Mykal's Return to Towbar's World

by Dave Hazel

  “Aren’t you coming with us?” Richie asked Mykal after he climbed in the doorway of the helicopter.

  “No, I can’t,” Mykal yelled to be heard. “Our primary goal was to get you guys outta the Soso camp. We’ll be on foot until the other two groups are picked up and brought back to our camp. We’ll be the last ones to come home.”

  “That sucks,” Richie yelled. “That’s not right,” he protested. “You guys risked your lives by going into the Soso camp. Who’s the damn idiot who came up with the plan to leave you behind? What kinda jerk would allow such a thing?”

  Mykal and his friends all laughed loudly. Even Towbar found it humorous. Larry slapped Mykal on the shoulder. “Yeah, what kinda jerk came up with such a stupid plan that leaves us behind like this?”

  “Seriously,” Richie’s voice rose in anger. “I’d like to talk to the stupid ass who made this plan. I’d tell him what for. You guys should leave with us, right now. It’s dangerous out here.”

  “I’m the stupid ass that came up with the plan,” Mykal laughed and pointed to himself. Others joined in the laughter. “I’m the idiot in charge.”

  “Oh. Oh Myk, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” Richie gawked in embarrassment.

  “Hey, don’t worry about it,” Mykal laughed. “You and your brother get to the doctors as soon as you get back,” he yelled and waved for the pilots to take off.

  Moments later all eight helicopters were in the air. Mykal and his men stayed on one knee and watched the helicopter lights fade into the dark of night. Mykal knew they were all alone behind enemy lines. They had no support and no escape vehicle. Mykal wasn’t sure what the next twenty-four hours would bring. They would have to ensure they kept their distance from the Sosos.

  The men moved hard and fast knowing the best thing they could do was to keep moving away from the Sosos until the helicopters returned for them. They weren’t really sure how long it would take for the helicopters to make the other trips to deliver groups One and Two from danger before coming back for them. The helicopters would have to find groups One and Two, fly back to the Pass, refuel and then return to find them, group Three.

  “So Towbar, let me ask you something,” Boris whispered. “Do you think we’re safe while it’s dark out? Or do you think the Sosos are on our trail right now?”

  “Those are difficult questions my friend. In another time and in any other situation I would most assuredly say they would not venture out in the dark. So many things are not normal. The Sosos have never taken prisoners before, however they have this time. We have taken their prized prisoners from them. Now I see they are allied with foreigners from around the world. I do not know how they will respond, my friend.”

  “I’m sure it didn’t help that we kicked their ass at night time too, am I right?” Boris snickered.

  “Correct. I would suggest we stay alert and be prepared for anything. We have the weapons to defeat them,” Towbar said.

  William said nothing but it looked clear from his facial expression, even under the camouflage facial paint, he wallowed in fear. He had the opportunity to get on the helicopter, but like the reporter and cameraman William decided to stay. William made it clear he wanted to go everywhere Mykal went.

  Mykal thought it odd that William decided to stay. If William’s job was to watch that he succeeded in his mission to retrieve Mister X, William had to know Mister X got aboard one of the helicopters. Mykal couldn’t figure him out, though he knew there was more to William than he let on. Now wasn’t the time to think about William and his odd behavior. He accomplished his mission by rescuing Mister X and securing Football 2. Mister X and Football 2 were on their way to the safety of the Pass. He didn’t care if William knew about Football 2 or not, but Mykal did everything Jill and the President asked of him. All he had to do now was get back to the Pass and return the precious package, Football 2, back to the rightful owner and he would be free.

  Though freedom from the military, the government, Jill and the President, lay just beyond his reach for only a matter of hours, Mykal planned to make sure his force of Towbar One would assist Towbar in the lopsided war coming against his friend. He tried to think how to make this work so Jill and the President don’t decide to pull the forces out of Towbar’s world. For the time being it was all about survival and avoiding the angry savages.

  They continued to move in a south easterly direction. Mykal’s goal was to make it to the river and follow the river south. He hoped they wouldn’t make contact with any enemy before the helicopters were able to come back for them. If it came down to it there were ten vehicles along the river that were abandoned by the very people they rescued. They would be able to commandeer them and use them. They know there is at least one other enemy besides the Sosos to be concerned with. Goblins, the little green creatures, new to the war with Towbar’s people. They appeared to be just as evil as Sosos.

  CHAPTER NINE 12/09/1983

  1. Friday, December 9th 1983

  0326 hours, Behind enemy lines; Soso occupied territory

  “Mykal, I think it would be best for the men if we allow them to rest. There may be two hours of darkness remaining,” Towbar said quietly. He and Mykal walked ahead of everyone because their sense of hearing was far superior, though Mykal was still adapting to perfect the changes in his body. “I fear we will not be able to rest during the daylight hours.”

  “You mean cuz of the Sosos?”

  “Yes. I am sure they will be searching for us. I could keep this pace for days. However, I think some of the men may be tired or they will tire soon.”

  “I agree with you. I’m tired. We’ll probably be on the run all day while we’re waiting for the helicopters. No sense in pushing the men to exhaustion. We’ll rest and then we’ll leave as soon as it’s light out,” he said and stopped walking.

  “What’s up Myk?” Jake asked. He, Boris, Larry, Roy Jr. and Randy were the first to join them.

  “Hey Captain Diaz, tell the men we’re gonna take a rest. We have about two hours of darkness left, and I think we’re gonna be on the run till the choppers pick us up. Have the men set up a defensive perimeter and set up a couple of guards. I want everyone to get a good couple of hours rest. Include me and Towbar in the guard duty. I want the men to get rested, because we may not get to rest during day light.”

  “If you’re going to pull guard duty then myself and the other officers will help as well,” Diaz said. He gathered the men around his position.

  William joined them at the end of the conversation. “When Captain Diaz said the officers were going to pull guard duty, you didn’t mean that to include me, did you?” William asked, his voice whined with complaint. “As an officer, as the senior officer present, I don’t feel I should have to pull guard duty.”

  “Yes, I figured that included you. The other officers are doing their part. So I think you should too,” Mykal answered. He found it easy for William to annoy him. “We’re not under normal circumstances and you volunteered for this mission. I want the men to get rested cuz they’re the ones who are gonna keep your tail safe. So right now rank means nothing to me. Everyone wants to get outta here in one piece and we’re all gonna have to rely on each other to make sure that happens. Besides, you had the chance to get outta here and chose to stay. We’re only talking for about twenty minutes each. We’re all gonna pull our weight around here. ‘Nuff said,” he finalized the matter in a firm manner.

  Some of the younger enlisted soldiers were impressed with the way Mykal handled the whiny officer. None of the men could understand why William came along to begin with. He hadn’t contributed to the operation at all except provide opposition at every turn. The younger soldiers liked Mykal more and more.

  2.

  “Mykal my friend,” Towbar whispered while placing his large hand over Mykal’s mouth to prevent Mykal from saying anything when he woke him. “You must wake up,” he added and shook him.

  “Yeah, yeah, what is it?” He whispered and
slowly pulled Towbar’s massive hand from his face.

  “I have given the orders for all to be wakened,” Towbar whispered with his finger pressed to his lips. “The guards heard sounds and woke me first. I listened and I heard movement not far from here. I could not detect if it was Sosos or their allies. They did not sound like they were hurried, so I do not think they were searching for us.”

  “Alright,” Mykal snapped to his senses and quickly shook the fog from his tired mind. “Do you think we should stay put or should we move?”

  “I would suggest we depart. In less than one hour the sun will rise.”

  “Damn, we’re in the middle of friggin nowhere, and there’s no telling how many of them are out there,” Mykal sighed. “This sucks. I hope we can keep avoiding them until the choppers get back.”

  “We really have to be careful,” Diaz said when he approached Mykal and Towbar. Finley and Kim were with him. Boris, Jake, Larry, Roy Jr. and Randy approached their group too. “I have just been informed we had a close call,” he whispered as he yawned and wiped his eyes.

  “What happens if we make contact with the enemy again?” William asked when he and several other men gathered around.

  “We’ll do our best to avoid them, but if it’s unavoidable then we hit them and run. Do we know how many came near us?”

  “No, but there were enough that it could have been a problem,” Lieutenant Finley answered.

  They decided to keep moving and traveled south east. The cover of darkness disappeared quickly. Soon they were in wide open plains in broad daylight. Sosos would be able to see them from greater distances and if any Sosos stumbled over their path they would be easily tracked down. Though the uncertainty of the coming day loomed heavy for them, they all rejoiced in the fact that they put thirty-two abused Americans on the helicopters and ushered them to safety.

  “Oh damn,” Mykal grumbled and quickly dove to the ground. Just as he and Boris neared the top of a small incline they spotted Sosos in the distance. Everyone behind them dropped to one knee or fell prone. Instinctively everyone faced different positions so they could view every direction the enemy could possibly approach from.

  Jake and Larry were several feet behind them and crawled to their position. Captain Diaz and Towbar slowly made their way to the front of the patrol as well. All the other men stayed vigilant and awaited further orders.

  “What is it?” Diaz whispered when he drew near.

  “There’s a bunch of Sosos on the other side of this rise,” Mykal whispered. “At first I thought they saw us, but they haven’t moved and they’re not even looking this way,” he kept whispering and peeked through the long blades of grass.

  William and the Dosch brothers crawled closer to join them. “How far away are they?” William asked. “Can we circle far around them to avoid them?” His hands fidgeted nervously.

  “I’d guess they’re about a hundred, maybe a hundred and fifty yards away,” Boris whispered.

  “How many?” Diaz inquired.

  “We just had a quick glimpse,” Mykal said and looked to Boris to see if he had an answer. “I’d guess two or three hundred. I’m not really sure.”

  “It’s just a small rinky-dink camp,” Boris smirked. “They’d be a piece of cake to take care of, but they’re spread out.”

  “What do you mean take care of?” William’s head quickly snapped toward Boris’s direction. “I thought we agreed to avoid the Sosos,” he turned to Mykal and looked frightened.

  “We will, but there may be no getting around these Sosos without a fight,” Mykal said. “There’s no telling how far we’d have to back track just so we could go around them to avoid them.”

  “I’m telling ya, we could wipe them out easily,” Boris said. “It’d be a piece of cake. There’s two to three hundred of them and more than eighty of us. They wouldn’t stand a chance. We could finish them in less than thirty seconds,” he boasted. “I’d even take bets on it.”

  “I say avoid them,” William said in a harsh but hushed whisper while shaking his head. “We don’t need to bring this trouble upon us. We don’t know how many others are in this area. We could be making a grave mistake,” he argued.

  “I’m all for avoiding a fight,” Mykal said but snickered when he saw how angry William became because of Boris. “Let’s look at our options. We can’t go back the way we came, and we can’t go to the north cuz the people we heard while it was still dark were traveling to the north and north is Soso central anyway so we may run into them.”

  “And they might even be a much larger group than these,” Boris offered.

  “Boris is right,” Mykal continued. “If we go straight east to avoid them, they’ll probably see us. We have the advantage here since we have this incline. We could all lay down on top of this incline and just start picking them off.”

  “Now that’s a hell of an idea,” Roy Jr. laughed. “Cuz I’d sure like to do that.”

  “But I have a better idea,” Mykal gave a wry smile. “Let’s just go walking into their little camp and we’ll blow them away as we come up on them.”

  “Are you crazy?” William gasped.

  “Hear me out. We all have the green, beige, black and brown cammy face paint on. Those little Goblin people were all dark green. Since we’re coming from the north they might think we’re allies just like the little green things,” he laughed. “We’ll approach them like we don’t have a care in the world and they wouldn’t expect that if we were the enemy. Especially so far behind enemy lines. Whadda ya think?”

  “I friggin love it,” Larry laughed and laid flat on his back. He quickly rolled back over. “Then if they suspect anything and come at us we just open up on them.”

  “And like I said we’ll wipe them out easily,” Boris winked.

  “I don’t like it at all Myk,” William said. His words fell on deaf ears.

  “Otherwise, we just sit here. We can’t go back the way we came and we can’t go to the north,” Mykal repeated. “If we try to sneak away to the east they’ll see us.”

  “Mykal’s plan has merit,” Towbar said. “The Sosos would never suspect their enemy to be this far behind their lines. Since our flesh is painted green they may just believe we are allies,” he nodded. “I will have to stay behind. The Sosos will recognize me by my size. William may stay with me.”

  “Yeah, we might even be able to get close enough to shake their hands,” Larry laughed. “Then we can blow their asses away. This will definitely give us something to tell the grandchildren later in life,” he continued to laugh. “I really think this is funny as hell, Cap’n,” he said in response to William’s unfavorable glare.

  “I’ll go along with anything other than just sitting here and waiting for them to find us,” Jake offered and slid back down the incline after taking a peak over the rise. “I’m a pretty cautious person, but this will be easy,” he added and slapped his thigh to removed grass.

  “Myk, you know me and my brother will follow you right into the bowels of hell,” Randy said with a long piece of grass sticking out of his mouth. Roy Jr. nodded in agreement with his arms wrapped tightly around his rifle.

  “What do you think Captain Diaz?” Mykal asked while he watched the Dosch brothers, Larry, Boris and Jake all high five one another. “I want a ranking warrior’s opinion,” he said. It came across as a swipe to William.

  “I don’t think it should be a problem,” Diaz said while thinking over the possibilities. “I don’t want to just stay here stationary. Any objections?” He asked both Finley and Kim. Both seemed to nod in agreement. “Go tell the men what we’re planning. Explain every one of them must stay extra alert because we’re out numbered. If anyone sees even just one of them string a bow with an arrow we open fire. If one person shoots, we all open fire and eliminate the threat before anyone of us can get injured.”

  “I think this is ludicrous,” William dissented after Finley and Kim departed to brief the others of the plan. “I’m sure we’re only g
oing to bring trouble on ourselves.”

  “What the hell would you rather we do, sit here?” Mykal snarled angrily. “And then when the helicopters come to take us outta we’ll have to fight them off while we’re trying to board the choppers.” Those present could tell his patience with William had worn thin.

  “You’re not even going with us you friggin cry baby,” Boris replied showing his hostility toward William.

  “Excuse me? You better mind your attitude,” William replied. It stunned him that an enlisted, or rather, former enlisted person would dare speak to him with such disrespect.

  Captain Diaz, Jake and Larry all shared the same surprised look. Boris’s uniform showed the rank of A1C but those gathered, except Captain Diaz, knew he was no longer in the Air Force. Captain Diaz didn’t know Boris would never be returning to the real world.

  “Whadda ya gonna do? Make me a cop and send me to Towbar’s world,” he chuckled playing on the old line of ‘being made a cop and being sent to Minot’. “Or what? You gonna kill me? You ain’t got the balls,” Boris taunted and placed his hand on his .44 magnum.

  “Hold it right there,” Diaz interrupted. “You’re way out of line mister,” he pointed to Boris. Diaz looked shocked. “I’ll not tolerate any enlisted person speaking to an officer in such a manner. You’ll not disrespect an officer of differing opinions. Is that clear?”

  Mykal shook his head. Without a word spoken Mykal conveyed to Boris to back off. He worried the truth of Boris’s identity might be revealed. That would create serious problems.

  Boris understood. “Yes Sir,” he humbly submitted though inside he fumed. “Captain Roberts, I apologize, Sir. I’ve been under terrible stress.”

  “Apology accepted,” William said. He gave Boris a look of anger that William never exhibited before. If looks could have killed, Boris would have keeled over. William’s cocky stare seemed to scream, ‘you don’t know who you’re messing with,’ but he couldn’t be seen provoking a fight with an airman.