Rescue Or Recovery

by Dave Hazel

  Just as Mykal and Towbar joined Diaz and the Elves, Lieutenant Finley came from the opposite direction. Mykal clearly saw a saddened look on Finley’s face but he knew Finley was ready to fulfill his leadership responsibilities. Mykal remained quiet while Lanorear spoke to Diaz and the Elves. Mykal watched overhead as the four Hawkmen circled in the air and continued to squawk. They held their bow and arrow ready. Mykal believed there may be another army of Zizmon-Tarl approaching, but if that were the case they were being very noisy.

  “They’re gonna give away any surprise we might have,” Mykal whispered to Towbar and pointed overhead to the circling Hawkmen. “I wonder why they’re so freaked out. I hope it’s not an army of twenty thousand,” he chortled sarcastically as he and Towbar moved close enough to hear the conversation but Lanorear and the Elves were speaking in the Elvin language.

  “This is a little frustrating,” Finley whispered when he joined Mykal and Towbar to await the small discussion between Diaz, the Elves and Lanorear. Ratner and Lemon looked like they were totally confused and stood there waiting to be told what to do. They kept looking at each other to see if the other understood anything being said.

  Abruptly Lanorear flew skyward. The meeting was over. “What was that all about?” Mykal asked as he, Towbar and Finley joined them.

  “I do not understand what Lanorear was trying to convey,” Starling answered and looked concerned. Normally the Elves were good about hiding their emotions. “He warned us of potential danger that approaches us.”

  “What kinda danger? Is it an army of Ziggy coming this way?” Mykal asked and unconsciously placed his hand on the handle of his .357 magnum in its holster.

  “No Mykal, it is not an army of men,” Leeno replied.

  “It is creatures, the kind of which we have never seen before,” Blair added.

  “Nor had we ever heard of such creatures,” Starling added.

  “I do not think I have ever laid eyes on such creatures,” Uminair said to give his input. Everyone knew Uminair had more knowledge of these lands than all the other Elves. “Lanorear called them spiny creatures,” he added and sounded confused and looked concerned.

  “Lanorear said there are at least four of these creatures walking this way through the forest,” Starling said. “They should cross the road before us to continue through the Black Forest.”

  “Whadda ya mean spiny creatures?” Mykal said with a hint of anger. “We’re standing here jerking around while these spiny creatures are getting closer. Are they big creatures? Are they hungry creatures? Are they armed with weapons? What the hell are we talking about? Do we need to get outta here like right now or what?”

  “They are large beasts that walk on all fours,” Leeno tried to describe them based on what Lanorear said in the Elvin language. “They have a very long tail, a very large head and a very large thick body.”

  “Lanorear said each of the creatures have a body size similar to the size of your crafts,” Blair said and pointed to the six transport vehicles. “They have spiny thorns from the back of the head down the length of the body and some have the spiny thorns down part of the thick tail.”

  “What the hell are we talking about?” Mykal gasped. “Is it a dragon? Are there dragons coming this way?”

  “No Mykal,” Egoneal replied and leaned on his large bow. “Lanorear was very clear that it was not a dragon. It is a creature Lanorear had not seen before. We do not know the nature of such a creature or the temperament of such a beast.”

  “Do we have time to get the hell outta here?” Mykal barked. “I don’t wanna sit here with our thumbs up our asses waiting for this thing to come to us,” he snarled which caused befuddled looks among the Elves. “Should we drive away? What do we need to do?”

  There was sudden silence as the sound of loud rustling through the trees neared them. It sounded like a heard of animals crashing through the trees was right near them. They didn’t have time to get away.

  “Everyone get inside the vehicles,” Captain Diaz yelled and pointed to the vehicles. “Be ready for an attack or the order to depart the area.”

  Mykal and Towbar ran to their vehicle while everyone else scrambled to get inside their vehicles. The men in the turrets readied both the .50 caliber machine guns and the Mk 19 grenade launchers though they would prefer not to use both weapons at the same time. All the men also readied their weapons in preparation for an attack. Almost all of the men thought an army of soldiers was going to appear down the path. Fortunately there was at least one hundred and twenty yards of clear road before them. If soldiers were approaching as most thought, they would see the soldiers of Zizmon-Tarl come into view with plenty of time to respond and take them out before they got too close. A majority of the men had no idea there was talk of the ‘spiny’ creatures advancing on their position.

  Mykal and all those who just left the Elves had to explain it wasn’t an army of men. It was a creature of some kind. A monster that wasn’t a dragon was all they knew so far. The confusion that spread among the men was laughable.

  The first of the monsters stepped out of the trees from their right and stopped on the road about forty yards away. “That’s a giant iguana,” Sergeant Simmons gasped with shocking fright due to the size. “I have iguanas back home. That is a giant iguana,” he declared emphatically.

  The large iguana stopped in the middle of the road, its tail was still hidden in the trees. It turned its head toward the vehicles that stood still. It looked at the trucks as if they were potential threats or rivals. The bright green creature stared at the vehicles and twisted its head in a couple of directions to eye the threat. The creatures spiny thorns seemed to stand up stiffer as it eyed them. The caudal and dorsal spines were a bright orange as well as the skin around its mouth. The skin around its jowl and dewlap was a mix of green and orange. It suddenly bobbed its head up and down and opened its mouth. It would be able to swallow a man whole.

  “Oh damn, look at that friggin thing,” Mykal gasped. “It’s just staring at us. That’s a friggin dragon without wings if you ask me.”

  “That damn thing there is a real life dinosaur boys,” Roy Jr. said and gawked at the monster fearfully.

  “It is a giant iguana,” Sergeant Simmons repeated and started to laugh at Roy Jr.’s country bumpkin demonstration of fear. He then whispered his knowledge over the radio so all the other vehicles would know should any of them not have pet iguanas. “It’s looking at us like we could be a threat so let’s be still and quiet,” he whispered. “Just be calm.”

  “Okay Simmy, I’ll meet you half way on this one, cuz this big ol’ thing is a dinosaur,” Roy Jr. scoffed and kept his eyes on the giant green creature. “I say we call it an Iguana-saurus,” he added and caused some of those nearby to snicker despite the potentially dangerous situation.

  “Alright Roy, I’ll meet you half way and we’ll call it an Iguana-saurus, but if it’s anything like the iguanas I have, though mine have always been much smaller,” Sergeant Simmons whispered. “They are very territorial and for that reason alone it might attack. So let’s not do anything to startle it.”

  “Oh damn, the size alone would screw us up,” Mykal said and shook his head. “Get on the radio and tell the others if it starts coming our way we open up on it and blow it away.”

  The creature slowly walked across the road and stopped just before going into the trees on the other side. It turned and looked at them and positioned its body so that it was directly facing them. The tail flicked and struck the ground which created a large ground shaking thud. The tree trunk like tail could easily crush one of the vehicles.

  “Do you think we should take it out before it has a chance to do anything to us?” Randy asked.

  No one answered him. They watched as another giant iguana though smaller than the first followed behind and walked into the trees on the opposite side of the road. The second one looked the same though a lighter green with no orange color to it. The third to follow through was a greeni
sh yellow color with some darker colors mixed into the dewlap. Two more, smaller, giant iguanas followed the first two that went into the trees. The last two were more colorful with bright reds and darker shades of green throughout their bodies.

  After the four were in the trees, the bigger iguana, the first on the scene still remained in the road to block their path. It stayed there and stared at the vehicles. It bobbed its head up and down as if to challenge them. It seemed to look at each vehicle individually and bobbed its head as if to challenge each vehicle separately. It then raised its tail and slammed the tree like tail to the ground in order to show what a tremendous force it had in its tail. It suddenly opened its mouth as if it hissed at them but the monstrous creature made no noise.

  “Captain Diaz said do not, and I repeat, do not, do anything to antagonize that thing,” Mathis whispered as if he was terrified.

  “Mathis, do you wanna get out and pet it?” Roy Jr. whispered when he saw how scared Mathis was. “It’s like a pet iguana only a little bigger,” he chuckled and tried to lighten the mood with humor. “It’s only an Iguana-saurus.”

  “Not to be a ball buster,” Sergeant Simmons whispered. “One of my pet iguanas gave me thirteen stitches when it bit my arm and I could hold that one. This one is bigger than our vehicle.”

  “Don’t make a sound,” Mathis whispered. He was obviously repeating what he was hearing in his ear from Captain Diaz. “Don’t make any sudden movements.”

  The creature bobbed its head up and down a couple of times. Everyone started to laugh and they were fine with the humor of the situation as long as the monster didn’t come any closer. “Hey Mathis, I think it wants to dance with you,” Roy Jr. laughed and teased the frightened Marine.

  “Hey, laugh. Go ahead and laugh,” Mathis huffed in response. “If it was a man I would fight him, but that damn thing ain’t a man. That’s a freakin’ freak of nature. I’m not a stupid ass fool. I’ll stay here and you can laugh all you want.”

  The giant iguana turned and started for the trees. It stopped and looked back at the vehicles as if giving the vehicles one more opportunity to prove themselves. Rapidly, without warning, it darted away and it was gone for good.

  “Damn, that was close,” Mykal sighed.

  “I thin’ somebody betta check his draws,” Roy Jr. laughed and pointed directly to Mathis.

  “Yeah, I may have to check my underpants,” Mathis laughed with them. “But I’m still here, so I would be happy sitting in soiled underwear, rather than slowly working my way through that damn thing’s digestive tract,” he replied and they continued to laugh with him.

  Captain Diaz stepped out of his vehicle and met the men toward the center of the gathering. All those considered to be leaders met with him. Sergeant Barry was the only one of the transport personnel who joined them. Ratner, Lemon, Finley, Mykal and Towbar and a couple of the squad leaders all met together with Starling, Leeno and Blair.

  “Well gentlemen, that was a close call,” Diaz said and couldn’t keep from laughing. “Some of the men were very fearful, but I was praying and I believe God protected us. So unless there is anything else I say we should move on.”

  “I guess you can say we owe Lanorear and the Hawkmen a big thanks for the heads up,” Mykal said and snickered. “It woulda sucked big time if we woulda drove right into those things. That big one seemed like it was the alpha male and it seemed to be very protective over the others that were with it. Did you notice how it seemed to challenge each vehicle specifically? It was like that damn thing was a bully and looking for a friggin fight.”

  “I would not have desired to defend against such a creature,” Towbar admitted. “It is good they moved on. I agree with my friend that we owe a debt of gratitude to the flying Elves.”

  “I will be sure to pass on our gratitude,” Diaz said.

  “I do have a question I would like you to ask Lanorear or his Hawkmen,” Mykal said and paused. “If you can, find out from him if those iguanas, are naturally that size or, cuz they were definitely giant iguanas, or did crazy Mister Zee create them to be that big? The reason I ask is, some of the creatures we’ve come across on this side of the world have been gnarly, strange ass, creatures and others were normal creatures but only gigantic in size. Like the spiders the first time we were lost. If he is changing things he’s using magic and there has got to be a limit or are we gonna have to worry about what he’s gonna do to us when we finally come face to face with him? Though I’m hoping we can grab Doninka and sneak away without ever coming face to face with the evil bastard.”

  “That’s a great question,” Diaz replied and wrote some notes in his little pocket notebook. “I will be sure to ask and I want you and everyone to know if it is truly magic then you must understand it is demonic. I mean it is of the devil and my God is bigger than all the impressive tricks he can throw at us. His power is a temporary and limited power,” Diaz replied and sounded like he was starting to get fired up. “But God’s power is unlimited and never ending.”

  Mykal clearly saw that Finley rolled his eyes and sneered with frustrated disgust. Mykal knew Finley was angry and hurt over the loss of his two missing men. Behind Diaz’s back, Finley had asked Mykal why hasn’t Diaz’s God done something to rescue his two men. Mykal had walked away as if he didn’t hear Finley’s swipe because he didn’t want there to be a rift in the leadership due to emotions.

  “I’m not trying to be funny Sir,” Ratner replied. “I don’t doubt you, but his temporary and limited power would have whipped our ass.”

  “I grant you that,” Diaz replied. “But I was also going to add that if those were natural creatures, God is the Creator of everything in existence and He can clearly defeat such a monstrous foe for us,” he paused for any of the men to comment but it was clear none of them wanted to get into a heated verbal battle about spiritual matters. “But if you are interested, any of you, please check with me when we stop the next time and hopefully I would have had the opportunity to ask Lanorear those questions.”

  “Roy Jr. was kinda joking, but he called the giant iguana an Iguana-saurus,” Mykal said and started to laugh. “He believes those giant iguanas were some sort of dinosaur.”

  “That’s a thought,” Diaz replied. “I will keep that in mind too, but remember even the dinosaurs were created by Almighty God,” he declared confidently.

  “Sir, I think we should start moving out,” Staff Sergeant Barry advised. “I would hate to be standing here if those creatures were to come back here.”

  “Yes, that would be a good idea especially if that big one decides to come back and challenge us again,” Finley said and laughed. That was the first time he showed any normal reactions since the two Green Berets disappeared.

  4.

  They stopped for their last meal of the day and decided they would set up camp for the night since it was going to start getting dark. Lanorear informed them the next many hours of their travel would be across rough rocky road. Captain Diaz and Lieutenant Finley decided they would deal with the rough rocky road during daylight so they wouldn’t have to camp in the rough terrain. They positioned the six vehicles into a diamond shape and planned to have several guards awake and watch all through the darkened hours of night.

  When Towbar walked off by himself Mykal knew he was going to try another attempt to make contact with Doninka through Mind Talk. He wanted to go with him and try a three way communication, but after the nightmare he had earlier in the day that had Doninka being beheaded he couldn’t get himself to ask Towbar to use him to assist. Despite the fact he knew it was only a bad dream, every time he thought of it, it put him in an uncomfortable mood. He couldn’t shake the horrific feelings he battled because the image in his mind was so crisp and clear. Mykal couldn’t live with himself if he caused something like that to happen to her, but he also knew he couldn’t allow a dream to cripple him mentally. Mykal scolded himself to get over it.

  He watched Towbar walk out before the vehicles. ‘I’ll as
k Towbar to allow me to help tomorrow,’ he thought and still felt a little shaky over the vision of Doninka being doubled over while William hacked her pretty head from her shoulders. ‘I know it was only a dream but I’ll never forget seeing her laying there in a puddle of her own blood,’ he thought and had to physically shake his head to wipe away the idea of her being harmed in such a brutal way. ‘If that friggin bastard William is still alive, I’ll kill that freakin piece of shit,’ he yelled in thought and punched his open hand. ‘This has to be a rescue mission, not a damn mission to recover her body.’

  “Whoa, what’s up Mykal?” Roy Jr. asked when he, his brother and Mathis joined him in front of the vehicles.

  “Ah, nothing,” he laughed when he realized they saw him expressing his anger. “I was just thinking about someone,” he added and looked at the brothers with a specific look as if they would know who he was talking about since he opened up and revealed the truth about Captain William Roberts to them. “But now I’m watching Towbar,” he added and nodded to the giant walking several yards away from the vehicles.

  “What’s he doing?” Mathis asked.

  “Nothing really. He’s trying to get away so he can do his Mind Talk. If he makes contact with Doninka and if we can locate her we’ll be able to use the green fog to get where she’s at, snatch her from the bad guys and head back to the Pass.”

  “But he’s gotta find her first,” Randy said and put a long piece of grass in his mouth that he pulled from the edge of the path they were following.

  “It seems kinda weird out here,” Mykal said. “All the trees seem much higher, and when you look into the forest it seems much darker than what we have passed so far. Do you know what I mean?”