Mykal's Return to Towbar's World

by Dave Hazel

  The knife swiftly heaved back once again. It stopped and was flung at Boris yet a third time. This time it struck him in the side of his belly. The force of the attack was harder than the first two strikes. Boris yelled out in pain. His hand and face were both bleeding. Now his side was stabbed and his pain much greater. “It’s stabbing the shit outta me,” he bawled in a fright. “It’s getting harder,” he roared as the blade yanked from his side. “Whatta I do Myk?” His voice flowed with panic.

  Mykal felt lost. Nothing came to his mind. He knew he had to be touching the item to determine the specific properties.

  Boris turned to run when the blade stopped in midair. From the pattern set forth, the dagger was ready to launch and it would be with increased force. It would be more painful if not life threatening. Boris tripped over the bones of the body he robbed the ring from and fell face forward. Just as Boris started to roll over the angry steel stabbed into the back of his right thigh and dug deep.

  “The ring,” Mykal said. He believed the knife to be some kind of protective magic. “Boris, put the ring back,” he demanded over his friend’s cry of new pain. Mykal suddenly believed the ‘guard knife’ wouldn’t stop until the ring had been returned or the ‘thief’, Boris, was dead.

  Boris didn’t hesitate to remove the ring from his finger. With the ring in his palm the knife retracted and stopped in midair once again. Boris rolled close to the skeletal hand and slipped the ring back on the finger just as it seemed the magical knife was about to attack.

  The three watched in stunned amazement as the knife moved to the dead owner, hovered above the skeleton as if waiting. With the ring back on the finger of the rightful owner, the dagger dropped harmlessly on the rags covering the remains where the owner died many years before. After the knife landed it remained motionless like a guard dog waiting for the next command.

  Mykal was glad he couldn’t physically pick up the sword because he didn’t know what would have happened.

  The magic attack ceased but Boris was still bleeding. “What kind of shit did you get me into Myk?” Boris said. He dabbed at the blood on his face. His side and thigh hurt more, but the wound to his face was close to his eye.

  “Wait a minute, I didn’t tell you to take that ring,” Mykal replied and couldn’t keep from laughing at Boris.

  “It’s not funny, I coulda got killed,” he fumed while Jake attended him and looked over his wounds.

  Diaz and several others ran toward them but kept back at a distance. They weren’t sure what kind of attack took place.

  “I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing with you,” Mykal tried to make light of Boris’s encounter with magic.

  “Well, I’m not laughing,” Boris scoffed as he examined the blood on his fingertips.

  “So how the hell are you gonna explain this to anyone?” Jake asked and waved a Marine over who held out a medical kit.

  “Yeah, how the hell do I explain this?” Boris repeated and started to laugh now the threat of death and injury had passed.

  “Just say it was a bird that attacked,” Mykal said. “They thought it was a bird.”

  “Yeah, but for us, the moral of this story people, don’t take what don’t belong to you.” Jake smirked and waved one of the Marines over. “Bring your med kit. He’s bleeding.”

  “What happened?” Finley asked when he and Kim joined Diaz and one of the Marines who had a medical kit. “From over there it looked like a bird attack.”

  “That bird did some serious damage,” Kim commented. Kim still looked nauseous and looked like he suffered from his flu like symptoms, the effects of his giant spider bite.

  “Nasty little friggin bird,” Boris scoffed and looked at the blood on the back of his hand.

  “Boris got the attention of that bird and it did a number on him,” Jake said. “Then it flew off that way.”

  The three officers looked at them like they weren’t sure what to believe. They saw the evidence of the wounds that Private First Class Ferria dressed.

  “Just curious though,” Mykal said. “Do you guys believe in magic? We were standing here talking,” he lied. “And the topic of magic came up.”

  “Magic?” Finley asked. “Do you mean like ‘hocus pocus, abracadabra, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat’, kind of magic?”

  “No, I mean like real magic,” Mykal answered and suddenly became fearful for bringing the subject up. He wasn’t going to share his finds with them.

  “Like black magic or voodoo?” Kim asked and he pressed the back of his hand to his own forehead to feel for a fever.

  “I guess,” Mykal said. “But I was thinking like white magic. Stuff that would be used for good not evil.”

  “I don’t think I believe in magic,” Finley answered. “I believe there are ‘magicians’,” he said and used his fingers to make quotes. “Who do tricks and sleight of hand, but not real magic.”

  “I believe there is real magic,” Diaz replied in a seriousness that took them by surprise. His eyes seemed to penetrate deep inside Mykal’s being. “There is no such thing as good magic or white magic. Magic is magic and it is all demonic and satanic in power. That’s why the Bible tells us to stay away from it. All of it even if it’s dressed up as ‘good’ magic. Those powers are real, but they are temporary and limited. But when people play with that stuff they’re allowing demons into their lives and then one day those demons will turn on you and they will destroy you,” Diaz declared as if Mykal was the only person standing there. “The only power I want to trust in is the Truth and the power of the cross of Jesus Christ and His blood shed on that cross. The power of the Holy Spirit, and the power of the risen Christ, is greater than anything man can dream up even if man has the help of Satan himself,” he declared with a firm conviction that continued to bore into Mykal as if he suspected Mykal of something.

  Mykal felt something just as strong from Diaz’s words as what he sensed when the ideas rushed through his mind about the magic items. ‘What the hell is going on here?’ He wondered as Diaz stared at him. Inside his head a mental tug-o-war occurred. Mykal felt pushed to take a stand on one side or the other. ‘But one side or the other of what?’ Mykal suddenly became fearful. ‘Is Diaz right or is Diaz just mistaken about this stuff? I’ll only use this stuff for good and to help people, not to hurt people,’ he thought and tried to justify his reason for holding tightly to his newly acquired magic items.

  “You okay buddy?” Mykal quickly asked Boris in order to turn his eyes away from Diaz’s piercing glare.

  “Yeah, I’m gonna be fine,” Boris shook his head.

  ‘Wait a minute,’ Mykal reasoned in thought. ‘I would only use these items for good. I wouldn’t use them for evil. I’m not a bad person,’ he thought again and tried to justify his decision to keep the items he found. He nodded as if listening to Boris. The glare of Diaz made him uncomfortable. ‘I’m not giving my stuff up! I’ll only use it for good,’ he declared in thought. It’s as if the magic items grabbed hold of him and didn’t want to let go. It was like being controlled by greed. ‘Besides this is a once in a life time opportunity. This stuff is really amazing.’

  “Myk, what else do you have over there?” Boris asked as the last bandage was wrapped around his hand.

  Mykal ignored Boris’s question. “Well, let me keep checking out these skeletons and we’ll be ready to leave shortly,” he said but wouldn’t make eye contact with Captain Diaz. “Boris do you wanna take that ring as a souvenir?”

  “Hell with that, man,” Boris shook his head. “I’m not gonna take stuff from these people who are dead.”

  “Help! Help!” Corporal Hall yelled desperately and could barely get the words from his mouth.

  “Oh damn, help!” Sergeant McPherson shouted for Hall.

  When they all turned to the cries for assistance Mykal saw all the vines and branches in Hall’s area had come to life and had wrapped around him. The vegetation squeezed tightly onto Hall like green boa constrictors.


  “McPherson, look out,” Finley hollered. McPherson tried to pry the coiling vines from Hall’s throat.

  “Behind you,” Kim yelled when a large vine swung down at McPherson who ducked and just avoided the attack.

  All the men charged in to help. It startled Mykal to see what they actually faced. Vines and branches came to life and attacked. At a glance it looked like hundreds of green snakes moving through the grass. The vines and branches were of varying sizes but all came from the same plant-creature. The men began stomping on the smaller limbs and some beat the large branches with their rifle butts, but the plant wasn’t deterred.

  Some of the men ran to help McPherson who pulled and pried the tightening plant like ropes from around Hall. They exposed themselves and made themselves targets for the twirling and twisting limbs of the creature. Once the vine wrapped onto an arm or a leg it tried to pull the victim closer to the tree that seemed to be the nucleus and nerve center.

  Hall had been pinned down and tied to the tree by green vines. The being squeezed him in attempt to stop his breathing. When Hall gasped for air one of the vines tried to force itself into his mouth and down his throat like a long finger. Some men began shooting their rifles but it appeared to have no effect on the creature. If they couldn’t free him soon, Hall would die.

  Mykal withdrew his newly acquired sword. He hoped it wasn’t just wild thoughts of his imagination that led him to believe in the magical properties it possessed. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a large swinging vine like branch sweeping toward him. He ducked and it swung over his head. The branch that attacked him came from behind the tree and looked different than all the vines tying Hall down.

  Besides being a much larger limb, the color was a much darker green and at the end of the twisting limb it looked like a spiked club. There were fifty to sixty, needle like, barbs surrounding the end of the branch. Most of the barbs were dripping a thick liquid. It had to be some sort of venom to use on the trapped prey. The head with the dripping needles swayed through the air like it swam in search for the trapped Hall.

  “Don’t shoot it, cut it,” Mykal yelled. Not only were they wasting ammunition, but Mykal feared several would get hit by friendly fire. With his magic sword in one hand he had the sudden urge to try something different and grabbed one of the slender rods from his waistband. He felt led by an unseen force.

  Just as Mykal pointed the magic wand, Jake threw his newly acquired knife. It surprised Mykal to see the blade miss the target but just like a boomerang it returned to Jake’s hand.

  Mykal pointed the gold tip of the wand at the plant and shouted the command word going through his mind. “Trass, trass,” and as each word left his lips an explosion of thunderous sound ripped the air. Two mighty lightning bolts shot forth from the sky above, but he felt power leave the tip of the wand.

  Many of the green snake like plants jerked and quivered in response from the shock. The thunder crackled to silence. Mykal didn’t strike the plant wrapped around Hall for fear of doing harm to the Army Ranger. He aimed the lightning strikes at the barbed tail before it struck anyone with the venom dripping needles. The plant limb swung high into the air. It kept the barbed end of the limb up as if it searched for the source of the jolting strike.

  Mykal realized they were dealing with two different plants or creatures. Those wrapped tightly around Hall didn’t seemed to be phased by his lightning bolt attack, whereas those connected to the dripping barbed limb suffered from the electrical strikes. All Mykal’s people were stunned and fearful. They turned to see where the lightning originated. “Was it a weapon? Was it from the sky?” They all seemed to ask where the lightning bolts originated from. A few men dropped to the ground. They feared they would be struck by lightning.

  “Come on,” Mykal yelled and tucked the wand in his belt. With his sword in hand he charged in at the choking vines. “Fight it, damn it!” He encouraged his men to follow him. When he began to swing the gleaming sword the weight of the weapon disappeared. Mykal felt like he was swinging just his arm, but the blade ignited into a bright red flame. The flames were so bright that some men standing close to Mykal had to avert their eyes and actually felt the heat of the blade. Mykal, the sword wielder, wasn’t affected by the heat or the brightness of the flames.

  A majority of men ceased when, awed by Mykal’s actions, they stood there and watched him chop and hack at the vines and limbs of the tree creature. Mykal chopped through it with unbelievable ease. The vines ripped apart as if he sliced through perforated paper. The severed appendages twitched and twisted and flipped and flopped like injured snakes.

  Mykal sliced all the vines and branches that held Hall in place. Hall collapsed to the ground after his body had been released by the green bindings. Hall had been weakened and nearly unconscious but he was alive. Several men grabbed him and dragged him away before more of the creeping plant could latch onto him for a second time.

  The tentacle with the dripping thorns poised above Mykal and gave the impression of a giant cobra waiting to strike. Mykal didn’t give it the opportunity to strike first and slashed at the thick part of the trunk near ground level. The magical flame sliced through the trunk without any resistance. Syrup like venom spat in all different directions from each of the fifty to sixty thorns. No one had been struck by the spitting splash of venom and the creature thudded to the ground where it convulsed wildly. It looked like a fire hose that had gotten free from firemen. The severed member oozed a pea-soup like discharge from both ends.

  “Get away,” Mykal yelled when seven more tentacles with dripping thorns dropped from the top of the tree to attack. Mykal continued to swing with his amazing new weapon and the blade sliced through each of the barbed limbs flinging more of the greenish discharge in all directions. As each of the attacking vines tried to lash out at him he blocked and parried with the flaming metal. The creature didn’t know how to retreat and as soon as Mykal saw his men were in the clear he began to back pedal. Some of the vines without the thorns reached out and grabbed his legs at his ankles forcing him to fall backward.

  The tentacles with dripping needles swooshed down in an attempt to inject him. He swung his flaming blade from his back and tried to kick free, but he became overwhelmed when swarmed by many more green like snakes from the grass. They wrapped onto his waste and free arm. He heard a collective gasp from his men when they saw him taken to the ground by the plant.

  From his back Mykal continued to slash and chop but the number of vines and branches that slithered to him and grabbed hold of him were too many to stop. They worked as one unit and all wrapped around him to hold him down. He had to keep his eyes focused on the more aggressive limbs armed with dripping spikes.

  “Damn it,” he gurgled when a thicker vine wrapped tightly around his throat. He feared panic would take over, but he kept chopping. Within moments many of the men were at his side clubbing and pulling on the green strangler.

  Two of the spiny tails swooped down and he caught them in midair. The flaming blade sizzled through the green stalk rendering them useless and they flopped to the ground. He managed to get free except for his feet. The green stem tried to pull him closer to the tree. From the sitting position he was able to sizzle and hiss through bindings around his feet. He jumped to his feet swinging blindly and wildly in all directions so as not to be caught from behind again.

  “Let’s go,” Jake yelled when he finished cutting through some of the vines with his dagger. “Go, go, go.”

  “Move it, move it,” Diaz yelled with Jake.

  Mykal turned and ran as fast as he could go and didn’t look back. The flame on his sword disappeared and suddenly it looked like a regular blade and the intense heat ceased instantly.

  They crashed their way through the forest not sure what they would run into next. Their loud activity announced their presence. It was impossible to run quietly at full speed.

  “I think it’s safe to stop,” Diaz shouted. He doubled over and grabbed h
is side.

  “Have the men gather around,” Mykal gasped as he dropped to the ground. “Let’s make sure everyone is here. Oh that was close,” he said as he breathed deeply. He was exhausted.

  “Man, every damn time we turn around,” Jake paused to take a deep breath, “phew, we have to fight for our friggin lives.”

  “Yeah,” Boris agreed and dropped beside him. “I would like just one day of not having the shit scared outta me.”

  “Seriously though, what kind of place are we mixed up in?” Jake asked. “A couple more days like this and we’re not going to ever make it back.”

  “I agree. Damn, I’m beat,” Mykal breathed heavily trying to catch his breath and felt his neck where he had been choked by the plant. “I don’t think I can take much more either.”

  “Your neck is all red Myk,” Boris said.

  “Myk, I don’t know what you’re going to do about letting the others know about your magic stuff, but real quick before everyone comes around, this knife you gave me is awesome.”

  “Good. I wanna keep this stuff a secret, but I’ve already blown that,” Mykal laughed at himself.

  “You scared the shit outta everyone with those lightning bolts,” Boris said. “How the hell did you do that?”

  “I’ll show you later, and I’ll give you something too,” he winked to Boris just as Diaz, Finley and Kim approached. “Just keep watching my back.”

  Boris nodded. “You don’t even have to ask.”

  “Myk, everyone is present and accounted for,” Diaz said as he squatted down beside Mykal and leaned against a tree. “That was strange, but then what hasn’t been strange?”

  “Towbar’s world is a strange world,” Lieutenant Finley said and shook his head. “Are you doing ok Kim?’

  “Yeah, I’m just very nauseous,” Kim said and blew out a couple of breaths. “I wish I would just vomit and get it over with.”

  “Excuse me Sir,” Ranger Corporal Hall cut in as he stepped into their gathering. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but Myk, I have to thank you. I honestly thought I was dead. Look at these red marks,” he said and pointed to the red rings around his neck and his arms where he was being strangled by a man killing plant.