in his face. “Originally, the mission was to rescue people who had been transported to Towbar’s world. Now, it is a war to save Towbar’s people? When did the mission change and how long is this operation expected to last?”
“Do you see this becoming a new Vietnam?” Another asked.
Mykal regretted saying they were going to help Towbar’s people. He should have only replied with the second part of his statement that they were going to find those still missing. “I’m not answering anymore questions. We have to get going so everyone is going to have to move back,” Mykal said and turned to a couple of US Marshalls standing with other Law Enforcement agencies and members of the National Guard.
“We need answers,” the first girl called out as the security detail started to usher them back.
“I just wanna get the hell outta here,” Mykal whispered to Percy. “And you friggin lied to me,” he hissed. “This damn colonel isn’t there just to be an advisor.”
“He knows his stuff Mykal. Stay close to him. He’ll be a great asset for you,” Percy replied and didn’t look surprised.
“He’s already treating me like shit, like he’s gonna step all over me,” Mykal hissed quietly. “Why do you always gotta friggin lie to me?”
“I think you’re making more of it than it is. Yes,” he turned his head to his hand held radio. Percy held his ear piece tighter to his ear to hear. “Yes, send them through. And be quick about it. I want to get this show on the road. I have a surprise for you Mykal,” Percy said with a big smile and turned back to face him in the hopes that his surprise would pacify Mykal.
A police squad car raced to the front of the line with sirens blaring and lights flashing.
“Why couldn’t you tell me up front what the hell is going on?” Mykal snapped and focused on Percy.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure how you would react and right now we can’t have a rift in our arrangement.”
“Well lying to me isn’t gonna help,” Mykal snarled between clenched teeth and it was clear he was fuming.
“Got room for a couple country boys?” Roy Jr. asked as he and Randy rushed out of the police car.
“Oh hell yeah,” Mykal shouted with joy. “I need a couple of friendly faces about now.” The two brothers clamped on to Mykal and they hugged tightly. “I need your help,” he whispered. “We’ll talk later.”
“It was hell getting’ here,” Randy said. “Pa wanted to say goodbye, but Ma is still taking it hard that we wanted to come back. But we’re here. We wanna go.”
“The damn fools almost wouldn’t let us bring our own weapons,” Roy Jr. scoffed and looked at the police officer who drove them from the city of Minot.
“Put your stuff in this brand new Suburban right here and if the colonel inside gives you any crap cuz you’re civilians or cuz you’re country boys, tell him I said to get his ass in a different vehicle,” Mykal snarled and shot an angry glare to Percy. “When I get back we’re gonna have a serious talk.”
“That we will,” Percy replied. “Ski shouldn’t be going.”
Mykal wanted to flip Percy off and yell, but with all the cameras and all the witnesses it wouldn’t go over well. “I had nothing to do with that. So if you’re holding that against me you’re wrong,” Mykal said and wanted to rub it in Percy’s face that Ski was going back to Towbar’s world. Angrily he wanted to laugh and taunt Percy that Ski got one over on him, but he knew he would regret it if he acted childish out of anger.
4.
“Whew boy,” Roy Jr. said and shook his head. “You just don’t ever get used to that dizzying effect in your head.”
“You’re telling me,” Mykal said and forced his face up from his hands. The dark green flesh of his right hand disappeared and the trembling ceased. The green fog vanished. Mykal discovered by using less of the magic powder, the green fog didn’t stay present as long. “Sir,” Mykal turned to Colonel Fisher. “Tell your people they’re going to be spread out for miles. You should have the commanders make sure no vehicles turned over.”
“That is an odd sensation,” Colonel Fisher said. “What should we do?” Through squinted eyes he tried to focus through the buzz in his brain, but stopped when the fog disappeared.
“When we’re confident everyone is accounted for we can travel to the Pass,” Mykal said. “I’d say we’re about seventy miles from where I want to be. I placed us south west of where we’re going. We’re at the opposite end of the Pass and we’re to the west in the plains. I didn’t want to take a chance of having us appear where Towbar’s army could be coming to or going from the Pass cuz that woulda zapped them to who knows where.”
“Should we drive ahead Myk,” Randy asked.
“No.” Mykal turned his attention to Colonel Fisher. “Sir, I’d say we should take eight to twelve choppers and fly ahead. I’d say half of them should be the Cobra attack choppers. When I left Dragons were flying into the Pass. The Hueys we had were only armed with machine guns. It made it difficult to fight them.”
“What is your suggestion if the enemy has taken total control of the Pass and annihilated our allies?” Fisher asked while opening his notebook full of personnel.
“If that’s the case, we’ll have to set up camp out here and fight to take the Pass back.”
“I agree. Gunney,” Fisher turned to his driver Gunnery Sergeant Yarza.
“Sir,” Yarza turned to Fisher’s words with a snap in his voice.
“Get Captain Rubin, 4th Battalion Commander. Tell him to prepare what Mykal needs to patrol the Pass. I want only my Marines. I don’t want any Army and I don’t want any damn foreigners going on this patrol. Also advise the pilots that six attack choppers will escort them.”
“Yes Sir. Also Sir, just to let you know, Rubin became a Major as of December 1st.”
“Noted,” Fisher said and scribbled Rubin’s promotion on his sheet of paper. “Thanks for the update.”
“Colonel, will you be flying in with us?” Mykal asked and hoped he wouldn’t. If the Pass stood intact and Major Chick remained in charge he wanted to talk to Chick before Fisher arrived on scene.
“No. I will remain with the main force waiting for your briefing on the status of the Pass. We will proceed slowly with our convoy from here. Due to all the large trucks and equipment, and the lack of paved roads, we will travel very slow and wait to hear from you.”
“Will do. Radio contact may be difficult due to the mountains,” Mykal said. “I’m going to leave Staff Sergeant Ski with you Sir. This way if you happen
to encounter any people you are not sure of, he will know if they are Towbar’s people or Sosos.”
“We will stay with Colonel Fisher too,” Roy Jr. suggested and looked to his brother to ensure he didn’t object. “We’ve gotten pretty friendly with a lot of Towbar’s generals and it may come in handy to have us lag back.”
“That will be fine,” Colonel Fisher replied without looking at them. “Tell the sergeant he can ride up here with us also,” he said in reference to Ski. “I will lead our convoy.”
5.
Mykal told the Dosch brothers he would speak to them once they arrived at the Pass. Mykal gladly rode in one of the twelve helicopters to get away from Colonel Fisher. Six of the helicopters were Cobra attack helicopters in case the Pass did fall to the Sosos. Mykal wasn’t sure if they would encounter dragons or not, but he didn’t want to be in one of the Cobras if there was going to be an aerial dog fight. All the choppers carried 2 fire teams beside the door gunners.
Mykal watched anxiously while the air convoy flew through the Pass. He didn’t know what he would find. Would a majority of the army he left be decimated with bodies sprawled out everywhere? Would Sosos have control of the Pass? Would his people have been wise enough to escape inside the mountains to await their return? King Krago of the Dwarven people said he would take any of the allied population and hide them away. ‘I know some of Towbar’s people would be stubborn enough or too fearful to trust the Pass could be taken back and they would fight to the death,’ Mykal thought as numerous horrible ideas popped into his mind. ‘I just hope Doninka went inside the mountain until Towbar returned.’ “Damn,” Mykal said and sighed slightly.
“What’s wrong Myk?” One of the Marines sitting beside him asked.
“I was just thinking about it and we don’t even know if Towbar has made it back yet or not.”
“Yeah, but we should know everything in just a few minutes, right?” another Marine asked. “I think everything’s gonna be alright,” he added to encourage Mykal when he continued to look physically anxious.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Mykal said as he looked out the side of the helicopter. They were coming upon the town of Gartolin which was three miles inside the Pass. People were milling about and looked as normal as could be. A number of Towbar’s soldiers were in rest status back around the Gartolin area to be away from the front lines. The people all looked up and waved at the metal birds.
“Well that’s good, right?” One of the new Marines asked while he waved back to the people.
“Mykal, we are heading in the right direction, correct?” The co-pilot spoke to him through his headphones.
“Yes, and this is a good sign. This town is three miles away from the front. The opening of the Pass,” Mykal replied. “When I left just about a week ago, Major Chick and his Battalion Commanders had set up their headquarters at the southern end of the encampment so we should be coming on them any minute now.”
“We may have eyes on them now,” the co-pilot responded. “We have Americans waving at us. We will land here Sir.”
“Thanks,” Mykal laughed. “The Pass hasn’t fallen to the Sosos,” Mykal yelled to anyone who could hear him while he pumped his fist. “They’re still here. I can’t wait to hear what the hell happened,” he laughed with excitement and all those inside his chopper high fived each other. “That was one of my major concerns.”
“Do you think Towbar brought the Elf army back with him Sir?” The Marine seated next to him asked. “Do you think that is why our people still have the Pass?”
“I don’t know, but I sure as hell hope so,” Mykal said and continued to express his joy. He was eager to see his friend. Though he and Towbar had been separated for about a week, he felt he needed to be with the giant since all his friends were gone. Those who hadn’t been killed in Towbar’s world were back home in the real world. He was grateful Roy Jr. and Randy came back with this group.
“Look, look there,” a Marine by the open door shouted. “Is that Towbar?” He shouted and pointed to the tallest, most muscular person in a group of people waving to the approaching helicopters.
“Land here, land here,” Mykal shouted into his mouth piece and almost jumped up and down like a child. “They came upon the headquarters location in the rear of the encampment. Many soldiers, Towbar’s warriors, Dwarven warriors as well as many new people who would have to be Elf warriors stood and stared at the approaching air convoy. Mykal saw Towbar with Major Chick and many others. He was so overcome with joyful emotions that he wanted to embrace the giant like a long lost relative. With all the military personnel and the foreign warriors present, Mykal felt he had to compose himself and not allow his emotions to expose him as an odd human with sappy sentiments.
When the helicopters landed all the men disembarked and joined those gathered to greet them. Mykal rushed to Towbar and he could see by the look on the giant’s face that something wasn’t right. Something was wrong! Mykal had never seen such a hurt, lost, concerned expression on Towbar’s face before. ‘Had King Loankore III been assassinated? It wasn’t that the Sosos took the Pass or they had suffered a military defeat, cuz their army is still strong and casually milling about,’ Mykal wondered while he and Towbar locked grip on each other’s forearms, affirming they were totally loyal and committed to each other, as was the custom of Towbar’s people.
“It’s great to see you Towbar,” Mykal said joyfully amid the emotional tension that seemed in the air.
“It is great to see you my friend,” Towbar reciprocated though his smile seemed forced and his words were soft and sad. “I arrived here only yesterday and the Elf army has joined us,” he said while he fanned his arm to show the numerous Elvin warriors at hand. “They took up the offer I presented and sent a force of two hundred thousand of their warriors. They will have the entirety of their people ready to depart their home in several weeks.”
“That’s great,” Mykal exclaimed, but he could see Towbar’s expression had little cause for celebration. Major Chick, Major Innes and Captain Taylor turned to them after speaking to some of the chopper teams. “Major Chick, I really need to speak to you in private.”
“I have grave news, my friend. My people are about to face a trying situation,” Towbar said.
“You haven’t told him yet?” Chick asked.
“I have not had the opportunity.”
“Let’s go into my quarters,” Chick said. “Gentlemen,” Chick turned to Innes and Taylor. “Please keep everyone away from us for the next twenty minutes or so.”
“Yes Sir,” Innes and Taylor said together.
“What’s going on?” Mykal said as the three of them walked into Major Chick’s eight man tent.
“Doninka is gone my friend,” Towbar declared and his gloomy words seemed to match his mood.
“Gone!?” Mykal gasped and suddenly felt like he was told of a death in his family. “Gone? Whadda ya mean gone?” He asked and it seemed as if his heart leapt into his throat. “Is she dead? Was she killed?” He asked as if he demanded to know. He knew he should have taken her back with him. It suddenly hit him that he had strong feelings for the girl, though he never toyed with the idea of cheating on his wife with her. ‘This is my friggin fault,’ his mind yelled. ‘I knew I shoulda took her with me when I left,’ he shouted mentally.
“She has been captured my friend,” Towbar sighed and genuinely showed a sadness he never expressed before. “I do not know her condition. I do not know if she is dead or alive,” Towbar gasped and the words seemed to crush him.
“Whadda ya mean captured? What happened?” Mykal asked and he appeared to be near a breakdown. “How the hell did she get captured? I told her to go to King Krago cuz you were gone,” he said and felt even more responsible. “What about the men who were assigned to protect her?” He said and his voice started to rise. He knew at that very time he instructed her to seek protection from the Dwarven King, he could have just as easily asked her to travel with him to his world and she would b
e with him at this very moment. He wanted to run away to gather his thoughts and think through what could have happened and try to understand what the girl could be going through. He couldn’t pretend his emotions weren’t deeper than they were. “Weren’t there twenty-one soldiers you handpicked to protect her?”
“Yes. The twenty-one were to escort her back to Beramus due to the fact I was leaving and I did not want Doninka to be here while the battle was at hand,” Towbar answered. “Why she was here, I do not know as of yet. Still, I am not clear on the facts.”
“I know why, damn it,” Mykal fumed. “Just before I left she came to me cuz she was looking for you. I told her you were gone and since I had to leave she needed to find a safe place cuz what she told me was, on their way back toward Beramus she came upon part of your army coming here. The general in charge pulled her aside and said there was trouble back in Beramus and she would be in danger. He told her to find you so she would be safe. He told her he would take her under his protection but he couldn’t guarantee every one of the soldiers under him was completely loyal to the throne and all it took was just one bad person with the right opportunity and they could assassinate her.
“So she agreed to come back here to find you,” Mykal continued. “The battle was taking place and I was on my way to take everyone back to my world. That’s why I told them to get with King Krago and he would put her in a safe place under the mountain until you returned. Why didn’t those soldiers do what I said?” Mykal barked and wanted to take his anger out on someone, though deep inside he felt he was the one to blame. Mykal snapped his fingers. “Rogal,” he said with anger. “He was the soldier in charge and I told him to make sure she got to safety. Where the hell is Rogal? Is he one of the scumbags against the throne?”
“Rogal is a good soldier, a trustworthy soldier,” Towbar replied. “He is under medical care at this time. He was almost killed. Of the twenty-one assigned to Doninka thirteen were killed, six were injured and two are missing. Of the six who are injured they would have died had it not been for the medical people you brought here my friend. We do not have the experience and the medicines to treat the injured as your people do.”