by Dave Hazel
“No, no Myk,” Chick interrupted him and gently shook his head. Both Innes and Taylor nodded in agreement. “I’m confident from what was reported to me that they know they have the King’s daughter, Princess Doninka. The dragons and the riders were vicious to those around her and they fought like hell, but when they grabbed hold of her, the men said you could tell they were trying not to harm her and they tried to be as gentle as they could and yet forceful enough to take her away. They covered her head with either a cloth sack or a blanket, but she couldn’t see when they abducted her. The men also said the two who were taken with her were treated in a similar manner so I believe they wanted the two men to gather information. One of Captain Diaz’s men said he saw the very first man to get abducted had put up a struggle and the rider lashed out slicing the man’s throat. When the rider grabbed the injured man and saw the severity of his injury, the rider threw the man down violently. That man was one of the thirteen who died. When they took the other two men, they were careful with them. So I have to assume they must want to gather information from them.”
“But we haven’t heard anything?” Mykal asked and unconsciously looked at his watch. “We haven’t gotten any kind of a demand or a threat?”
“Not yet,” Chick answered. “We made it clear to those positioned on the front line that if they see a single individual or a small delegation they are to hold their fire and get someone there, preferably one of Towbar’s generals with some of our command leaders to assess the situation, and see what can be negotiated. Now that Towbar has returned we will obviously yield to his leadership on the matter, though we will try to assist in any negotiations. We will try to give wise and sound counsel to help you Towbar.”
“Thank you my friend,” Towbar said and gently bowed his head to Major Chick.
“Alright, let’s get some of our best minds on it,” Mykal said and wasn’t sure what to do. “When Colonel Fisher gets here, you guys do what you gotta do, but I don’t wanna deal with that prick. Obviously, we didn’t hit it off too well,” Mykal laughed. “But in all seriousness, all my focus and energy for the time being is going to be on the task of trying to find and rescue Doninka,” he said and couldn’t hide the wave of emotional dread that washed over his face. “Towbar, what do you think the King will do when he finds out that she has been taken prisoner?”
“I do not know my friend,” Towbar said and looked sadly to the ground. “All the King’s children are near and dear to him. He would lay down his life in place of her life.”
“Do you think he would cave and give in to any demands they may make if they threaten her life?”
“I do not know. However this is one of those things that I fear.”
“I can’t imagine being in that type of a predicament,” Chick said. “But would he ignore his responsibility to the rest of the people to save one person, albeit it’s his daughter?”
“I am not sure what to think,” the giant sighed. “I would think the King would put the kingdom and his people first. Though I do not know his state of mind. The last time we went to Beramus, he had been poisoned and my understanding is he had been recovering so I can not honestly say I know what his state of mind would be.”
“Yeah, when we went there someone had poisoned him and he was at death’s door,” Mykal explained to Major Chick, Major Innes and Captain Taylor. “Towbar thinks it may have been the King’s son who tried to have him killed. Well look, I’m going to go make the rounds and check on some people. Make sure you watch out for Colonel Fisher.”
“Thanks Myk,” Major Chick said as Mykal and Towbar walked from the tent.
They walked through the throng and were greeted by several people every couple of steps taken. “So do you think the Elves will want to move here with their entire clan, or group of whatever they are called?” Mykal asked Towbar while putting on a fake smile for all those who were glad to see he had returned.
“They need to move from their homeland, so necessity will be more of the driving force than just a desire. I have a group of my men including some of my generals taking several high ranking Elves to the southlands to view some of the forested lands we have. I explained that after our battle with the Sosos is over we will show them much more forested lands to the north. At this time it would be far too dangerous to give a tour outside of the Pass to the north. I truly believe it will be beneficial for both our peoples to have the Elves move here. Though, I am thinking like a military leader who needs the assistance of allies. I do not know how to think like a King to view it from the point of view of what would be in the best interest of my people. I do not spend time thinking of trade, commerce and things that could help our economies.”
“Yeah, I would be thinking the same way you think Towbar,” Mykal sighed and shook his head and felt guilt mixed with anger for his neglect of leaving Doninka here when he could have easily taken her to safety. “I’m so friggin ticked off Towbar. I could have prevented this and it will eat me up if something has happened to her.”
“My friend, I understand where your heart is. However, do not allow yourself to be angry over something you can not undo. We will work together and bring Doninka home safely.”
“I wish this whole situation was like a movie that someone was making,” Mykal said and laughed at the strange look Towbar gave him. “Cuz then I could call out to the director and writer and say ‘hey dudes, cut this scene. Then scrap and erase all these scenes and let’s go back to the scene where I went back to the world. Then start filming again after you have me take Doninka with me’. Then we would have a different story and the ending of this movie would be completely different,” Mykal said and sighed despite the strange look Towbar gave him.
“My friend, I am sorry. I do not understand what you said or what it is that you meant.”
“I know,” Mykal sighed heavily again. “My mind is all over the place. I’m using my imagination to undo all this stuff. This is all just my fault and I don’t know how to deal with it. Honestly, I wanna get shit faced drunk but I don’t even drink.”
Mykal and Towbar mingled with others for a short time and then retreated to a private location to discuss possible options concerning Doninka. The main problem they faced was they did not know where she would be held. Would she be in the Soso camp? Probably not since the Silent Killers were successful in rescuing the last hostages the Sosos detained. Could the Sosos have taken her to the Soso King Monahakald? But where would that be? Would it be in the heart of the Soso lands where King Monahakald’s castle would be? Could Zizmon-Tarl have taken control of Doninka to ensure only his powerful beastly monsters watched over her? If so, where in that vast wide open land would they have her held captive? As much as it broke Mykal’s heart to think it, Doninka could already be dead. If not dead, would King Monahakald or Zizmon-Tarl allow her captors to torment her? Whether Zizmon-Tarl would allow ‘them’ to abuse and inflict pain and anguish on her or not, it was pure mental torture for Mykal since he didn’t know what was happening to her.
CHAPTER THREE 01/06/1984
1. Friday, January 6th 1984
0800 hours, In The Pass Near the Headquarters Area
“Hey Mykal, are you awake Sir?” A Marine asked after sticking his head into Mykal’s tent. “Mykal, are you up? I was told to get you up at O eight hundred hours Sir.”
“Yeah, I’m up,” Mykal grumbled and stirred on his cot. He and Towbar talked late into the night with others and wished he would have made his wake-up call later, but there was much to do. “Did the convoy arrive yet?”
“No Sir, but the last I heard there were radio transmissions that they are inside the Pass and should be arriving within the next one or two hours,” the Marine corporal replied.
“Did they say what is taking them so long?” Mykal questioned with a puzzled look and rubbed his eyes.
“The only thing I heard Sir, is they were deliberately traveling very slow due to the large trucks and not having paved roads to drive on,” the Marine answered. “T
he colonel didn’t want to take any chances of vehicles tipping over. I also think I heard they were going to rest for a couple of hours due to the dark. I heard all that second and third hand Sir, so please don’t hold me to that.”
“No problem. Thank you,” Mykal said and the Marine disappeared. Mykal lay on his cot for a moment and hated himself for not taking Doninka back to the real world with him New Year’s Eve. He tortured his thinking to what may be happening to the girl. Would they torture her, sexually molest her, starve her and physically abuse her? He realized his feelings for her were much deeper than he thought. He would never cheat on Pam, but at his discovery of his true emotions for the girl he felt as if he had committed emotional adultery with her. ‘I do love her,’ he thought to himself. “No, I wouldn’t do that,” he said aloud to keep from torturing himself.
“Would not do what, my friend?” Towbar asked as he entered his tent.
“Huh? What?” Mykal asked as he was caught off guard. “Oh, nothing I’m still half asleep and I was dreaming,” he lied. “What’s up?”
After countless times of looking upward Towbar knew that it was no longer a literal question when Mykal asked “What’s up?” Many times the giant would look upward unsure why the question would be used in such a manner. It did not make sense to him.
“Anything happening?” Mykal asked and sat up. “Any news on Doninka or what we should do?”
“Nothing as of yet. However, the force you brought here with you should be arriving very soon.”
“I think we oughta take up some choppers and fly over the Soso side and see if we can find anything. This sucks,” Mykal gasped and looked at Towbar’s confused expression. “It’s a term that means this is terrible,” Mykal clarified and couldn’t help but chuckle. “But I feel so helpless and I don’t know what to do or which way to turn. I don’t want anything to happen to the girl,” he said as if not mentioning her name would help make the situation feel distant. It didn’t help. “Me and her had been through a lot together. She had saved my ass a number of times and I really wanna pay her back. We survived the giant Snow Spider together, we ran from the Dwarven army under the mountain. She took an axe to the back of her head to protect me. Thank goodness, the handle hit her head and not the axe blade,” he said and seemed to moan. “I just don’t know what to do Towbar.”
“I understand what you feel my friend. She is one who is like a part of my family. I was entrusted to protect her and I failed her,” Towbar said sadly. “The King and Queen relied on me to keep her safe. And I did not fulfill my obligation to them.”
Towbar’s words hit Mykal hard with guilt because he knew he could have taken her from this world even if it would have been for five days, but he refused for fear of how it may have looked to others. The uncertainty of her status brought a flood of emotions. Was she dead or alive? If she was alive was she being abused and mistreated? The mental frustration at the repeated tormenting questions made Mykal want to shout out loud. The same questions kept repeating in his mind over and over.
“Do you think the Sosos know who they have?” Mykal asked and looked at the magical ring on his finger and wondered if the ring’s power that toyed with his emotions was causing a stronger than normal emotional reaction in him.
“I do believe they do know who she is,” Towbar answered. “From what I have gathered, and after careful repeated evaluation of the facts, I would have to believe they do know. My main reason is after they took her hostage the enemy withdrew all their forces and they moved back to where their camp was before the attacks started. They would not have pulled back and given up the ground they had taken inside the Pass for no reason. We had never allowed one Soso to set foot inside the Pass in all the previous wars. They must know they have a special prize and I am sure they will use it to their greatest advantage. Thus I am confident they believe they have the upper hand only I just do not know what they intend.”
Mykal and Towbar stopped and both looked at the entrance to Mykal’s tent and looked at each other. They could both hear the faint shouts of people looking for Towbar. The shouts grew for the giant as others helped to get his attention and find his location. The shouts for Towbar sounded desperate and the cries for his name seemed to be filled with urgency. Suddenly horns blasted and sirens wailed.
They ran from Mykal’s tent and Mykal thought it had to be the arrival of Colonel Fisher and the rest of the new Towbar One, though it did sound desperate rather than joyful. “Hey, what’s going on?” Mykal shouted when they left his tent.
“People are saying there is a lone figure approaching the front of the Pass,” an army lieutenant answered as he rushed toward the next pit to join those trying to find out what was taking place.
“Someone is coming to the Pass,” another shouted while mass chaos erupted. Towbar’s soldiers and the Dwarven warriors all rushed about to the center of the chaos. The Elves seemed to be lost and remained back, out of the way, so as not to get in the way.
“Hey Mykal and Towbar, get in,” Staff Sergeant Barry shouted from his driver’s door. He drove a transport vehicle with a fire team inside. His machine gunner stood in the open turret with the .50 caliber machinegun ready to open up. Mykal remembered Staff Sergeant Barry and his team of vehicles helped Mykal taunt the enemy on New Year’s Eve which in turn started the battle on Mykal’s terms, not the enemy’s terms.”
“Great,” Mykal yelled as he and Towbar entered the large troop transport vehicle.
Once inside the vehicle Army Staff Sergeant Barry laid heavy on the horn to have people get out of his way. The vehicles rushed up the side of the Pass along the walls to avoid the pits. “So how have you been Myk? It seems like it’s been years, but it has only been about a week since I saw you last.
“Fine, everything is fine,” Mykal lied. “What do we have going on?”
“From what is being passed around there is someone, a lone figure approaching the Pass,” Barry answered.
“Good,” Mykal said and looked to Towbar. Maybe it’s someone with some demands or some info on Doninka. Oh my,” Mykal gasped. “They didn’t lay down new land mines after the Sosos retreated, did they? Cuz then this person may get killed before we get there.”
“No Myk, that I know for sure,” Barry replied. “Hold on,” he said while he grabbed the radio microphone.
“Major Chick wouldn’t allow anyone to put land mines out there until we received some sort of demand, or some sort of clear information dealing with the Princess Doninka,” Sergeant Simmons said while Barry spoke to Major Chick. “So that it’s safe if someone tried to communicate with us. Besides, there aren’t very many land mines left over. They nearly put all of them out there and the ones that have been put out there have for the most part been detonated. But there are probably a few that haven’t been detonated yet so that would be a rude surprise for someone,” he snickered while staring through his windshield.
“Good, cuz we don’t want our only link to get blown to bits before we even know what is taking place,” Mykal said and shook his head.
“Yes Sir, this is Sergeant Barry of Third Battalion, we are the Army Troop Transport Squad and we have both Mykal and Towbar with us. I’m rushing them to the front of the Pass. We heard someone from the enemy camp is approaching the Pass.”
“Roger that Sergeant Barry,” Major Chick’s voice spoke through the speaker. “Be sure you’re not walking into a trap and make sure you have an escort with you. I don’t want Mykal and Towbar to be at risk if there is a trap.”
“Roger that Sir, I have my team of vehicles with us,” Barry replied.
“I really like Major Chick,” Mykal said to Towbar and gave Towbar thumbs up.
“Others are following behind you so be sure to allow them to support you. We don’t need to take any unnecessary risks, but you know how Mykal is,” Chick snickered through the radio speaker. “I hope he heard that.”
“He did Sir,” Barry replied and chuckled into the microphone. “Hey, get the hell outta th
e way,” Barry yelled at some soldiers blocking his path. He laid heavy on the horn.
When the four men looked back to see who was shouting at them they saw Towbar and Mykal and quickly jumped out of the way. They stood at attention and saluted the vehicle as it passed.
When the vehicle made it passed the very first pit, they joined the crowd that moved toward the mouth of the Pass. In the distance Mykal saw what he thought to be a very large man. As they neared the silhouette they could see it was two people and both had their arms tied to a large plank of wood draped over their shoulders. Their arms were tied along the beam as if in preparation to be crucified. They were tied to the same beam and had to walk together. Both wore large sacks over their heads to keep them from seeing anything. If they didn’t work together and if one fell down they would both fall. They walked slowly and it appeared they were in a great deal of pain.
Barry stopped the vehicle at Mykal’s request. “Keep the .50 cals on them. We don’t know who they are.”
From the nearest Sosos they had to have walked a little more than two miles completely in the dark. Mykal and Towbar slowly walked toward them. With their increased hearing Towbar and Mykal both heard one of Towbar’s soldiers attached to the crossbeam, “We can make it. Hold tight and be strong Calson,” one encouraged the other.
“They are my two men who have been captured with Doninka,” Towbar said. “Stop!” Towbar shouted and raised his hand though they couldn’t see his signal to stop. “We will come to you my men.”
Mykal and Towbar as well as thirty other men armed with rifles rushed out to them on foot. Mykal saw blood stains on the plank and on their clothing He was sure the Sosos abused them before sending them on their way. When they neared the two men who had stopped walking Mykal clearly saw that Calson, the one who didn’t speak had both of his hands cut off. It looked as if the Sosos may have cauterized the stumps of the man’s wrists to stop the bleeding.