by Dave Hazel
“Yeah, but you didn’t expect to be attacked by giants, did you?”
“No, not really,” Mathis answered and started to laugh. “I joined the Marine Corps to see the world. I just thought it would be our world I would be seeing.”
Mykal laughed with him. There was something about Mathis that reminded Mykal of all his old friends who were gone. That was why he selected Mathis, because Mathis brought him a familiar comfort that he missed. And just the way Mathis said things made Mykal want to laugh. Suddenly he felt overly protective of Mathis like he felt for Boris, Kurt and Sam. He couldn’t understand why because he didn’t know Mathis that well. He had only spent two days with him and he liked the kid because Mathis was able to make him laugh and feel humor.
Mykal glanced down at the magic ring on his finger and speculated it was because of the ring playing games with his emotions. He wondered if he should put the ring on his dog tag chain. He hoped that would prevent the magic powers from corrupting his mind, but then he realized if he needed to turn himself invisible in a hurry that would waste precious time if he had to take the ring off a chain from around his neck.
“Oh yeah,” Mathis said as he remembered something before he turned to leave. “Myk, are you okay with the two reporters talking to the men and questioning the men?” He asked.
“Whadda ya mean?”
“Well they asked Captain Diaz if they could interview the men as time goes on to fill in some of the gaps of their reporting and to help explain some of the situations from a soldier’s point of view. Captain Diaz didn’t have a problem with it as long as you Okayed it and doesn’t get in the way of anyone’s responsibilities.”
“Yeah, I guess I don’t care about it. I don’t really know much about either of them. I haven’t had any real conversations with them yet.”
“Well you will, because they know you have to approve of what they do with the men.”
“Good. I’m glad you told me that. But you don’t have any regrets coming along with us on this journey to find Doninka, do ya?”
“No. And I meant it when I said you can call on me any time,” Mathis said and shyly looked to the ground. “The first time I experienced any true battles or fighting was in the Pass. It just seems so odd seeing these people being killed up close. It makes you realize how quickly it can happen and without any warning.”
“When we go back to get some supplies and stuff, if you wanna stay there you can,” Mykal offered gently because of his care for Mathis. “I didn’t wanna put you in any danger or anything. You just kinda remind me of some of my old friends and it felt great to have that kind of familiarity around.”
“Oh no Myk, I’m not whining. I’m just struck by how sudden some things happen and it makes you realize that you have no control over it. I really do wanna be here to help. Seriously,” he added when Mykal seemed to eye him for a hint of untruth.
“Let’s join the others.” Mykal and Mathis joined the last of the men who sat around to eat. “So, no surprises this morning or last night?” Mykal asked Diaz and Finley who sat with the Dosch brothers.
“Nothing happened Myk,” Finley happily reported. “There wasn’t even one little false alarm.”
“Yeah, when I was on guard duty I told Roy Jr. and Randy that it was too damn quiet,” Mykal chuckled. “I was freaked out by the peace and quiet. I thought for sure some ‘crazy Towbar world stuff’ was gonna happen to us,” he laughed and got those around him to laugh with him.
“Nothing like startin’ yer day with a breakfast MRE,” Roy Jr. joked while he ate. “Umm umm good.”
“I have a question for you captain,” Randy said while he made a face and choked down his MRE to make a point. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining cuz I’m grateful to have food to eat, but I gots to agree with my brother on the breakfast MREs.”
“Not just me,” Roy Jr. spoke up. “Everybody says they taste like cow turds dipped in pig feces,” he added and bit into his food while getting a loud laugh.
“But seriously captain,” Randy continued and couldn’t keep from laughing at his brother’s comment. “We’re kind of like big shots, a special deal, going on this mission, right?” He waited and finished when Diaz acknowledged him with a nod. “Before we leave next time, can’t we just ask them to take out the bad MREs and give us the good MREs? It’s not like we’re asking for them to send a chef and food cart with us for special meals or anything like that, right?”
“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea,” Mykal said and laughed. “I knew you country boys would be good to bring along for one reason or another.”
“Hey Mykal, do you know when we should go back to the Pass?” Sergeant First Class Lemon asked in a serious tone.
“What, are you trying to bail already?” Mykal asked in a playful accusatory tone.
“Oh no Sir,” Lemon answered. Suddenly, almost instinctively, he moved to a rigid position of attention. “I was just curious so I would know how to answer the men when they ask.”
“Take it easy Lemon,” Mykal laughed. “I’m just giving you a hard time. But seriously, I’m gonna wait until we have to go. I don’t wanna go back there every couple of days unless we need to. Now if we woulda had some serious injuries from the attack yesterday I would go back to get them the help they need. But if we can hold off, we’re gonna hold off. I don’t say that to speak lightly of the men we lost, but we can’t do anything for them. Man, I didn’t mean that to sound as calloused as that sounded. You know what I meant, right?”
“Oh, I understand,” he said with a slight sigh and loosened up. “I want to be here through the entire rescue operation. If I have given you the impression that my heart is not in it or that I--”
“Stop,” Mykal said with a raised hand. “I was just giving you a hard time. Lighten up.”
“Yes Sir,” Lemon replied.
“Hey Sergeant Lemon, Mykal likes to joke around,” Randy said. “It’s his way of showing that you’re good in his book.”
“Okay. I understand,” Lemon said but didn’t appear to really comprehend what Randy meant.
“Let’s get the men ready to move out,” Diaz said and broke up the conversation. “Randy, in answer to your great question, we are kind of a big deal. And when we do go back and get more food, I will make it a point to bring the MREs that we want. You made a great point. Mykal, do you want to continue in the open or do you want to continue through the forest?”
“What do you think we should do?” Mykal asked while scanning the area around them. “Whadda ya leaning toward?”
“When I spoke to the Elves, they said we should continue in the open area,” Captain Diaz answered.
“Speaking of which,” Mykal said and looked around. “Where are they?”
“They walked off to check out the area before us,” Finley replied for Diaz and looked at his watch. “They should be back shortly. They wanted to make sure the area was clear. They took Winnie and Freeman with them to show what they look for when they’re scouting an area. Since Winfield and Freeman seem to be on point much of the time, they wanted to go with the Elves and learn from them. I didn’t think you would have a problem with that.”
“Oh no, I don’t,” Mykal quickly replied and could tell his expression must have shown concern. He knew deep inside he was concerned over each and every man, but he didn’t want to come across like a ‘little nanny protector’ over these grown men who happened to be some of the finest military specimens the United States of America had to offer. “Where’s Towbar?”
“He went with them too,” Diaz said while he watched the men break down their scanty camp.
Within twenty minutes the small patrol returned. “We must be ever vigilant,” Egoneal spoke first when they joined the group.
“Why do you say that?” Finley asked.
“We were being watched,” Towbar answered. “We could not see those who watched our movement. Each time we drew near we heard the sound of someone or something quietly scurrying away.”
“Was
it an animal?” Mykal asked.
“I think not my friend. It may have been,” Towbar added with a slight sigh that expressed his uncertainty. “If so, I would have to believe it or they are a very intelligent animal.”
“Was there more than one?” Gunnery Sergeant Ratner asked.
“We believe there was more than one,” Starling answered. “They made no attempt to communicate nor did they try to attack us.”
“I couldn’t see a dang thing Sir,” Freeman said to Lieutenant Finley.
“Yes Sir,” Corporal Winfield agreed. “The only thing I knew for sure was I heard the sound of wings flapping.”
“Wings flapping Winnie?” Diaz asked and looked very confused.
“Yes Sir. Like a giant ass bird of some kind,” Winnie replied. “But we didn’t see anything at all.”
“Was it wings flapping like those dragons we saw the other day?” Mykal asked and suddenly his chest filled with a tight heaviness of apprehension.
“Oh no Sir,” Winnie snickered. “Back on my mam maws farm in Georgia, when she would grab a chicken to use for meal time she would grab the ol’ chicken by the legs to take it out back and I’ll never forget the desperate sound of those wings flapping to get away. It was just like that sound but much bigger, much louder. That’s what it sounded like to me anyway.”
“I’d agree with him on that Sir,” Freeman said and nodded enthusiastically. “I done heard that kinda wings flapping too.”
“So now we gotta watch out for a big ass chickens?” Mathis said quietly to Roy Jr. and Randy.
It made Mykal burst out with laughter. Mathis reminded him of the sarcastic wit of Kurt Jones. No one understood why Mykal laughed because Mathis couldn’t be heard except by those with increased hearing and the Dosch brothers who he spoke to. Suddenly Mykal was deeply saddened when he realized how much he missed Kurt, Boris, Denny and Rich. He also missed all his friends he took back home like Jake, Larry and Sam. He was glad Roy Jr. and Randy were here and was really thankful Mathis reminded him of his friends. ‘But why the hell am I so damned sensitive lately? Why the hell am I so friggin emotional? I don’t get it,’ he thought. He did know the answer. He looked down at the gold band around the middle finger of his right hand.
“So do you Myk?” Captain Diaz asked as if he repeated the question.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Mykal answered and knew he had to keep his mind focused on what he was doing and on the mission at hand. “I was just thinking about something.”
“I asked if you would like to continue the way we are going even with the sounds the early morning recon team heard.”
“Honestly, I’m fine with it if you guys are,” Mykal said and looked to the Elves. “You have more experience in these parts than we do.”
“I think we would be safe,” Uminair said. If the person or creature did not attack when there were few of us, I do not believe it would attack us when our numbers are much larger.”
“I would agree,” Gwellon said. Gwellon was the Elf whose son and daughter had been captured by forces of Zizmon-Tarl. “The forces of the Evil One would know not to venture into the Black Forest.”
“Aren’t most of the crazy shit in this forest put here cuz of Ziggy Stardust?” Mykal asked.
“There are a number of creatures that have been cursed by the One,” Uminair said. “And there are a number of beings and creatures that have been put into this forest to act as a protector for the One. With that being said, forces of the One would know they must keep their distance from the forest for their own good.”
“Yeah, cuz the last time we were here we ran into some crazy stuff. Little kids that turned into werewolves, giant spiders, tree vines that attacked and skeletons,” Mykal laughed sarcastically because he was the one who brought about the skeleton attack for tampering with magic that had been protected by skeletons. “So the moral of this story gentlemen,” Mykal laughed again. “Let’s keep our eyes opened and stay alert every step of the way. Got it?”
“Aye aye Sir,” all the Marines shouted as one voice.
“Hooah! Hooah,” the Army personnel followed in unison.
“Alright, that’s what I wanna hear,” Mykal said with a thumbs up and eyed the surprised looks of the people from Towbar’s world. “Let’s move out. And remember, we do have an important mission to accomplish,” he said and thought longingly of Doninka.
2.
Several hours later they were still walking along on the outskirts of the heavily forested area. They wanted to avoid the trees for as long as possible due to the bad experiences they had when the Lost Patrol wandered through the Forest of Death. The ground they covered was hilly and rocky. Some of the slopes were steeper grades but not difficult to traverse.
The point men stopped and called for Captain Diaz and Mykal to come forward. Those considered to be leaders joined them; Towbar, Nordad, the six Elves, Gunnery Sergeant Ratner and Sergeant First Class Lemon. Mykal was happy to see there was not a problem facing them, but a choice. They could travel to the east in a valley between two rocky hills or they could turn north and follow a path up a rocky terrain and over the other side of the hill. The rocky hill looked to have loose rock and large boulders with trees sparsely dotting the rough hill side. The valley looked to blend into the dreaded forest area.
“No problems out there Freeman?” Mykal asked the Green Beret sergeant who discussed the two options with Blair and Leeno who had been walking with him on point.
“Oh, no Sir,” Freeman answered. “We’ve come to what we could call a fork in the road and I wanted to know which way you guys would like to go Sir,” Freeman said and quickly looked to Diaz and Finley
Automatically Mykal, Towbar, Diaz and Finley turned to the Elves.
“I would suggest we turn to the north,” Uminair said. “I have no particular reason to suggest north over east, however I believe it would be the better road to travel,” he said despite the fact the first hundred feet or so would be uphill on rocky terrain.
“I’m okay if you are,” Mykal said to Captain Diaz before Diaz asked him what he thought.
“Alright, let’s do it,” Diaz said. “Sergeant Freeman, are you still okay with being our point man?”
“Yes Sir. No problems here. “I’ve been having great conversations with my Elf buddies. We have a lot in common in how peoples in our worlds treat us cuz a our skin color.”
“Word up,” Winfield laughed and raised his hand in front of Egoneal. He taught the Elf to high five him. Everyone laughed when the paper white Elf high fived one of the darkest skinned blacks of the group. “I’m gonna teach my new homies some of our handshakes,” he added and everyone continued to laugh.
Mykal watched as the men started to file past him and he was grateful for all the men who volunteered to come to Towbar’s world and more thankful for those who put themselves at risk to join him on this side of Towbar’s world to rescue Doninka. The dangers were phenomenal as witnessed yesterday by the loss of five men. There was no certainty what the men would face over the next few days but he was more than appreciative they still wanted to be here with him.
The men traversed through the dry, rocky barren hillside following natural little valleys and what could have been used as trails. But by who or what? Mykal mingled through the line quietly talking with different men he didn’t know that well. The scenery was marvelous to look at despite the rocky and rugged ground they covered. They walked under a giant arch made of rock and Mykal saw there were many such arches and beautiful landscapes in the area.
“Oh wow,” Sergeant Nikopolous gasped quietly. “This is just like the arches in Utah.”
“Where?” Mykal asked. He had seen similar formations in photos.
“Arches national Park in Utah,” Nikopolous said. “Have you ever been there?”
“No, but I’d like to take my family there some time,” Mykal answered and suddenly he felt guilty. He felt as if he was doing something wrong in searching for Doninka. Not in the rescuin
g of Doninka but the motivation he had in searching for and rescuing her. He knew his heart was drawn to her and he feared he was on the verge of committing emotional adultery. ‘Wait a friggin minute,’ he scolded himself in thought. ‘I haven’t done a damn thing wrong with her,’ he argued as if he had to defend himself. He looked down at the ring and knew the magic of the ring was pulling his emotions in a destructive manner but he wasn’t going to allow it to win. ‘I love Pam and I’d never cheat on her,’ he declared mentally and didn’t hear Nikopolous’s words.
“…and I really mean that Mykal.”
“What was that? I’m sorry I couldn’t hear what you said.”
“Oh I just said when we get back home if you ever want to bring your family out to Utah, I’ll gladly take you and your family on a trip to the Arches,” Sergeant Nikopolous said enthusiastically. My father and mother came to the states from Greece and they moved to Salt Lake City. That’s where I grew up. It’s beautiful there. My parents opened a Greek slash Italian restaurant in Salt Lake City. He’s Greek and she’s Italian,” he chuckled. “So it couldn’t be one or the other. It had to be both. But they opened one in Salt Lake and then they opened a second in Provo. And with the help of friends and one of my older sisters they opened another during tourist season in Moab which is just a few miles from the Arches National Park.”
“Wow, you musta had good eating all your life,” Mykal said and suddenly missed the Italian food he grew up with back in New York.
“Oh yeah. And they serve American food too. But in all seriousness Mykal, if you ever want to take your family to the Arches my wife and I will show you the time of your life and promise you to have ‘good eats’ as my poppa would always say,” he added with wild hand gestures that was supposed to mimic his Greek father.
“Yeah, I’d like to take you up on that,” he replied with a smile as the Green Beret sergeant seemed excited that Mykal agreed to come to his home town.
Suddenly everyone around them dropped to one knee, some went prone. They all faced different directions in preparation for an attack. Mykal was focused on Sergeant Nikopolous’s conversation so that he didn’t hear the warning. He didn’t know what the problem was. While everyone else stopped and dropped to one knee, he proceeded at a crouch to where he could get to the front.