by Dave Hazel
Towbar had a look of grave concern as Mykal explained his dream that involved William and Doninka.
Mykal wasn’t sure what troubled Towbar. The fact that he had a dream of William killing the princess or the fact that Mykal dreamt she had been beheaded. “What’s wrong big guy?”
“It troubles me that you have had many dreams that involve William,” Towbar replied. “You know that I do not dream when I sleep. However, when we were on the other side of the world I had two different instances where my nights of sleep had been interrupted by William’s image. In my dream William had approached me with a dagger. Just a dagger,” he said and used his fingers to demonstrate the knife to be about fourteen inches in length. “He would boldly declare that he would kill me. And in my dream he declared that he would kill you. William also promised that he would kill anyone I would deem as being close to me. He never mentioned Doninka by name. Yet he threatened he will make all of us suffer. His smug brazenness is what surprised me. I could not see those behind him. Nonetheless there had to be others with him or he would never be able to talk so confidently, so self-assuredly.”
“I just hope he didn’t hook up with Zizmon-Tarl,” Mykal said and sighed heavily after Towbar’s revelation. “I shoulda killed that rotten sonovabitch when I had the chance. Damn it,” Mykal snarled and slammed his fist into his open palm. “I know I told you this a hundred times already, but when we were trapped under that mountain and cornered by the Goblins, he came up with the idea to tell the Goblins that we were on a mission for Zizmon-Tarl and for them to take us to the evil overlord dude. Then we were going to try to escape when we would have gained the trust of the ugly little bastards. And as you know it never came to that cuz you got there and rescued us. But since I didn’t kill him and allowed the Goblins to capture him, he may have told them that he was on a mission for Zizmon-Tarl and so now it’s possible they could have taken him to Zizmon-Tarl. If that is the case then that means it’s possible he’s still alive and all that crap that goes with William still being alive.”
“If there is truth to that my friend then the possible problems we could face in the near future are too numerous and too difficult to comprehend.”
“I agree with you, but some of the questions I have are, why hasn’t he come back here to cause us or me any harm? Why hasn’t he used Ziggy to send an army to the rear of the Pass and really screw us up? And if he’s gunning for us is it just us, meaning me and you or is he going to destroy our whole operation? Thus, why hasn’t he been used by the evil bad guy to bring an army of the Supreme Ruler, to the rear of the pass to take us by surprise, and really do a whole lot of damage to us?” He asked sarcastically and inserted a comical smirk as he rambled on. “Maybe he’s got a heart and doesn’t want to hurt our people but only wants to come after us, meaning me and you. I understand why he’s got a beef against me, but I don’t understand why he’s got a beef against you,” he added and stopped when Towbar gave a strange puzzled and confused expression.
“Beef? As in a meal?” Towbar asked and rubbed his chin with a look that was determined to make sense of what Mykal had just said.
Mykal couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s just a goofy term we have that means he has a problem with me. But I understand he’s got a big problem with me. I left him there to die or to be tortured by the Goblins never to come back again, yadda yadda yadda. But I don’t understand why he would have a problem with you other than we’re good friends. You didn’t do that to him. I did it. So I don’t understand where his anger toward you is coming from.”
“I, also, do not know and I am not concerned with William.”
“I just hope he doesn’t try to make a deal with Ziggy Stardust and go back to the real world to turn our government against us cuz that would really screw us over. And the thing is William is good friends with Percy and the President himself. I guess they had nicknames for each other,” Mykal added at the remembrance of his first encounter with President John J. Edmonds. “Bottom line is we gotta be on our toes, and that’s even if he is still alive. Hell, if I see him I’m gonna kill that friggin creep. I don’t care where I see him at, I’m gonna kill that piece of shit.”
“My friend, if William is in fact dead why do we have so many problems with his image in our dreams?” Towbar asked as they neared the small gathering of trees where Towbar attempted his Mind Talk for Mykal back in July. “If he is dead how would anyone else know the problems we have had with him, thus someone else keeping the fear and anger alive? I have to believe that William is alive and instigating the thoughts and images being forced into my mind while I sleep. I say that only because I do not normally dream.”
“Okay, okay. Maybe you’re right,” Mykal conceded. “But if he’s alive and tied to Zizmon-Tarl that could really create more problems for us. Much, much bigger problems for us,” he repeated.
“Let us discuss this at a later time my friend. I need to clear my thoughts and to focus solely on this Mind Talk in order to concentrate on making contact with Doninka only. I need you to focus on Doninka and where you think she may be. I understand we do not know where she is being held. Yet, if you concentrate strongly as you did with Pam that may make it easier to make contact.”
“Let’s think this through real quick. Do you think they would be keeping her in a dungeon or a horrible prison cell?” Mykal asked and tried to picture what kind of living conditions she would have.
“I do not think they would treat her badly. I would think they would treat her well so that when they bring her to offer her for the trade she would look like she had been well taken care of. Just as the royalty she is entitled to.”
“That is my thought too, cuz if they’re planning on killing her at the trade then it wouldn’t matter if she had been well treated or not, but I would think they wouldn’t want to take a chance of something happening to her and she die by accident before the deadline. Since she’s on the other side of the world there is no place for her to go to, so I would lean toward them giving her a lot of room and comfort since she is a princess. She probably has several guards and I would think they are letting her believe she will be released once the demands are met. I don’t know if they would tell her what their plan is, you know, swapping her for her father. I would think they wouldn’t tell her to keep her calm and so on. I’m thinking she is in a big luxury type room with all the comforts your world has to offer.”
“I would agree with you my friend.”
“But damn, that’s gonna be hard if she can’t leave that room. I don’t know how we would get her outta there cuz we can’t make the green fog appear in her room. Stop,” he raised his voice and held his hand up for himself. “I’m getting way ahead of myself. Let’s try this. Are you ready?”
“Yes my friend,” Towbar answered while unscrewing the hilt to his sword and took a pinch of the crystalline powder and placed it in Mykal’s hand. “I need you to swallow this and then concentrate where you think she may possibly be held.”
Mykal put the powder in his mouth and nearly choked. He suddenly remembered how bad the acrid tasting powder was the last time Towbar gave it to him back in July. He couldn’t get the horrible taste out of his mouth and it made it difficult to concentrate. He started to fuss.
“I need you to focus my friend. I need you to concentrate.”
“Oh damn, this stuff still tastes like crap,” he complained.
Mykal thought of Doninka being in a large room with a large comfortable bed, and pictured a large fluffy canopy over the bed. He envisioned a large vanity beside the bed with other furnishings about the extravagant room. In his mind he called out to her and tried to find her in the imagined room he created. He called her name mentally several times.
“Mykal? Mykal is that you?’ Doninka asked in shock. He made contact.
“Doninka,” he gasped and suddenly felt flushed with heat and could see her surroundings. She was out doors in a large walled area. The wall was twenty feet high at least and made of stone. Th
e grass was stunning compared to all the ugly landscape he saw in the Forest of Death. The grounds looked well-kept and manicured. He could smell the flowers she had been staring into when he invaded her thoughts. “Don’t talk out loud. Think to me so others won’t know you’re talking to anyone. Can you understand me?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” she laughed out loud. “I am alone and by myself for the time being. Please help me,” she said and started to cry.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I only have a short time. Listen to me carefully. We are coming to rescue you but you must do what I say. This is called Mind Talk. Towbar is forcing my thoughts into your head. We’ll talk about that later. For now, let me take in your surroundings. I want you to slowly turn around and let me see where you are. I can see everything you see. Don’t talk out loud so people won’t see you talking to yourself and start asking questions. If my voice disappears that means Towbar had to cut it off and I will try again later. Are you out here certain times of the day?”
“I am allowed to go into the yards whenever I desire to go outdoors. I do have guards with me at all times. Some of the times they are standing beside me and at times like this they are distant, however they can see me. Yet, they are not allowed to speak to me unless it has to do with food or unless they are giving me orders.”
“Keep looking all around so I can see what you’re looking at,” Mykal said and took in everything he could. “Try just thinking your thoughts to me just in case I contact you at a time when others are around,” he said and reached out to stroke her face just like he did to Pam when he communicated with her back in July.
“Oh my. Did you just touch me?” She gasped and almost started to cry joyfully.
“Yes. I want you to know that I’m really here and we’re going to get you out. How have they been treating you?”
“I would have to be fair and say I have been treated wonderfully. I basically live in a home with a family. No one has harmed me. I am well fed and taken care of. Yet I can not have contact with anyone. I am alone. The loneliness is the hardest part of this ordeal. They will not tell me when I can go back home. No one will speak to me. However, I have been told there is a purpose I am here. A purpose that will save my people and the peoples of the world. When I ask them to explain, that is all they will say. I am so confused. I do not understand how my imprisonment will save my people or the peoples of the world.”
“My friend, I can not hold on much longer,” Towbar said and sounded like he was holding up a great big weight.
“I’ll make it quick Towbar. Doninka, we’re going to have to end. I will get back in touch with you later. If I enter your mind and others are around try to give me a signal. But whatever you do don’t say anything when others are around. I promise you I will bring you back home.”
“Please hurry Mykal. I need you,” she said and stopped as if she regretted her words but quickly corrected herself. “I need you to take me out of this place. I want to come home,” she said and started to sob.
“Please don’t cry. I don’t want them to move you if they think something is going on. Please be strong. I will rescue you. I promise you. You can--”
Suddenly the presence of Doninka was gone. Mykal felt she was no longer there.
“I am sorry my friend,” Towbar said while resting on all fours. “Next time I will be better prepared.”
2.
“Oh this is amazing,” Mykal laughed with excitement as they made their way back to the camp. “We found her. We friggin found her,” Mykal said and nearly laughed like a school kid. Mentally he wanted to jump up and down and do cartwheels to show his excitement. “Let’s get everyone ready to go and we’ll Mind Talk with her one more time before we leave and after we get somewhere over there on the other side of the world, we’ll set up a little base camp. After we see how she is protected we’ll use the green fog to appear right outside that stone wall, we’ll grab her and get the hell outta there,” Mykal said with another giddy laugh.
“My friend, we need to prepare for the situation not to be as easy as it seems,” Towbar said as the voice of reason.
“Yeah, Murphy’s Law and all that shit,” he said and gave an exaggerated frown.
“I only say this because of what happened to your group called the Lost Patrol when we rescued the people of your world from the Soso camp.”
“You’re right. You’re right. I’m just so friggin happy that we made contact with her after all we have been through for the past few weeks that I want to run blindly in there to save her and I know I have to be careful. One thing we can think about if it comes down to it,” Mykal said and paused to allow his idea to completely form in his mind. “We will set up a little base camp somewhere over there where we feel comfortable from all the crazy stuff we encountered. Then if it comes down to it, I’ll use the green fog to send me to her. I can go being invisible so no one will see me.”
“There may be great risk in you going into that kingdom by yourself,” Towbar replied to voice his concern without showing any emotion.
“I know, but I’ll tell ya what Towbar, right now I’d walk a tight rope over a raging fire to rescue her,” he exaggerated. “And I say that as one who has never walked a tight rope before.”
“I do not understand my friend,” the giant said and gave a quizzical look.
“Don’t worry about it,” Mykal laughed. “I’m just shooting my mouth off to make a point. Uh oh,” Mykal said and his tone was suddenly different. He saw Captain Diaz, Lieutenant Finley, Gunnery Sergeant Ratner, Sergeant First Class Lemon and Staff Sergeant Barry, the leader of the transportation teams, with the two Dosch brothers. These were all the top leadership team from traveling to the other side of the world. They just left the area of Mykal’s tent and they seemed to be walking fast as if on a mission. “I wonder what the hell is going on now. This don’t look so good this early in the morning.”
“They do appear to be looking for someone. I assume that someone would be you my friend since they just left the area of your sleeping quarters.”
“Captain Diaz,” Mykal yelled to get their attention. As expected they turned to him and Towbar and quickly made their way to them. The looks on their faces told Mykal there was a problem.
“We need to speak to you Mykal,” Lieutenant Finley declared as they walked quickly to them.
“What the friggin hell is it now?” Mykal whispered to Towbar in anticipation of a complication. “I’m too happy about Doninka to deal with some stupid shit at this moment. “What’s going on guys?’ Mykal asked with a happy smile when they all stopped in front of him. “Did they close the chow hall on yous?” He joked to be humorous.
“We have a serious problem Myk,” Captain Diaz said and gave a heavy sigh. “Major Chick just informed me that Colonel Fisher said there will be no more trips to the other side of the world.”
“What?” Mykal yelled and clenched his teeth to keep from saying anything else. “This better be a joke, but I’ll tell ya, it’s not funny at all.”
“I’m sorry Mykal, this is no joke,” Diaz replied first.
“I guess Colonel Fisher was distraught,” Finley said and used air quotes around the word ‘distraught’, “that we lost twelve men in the last battle. Fifteen if we count Towbar’s soldiers and the Elf who were killed.”
“He told Major Chick we can just wait for the deadline to roll around,” Diaz continued. “Which is only ten days away counting today. He does not want to put any more men at risk while we go off on a wild goose chase.”
“It’s not a wild goose chase anymore,” Mykal gasped as if they should understand what he and Towbar just accomplished. “Me and Towbar were coming to tell everyone we made contact with Doninka, Princess Doninka, with Towbar’s Mind Talk. We are going to try again in a little bit and we’re gonna find out exactly where she is and we’ll be able to get in there and get her outta there before the deadline. I don’t expect there to be much more danger compared to all the crazy stuff we enco
untered so far.”
“The men are all raring to go,” Ratner said and nodded his enthusiasm. “The two who were injured by taking blows to their head, the Elf Uminair and the Dwarf Nuckhorn, are ready to go also. They want to help rescue her and this was before there was any talk that you had made contact with your mind thingy with the young princess. All of the men are rip roaring and ready to go. And I am with them,” Ratner declared.
“I have replacements for my three men who were killed by the gorillas,” Staff Sergeant Barry said. “I honestly thought my men from the transportation company were going to be scared away when the news of the three deaths and how they had been killed had gotten passed around. But I had more men volunteer to help on the transportation side than we ever had before. Some want revenge and some just want to help rescue the girl, the princess, because they have gotten to know the townspeople, the people of Towbar’s land and they really want to help these people. And I’m proud to say,” Barry paused for a brief moment as if to control his emotions. “A number of those who came to me said they didn’t want their fallen brothers to have died in vain. They want to see this mission completed and they want it to be successful.”
“That is great,” Mykal said because he feared Sergeant Barry was going to back away from helping since he lost a total of five men. Four had been killed and one severely wounded, during the two trips Barry and his transportation teams participated in transporting the rescue teams.
“Major Chick did say that Colonel Fisher was very angry when he learned how the men died,” Diaz said to bring it back on Fisher. “Fisher told Major Chick he understands in a war, and in big operations, lives will be lost. But when he learned that two had been captured and were later found to have been impaled. He believed they had been tortured and suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of the enemy. He doesn’t want any of our men to suffer in such ways ever again. He repeated that they obviously had been tortured in such a horrible manner and it was too much for him.
