by Dave Hazel
“We can’t just leave him here,” Mykal said and joined Kim and looked at the injured man. “Do you know what the Sosos will do to him?”
“You’re right Myk,” Kim sighed and pulled his razor sharp blade from its sheath.
“Whoa, what the hell are you gonna do?” Mykal’s voice expressed shock as he grabbed Kim’s arm.
“I was going to put him out of his misery and leave him so the Sosos couldn’t torture him.”
“No, no, no, don’t. You can’t kill him,” Mykal gasped and couldn’t contain his laugh of disbelief. “We’re not leaving anyone behind. He volunteered and he’s risked his life. We’re going to get him back to the doctors and do everything we can to save his life,” Mykal said. Mykal knew if he allowed Kim to kill his own man, even as a mercy killing, it would hurt morale. He watched two Green Berets move in and applied direct pressure to the open gash. They quickly dressed the wound and prepared him for travel.
“You’re right Myk,” Kim said and nodded. He put away his much used deadly blade. He spoke in Korean and four of the Koreans grabbed the injured man by his arms and legs and lifted him off the ground. “We’ll treat him when we get to a safe location. We must leave now.”
Everyone moved with haste and in silence knowing time was running out. The sound of the machine guns had slowed as did the single shots of rifle fire. Groups One and Two had to be on the move. When the Sosos realize the prisoners had gone missing they would search for them ruthlessly.
“So what’s the plan Myk?” Larry asked while they walked briskly.
“First thing, we’re gonna get the injured man and the prisoners to the helicopters. Allow the helicopters to fly over the camp to retrieve as many as possible of groups One or Two. After refueling the choppers will go back to get the rest of groups One and Two and fly back to the Pass. After refueling again, then they’ll come back the last time for us,” Mykal said happily. He could almost taste the victory. ‘The package is in hand. I’ve done it,’ he thought and wanted to yell out his joy and happiness. He’d be done with the military, the government and everything else for the rest of his life. He’d be able to retire and spend the rest of his days with his family. He could live happily ever after. Mykal wasn’t naïve enough to believe he could have a fairy tale ending, but he retrieved the ‘package’. The impossible mission was a success.
“We better hustle, Myk,” Jake said as they moved at a quickened pace. “It won’t be long before the Sosos find their prisoners are gone and all the guards are dead.”
“I know,” he replied. “We need to put as much distance between us and them because we’re gonna be the last ones to be picked up by the choppers. Lieutenant Finley,” he called in a quieted voice. “Put four good men as our rear guard and tell them to keep their eyes and ears opened. We need to put some space between us and the camp before the Sosos discover their prisoners are gone. I’m sure they’ll come after us.”
“I’m on it,” Finley replied as if a higher ranking officer spoke to him. Finley stopped and pulled four Green Berets and explained they needed to be eyes for the rear. The four were left to observe the camp. Finley instructed them to wait fifteen minutes to see if the Sosos would follow in their direction.
“Wow Myk, look at that,” Larry snickered and pointed to the sky toward the full moon. It was quickly becoming overcast and getting darker. “That whacky Ski said he was going to be praying for us. Do you think he has some pull with the big guy upstairs to make that happen?”
“Damn, I’m thankful, if he does,” Mykal said as a darker sense of night seemed to roll in. It would be much harder for the Sosos to notice them withdrawing. “That’s pretty bizarre,” Mykal laughed quietly. “Either we’re lucky or being watched over.”
Larry smirked. “Yeah, I tend to think that Jesus Freak Ski has some pull with the big guy upstairs.”
“Don’t call him ‘the big guy upstairs’,” Boris said with a serious expression while he continued to scan all directions. “Ski jumped on my ass for that before and got pissed off. He said that God is not ‘the big guy upstairs’ or ‘Mister Big’ or anything like that. Ski said all those names are disrespectful.”
“I didn’t mean any disrespect,” Larry quickly confessed and looked heavenward in hopes to be heard by God.
“I thought you didn’t believe in God?” Jake asked.
“I don’t know if I do or don’t, but I’m not gonna take any chances, cuz this is way too much of a coincidence.”
“Either way, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope if search parties come for us that they won’t find us,” Mykal whispered. “We need to get back to the Pass,” he added and felt uneasy. Despite the fact that everything seemed to be going smoothly he feared something may go wrong due to the last conversation he had with Ski. ‘Or maybe it’s my own damn twisting of thoughts,’ he wondered. ‘But my gut feelings are hardly ever wrong.’
Towbar took the lead with his massive sword in hand. The men all moved quickly and stayed in single file with the rescued people in the middle of the group. The two teenage boys who had been sexually abused by the Sosos stayed near Mykal. He felt bad for them. He could see the two teens were ashamed to look anyone in the eye.
He sensed they wanted to talk but he didn’t want to talk to them. He didn’t feel he could adequately comfort or counsel them after all they had been through. He told them to remain quiet because of the danger still at hand. Mykal’s heart ached having two sons of his own. Though his sons were young, Mykal couldn’t imagine what it would be like from a parent’s point of view to have children go through the horrors these two kids just endured.
Mykal glanced around to see how everyone was holding up under the quickened pace they traveled. The four Korean soldiers carrying the injured man rushed along and didn’t seem concerned for the comfort of their injured comrade. The unconscious man’s head dangled limply just barely above the ground. They carried him by his wrists and ankles. Mykal worried the man’s blood trail would make it easy for the Sosos to track and follow them.
“I really thought we were going to die,” one teenager whispered to Mykal. “I’m so grateful you men came,” he said and kept looking to the ground. “They were mean to us and they killed our friend.”
Mykal looked at him, the kid who had his arms twisted behind his back and forced to pleasure the Soso leader who looked like a Neanderthal. Mykal felt the kid’s shame and ached deeply for him. “Shhh, you don’t have to say anything,” Mykal whispered.
“But I would never do something like that,” he said as if defending his actions and almost started to cry. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m--”
“Hey, you don’t have to say anything,” Mykal cut him off. It hurt Mykal to know the kid worried what Mykal may have thought of him. He couldn’t imagine how the teen felt. “You had to do what you had to do to survive. I understand. I know what kind of monsters held you prisoner.”
“I watched them kill my friend Stosh cuz he wouldn’t do--”
“Stop, stop,” Mykal cut him off gently as the teen sobbed. “You don’t have to explain anything to anyone. We will never bring this up so don’t worry about that. You’re alive and that’s all that matters. Now we need to work on getting you guys home. What’s your name?”
“I’m Richie,” the brown haired sixteen year old replied. “This is my older brother Dan,” he introduced them. Dan looked two years older. “I can’t believe they killed Stosh. His real name is Mark,” Richie said. His voice quivered. “I keep seeing the image of Mark being sliced open again and again in my mind. I stood there and watched Mark’s insides fall out. He laid on the ground trying to hold his stomach together calling for his mom,” he sobbed. “I knew he was dying and he called for his mom and asked for help but those people just laughed at him.”
“Don’t talk Richie,” Mykal said. He felt useless in his attempt to comfort him. It nearly brought him to tears listening to his fearful suffering “I know you guys just went through hell, but tr
y not to think about it until we’re home safe and sound. Let’s just focus on getting away from here for now, okay?”
“Okay,” Richie said and looked forward. After a moment, he found it hard to be quiet. “After Stosh died they made us take off our clothes.”
“Shut up Richie,” Dan barked at his brother. “I don’t want anyone to know what happened.” Dan wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone. He walked fast despite his physical pain.
“Someone has to know. There could be something wrong inside you,” Richie said to his older brother and looked to Mykal.
Dan released a frustrated, angry and embarrassed grunt. Dan cried, but wouldn’t look at Mykal.
“Dan, no one here is going to say anything,” Mykal said to comfort the angry and embarrassed teenager. “We have doctors back at the camp so make sure you tell them everything.”
“When Dan resisted them, they beat him up,” Richie said. “I begged Dan to just give in because I didn’t want him to get killed like Stosh, I mean Mark. Those assholes raped my brother. There were eight of them and they all beat--”
“Shut up Richie,” Dan snarled through clenched teeth. “I don’t want people to know,” he whimpered and broke down.
“Don’t say anything,” Mykal raised his hand so Richie would stop. “Dan, I know you had no control over that. It’s over, it’s done. But make sure as soon as you get back to the camp you go straight to the doctors and tell them everything that happened to you. You have to get checked out. We’re not gonna tell anyone.”
“I’m not a violent person,” Richie continued to whisper. “But I’m so glad you killed those bastards.”
“I wish we coulda got there sooner,” Mykal said weakly. Dan looked to be struggling with the forced march but he kept pace. “Dan, do you want me to have some of the guys help carry you?”
“No!” He snapped and wiped his dripping nose.
“I promise you guys, no one here will ever say anything about this,” Mykal said just as Lieutenant Finley joined him. They met up with the line of defense and Captain Diaz.
“Hey Myk,” Lieutenant Finley whispered. “The Korean died.”
“What happened?” Captain Diaz asked and looked at the lifeless Korean.
“He took friendly fire from group One or Two,” Finley announced. “It’s a nasty wound. Looked like a 7.62,” he said referring to a machinegun round.
“Myk, I didn’t send the civilians off to the choppers because it has gotten darker out.”
“Not a problem Captain Diaz, but have your radio man call the choppers and have them come this way to pick up these people and we’ll keep moving toward the choppers.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” William wanted to object. “That would draw the Sosos to us.”
“I’m not worried about it,” Mykal replied without looking at William. “We’ll be on the move and the Sosos won’t fight at night unless they’re cornered. We’ll be fine while we put some distance between us and them. But these people need to get outta here ASAP. And since groups One and Two have the Sosos going after them we need to get them off the ground as soon as we can.”
“Myk, I know you said the Sosos don’t fight at night, but after all that’s happened do you think we can rely on that?” William asked.
Mykal turned to William with an anger that flared quickly. He felt William continually challenged him. He paused, examined his thoughts and realized his anger raged from what the Sosos did to those who had been rescued. He mentally bit his tongue so as not to take it out on William. “They’ll still be afraid of dying at night,” Mykal said politely. “We have a few hours of dark to make our get away. We’ll be able to put more distance between us and them when the prisoners are out of here. They’re slowing us down. The soldier who just died was bleeding badly so I think the Sosos will find the trail and know which way we went. We only have until daylight.”
“Mykal is correct,” Towbar said. “Despite the fact that we waged war on the Sosos at night, now that the battle has ceased they will not pursue us while it is still dark. They hold fast to their superstitious beliefs.”
Mykal pulled Captain Diaz aside and spoke to him quietly. “You wouldn’t believe the stuff we saw after you guys left,” Mykal shook his head sadly. “I want you to have one of the people on the helicopter make sure, without a doubt, to have those two teens get to the doctors as soon as they touch down. The older one was gang raped by eight Sosos. I think the bastards used a wooden axe handle on him too. The poor kid was bleeding and he’s afraid and embarrassed to say anything. I don’t want anyone to know about it, but make sure they get medical attention right away.”
“Awh, for crying out loud,” Diaz moaned and glanced over at the two boys. “Wasn’t there supposed to be three boys?”
“Yeah, when the first one wouldn’t submit to the Soso desires they cut him in half with a sword. Let’s get moving. I’m getting agitated and I wanna get outta here. We’ve already had our first casualty of Towbar One and I don’t want to have anymore. Also find out from groups One and Two if everyone is okay. Let them know the choppers are coming. Whatever group is more at risk needs to be picked up first.”
“Will do,” Diaz replied.
“We’re heading out, come on let’s go,” Mykal whispered.
The four Korean’s who had been carrying the dead man looked to Mykal. “Myk-o, wha’ we do wit’ Sergeant Song?” One of the four asked.
“Take him with us. We’re gonna put him on the helicopter and take him back to the Pass. We’re not gonna leave him out here,” Mykal replied and it brought him back to the first couple of days of his first time in Towbar’s world. They had to leave a few bodies lying out in the middle of nowhere and they’ve never been retrieved. That still bothered him.
“Tank you Myk-o,” the Korean soldier bowed with a nod.
“Thanks Myk.” Lieutenant Kim gave a grateful smile. “My men will greatly appreciate that you’re not leaving Sergeant Song behind.”
“Let me be honest. If we didn’t have the helicopters we wouldn’t be able to carry him.”
“I understand,” Lieutenant Kim said and gave the same bowing nod.
A majority of the civilians gathered around Mykal and Diaz. “The choppers should meet us shortly so go as fast as you can,” Mykal said as soldiers started to file past him. “You people will be out of danger shortly.”
“I take it you will not be coming with us?” Mister X asked and stood in front of him, but Mykal led him away from the others.
“No, I can’t. I’m staying with my men. Even though you are my mission,” he whispered to the older man. “I have to stay with my men. I don’t want you to let on about anything and I don’t want you to give that package to anyone else, period! We should be back some time during the daylight.”
“Regardless of the fact we did not adhere to protocol, I am convinced you are the one sent to retrieve the ‘Football’. Not thee ‘Football’,” he quickly clarified referring to the briefcase that holds the nuclear missile launch codes. “We’ve dubbed this ‘Football 2’,” he said while tapping the package. “I eagerly expect your arrival and I will gladly transfer this item, Football 2, into your possession. I would like to thank you Mykal. I know we’d all be dead in the next few days. You saved our lives. This,” he paused and tapped his case again, “would have been worthless junk in the hands of those ruthless criminals. I only have a vague idea how large the Soso camp is, so what you men did, honestly, every single one of you deserves medals. When we get back to our world I will personally recommend to the President that each and every one of you need to be recognized and awarded the highest commendations possible. I’ve never seen anything so dangerous performed with such expertise. I’m grateful to you and all the brave soldiers with you.”
“Thanks X. The men will appreciate that. I’ll see ya later.” He gladly shook X’s out stretched hand.
“And Mykal, if anyone should ask, we did follow protocol with the special identifying co
de,” the older man hinted.
“Yes we did,” Mykal agreed and waved him on to the others.
“Look how he’s taken on this leadership position,” Jake said to Larry and Boris. Jake didn’t know Mykal could hear him with his increased hearing. “I’m proud of him. Since I used to be his immediate supervisor, I can say I helped create that,” Jake chuckled with Larry and Boris.
“Yep,” Larry shook his head playfully. “Our little buck Sergeant is all grow’d up now,” he said with a hillbilly, Boston accent.
“They grows up so fast,” Boris played along. “One day they’re a little buck Sergeant trying to avoid responsibility and before you knows it they’re turned into generals trying to rule the world. Before you knows it they don’t have time to write home or call, they’re out doing their own little thing, like conquering the world or something,” he pouted playfully as a parent whose child had left the nest.
Mykal wanted to laugh and say something, but he didn’t want them to know he could hear them. Hearing them boosted his confidence which he needed at the moment.
“But seriously guys,” Jake said. “I’m really impressed with how much he has grown up and taken charge. Such a change in just a few months.”
“Hey, can you hear the choppers?” Mykal called out. “They’re coming. I wanna get these people on them as quickly as possible and then we have to make up some time.”
“Send up a flare,” Captain Diaz called to one of his men. “Finley, I just spoke on the radio and they can’t see us in the dark. Have eight men light flares and spread out to give them an area to land in.”
“I’m on it Sir,” Finley eagerly followed orders.
Everyone dropped to one knee until the helicopters landed. After they landed the rescued prisoners were loaded quickly, but only after many of them had an opportunity to hug and thank those who liberated them. Most of them were surprised to find Mykal was in charge. Most didn’t think he looked old enough. All tried to express their thanks to him and Towbar. Mykal made it clear to all that it was the men under him who did all the work and they were the ones to be thanked.
